Michael Nesmith RIP

I don't know if there are any Monkees fans here (I'm an extremely casual fan myself), and if there are, you probably already know, but just in case:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/monkees-michael-nesmith-dead-1270079/

That leaves Mickey Dolenz the last Monkee standing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2021 11:11AM by Michael Toland.

I'm a casual Monkees fan -- always pleased to hear their music, but not usually inclined to seek it out. But I've seen on social media that Nesmith's passing comes as a hard blow to a lot of my friends, who are more invested as fans than I am. Unquestionably the most talented songwriter and musician in a band that had to fight to get its own songs and its own playing onto their own albums.

Rest in peace, Michael, and thanks.

Everyone should be at least a casual Monkees fan! Nesmith sure was an interesting dude with many facets to his creative life. I was a fan in particular of his Television Parts series from the 80s. I respected his decision not to get too involved with the resurrected band in the mid-80s, but it was interesting to see him embrace the band and his role in it in later years as the spirit moved him. An older friend of mine [I'm no spring chicken…] is a real big fan of Nesmith and recently had a bucket list concert event when he caught the Monkees in October playing in Orlando for the first time in his life. Talk about timing!

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2021 05:15PM by Post-Punk Monk.

While I was doing research for this, I was surprised to see that he'd also published a couple of novels and served on the boards of some major organizations. And, as you mentioned, his work in music-related video (TV etc.) shouldn't be underestimated. He was also executive producer of some well-regarded independent comedies. Seems like he was quite the polymath.

Yes, I was def. saddened by this. I certainly do reach for some Monkees every now and then. I have a number of their albums. Finally got the deluxe version of “Head” a year or two ago, some real masterpieces on that. Fairly recently I listened to “ Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.” again - quite simply, one of the best albums of the era. From weird Moog excursions to irresistible bubblegum pop, it does it all to perfection.

Apart from all the swell hits on their early albums, they were also more ground-breaking then they were ever given credit for - from punk (“Not Your Stepping Stone”) to Nesmith’s pioneering country-rock, throwing in gems along the way like the crazed avant-rock of “Randy Scouse Git,” and even covering Wreckless Eric on their ‘80s comeback album.

Mrs Fab and I spent a chunk of our Sunday listening to a rerun of an interview with Nesmith (and sometimes Dolenz) on, of all places, Dwight Yoakam‘s channel on SiriusXM. We loved watching reruns of the show as kids, and have been fans ever since, so yeah, sad that there’s only one Monkee left.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2021 01:18PM by MrFab.

When the Monkees were good they were very good and Mike Nesmith was the best musician of the bunch for sure. He was also quite a pioneer in the field of Country Rock prefiguring what would come with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers both with the Monkees and his solo albums after.

Check out this Monkees Mike Nesmith tune, "What am I doing Hangin' 'Round" that came out 10 months before the Byrds "Sweetheart of the Rodeo". One of my favorite songs of theirs.

[youtu.be]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2021 06:39PM by jothoma.

When I watched the Monkees reruns on MTV back in the late 80s, I quickly became enamored of Nesmith's songs in particular, including that one. I always hoped someone would compile an album of just his Monkees tunes, as unfair as that is to the other guys.

There's a Spotify playlist of Nesmith-written Monkees songs here: [open.spotify.com]

I have not really heard his early '70s country-rock period. What albums would you recommend?

Oh, nice - thanks!

I don't know anything about the First National Band except by reputation. Indeed, I heard his post-Monkees music for the first time putting that blog together. Can't say I was crazy about either "Joanne" (though it's beautifully sung) or "Rio," to be honest.

I think his best solo album is 1973's "Pretty Much your Standard Ranch Stash". Start with that one and work backwards. It was his 7th solo record up to that point (between 1968-1973) and the last record under his contract with RCA records. His recordings became more sporadic after that. I think it was his most consistent set of songs but the previous records all have their high points too.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2021 02:34PM by jothoma.

Oh man it just feels like we had the thread about Peter Tork’s passing. I loved these guys. Life was happier when I was watching them goof around. Miserable creeps can dismiss then as contrived but they’re missing out. They were truly intentionally hilarious and heck yeah they had great some songs.

Like Delvin I may not seek it out, but I’d never turn off their music …and have been surprised many times by how good it actually was. Thanks for the good times Mike!

Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam! I always thought that was the koolest video (loved wrestling) but it fit right in with a lot of the other odd balls of early MTV like Mexican Radio, Devo and the like. Made you feel kind of cool to like it as a young teen kid. When I was really young I only liked the start of the Monkees episodes and the musical parts. When I started to catch some repeats later on it was actually a pretty funny show. I went through a big alt country period and do remember listening to his band First National I believe on a recommendation in No Depression, here is a link to some of their output: [music.youtube.com]

He was a hipster up until the end. He sorta became a cult hero (3rd or 4th time in his life) a few years ago for repping Vaporwave to Rolling Stone. He called them up and said they need to cover it. Haha. A lot of young electronic artists got a huge kick out of this.
Michael Nesmith

Thanks for sharing that. Didn’t know this about him…I admit to going through a vaporwave phase also, so I love that he championed it!