WHY? (Part 2) – Q&A
Questions answered in this video:
00:06 – What were the first and last songs written for “WHY?”?
01:33 – Which of these songs were based on a true story? …
03:04 – Are your video shoots as much fun as they appear to be?
04:43 – How did you manage to write such an album?
05:24 – Is “WHY?” a concept album?
06:17 – What’s your current occupation? What’s your dream vacation?
06:37 – When did you plan the final scene for “I Bought Myself A Politician”?
08:22 – How did you get the timing right in the “Any Other Day” video?
08:50 – Was the end of “Any Other Day” filmed during sunset?
09:50 – Thoughts on the line “No one left to call out what is wrong, if everybody’s made to play along”?
12:18 – Who wrote “Could you share the frequency with which you change your underwear”?
13:55 – Which song took the longest / was the most difficult to write?
14:30 – Was “Questionable” meant to be a “Brill Building” type song?
15:20 – What are your thoughts on the talk box on “If You Raise Your Head”
16:04 – Was the title track “Why?” inspired by Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse”?
16:23 – Has something in the music industry recently inspired the writing of “Make Show”?
17:15 – Is “I Bought Myself A Politician” about Bill Gates?
Did we cover everything?
With this video as well as Part 1 of the Q&A we covered a wide variety of topics about the WHY? album. Thank you all for your interesting questions, we tried to answer as many as we possibly could!
It always means a lot to us to be able to delve deeper into our original music. At the end of the day that’s why we feel we are meant to be here and we cannot wait to get back into writing soon. If you can think of any more questions about the album that have not been answered in this Q&A you can always submit them in the “Ask the MLT” form and we might include it in the next un-themed Q&A!
See you all next week!
Stay groovy,
Mona & Lisa
I love all songs on this album! I was just listening to “WHY?” again and looking the Pink Floyd poster on my wall. This arrangement you did on the song “WHY?” is amazing and reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s style yet so different! The vocals🎤 are so mesmerizing and beautiful and enchanting. Bravo, you two are the greatest and two thumbs up!!!👍👍💖⭐⭐
If you see this post, I don’t know if the words I used to describe this song are good enough for it!
Will you be putting out more videos on DVD-BlueRay?
I would enjoy having them all where I can play them in a continuous stream, free of advertisements.
Thank you.
Mike
thanks for mention in video. was a bit cheeky but glad it made you both smile
Hi,
I am NOT trying to be a wise guy or a know-it-all, but I notice that numerous folks are misspelling the word Sergeant. It is not Sargent.
The Beatles abbreviated it as Sgt. Pepper.
As a rule, we do not usually correct people on grammar, punctuation, or spelling when sending text message or emails, or the like.
However, this has been bothering me. Sorry.
Yes, I was a teacher for a while, years ago. But not an English teacher lol.
Please do not hate me, I have good intentions.
Take care everyone,
Bobby
This word sergeant is commonly misspelled as sargent I think because a lot of people spell it the way it sounds. I had a cat named sergeant (because of the stripes on his shoulders), but our vet’s office spelled his name sargent. I’m not very good with grammar but I know the difference. I know sergeant is a noun which is described as a person, place or thing. So, I guess my cat sergeant was a thing.
Hi Phil,
Thanks for writing. Also, there is a slang word that people sometimes say when they call the sergeant “Sarge”.
The English language is so complex and can be so confusing.
Take care,
Bobby
Great Q&A ladies! They are always a lot of fun!
“Make show” is what one Hamburg club owner used to tell The Beatles back in the day. That’s been mentioned in several Beatles books and interviews over the years.As you probably already know.
As “Make Show” is my favorite song from the album, it was nice to hear a part of the original version. Nothing to “lol” at, it was good!
Pure Genius
☕️☕️☕️☕️
Mona and Lisa, wow thanks so much for all the information you share with us on this great album Why? I strongly feel this is your finest album, not taking anything away from Orange or When were together albums, I say this because it shows your strong song writing abilities and musical talents. Pet Sounds , Beggers Banquet, Sargent Pepper are albums that shows the ability of those artists and they have become all time best and this is where your journey is taking us and I am so excited becasue with all those albums those groups continued to write great albums. And sky’s the limit for you both. I thank god each day I found the Mona Lisa Twins, your music is beyond anyone can imagine and with you in charge of this journey we know that anything coming will be quality and wonderful for the ears and mind to listen too. My goodness I can go on but I just want to simply say , thank you both for your wonderful attitude and harmonies and love for this music and to be the wonderful and lovely ladies you both are, such a breath of fresh air. Your god given talents is taking you and us to places that I never dreamed of. We love you both and god bless, please keep it coming and STAY GROOVY. I have Maddie saying Groovy now and it is great to hear!!!
Love and Hugs from Bill and Maddie Isenberg Huge fans from Pittsburgh PA USA
As always I love to hear from both of you and hope it’s not too scripted as I like your real thoughts. (Maybe you can go a live Q&A on Youtube one day and lets see how much we trip up each other!!) Your personalities are the morst important part of these Q&A’s and WOTT, etc to get a feel of truly knowing you both. As for me, If You Raise Your Head I felt like had more technical hurdles to overcome, but I may be wrong. At least I feel it’s the most complete song. As honorable mention, Pretty Little Thing gets that vote. Just a simple little song but a lot of fun with a bluesy kinds sound. Thanks for all the hard work to bring all of it to us.
I looked up “heartwarming” in the dictionary and found this video. 💛❤
Thank you so much for answering my question about the talk box! There’s so many things that come to mind about how you do things and what makes you choose what you put into your songs and recordings. I’m sure I have hundreds more but I won’t be a hog ;>}
Daryl, that’s the only bad thing about these Q&As. I always think of a hundred more questions. I love that talk box solo and battle with Rudi’s keyboards. So many times they seem to find the perfect instrument for a song.
More good questions and answers this week.
My thoughts on this album from the time of release haven’t changed much. My favorite songs are still “Any Other Day” and “Why”.
The song “Why” was a great protest song, but it was also a Herr Rudolf Wagner production masterpiece. I have felt from the beginnings of your careers that he is a genius at what he does and deserves to be called “Maestro”. Instead we know him as Papa Rudi. After listening to the song “Why” over time (with good quality sound), I noticed more and more that was going on. One of my favorite things in the song is the beautiful, but almost haunting quality of Mona’s low notes in the background. The big “strum” at the end is a perfect exclamation mark to what the song has portrayed.
It caught my ear on the on the “Based On a True Story?” question on “Any Other Day” when Lisa said “but maybe not necessarily at the time of writing”. So Lisa, are you going to leave us in suspense?
These ladies are great dancers too. They way they dance around a question and never answer it is remarkable. Quite entertaining in itself. I think many of us know that Any Other Day (the best song on the album & the best song I’ve heard in 30 yrs) is about Rudi & Michaela falling in love. It makes sense if you read the lyrics without the music. It is a beautiful love song and rides in my heart every day. There may be something in the water in Liverpool that creates these beautiful love songs. I remember some long hair boys from Liverpool did a song called, All You Need Is Love.
Great questions and great answers! “WHY?” is a wonderful album and I love each and every song. The album is very polished without being overproduced. My personal favorite song on the album is “Janitor Joe”. I love its whimsicality. Thank you, MLT!
Interesting. I never saw the connection with Pink Floyd until now. Thanks.
I dream of the day -when you come into a town to do a film shoot, the mayor and the city council greet you with a parade and the keys to the city and you won’t be worrying about your parking meter running out of time.
I think you went out on a limb with WHY? It has a more pensive vibe than the previous albums. Obviously the songs still make you move, but there’s more “meat” to the lyrics. Which I really dig. And it does remind me of some of music that came out of the late 60’s-early 70’s. I would put WHY” up against any of those songs/albums. Thanks for the back story on Janitor Joe. Lisa, it amazes me how just dancing around to the music triggered an image of a janitor. I used to use a similar technique when I used to write my short stories. Peace be.
Hmmm……..judging from your comments about the evolution of “Make Show”, perhaps somewhere down the road there will be a “Why: Special Edition”? Ha! Make sure it doesn’t take as long as it did with the Beatles albums, for us oldtimers won’t be around to hear.
I continue to be wowed by all the songs on “Why”, but must admit that “Questionable” remains my favorite. I didn’t even mention in my question the perfect middle eight; Lennon/McCartney couldn’t have done any better. And I must have watched the video a couple dozen times, if not more. The look of Mona & Lisa during the chorus definitely had me thinking Shirelles/Shangrilas/Murmaids/etc.
These Q & A’s so enjoyable; thanks so much ladies.
Ooops I almost forgot to congratulate you girls on recently having two songs “finally” reach ONE MILLION views on the same day…May 18th..,Johnny B Goode and I’ll Be Back…….so the next song most likely to reach 1,000,000 is …Here, There And Everywhere…currently with 979,790 views as of today May 26th….I’ll bet our “statistician of views” David Herrick can give us an estimate of that forthcoming date…and howabout ..I Saw Her Standing There with 2,967,256 approaching the 3 Million mark❤️🧡
Hey, Rick. Based on last month’s numbers, I’m projecting that Nowhere Man will be the next to join the 1M club, on June 8th. It’s being viewed much more often than Here, There and Everywhere, which should reach 1M around September 11th. I Saw Her Standing There is very close to 3M: June 19th.
In a few days I’ll work out a new set of monthly numbers, which should be a little more accurate with regard to short-term predictions.
Thanks David…yeah you’re right Nowhere Man has come out of …well…nowhere …the last numbers I was looking at had it way behind…but it’s a great song so looking forward to June 8th.
I just checked the numbers so far this month and it looks like Nowhere Man has cooled off a little, so the date may be more like June 18th. I plan to do the “official” calculations at the very end of the month.
Both Nowhere Man and HT&E are among my very favorite MLT covers, so I’m really looking forward to these milestones being reached!
“Johnny B. Goode” and “Revolution” are my two favorite Twins live performance songs. The Twins totally had the audience that night. It would have been very special to have been there that night.
WOW…I really liked that opening snippet of Make Show…David Herrick I agree with you maybe the girls can come up with another song that will replace the “original first attempt” with different lyrics but keep that “Melody or beat “….it was immediately catchy and that’s a making for a hit record….I love these Q&As even though I’ve never asked a question …I look forward to Friday and am absolutely satisfied with whatever you give us …you girls are always entertaining❤️🧡
Interesting and entertaining as always!
But, just F.Y.I. I got a malicious traffic warning when I opened your club email. So, I went to your website to watch the video.
Nice job on the answers! 💛❤️👏👏🏽👏🏼
Hi, I also received a warning that a Security Threat was detected. It was from Optimum, my cable company. Jerry, are you in NY by any chance?
Bobby S.
I love how you treat each question with respect and honesty. (Even dumb ones like mine) I’m glad you took the path you did. And I’m very happy to be here in the best club in the world!
That was great, another fabulous Q&A. I love Q&As. You know, a still shot of you two smiling is wonderful. But smiling, talking, laughing, telling stories, giving us details, that’s just incredible, just amazing. It doesn’t get any better.
So is that older version of “Make Show” going to be on a new album? I thought it sounded great. Different, but great. Everything you do is great.
You had to pay for parking in Chester? They should have been paying you. Best advertising they ever got.
There’s an old story that President Kennedy, visiting NASA in 1961, asked a janitor what he was doing, and was told, “Mr. President, I’m helping to put a man on the moon.” Is that the story you heard?
And I knew I wasn’t the only one dancing to Janitor Joe. Glad to hear you were too.
Concept album? x Yes _ No
Such a great album and Q&A. I get enthusiastic on Fridays. Thanks to you.
I heard a great title in your dialogue in this video. Definitely a hit title for a hit album ….ready….
Wall of Mona’s.
Hello Ladies,
Unfortunately there has been no notification that this post was even up that I have seen.
I took a chance by coming to the club to see for myself. (19:15 GMT or 7:15pm GMT)
Not sure why, (I’ve been checking all day) Maybe due to the glitch earlier this week.
None the less I really enjoyed the Q&A again today. You sort of strip yourselves and allow us to see sides of your brilliant song writing that we don’t normally see.
I actually really liked the earlier version of Make Show. An edgy rock version that plays to a strength you have. As in Club 27, One More Time, This Boy Is Mine, to name a few.
Thanks again Ladies
Best always,
Rick Ross
Hi Rick, yeah I love Club 27 and the edgy rock side Mona and Lisa can do. On Orange I love the contrast from Club 27 to Still A Friend of Mine. I also like they are expanding their horizons into new creative sounds, effects and style all their own. I think WHY? is cutting edge. Make Show has this guitar progression that when I first heard it really grabbed me. Their vocals are really impactful too, especially the way they sing continuously at the end creating an effect that conveys the crazy madness of the music industry. It sounds so new and modern, a style all their own.
Hi Jung
Exactly. Their Magic that I refer to from time to time is uniquely different than what’s fond in the industry now.
They have a way of taking a song and making it their own. The covers may times sound better than the original. They change a little something and it gives it a fresh new flavor. An example is the added Blues Harp on Starman. It added just the right element to send it over the edge.
Hi Rick
For sure, Mona and Lisa’s talent knows no bounds. I love their diversity. I remember when I first heard Waiting for The Waiter, wow they can do blues amazing justice, expanding into new genres all the time. There have been many great female artists in the past, but none as diverse and rich as MLT, they can do it all with perfection. All the best to you.
Jung
Hi Jung!
I really like the new dark edgy sound that Mona And Lisa are bringing to their sound. Their redo of Alone is fantastic. They were made for this genre of music. I hope they continue to develop this sound. Even Club 27 has this sound.
All the best to you as well
Thank you for the Q & A. Again the LP is one of my favorites already and shows so much attention to detail and is reminiscent of something I would have heard in the late 1960s.
Thank you for these videos, they are so much fun. I do think of WHY? as a concept album. There are all the songs about awareness to the state of our world but also offers the reason this awareness is important, so we can enjoy the good things like relationships, sunrises, songbirds and all the Pretty Little Things. It’s a great album.
It’s that time of the week. I reach for my phone, log into the MLT club and find the latest post just waiting to be opened. As I move along and read the notes for the post the smile begins to widen(honestly it starts as soon as I wake up on Fridays..a smile just waiting to shine!) Sometimes the joy can bring tears as well (I am becoming a sentimental old man😂.) Thx for a great Q&A. I love all 3 of your original albums. Each as it’s own brilliance. Why? Is amazing in its scope and top notch quality in all aspects.
Hey Dave you sentimental son of a gun…years ago I used to scoff at things but now I’m 73 and I choke up and tears in my eye’s about different things…I think when we were younger we had a tough skin like and now all these years later we see things differently and more emotionally…weird but I really think we’re getting soft…oh know it can’t be..LOL😂
And I am 72 and yes my skin is much thinner(might be the blood pressure meds)!! Yeah…I’m a sucker for the radiant and friendly smiles and the absolutely devine music the Wagner family creates. I have been paying alot of attention to their harmonies lately and am just amazed at how good they are. So many layers to much of their output!!
Another fascinating insight into this superb piece of work. This album is so relevant in the world as it is. I can only speak for myself but I haven’t seen anyone producing the quality of this work today. If a so called ‘major artist’ came up with this the plaudits would be off the scale. I grew up with the Beatles, and their music runs through my soul, but I haven’t heard anything that even comes close till now. Thank you so much
Wow, thank you Steve ♥
Don’t worry if you think the videos too long. I’m sure it’s not just me that could listen to you talk for an hour no problem! The whole “Why” album is fantastic and the info you have shared on the making of makes it even more intriguing.
Thank you so much for sharing your time with us and keeping us entertained. Most of all thank you for the Friday smiles! You do make a difference in peoples lives! 🙂
I could listen to them for hours…I’ve been watching their videos now for 6 hours today…I just really love these girls and the God given talent is really special.
Wow so many great questions asked and awesome response from Mona and Lisa, giving us more insight into this great album and songs. Sargent Peppers level indeed, in fact I always felt Orange was at the artistic level of Pet Sounds and Sargent Peppers, and WHY? takes it to another plateau taking music even further. Songs like Jump Ship, WHY? are pushing the envelope in rock/pop music, shaping the music landscape for the future, and Any Other Day is one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard, such magical melody, and lyrics really makes me feel what it was like to fall in love for the first time. It takes some amazing master songwriting to be able to do that, create amazing emotions so perfectly like that in a song. A brilliant work of art.
Thanks Mona and Lisa for sharing so much and answering questions about the album so thoughtfully and thoroughly. WHY? is a brilliant masterpiece work of art to be so proud of, what a crowning achievement, you never cease to impress with every new work! Keep doing what you are doing!
The future of rock music is in good hands in these two incredibly talented powerhouses.
I’m really digging that snippet from the early version of Make Show! I hope some aspects of that arrangement are salvaged and eventually paired with different lyrics on a new song.
I agree with you David that the first take on Make Show had an interesting start…yeah I’d like to hear another song with that intro and see where it goes.
My favorite way to start the Weekend!! Those Beautiful smiling faces always start my Friday off with a positive vibe,that continues thru Saturday and Sunday,and this week Monday too(3 day weekend here)..I just love hearing about your creative process.Thanks for sharing all the inside info with us all.You Ladies(and Papa Rudi & Michaela too) ROCK!!!
Just wanted to let you know that All my MLT cd’s were heavily featured in the music rotation on my drive from New York to Florida once again.Thanks for keeping me company on the trip down,and the trip back home(in 6 more days).
As Always,sending Love & Hugs to you All
💛 ❤ 🎈 🎈 🎶 🎶 😘 😘
Thankyou for Part 2… Once again , excellent Qs submitted and enjoyed your replies, thoughts on all. It sure is educational, thought provoking , in that how you explain, give insights, etc for an all around better understanding of what all was cultivated into creating the WHY !? Album . Much Appreciated and any other WHY!? Qs that come to mind, I’ll submit to the ” Unthemed ASK MLT” ( I was late in submitting for this 2 parter, missed the boat , lol )…Looking forward to next Friday for whatever you have planned to post, have a fab weekend, week ahead, may the weather be pleasant, summertime, and it’s supposedly to be Summerlike in my area this wknd-beginning of next week….Stay #MLTBuzzLuvGroovified… 🤘🌞🌷🇨🇦