Volume I
In which the Monkey shamefully employs the literary device of the self-interview, as perfected by Dave Eggers in his “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.”
Q: Monkey, what is this blog all about?
A: Thanks for asking! I genuinely appreciate your interest. This blog is all about one copywriting Monkey and his struggle to find creative outlets for his wandering mind during his dull and dreary workday. This blog is also about music, movies and podcasts and occasionally includes very self-indulgent rants about your Monkey’s long and fruitless search for a new job.
Q: So what kind of music do you like?
A: A tough question, but a fair one. Your Monkey likes all kind of music, from folk to rock to techno and rap music. The only music that really doesn’t work for him is faux angsty rock music (Nickleback), dumbed down pop country songs (I’d Like to Check You for Ticks) and dull, uninspired r&B tracks that use vocal tricks as a substitute for interesting songwriting (too many to name).
Q: So what kind of movies do you like?
A: Gosh you’re a great interviewer. And a wonderful listener. Once again, your Monkey likes movies of all different types, from classics like “Casablanca, “From Here to Eternity” and “The Manchurian Candidate” to more mainstream comedies like “Airplane,” “the Naked Gun,” “Fletch”, and “Role Models.” He also likes boundary-pushing independent movies like “Requiem for A Dream.”
Q. So what to you hope to accomplish with this blog?
A. Not all that much, really. Your Monkey is hoping that this will be a place for him to talk about some of his favorite bands, movies and podcasts, and maybe give people some suggestions that they will find entertaining and creatively rewarding. He is also very grateful for all the podcasters and bloggers who keep him entertained and informed during the day, so if he can do any small part to promote their work, he will consider that a big success.
Volume II: The 100th Episode Interview Spectacular:
In which your Monkey once again shamelessly cribs the technique of the self-interview (as popularized by Dave Eggers in his Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) in order to ask himself the questions that no one else dares (or cares) to ask.
Q. So Monkey, this is your 100th Blog Post! Congratulations are in order…
A. Is it really my 100th post already? Gosh how time does fly. Thanks so much for pointing that out. To be honest with you, I hadn’t even noticed that we were approaching such a milestone. I’m glad there are true fans like you to keep track of such things for me.
Q. So what have you learned about blogging so far?
A. Great question. So far I have learned that WordPress is a pretty great platform to have your blog on. It’s fairly easy for a lay monkey like myself to figure out, loading videos and images is a breeze, and the back-end analytics are great.
It’s easy to see who has visited your site, what links they have clicked on, and what searches on the web led them to your pages.
Q. So it must be a thrill to publish a post and then sit back and watch all the traffic it gets?
A. Umm. Not so much. The analytics are both a blessing and a curse. It’s good to see that a post is doing well, but it can be kind of disheartening when you publish a post that gets very few or no hits.
Q. Surely such a thing has never happened to such a tremendous writer as yourself….
A. My, my, you do have a way with flattery. Sure, plenty of posts have gone unread. But I think that is the price of competing against so many different blogs and so many different ideas on the internet. You have to be grateful for any page reads that you get.
Q. So what are you most proud of thus far?
A. A tremendous question! You certainly are an excellent interviewer. And probably a great lover as well. As I said in our previous self-interview, any chance I get to promote an artist, podcast, or movie that I love is a win in my book.
I have been happy to do my very small part for a blog like Me Like Good Music (excellently written music reviews), a fantastic online radio station like Radio Nowhere, or podcasts like Coverville, Filmspotting and Sound Opinions.
Q. So what is next?
A. More of the same I guess. Most importantly, there will be more music and movie reviews, and more talking about the oh-so-important podcasts that keep me entertained during my dreary work day. More updates on my search for new full time work. More of my hapless attempts to find work on Craiglist or Elance. And many, many more shamelessly self-serving posts like this one.
Q. Speaking of self-serving nonsense, can we end this ridiculous fake interview now?
A. No more questions.
The Grumpiest Monkey 