OK, I AM biased. I like eclectic. I like thoughtful lyrics. I like moody music to suit my own varied states of mind. I LOVE harmony, especially between the genders and in song. I love visuals created by words and sound. I love to laugh, even if it is to keep from crying. Mostly, I love to watch, through the wry eye of another Simian friend, the Monkeyshines that go on here on Terra, aka ‘The Galactic Funny Farm’. The Goddess Serendipity has manifest a music album to fulfill our curious tastes for music – “Monkeyshine”, from the namesake band, has come to reside in the top shelf of my CD collection, where it is easy to reach. Cate Doefer & Tim Foley, two good friends who are from Michigan, USA, collaborate to serve the listener a delicious homegrown banquet in this double-album of 21 original ballads and songs. Familiar and unique at once, I did not have to acquire a taste for this tasty plate of assorted nutritious song-snacks. Cate and Tim take turns singing “out front”, adding variety to suit the smorgasbord they provide. These songs are catchy and memorable, composed and performed with great music appropriate to their top-shelf lyrics. Monkeyshine covers as many subjects as there are songs on the album. As a whole, it is a celebration of the human spirit and condition, among friends, between lovers and with ‘us and the great mystery’. The feast starts, as any good social celebration should, with an ode to homebrew Monkey Shine, then our hosts serve us palatable portions of libations (and other party favors), perfectly paced in the meal, including Life’s a Beach and a tippling-toast in conclusion - ’Till I’m Gone. Monkeyshine explores the shadow of humanity, with an erotic-dream adventure in Unleash, and a dark ride through existential existence in Badlands, Brand New Day, Where the Rainbow Ends and Shattered Dreams, and the bittersweet relationship song It Ain’t About Love (one of my favorites). Wry humor balances these ‘blue’ songs throughout the album, including my favorites: Mail Order Bride, a hilarious ballad, (now topping the blues charts on Internet Indie Music Charts like Garageband.com), Hip Hip Hooray, a cutting parody of life in Hollywood, dispatched with rapier wit, and Whipped Cream on a Cow Pie, a dark sarcastic tune. These tone-talkers brighten the mundane with other humorous songs about life with pigs and dogs, car-relationships, aging and senescence, love and cheating, skinny dipping in the rain, and other amusing retrospective wisdom from ‘Old Silverbacks’ who have had enough time to know what it REALLY is about. This is a good read that will not stay for long on the shelf! Enjoy the celebration!