JUNK MONKEYS - 5 Star Fling

Artist:  Junk Monkeys

Album: 5 Star Fling

Year:  1992

Genre:  Indie Rock / Modern Rock

Metal Blade Records and The Replacements.  I’m curious if those two entities have ever previously been put in the same shitty sentence fragment.  Metal Blade, the pioneering independent US heavy metal label that gave the world its first recorded exposure to bands like Ratt, Black ‘N Blue, Armored Saint, Trouble, Lizzy Borden, oh, and a couple of bands that basically changed music history in Slayer and Metallica.  Visionary Metal Blade owner Brian Slagel took gigantic risks and built an empire of heavy metal that marches forward this very day.  Now on to The Replacements; the groundbreaking, bombastic modern rock band whose fierce dysfunctional independence kept them out of rock stardom, but placed them in the hearts of every kid who liked their rock ‘n roll a bit left on the dial.  For a band that didn’t sell well, their history and music live in infamy amongst fans and peers.

So why am I putting these two mortal enemies of the music business together?  Well, something strange happened with Metal Blade Records in the early 90s.  In 1989, Death Records, a division of Metal Blade, released the second album by then punk band Goo Goo Dolls.  Yes, you read that right.  Who would have ever thought the biggest bands related to Metal Blade would be Metallica, Slayer and Goo Goo Dolls?  Although the album, titled Jed, is a punk record, it was still odd for a label that housed the thrashing insanity of D.R.I., Mentors, C.O.C., Cryptic Slaughter, Beyond Possession and more.  One year later the Goos moved up from Death Records to the main label with their 1990 seminal album Hold Me Up.  One year previous, Metal Blade released Soul Cakes by Detroit’s beloved indie rock all-stars Junk Monkeys.  

So where do The Replacements fit into this equation?  Well, you have never heard two bands whose sound and style are more influenced by The ‘Mats than Junk Monkeys and Goo Goo Dolls, and both of these bands, whose style was firmly planted in independent rock, were signed to a record label that was not a label exactly known for genre diversity.  By the early 90s Metal Blade Records released as many good bands as bad bands, but there was no question that it was all heavy metal.  So, was the truest headbanging label on the planet at the time going to turn into an alternative record label?  Well, that’s the oddest thing of all…they never signed another indie-type rock band ever again.  These bands’ albums were released right before the monumental, Nirvana-inspired alternative wave of bands dominated the 90s, and, subsequently, it predates Goo Goo Dolls rocket-like ascent into superstardom which conquered airwaves and MTV.  It’s strange to think that Metal Blade was once again on the cutting edge of music in which they had zero association.  What is even more strange is that the label could’ve easily cashed in on the opportunity, but did not.  Well, that’s not necessarily true.  Metal Blade was listed as a co-label on Goo Goo Dolls first two Warner Brothers albums, which, I assume, made Mr. Slagel a ton of cash.  Quite an interesting story that I would love to know more about, for sure.

That leads us to my hometown heroes Junk Monkeys, who, unfortunately, did not make the same colossal leap as their Goo Goo labelmates.  It has always made me wonder if being on Metal Blade hindered their growth, because it certainly wasn’t the music.  Junk Monkeys played modern rock with a pulsating and passionate punk heart underneath.  They had excellent songwriting and gravely hooks.  They maintained their quirky, off-beat style just enough so that they never fully embraced the pop punk world, much like the other two greats from that 80s Minneapolis scene, Husker Du and Soul Asylum.  Instead of landing them in rotation on 120 Minutes, they ended up buried in obscurity.  Songs such as the blistering opener, “Sad Letters” and the more subdued and heartfelt “I Don’t Mind” have hit written all over them, especially in an era where the world was preparing for a mammoth 120 Minutes, alternative musical shift.   Five releases later, they called it a day and never returned to recording.  Junk Monkeys will now be a band that people reminisce upon fondly, or accidentally discover and question how or why they have never heard them previously.  

Listen to "Sad Letters" here.