The Monkees: Classic or Dud?

By weird coincidence, a Mike-led song ('Sweet Young Thing') is one of the three songs I played while making breakfast this morning (and before hearing the news, natch). Please be careful today, Janet Jackson and members of PiL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLXVz5fms10

Reminds me there's a bit in John French's book when the Beefheart & the Magic Band are recording "Safe As Milk" (I think) at the same time as the Monkees are recording something and Don and Mike Nesmith take to hanging out together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l55KNFiZ7Y

"That's not even Michael Nesmith's real hat!"

Several Monkees episodes up in nice quality on YT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h7dkwTLcUw

This is the first season finale, a mini-tour documentary of a '67 show.

he did a pretty good set at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in SF 2019…i watched it virtually and he was as weird & wonderful as ever

i am so gutted by this news you guys

it should be illegal for Monkees to die
we must protect Mickey at all costs

https://64-media-tumblr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/ii/w820/s/64.media.tumblr.com/1a3e47daf52b801dfb33c54bcbd3f87c/tumblr_n98zo2WprZ1sfyszho1_400.gifv

https://64.media.tumblr.com/1a3e47daf52b801dfb33c54bcbd3f87c/tumblr_n98zo2WprZ1sfyszho1_400.gif

OTM

https://i.etsystatic.com/14025475/r/il/a43a31/2086863927/il_570xN.2086863927_hp25.jpg

16 FUCKIN' GTOS!

I don't follow the Monkees and didn't know they had a farewell tour going, so I was kind of surprised when Andrew Sandoval posted a few long notes about it months ago, specifically about Nesmith's health and a lot of angry speculation among their fans. I'm just glad Nesmith got to tour one last time - he knew his health was going, but it sounded like he beat the odds and got to go out on his own terms.

Really love 'Me & Magdalena', written by Ben Gibbard, from the The Monkees' 2016 comeback album. Listening to Mike and Micky harmonising on this sounds very poignant today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfruDTmFDUA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uif5mY510pc

Excellent.

What was the angry speculation about?

I assume that the 'angry speculation' refers to fan concerns about Nesmith's health during the tour. This speculation was discussed by Sandoval in a blog post.

Ah, okay, thanks.

Heads Up: If you get the Decades nostalgia TV channel, starting in a couple hours they'll be doing their 'Weekend Binge' marathon on the Monkees TV series, showing every episode at least once (in their spiffy HD masters, no less!) up through Monday morning.

just like the beach boys they are fun rock but it gets pretty boring quickly!

twat

xp reasonably sure you are a sock at this point, FPing on principle

It's like Leonard Nimoy really becoming a Vulcan.

Michael Blessing and Micky Braddock?

After all these years occuring to me that Peter's persona on the show is close to Bob Denver's Gilligan.

“Me & Magdalena” is so good, as stated a little bit upthread.

I only this year learned of the fall lifting “Barmy” from “Valerie” (iow never heard Valerie before this year)

Just saw one of those Tork Xpressnap Napkin Dispensers, not sure if they have been mentioned yet.

This is pretty good. Every once and a while somebody goes on too long but better that than the opposite. Seems to stop with the recording of Justus and related apperances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6clYpKVk4g

looks awesome, thanks!!

Yesterday I screened 33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee, their legendarily star-crossed & star-studded bugfuck 1969 TV special.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4kKYLocUa4

Really comes off as a chintzy, more music-oriented version of Head. Left for dead airing against the '69 Academy Awards, I can't begin to think what was going through the mind of the poor channel-surfing viewer who landed on this during the interpretative dance number, or one of Brian Auger & Julie Driscoll's hammy supervillain turns, or the climatic "Listen To The Band" freakout, which--like a lot of this special--seems to forecast the video and chromakey hijinks of Zappa's 200 Motels film a couple years later. #onethread

What about these books by Eric Lefcowitz?

How d'you like them apples?

Wow that "I'm a Believer" duet is astoundingly bad.

How d’you like them Screen Gems?

Are you referring to the 33 1/3 video? Haven’t watched …yet.

Yep I'm watching now, and was live blogging I guess. I'll stop the spoilers.

This book I was referring to, Monkee Business, seems pretty good.

Introduction by Penn Jillette! Oh wait.

Here is a review: https://psychojello.tumblr.com/post/14175947986/review-monkee-business-by-eric-lefcowitz/

Guess it will have to serve since the Sandoval book is out of print.

But Sandoval's Bee Gees book is in print.

Yet another guy shows up in Micky's Screen Test!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63nhSFFFfJ4

Part of Davy's interview reminds me of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOCxplCFYCE

It's actually pretty bizarre seing the also-rans in these tests. It's like the kids above the bleachers in the opening sequence of the first episode of Freaks and Geeks.

A familiar character actor appears near the end of the screen tests, believe he was also in the first episode, maybe in a different role.

This Lefcowitz book is pretty good at telling the story, just went through the Jimi Hendrix part of the story as well as Peter Tork’s Laurel Canyon hippie hideaway, but yeah, the guy makes no bones about his dislike of Davy, which is fine with me I guess.,

Placing here for future reference:
https://www.monkeeslivealmanac.com/australia--japan-1968.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yChXUCGV4E

Mike sounds like Lee Hazlewood on “Love Is Only Sleeping.”

Davy version of "Nine TImes Blue" not bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH2wGtAULe0

So Andrew Sandoval finished updating his day-by-day book earlier this year but it could only be ordered through his website and is long sold out.