Thelonious Monks?

[medjuck]

This morning on NPR they had a piece about dissident Greek Monks who have fortified themselves in a monastery. As they told the story they played Monk's version of Caravan under it, finally bringing the music up when they made the joke that these must have been "Thelonious Monks". Does Thelonious have some meaning I don't know about?

You can hear it here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6667730

Edited December 24, 2006 by medjuck

[jazztrain]

Medjuck:

I heard the story as well. I believe he referred to "felonious" monks.

[medjuck]

Aha! That explains it.

[ghost of miles]

Medjuck:

I heard the story as well. I believe he referred to "felonious" monks.

Oh my God, a student reporter for our college newspaper actually wrote that as a mistake several years ago, in an article on a vocal group called Straight No Chaser... she quoted one of the members as saying that the band's name was inspired by a "Felonious Monk song." Sounds like a rapper, eh?

[brownie]

[Chalupa]

This morning on NPR they had a piece about dissident Greek Monks who have fortified themselves in a monastery. As they told the story they played Monk's version of Caravan under it, finally bringing the music up when they made the joke that these must have been "Thelonious Monks". Does Thelonious have some meaning I don't know about?

You can hear it here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6667730

I think the person on NPR was referring to a story, probably apocryphal, about an interview between MTV VJ Tabitha Soren and Bill Clinton.

From the LA Times website.....

Joining the tireless Kurt Loder as the second face of MTV News, Soren performed her duties with a healthy sense of red-haired gravitas. However, she may be best known for her 1992 interview with Bill Clinton where she asked the candidate on a "Choose or Lose" special, "Who's your favorite musician?" When Clinton replied, "Thelonious Monk," Soren responded, "Who's the loneliest monk?" Since her time on MTV, Soren has dropped out of the public eye, free to ponder such Zen-like questions.