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The long, strange journey of Michael Nesmith is as fascinating as it as was fraught--from fleeing Dallas as a young man with his pregnant girlfriend, to gaining international fame as a member of the Monkees, to falling deep into the grips of what he calls Celebrity Psychosis, to finally achieving inner peace and finding a creative wellspring in the teachings of Christian Science. Influenced in equal parts by the consciousness-expanding ambitions of Timothy Leary and the cerebral humor of Douglas Adams, in "Infinite Tuesday," Nesmith spins a spellbinding tale of an unexpected life, in which stories about meeting John Lennon, or recording with Nashville greats, or inventing the music video trace an arc from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, illuminating a remarkable mind along the way."
Leather Bound
First published April 18, 2017
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About the author
Michael Nesmith
33 books137 followersMichael Nesmith's career in music and television took him from starring in The Monkees to a celebrated run of albums as a solo artist and in the First National Band. He created the TV show Popclips, a forerunner of what would become MTV, and produced the films Repo Man and Tapeheads. He is the author of two novels and the founder of the Pacific Arts Corporation, which produces projects in the worlds of audio, video, and virtual reality, including Videoranch 3D. He lives in Carmel, California.
Photo Credit: Alex Battaglia
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Photo Credit: Alex Battaglia
Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
April 19, 2019
Infinite Tuesday: An autobiographical riff by Michael Nesmith is a 2017 Crown Archetype publication.
Leave it to Michael Nesmith to reinvent the autobiography. I, for one, am very pleased with his style and the format he chose to tell his life story because it certainly fits his personality.
However, if you are a huge Monkees fan, hoping for a book centered mostly around Michael’s time on the show, then this book might not be for you. Not to make light of the many doors that show opened for Michael, but the Monkees were only on the air for a couple of years. When this book was published in 2017, Michael was in his early seventies. To center his entire life story around two years of his long life would be boring, and that is something Michael definitely is not. In fact, Michael has a led a most fascinating and interesting life and accomplished much more than having appeared on a popular television show back in the sixties.
His approach is stunningly intimate. It is almost like having a one on one conversation with Michael. He’s refreshingly honest, admitting his moral missteps, laying bare his heartbreak and disappointments, and occasionally his genuine confusion regarding certain situations, such as his lawsuit with PBS. (What a weird story that was!)
I appreciated his candor, loved the stories he told about his friendship with Douglas Adams. What struck me here was that Michael and Douglas were so very different, yet they were able to put those differences aside and respect the other’s opinion. We could all stand to borrow a page from this book in that regard, as no one appears able to respect a differing opinion anymore.
Michael is a very bright and intelligent person and has more of an impact on our lives than many realize. This is a very unique memoir, one I found incredibly absorbing and not the least bit pretentious. In fact, I think Michaels aversion to ‘Celebrity Psychosis’ as he terms it, has left him with a more down to earth viewpoint on life, as has his faith in Christian Science- (not to be confused with Scientology).
That said, I must admit I loved The Monkees when I was a kid and I had the biggest crush on Davy Jones. Even now the pop tunes they are famous for, are fun, even if the group was, for all intents and purposes, manufactured.
So, while I still think of The Monkees when Michael’s name pops up, I also think of Videoranch and MTV, of his liquid paper fortune, his incredible life experiences, and his willingness to take a risk, to utilize current technology or trends in creating new and visionary ideas, and respect his entrepreneurial talents immensely.
This is a fascinating journey and I am very happy I accepted Michael’s invitation to join him as he recounts his triumphs and failures, and the many strange avenues he’s traveled down. I believe he will continue to work, to experiment, play music, and have faith in the here and now.
4 stars
Leave it to Michael Nesmith to reinvent the autobiography. I, for one, am very pleased with his style and the format he chose to tell his life story because it certainly fits his personality.
However, if you are a huge Monkees fan, hoping for a book centered mostly around Michael’s time on the show, then this book might not be for you. Not to make light of the many doors that show opened for Michael, but the Monkees were only on the air for a couple of years. When this book was published in 2017, Michael was in his early seventies. To center his entire life story around two years of his long life would be boring, and that is something Michael definitely is not. In fact, Michael has a led a most fascinating and interesting life and accomplished much more than having appeared on a popular television show back in the sixties.
His approach is stunningly intimate. It is almost like having a one on one conversation with Michael. He’s refreshingly honest, admitting his moral missteps, laying bare his heartbreak and disappointments, and occasionally his genuine confusion regarding certain situations, such as his lawsuit with PBS. (What a weird story that was!)
I appreciated his candor, loved the stories he told about his friendship with Douglas Adams. What struck me here was that Michael and Douglas were so very different, yet they were able to put those differences aside and respect the other’s opinion. We could all stand to borrow a page from this book in that regard, as no one appears able to respect a differing opinion anymore.
Michael is a very bright and intelligent person and has more of an impact on our lives than many realize. This is a very unique memoir, one I found incredibly absorbing and not the least bit pretentious. In fact, I think Michaels aversion to ‘Celebrity Psychosis’ as he terms it, has left him with a more down to earth viewpoint on life, as has his faith in Christian Science- (not to be confused with Scientology).
That said, I must admit I loved The Monkees when I was a kid and I had the biggest crush on Davy Jones. Even now the pop tunes they are famous for, are fun, even if the group was, for all intents and purposes, manufactured.
So, while I still think of The Monkees when Michael’s name pops up, I also think of Videoranch and MTV, of his liquid paper fortune, his incredible life experiences, and his willingness to take a risk, to utilize current technology or trends in creating new and visionary ideas, and respect his entrepreneurial talents immensely.
This is a fascinating journey and I am very happy I accepted Michael’s invitation to join him as he recounts his triumphs and failures, and the many strange avenues he’s traveled down. I believe he will continue to work, to experiment, play music, and have faith in the here and now.
4 stars
November 22, 2017
I always watched The Monkees growing up in the sixties and seventies. In the late eighties, feeling nostalgic and having the funds to do so, I acquired the entire Monkees collection on LPs. In the nineties, I purchased a boxed set of Monkees CDs. After thoroughly listening to these recordings over the years, I was particularly drawn to the Michael Nesmith penned compositions. Inflected with a country western twang or with an unexpected tangent, Nesmith's tunes seemed like buried treasure among the more well known Monkees hits. Then I remembered that I was also drawn to Michael Nesmith the person when I was a little girl watching those Monkees episodes, not the more obvious choice of Davy Jones. I've read at least one book about The Monkees before this one and watched various documentaries about them, so I know that Michael was the "real musician" (along with Peter Tork) who fought to have his songs included on the Monkees albums and also to be allowed to play their own instruments on them. I also knew that his mother was the secretary who invented Liquid Paper and became a millionaire as a result. This was enough to whet my appetite to read Michael Nesmith's autobiography. And now that I have, I am even more of a Michael Nesmith fan than I was before!
First of all, you might want to keep a dictionary handy while reading this book. The man's vocabulary is phenomenal. Michael covers his life from youth to the present day, painstakingly describing his many thought processes on many things. The man is a very deep thinker and extremely intelligent. His mother was a member of the Christian Science religion and credited its teachings for her success in inventing Liquid Paper. She gently advised Michael to involve himself more with the religion over the years, and he eventually delved into it much deeper and found a lot of inspiration and meaning from it.
It's quite fascinating to "go with Michael" on various extensive journeys in this book like how he invented MTV. Michael gets the germ of an idea and it evolves into something much bigger after he takes chances, investigates, talks to other talented people, etc. I watched an interview with Michael recently and he referred to these entrepreneurial journeys as "connecting the dots." It's exciting and inspiring to read about someone willing to take chances, be creative, sometimes fail and lose money...yet continue having the call to discovery to push on. Michael even was awarded a patent for one of his inventions.
I was a little put off by the book cover initially, thinking that the normal thing for an autobiography would be to sport a photo of the author. One would think it would generate more sales and be more eye catching for Monkees or Nesmith fans. However, like his very cerebral vocabulary, a generic cover like that would be "too easy." Instead, he marries the word Infinite (culled from Christian Science teachings) with Tuesday (part of an old comic strip involving hippos that particularly touched him) and plops that on top of a psychedelic background wallpapered with monkeys. You gotta love it!
I was graciously provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley in return for my honest review.
First of all, you might want to keep a dictionary handy while reading this book. The man's vocabulary is phenomenal. Michael covers his life from youth to the present day, painstakingly describing his many thought processes on many things. The man is a very deep thinker and extremely intelligent. His mother was a member of the Christian Science religion and credited its teachings for her success in inventing Liquid Paper. She gently advised Michael to involve himself more with the religion over the years, and he eventually delved into it much deeper and found a lot of inspiration and meaning from it.
It's quite fascinating to "go with Michael" on various extensive journeys in this book like how he invented MTV. Michael gets the germ of an idea and it evolves into something much bigger after he takes chances, investigates, talks to other talented people, etc. I watched an interview with Michael recently and he referred to these entrepreneurial journeys as "connecting the dots." It's exciting and inspiring to read about someone willing to take chances, be creative, sometimes fail and lose money...yet continue having the call to discovery to push on. Michael even was awarded a patent for one of his inventions.
I was a little put off by the book cover initially, thinking that the normal thing for an autobiography would be to sport a photo of the author. One would think it would generate more sales and be more eye catching for Monkees or Nesmith fans. However, like his very cerebral vocabulary, a generic cover like that would be "too easy." Instead, he marries the word Infinite (culled from Christian Science teachings) with Tuesday (part of an old comic strip involving hippos that particularly touched him) and plops that on top of a psychedelic background wallpapered with monkeys. You gotta love it!
I was graciously provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley in return for my honest review.
January 31, 2018
Michael Nesmith is a veteran of the entertainment industry, but his name is most recognizable as the wool-beanie-wearing member of The Monkees. Nesmith has a treasure trove of experience and insight, and he’s very articulate. I really enjoyed this memoir, and if American musical and cultural history interests you, I recommend you get a copy when it comes out April 18, 2017. Thanks go to Net Galley and Crown Archetype for the DRC, which I received free of charge in exchange for this honest review.
Nesmith came of age in Texas, the child of a single hardworking mother, and was mentored by the profane elderly Uncle Chick, whose spoken cadence Nesmith would later find in his own sense of musical rhythm. Because Texas was the exclusive province, at the time, of country and gospel music, Michael and his pregnant girlfriend loaded themselves and Mike’s guitar into his mother’s car and took off for Los Angeles. It proved to be a good move.
Those that cannot remember the birth of rock and roll have no idea how polarizing it was. The cliché term “generation gap” represented a genuine source of friction and alienation in a lot of families; some parents decided that rock and roll was not an art form but instead a type of devil worship. Some disowned their children over it and didn’t take them back later. I’m serious. And so when Nesmith credits his mother for her patience and forbearance—he actually didn’t ask if he could take her only car, for instance—he’s not just being gracious. Here, let him tell you:
"It was unthinkable to everyone who had just fought World War II that the music…the whole
cultural imperative of the victorious warriors would be torn down by their kids as if it were ugly curtains in the den. "
Soon Nesmith would be chosen as a member of The Monkees, which catapulted four little-known young men to instant fame; Nesmith recalls that although seventeen to twenty-year-old Beatles fans were incensed by the TV imitation, the nine to twelve-year-old television kids—of which this reviewer was one—saw them as a fact.
What followed was what Nesmith calls “Celebrity Psychosis”, a sense of disproportion and entitlement caused by instant stardom, obsequious handlers, and bizarre social circumstances. He humorously recounts strange experiences, such as singing at a local school and being pursued by screaming adolescent girls, and being “sighted” shopping in a grocery store.
He recalls his experience as John Lennon’s house guest in London, and he cites Jimi Hendrix as the best rocker that ever lived. He also drops a rather nasty slam at Bob Dylan without any real explanation, and I confess that is part of the missing fifth star. What the hell?
Bette Nesmith, Michael’s late mother, invented Liquid Paper while he entered show business, and her fortune helped finance some of his creative products. Nesmith was a pioneer in the field of country rock as well as the music video. He produced movies and won a Grammy for Elephant Parts, an early music video. He is also an ardent feminist, and recounts having been one before it was cool. Thank you, Mr. Nesmith.
I have to admit that I find the first half of the memoir more interesting than the second half. The author speaks at length about his spiritual experiences with Christian Science and the ways in which wealth distorts a person’s character, though he recognizes the latter doesn’t garner a lot of sympathy. “Never complain about the air-conditioning a private jet.” He also does a lot of brow-beating about having stolen a friend’s wife, and attributes the failure of that marriage—his second, or his third maybe—to guilt.
Despite the aspects that I didn’t enjoy, I do recommend this memoir, because it eloquently describes a wide, enormously dynamic period in American film, music, and television. Nesmith unspools the last half of the 19th century with the wisdom of his experience, and it’s a perspective completely unlike any other I have seen.
Recommended for those with an interest in contemporary American cultural history, as well as to fans of Nesmith and The Monkees.
Nesmith came of age in Texas, the child of a single hardworking mother, and was mentored by the profane elderly Uncle Chick, whose spoken cadence Nesmith would later find in his own sense of musical rhythm. Because Texas was the exclusive province, at the time, of country and gospel music, Michael and his pregnant girlfriend loaded themselves and Mike’s guitar into his mother’s car and took off for Los Angeles. It proved to be a good move.
Those that cannot remember the birth of rock and roll have no idea how polarizing it was. The cliché term “generation gap” represented a genuine source of friction and alienation in a lot of families; some parents decided that rock and roll was not an art form but instead a type of devil worship. Some disowned their children over it and didn’t take them back later. I’m serious. And so when Nesmith credits his mother for her patience and forbearance—he actually didn’t ask if he could take her only car, for instance—he’s not just being gracious. Here, let him tell you:
"It was unthinkable to everyone who had just fought World War II that the music…the whole
cultural imperative of the victorious warriors would be torn down by their kids as if it were ugly curtains in the den. "
Soon Nesmith would be chosen as a member of The Monkees, which catapulted four little-known young men to instant fame; Nesmith recalls that although seventeen to twenty-year-old Beatles fans were incensed by the TV imitation, the nine to twelve-year-old television kids—of which this reviewer was one—saw them as a fact.
What followed was what Nesmith calls “Celebrity Psychosis”, a sense of disproportion and entitlement caused by instant stardom, obsequious handlers, and bizarre social circumstances. He humorously recounts strange experiences, such as singing at a local school and being pursued by screaming adolescent girls, and being “sighted” shopping in a grocery store.
He recalls his experience as John Lennon’s house guest in London, and he cites Jimi Hendrix as the best rocker that ever lived. He also drops a rather nasty slam at Bob Dylan without any real explanation, and I confess that is part of the missing fifth star. What the hell?
Bette Nesmith, Michael’s late mother, invented Liquid Paper while he entered show business, and her fortune helped finance some of his creative products. Nesmith was a pioneer in the field of country rock as well as the music video. He produced movies and won a Grammy for Elephant Parts, an early music video. He is also an ardent feminist, and recounts having been one before it was cool. Thank you, Mr. Nesmith.
I have to admit that I find the first half of the memoir more interesting than the second half. The author speaks at length about his spiritual experiences with Christian Science and the ways in which wealth distorts a person’s character, though he recognizes the latter doesn’t garner a lot of sympathy. “Never complain about the air-conditioning a private jet.” He also does a lot of brow-beating about having stolen a friend’s wife, and attributes the failure of that marriage—his second, or his third maybe—to guilt.
Despite the aspects that I didn’t enjoy, I do recommend this memoir, because it eloquently describes a wide, enormously dynamic period in American film, music, and television. Nesmith unspools the last half of the 19th century with the wisdom of his experience, and it’s a perspective completely unlike any other I have seen.
Recommended for those with an interest in contemporary American cultural history, as well as to fans of Nesmith and The Monkees.
May 6, 2017
I must admit that I was already a fan of Nesmith's writing and music going into this book. I was familiar with his career and social media posts. I enjoy his writing style, and I have always been fascinated by his anecdotes, sense of humor, musical descriptiveness, his observations on social interactions and people, and I am deeply interested in any talk of the metaphysical and any individual's experiences from their spiritual vantage point. So, that being said, it would seem that "Infinite Tuesday" could not possibly have disappointed me - though there is always a chance.
It most definitely did not disappoint me.
Nesmith is an excellent writer. For musicians and/or avid fans of all musical genres, the book is alone worth the read for his description of watching Bo Diddley perform live in a small club in Texas when Nez was just a teenager, and the transformative quality it had on him throughout his life. The way he relates life to music, his views on "riffs" and "bands," and the muse behind them, is well developed and relatable for me as someone who considers music to be part of the very breath of life.
I did not always read "Infinite Tuesday" as much as I reread it. Some passages within resonated very strongly a distinctive chord that I let ring out a few hours before returning to the book.
The spiritual aspect of the book is persistent but not meant to persuade; it's merely Nez displaying candor and openness in his system of belief and how it has impacted his journey throughout his life. He does not ever convey perfection and the various encounters he has with the many well known names that appear in the book are not used as name dropping, they are presented as the thread within the tapestry of his life as a whole. Some of these threads are obviously a bit brighter and shinier than others, such as Hendrix, Lennon, and another author who has been close to my heart since my preteen years - Douglas Adams.
It's been a treat for me to hear of the friendship and interaction between Adams and Nesmith. Now the two are more deeply woven together in my own fabric, part of my influence and inspiration, and the development of my own sense of humor. There were moments in this book that made me laugh out loud - maybe some wouldn't find them as funny but for me, there were moments that made me stop a second and catch the humor of the riff.
I know many have expressed some disappointment that this was not a Monkees memoir. However, there are plenty of anecdotes and a viewpoint about how the show impacted his life, career, and seemed to bring equal parts opportunity and success, while shutting doors and creating chaos in its wake.
It's a book about a very interesting and intelligent man's rich, creative and full life of music, the arts, observation, forward thinking, and growing up Texan. It's a story about music, Hollywood, the many spaces in time that are all one time, really, leading up to now - this very infinite Tuesday.
It most definitely did not disappoint me.
Nesmith is an excellent writer. For musicians and/or avid fans of all musical genres, the book is alone worth the read for his description of watching Bo Diddley perform live in a small club in Texas when Nez was just a teenager, and the transformative quality it had on him throughout his life. The way he relates life to music, his views on "riffs" and "bands," and the muse behind them, is well developed and relatable for me as someone who considers music to be part of the very breath of life.
I did not always read "Infinite Tuesday" as much as I reread it. Some passages within resonated very strongly a distinctive chord that I let ring out a few hours before returning to the book.
The spiritual aspect of the book is persistent but not meant to persuade; it's merely Nez displaying candor and openness in his system of belief and how it has impacted his journey throughout his life. He does not ever convey perfection and the various encounters he has with the many well known names that appear in the book are not used as name dropping, they are presented as the thread within the tapestry of his life as a whole. Some of these threads are obviously a bit brighter and shinier than others, such as Hendrix, Lennon, and another author who has been close to my heart since my preteen years - Douglas Adams.
It's been a treat for me to hear of the friendship and interaction between Adams and Nesmith. Now the two are more deeply woven together in my own fabric, part of my influence and inspiration, and the development of my own sense of humor. There were moments in this book that made me laugh out loud - maybe some wouldn't find them as funny but for me, there were moments that made me stop a second and catch the humor of the riff.
I know many have expressed some disappointment that this was not a Monkees memoir. However, there are plenty of anecdotes and a viewpoint about how the show impacted his life, career, and seemed to bring equal parts opportunity and success, while shutting doors and creating chaos in its wake.
It's a book about a very interesting and intelligent man's rich, creative and full life of music, the arts, observation, forward thinking, and growing up Texan. It's a story about music, Hollywood, the many spaces in time that are all one time, really, leading up to now - this very infinite Tuesday.
March 7, 2017
If you know a little about Michael Nesmith, this book probably won't surprise you. If you're a Monkees fan, you know that he's a little different from the other three. If you know him from his work after the Monkees, you're his favorite kind of human being and a perfect audience for this book.
I was born years after the Monkees TV show had ended and grew up watching reruns on TV and I was a fanatic. Even as an adult, the Monkees bring me joy and take me back to a simpler time in my life when I first discovered them. I cried my eyes out in November, 2012 when the surviving Monkees played a tribute to Davy Jones and the entire Chicago Theatre sang Daydream Believer together. The Monkees have moved me in many ways throughout my life, but this book isn't about the Monkees, it's about Mike Nesmith, the most aloof of all Monkees.
I was thrilled when my request to review an advance copy of the uncorrected proof was granted. As a Monkees fan, I've always had mixed feelings about Mike. It's similar to having a family member who does things you don't really agree with, but you remind yourself "He's family," and love him anyway. I jumped at the chance to read his own words and reconcile my feelings about him. Except, instead of reconciling anything, I found myself laughing because even when he admits that he made mistakes or openly confesses that he acted like a jerk in a particular situation, he still sounds like classic Mike, which to my ear sounds a lot like self-importance. But much like I learned to do with my older brother, I just shook my head and laughed. He is who he is, and he's a pretty interesting guy.
If you're looking for a memoir about Mike's Monkees years, you'll probably enjoy the first half of the book, although I don't see any revalations or confessions, it's mostly about Mike's state of mind at the time. It's his memoir, and he obviously can't get away with leaving out the Monkees years altogether, but he doesn't get as in depth as most Monkees fans would like. If you're interested in Mike's work after the Monkees or his spiritual journey, you'll likely be delighted by the whole book. The book doesn't touch on much after 2007, which is a disappointment for me, as I was hoping to read more about his reunion with Mickey and Peter in 2012, but he does not touch on that chapter of his life. I guess I will just have to be satisfied with this photo that I took on 11/16/2012.
I was born years after the Monkees TV show had ended and grew up watching reruns on TV and I was a fanatic. Even as an adult, the Monkees bring me joy and take me back to a simpler time in my life when I first discovered them. I cried my eyes out in November, 2012 when the surviving Monkees played a tribute to Davy Jones and the entire Chicago Theatre sang Daydream Believer together. The Monkees have moved me in many ways throughout my life, but this book isn't about the Monkees, it's about Mike Nesmith, the most aloof of all Monkees.
I was thrilled when my request to review an advance copy of the uncorrected proof was granted. As a Monkees fan, I've always had mixed feelings about Mike. It's similar to having a family member who does things you don't really agree with, but you remind yourself "He's family," and love him anyway. I jumped at the chance to read his own words and reconcile my feelings about him. Except, instead of reconciling anything, I found myself laughing because even when he admits that he made mistakes or openly confesses that he acted like a jerk in a particular situation, he still sounds like classic Mike, which to my ear sounds a lot like self-importance. But much like I learned to do with my older brother, I just shook my head and laughed. He is who he is, and he's a pretty interesting guy.
If you're looking for a memoir about Mike's Monkees years, you'll probably enjoy the first half of the book, although I don't see any revalations or confessions, it's mostly about Mike's state of mind at the time. It's his memoir, and he obviously can't get away with leaving out the Monkees years altogether, but he doesn't get as in depth as most Monkees fans would like. If you're interested in Mike's work after the Monkees or his spiritual journey, you'll likely be delighted by the whole book. The book doesn't touch on much after 2007, which is a disappointment for me, as I was hoping to read more about his reunion with Mickey and Peter in 2012, but he does not touch on that chapter of his life. I guess I will just have to be satisfied with this photo that I took on 11/16/2012.
February 24, 2018
Background - I've long liked most of the Monkees' songs. I like several of Nesmith's songs (Joanne, Different Drum) and have seen him live in concert in the last 5 years.
What can I say about this book? He reveals himself to be a person of limited talent who doesn't always understand what is going on around him. He has tried hard, maybe too hard, to be something that he isn't. Think of the world of creative people, whether you think of the great musicians of the last 70 years or other creative types, as being in a greenhouse. He's circled the greenhouse over and over, peering inside and trying to understand what they're doing. But he's never found a door to get in. He continues to try to do what he thinks they're doing, but remaining outside the greenhouse and never doing anything of real merit that lets him in. But yet he tries repeatedly to make you think this is his world.
He also seems to be a wannabe in other contexts too, and comes off as a poseur, an amateurish pseudo-philospher and a pseudo-intellectual observer of the arts and the human condition, using a language affectation typical of charismatic preachers. Like he likes to hear himself speak. And where the sounds, rhythms and shock value of chosen words are more important than the meaning imparted and are meant to suggest an intellectualism that isn't really there. A trivial example of word choice, he uses (and misuses) the term "orders of magnitude" several times in a way that suggests he thinks the term is cool but he doesn't seem to understand what it really means. Also, his choice of Frank Zappa-esque song and project titles. Zappa was a genius and could pull these pranks off, not so Nesmith, it makes him look silly.
He's had several important events in his life (described in the book) that supplied him with money and wealth that his career never did and without which he would have lived a much more modest lifestyle and would have faded from the scene long ago. I found disingenuous his intimations that he had anything at all to do with the growth of the internet and the development of music videos. He's a at best a fringe character in the world of rock and roll. As demonstrated by the recent announcement of an upcoming brief tour with Mickey Dolenz, the serendipity of his casting in the Monkees TV show is really the most significant event of his life and was the result of luck, not merit. Not much else to talk about although that's what's covered in the book. One plus, I "read" this by listening to the audio book version so I heard the words from his own mouth.
Overall, this is another one of the many books or autobiographies of a rock music performer that might have been best left unread. Those looking for better examples might look to the books written by or sometimes with a helper in an autobiographical sense on Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Patti Smith, and Neil Young. These are massive talents, who made massive contributions to music, who didn't have to spend any time at all (as Nesmith did) explaining their own relevance and could stick to sharing their memories. These are ones I've read, enjoyed, and learned from. I'm sure there are other examples.
What can I say about this book? He reveals himself to be a person of limited talent who doesn't always understand what is going on around him. He has tried hard, maybe too hard, to be something that he isn't. Think of the world of creative people, whether you think of the great musicians of the last 70 years or other creative types, as being in a greenhouse. He's circled the greenhouse over and over, peering inside and trying to understand what they're doing. But he's never found a door to get in. He continues to try to do what he thinks they're doing, but remaining outside the greenhouse and never doing anything of real merit that lets him in. But yet he tries repeatedly to make you think this is his world.
He also seems to be a wannabe in other contexts too, and comes off as a poseur, an amateurish pseudo-philospher and a pseudo-intellectual observer of the arts and the human condition, using a language affectation typical of charismatic preachers. Like he likes to hear himself speak. And where the sounds, rhythms and shock value of chosen words are more important than the meaning imparted and are meant to suggest an intellectualism that isn't really there. A trivial example of word choice, he uses (and misuses) the term "orders of magnitude" several times in a way that suggests he thinks the term is cool but he doesn't seem to understand what it really means. Also, his choice of Frank Zappa-esque song and project titles. Zappa was a genius and could pull these pranks off, not so Nesmith, it makes him look silly.
He's had several important events in his life (described in the book) that supplied him with money and wealth that his career never did and without which he would have lived a much more modest lifestyle and would have faded from the scene long ago. I found disingenuous his intimations that he had anything at all to do with the growth of the internet and the development of music videos. He's a at best a fringe character in the world of rock and roll. As demonstrated by the recent announcement of an upcoming brief tour with Mickey Dolenz, the serendipity of his casting in the Monkees TV show is really the most significant event of his life and was the result of luck, not merit. Not much else to talk about although that's what's covered in the book. One plus, I "read" this by listening to the audio book version so I heard the words from his own mouth.
Overall, this is another one of the many books or autobiographies of a rock music performer that might have been best left unread. Those looking for better examples might look to the books written by or sometimes with a helper in an autobiographical sense on Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Patti Smith, and Neil Young. These are massive talents, who made massive contributions to music, who didn't have to spend any time at all (as Nesmith did) explaining their own relevance and could stick to sharing their memories. These are ones I've read, enjoyed, and learned from. I'm sure there are other examples.
April 29, 2017
Mike Nesmith has had an amazing life. Just one of the events he seemingly fell into would be monumental for most of us, but highlights include his mother's invention of Liquid Paper, the genesis of MTV, a technology patent, and careers in movies, TV, and music - the latter three, of course, combined in the form of the Monkees. And now, author.
So you'd think his autobiography would be entertaining, if not fascinating. Regrettably, it was neither. It's interesting what people choose to focus on when they tell their life stories. Nesmith's focus was his Christian Science faith. That's okay. I don't know much about Christian Scientists, and that might have been an opportunity to learn something new. But Nesmith was so focused on trying to sound deeply philosophical (blah, blah, blah) or being ironic that parts of Infinite Tuesday were practically unreadable. While the prose wasn't exactly stream of consciousness, the timeline certainly wasn't linear, and the only frame of reference the reader has beyond cultural references is which woman Nesmith is with at any given time.
For Monkees fans looking for behind-the-scenes stories, look elsewhere. Peter, Davey, and Micky were barely mentioned. It didn't surprise me, as they worked together for such a short period of time, so long ago. But Nesmith might have thrown his fans a bone and given a just a few Monkees memories. What we get, mostly, is how he butt heads with Don Kirshner. Even that, though, is dispatched quickly. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.
While Tuesday didn't really smack of name-dropping like some other memoirs do (cough-Barbara Eden-cough), Nesmith did share the same orbits with some big names. Notably, author Douglas Adams, and John Lennon. Adams was a close friend, and was given his due. Lennon, Nesmith admits, was more of an acquaintance, but is still mentioned repeatedly throughout the book. And yet he doesn't make any comment on Lennon's murder, and what impact that may have had on him. Certainly it had an effect on most of us, who hadn't spent weekends as a guest in Lennon's home. Same with big events like 911 -- crickets. A little less philosophical blathering and a few more memories like these might have helped him connect to his readers more.
All in all, if you're just deciding whether or not to read this memoir, you may do better just to head to Nesmith's Wikipedia page, get the highlights and be done with it. Too bad.
So you'd think his autobiography would be entertaining, if not fascinating. Regrettably, it was neither. It's interesting what people choose to focus on when they tell their life stories. Nesmith's focus was his Christian Science faith. That's okay. I don't know much about Christian Scientists, and that might have been an opportunity to learn something new. But Nesmith was so focused on trying to sound deeply philosophical (blah, blah, blah) or being ironic that parts of Infinite Tuesday were practically unreadable. While the prose wasn't exactly stream of consciousness, the timeline certainly wasn't linear, and the only frame of reference the reader has beyond cultural references is which woman Nesmith is with at any given time.
For Monkees fans looking for behind-the-scenes stories, look elsewhere. Peter, Davey, and Micky were barely mentioned. It didn't surprise me, as they worked together for such a short period of time, so long ago. But Nesmith might have thrown his fans a bone and given a just a few Monkees memories. What we get, mostly, is how he butt heads with Don Kirshner. Even that, though, is dispatched quickly. Nothing to see here, folks, move along.
While Tuesday didn't really smack of name-dropping like some other memoirs do (cough-Barbara Eden-cough), Nesmith did share the same orbits with some big names. Notably, author Douglas Adams, and John Lennon. Adams was a close friend, and was given his due. Lennon, Nesmith admits, was more of an acquaintance, but is still mentioned repeatedly throughout the book. And yet he doesn't make any comment on Lennon's murder, and what impact that may have had on him. Certainly it had an effect on most of us, who hadn't spent weekends as a guest in Lennon's home. Same with big events like 911 -- crickets. A little less philosophical blathering and a few more memories like these might have helped him connect to his readers more.
All in all, if you're just deciding whether or not to read this memoir, you may do better just to head to Nesmith's Wikipedia page, get the highlights and be done with it. Too bad.
August 19, 2018
I wanted to love this as I adored the Monkees in my youth but this book was insufferable. Well, Michael himself was/is which was so disappointing. I imagine that his musical path didn't take him where he wanted to go once he got involved in the TV show but to be honest, it didn't sound like he was very musically talented and the Monkees opened doors for him and he just seems resentful. Made sure to tell his readers over and over that he hung around with Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and other hip luminaries of the time. I think he tried to be sort of existentialist but some of the unnecessary big words went right over my head. Amarcord? Please, get over yourself.
July 23, 2017
I fell in love with the Monkees when I was 11 years old, and in the fifty years since then I have continued to enjoy their music and follow their individual careers . When I read that Mike was writing a “tell-all”, I was excited: I imagined that he would talk about what it was like working with the other Monkees, and what his relationship with them has been like since that time.
The book is not what I expected.--It’s not a “tell-all”. The Monkees aren’t a big part of it, This was disappointing to me but, at the same time, I enjoyed what he did have to say. It was interesting learning about Nesmith’s early work with music videos and his other business ventures, including his prescient investment in old television shows. He has a folksy, self-deprecating style, and he’s very likeable. (I would actually give it 3 1/2 stars)
Nesmith is open about certain parts of his life, and withholding about others. He had four children but he barely mentions them. He had three wives and many affairs but the one woman he felt connected to moved out and left an “I’m leaving you” note on the refrigerator, suggesting an alienated relationship. Did the other Monkees resent him because he wasn’t dependent on the money they made on reunion tours? There’s so much that he doesn't talk about……….Bottom line: This is a partial autobiography, written in an unconvential, non-linear style.
The book is not what I expected.--It’s not a “tell-all”. The Monkees aren’t a big part of it, This was disappointing to me but, at the same time, I enjoyed what he did have to say. It was interesting learning about Nesmith’s early work with music videos and his other business ventures, including his prescient investment in old television shows. He has a folksy, self-deprecating style, and he’s very likeable. (I would actually give it 3 1/2 stars)
Nesmith is open about certain parts of his life, and withholding about others. He had four children but he barely mentions them. He had three wives and many affairs but the one woman he felt connected to moved out and left an “I’m leaving you” note on the refrigerator, suggesting an alienated relationship. Did the other Monkees resent him because he wasn’t dependent on the money they made on reunion tours? There’s so much that he doesn't talk about……….Bottom line: This is a partial autobiography, written in an unconvential, non-linear style.
January 31, 2018
Disclaimer: I've long been a fan of Nesmith's music, of his songwriting, and of his written blogs and other things. After all, anyone who had Red Rhodes in their band can't be too bad, can they? I've always found his writing intelligent and thoughtful, humorous and insightful. That said, the book didn't let me down.
It has the usual memoir stuff about the ups and downs of making it big in the music biz, but it goes beyond the normal "first this happened, then this happened" storytelling and gives us a glimpse of a somewhat private individual who evolved as he stumbled through his induction into media celebrity.
It's such a pleasure (a very rare one, it seems) to read a celebrity who is such a good writer. I must say, Nesmith is smart, articulate, and insightful. He has a fine command of language and presents his unique view of the universe in an eloquent and sophisticated manner without patronizing or talking down to the reader, and without throwing big words around to show how smart he is.
A fascinating look behind the scenes at a unique time in American history, through the eyes of someone with a unique vantage point. Well worth reading.
It has the usual memoir stuff about the ups and downs of making it big in the music biz, but it goes beyond the normal "first this happened, then this happened" storytelling and gives us a glimpse of a somewhat private individual who evolved as he stumbled through his induction into media celebrity.
It's such a pleasure (a very rare one, it seems) to read a celebrity who is such a good writer. I must say, Nesmith is smart, articulate, and insightful. He has a fine command of language and presents his unique view of the universe in an eloquent and sophisticated manner without patronizing or talking down to the reader, and without throwing big words around to show how smart he is.
A fascinating look behind the scenes at a unique time in American history, through the eyes of someone with a unique vantage point. Well worth reading.
October 25, 2017
I just finished a wonderful book that I would like to tell you about. It's called "Infinite Tuesday; An Autobiographical Riff" by Michael Nesmith. Intriguing, surprising, and like most of his work,
you'll be crying one minute and laughing the next. If you are looking for the perfect story of a perfect man, do not read this book. Nez bares it all, good or bad, showing the human sides of him that he so rarely shows to anyone. His reflections on some of the people he's met along the way are open and honest, some with a great deal of humbleness. I've read many auto-biographies in my life, none as enjoyable as this one. Word of warning... If you are wearing rose colored glasses when it comes to him, remove them before reading this book or they will shatter in your face. Thank you Nez for sharing so much of yourself with us
you'll be crying one minute and laughing the next. If you are looking for the perfect story of a perfect man, do not read this book. Nez bares it all, good or bad, showing the human sides of him that he so rarely shows to anyone. His reflections on some of the people he's met along the way are open and honest, some with a great deal of humbleness. I've read many auto-biographies in my life, none as enjoyable as this one. Word of warning... If you are wearing rose colored glasses when it comes to him, remove them before reading this book or they will shatter in your face. Thank you Nez for sharing so much of yourself with us
June 17, 2017
****Received this as a Galley from Crown Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks so much for sharing!!!****
I will admit I was one of those teenyboppers that was in love with the Monkees back in the '60s. I was too young to understand the statement of the group or whatever the political underbelly was because I was only 10 yrs old. I only related to the craziness that was the show but more importantly, the sounds of their music. I saved birthday money or weekly allowances then drove my bike to the Sears and spend the afternoon at the music department going through the rows and rows of offerings but always came home with the latest Monkees album. In a box, somewhere in my storage, are these treasures. So, learning more about the development of the Monkees from one who lived it was thrilling even if it isn't the story that I always imagined. But, this isn't a story about the Monkees. It is only a very small piece of Mike Nesmith's story. There are so many nooks and crannies to this book. Nesmith has written a story about the journey of learning: about his life, his visions and his loves. This is a book for anyone who loves music and can relate to the way that music breathes and beats and thrives in the heart. Even as Michael describes his working with musicians, production groups or boards, he uses musical vernacular like "riffs" or "band." This book is I'm sure a catharsis for him as he has worked through his childhood, his first and second wives and his lives with them, including all the warts and flaws in himself, accepting his part of the blame for their failures. He gives the reader tour of his business failures, successes and innovations without whining or bragging. Did you know he was the pioneer of the music video and helped develop the MTV VJ? He shares the inspirational figures in his life which included Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon to name a small few. Even though we think of him as a talented musician he never felt that he was any good having taught himself on a basic level and yet he wrote or co-wrote music that is familiar to us today. He shares his heartbreaks in love and life without asking for pity and shares what he learned from each time he didn't succeed. He is proud of what he has overcome and what he has accomplished and how he wound his way through the music industry and Hollywood industry trying to learn from everyone he encountered. He strived to become a strong Christian Science practitioner and it helped him through some dark and difficult times as he navigated through the ups and downs in his life. In the end as he says "the devil has no access to the singing man." This is a book that speaks to the destination of Life and finding oneself no matter how long it takes to get there.
I will admit I was one of those teenyboppers that was in love with the Monkees back in the '60s. I was too young to understand the statement of the group or whatever the political underbelly was because I was only 10 yrs old. I only related to the craziness that was the show but more importantly, the sounds of their music. I saved birthday money or weekly allowances then drove my bike to the Sears and spend the afternoon at the music department going through the rows and rows of offerings but always came home with the latest Monkees album. In a box, somewhere in my storage, are these treasures. So, learning more about the development of the Monkees from one who lived it was thrilling even if it isn't the story that I always imagined. But, this isn't a story about the Monkees. It is only a very small piece of Mike Nesmith's story. There are so many nooks and crannies to this book. Nesmith has written a story about the journey of learning: about his life, his visions and his loves. This is a book for anyone who loves music and can relate to the way that music breathes and beats and thrives in the heart. Even as Michael describes his working with musicians, production groups or boards, he uses musical vernacular like "riffs" or "band." This book is I'm sure a catharsis for him as he has worked through his childhood, his first and second wives and his lives with them, including all the warts and flaws in himself, accepting his part of the blame for their failures. He gives the reader tour of his business failures, successes and innovations without whining or bragging. Did you know he was the pioneer of the music video and helped develop the MTV VJ? He shares the inspirational figures in his life which included Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon to name a small few. Even though we think of him as a talented musician he never felt that he was any good having taught himself on a basic level and yet he wrote or co-wrote music that is familiar to us today. He shares his heartbreaks in love and life without asking for pity and shares what he learned from each time he didn't succeed. He is proud of what he has overcome and what he has accomplished and how he wound his way through the music industry and Hollywood industry trying to learn from everyone he encountered. He strived to become a strong Christian Science practitioner and it helped him through some dark and difficult times as he navigated through the ups and downs in his life. In the end as he says "the devil has no access to the singing man." This is a book that speaks to the destination of Life and finding oneself no matter how long it takes to get there.
February 5, 2017
Michael Nesmith is obviously a philosophical sort of guy and has written this memoir in a philosophical manner. At first, that made his memoir seem unique and more interesting than other memoirs I’ve read about musicians. At some point, however, the way the book was written started to grate on me. I began to crave a nice, concise Wikipedia article on Mr. Nesmith instead. Halfway through, though, I didn’t even want to read a Wiki article, and I gave up on this book. Specifically why? Because no matter how humble the author seemed in his writings, which was always; no matter how many people he brought into his life story, which were many; the memoir still seemed self-indulgent and self-absorbed. Reading it felt like being infinitely trapped in Michael Nesmith’s head with him, and the only way out was to quit reading.
(Note: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.)
(Note: I received a free e-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher.)
May 30, 2017
This is the best Monkee autobiography I have ever read and I have read them all. It is very matter of fact. He points no blame or bitterness towards anyone but himself. I really enjoyed this book and I was sad it ended. I don't want to ruin this for anyone so I won't write more but this is a must read book even for the casual music fan, not just Monkee fans. I came out of this book with more compassion for Mike than I have ever had!
May 23, 2017
Papa Nez is a great writer. His book is engaging and entertaining, but, man, does it hurt to have your eyes opened and your idol brought down by his own admissions and truth.
January 31, 2025
Never meet your heroes, I suppose.
I should have known I was in for trouble when right up front, Michael Nesmith cites Fellini's Amarcord as his favorite movie; of course it is. I had to remind myself this was written in 2017 when I had the jump scare of seeing an Elon Musk quote used as a chapter heading, too. I very quickly remembered how much I disliked his 1998 novel The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora.
Here is a vocabulary list, the test is on Friday:
sodality
reticulation
colligation
ankylosed
orthogonal
non-diegetic
He just comes off as such a pompous, prickly, self-important old Boomer. I still love him enough to pity him, I can play armchair Freud enough to see his philosophizing and flat-out refusal to (here, anyway) give the reader what he must know they want (crumbs, anything, about how he felt about the 80s Monkees revival and his participation therein; his relationship with and the deaths of Peter and Davy and how he toured with the band after Davy's death--GO ON, MIKE, GIVE US NOTHING), his Council on Ideas and the way he infantilizes much younger (my age! or thereabouts) third wife Victoria shows an insecurity and a need to seem important and a Man of Ideas. He rambles on about HTML and Christian Science and his made up concept of forming "bands" (his term for friend groups, or people who come together for a common purpose) with other people at various times in various places, and sometimes it's interesting, but mostly, it's a real snooze.
I'll try and fail to bury the memory of this book deep in my own VideoRanch chat room, and try to reconstruct the fictional idea of Mike I carried in my head since I saw the "Cruising" video some 40 years ago on HBO Video Jukebox.
I should have known I was in for trouble when right up front, Michael Nesmith cites Fellini's Amarcord as his favorite movie; of course it is. I had to remind myself this was written in 2017 when I had the jump scare of seeing an Elon Musk quote used as a chapter heading, too. I very quickly remembered how much I disliked his 1998 novel The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora.
Here is a vocabulary list, the test is on Friday:
sodality
reticulation
colligation
ankylosed
orthogonal
non-diegetic
He just comes off as such a pompous, prickly, self-important old Boomer. I still love him enough to pity him, I can play armchair Freud enough to see his philosophizing and flat-out refusal to (here, anyway) give the reader what he must know they want (crumbs, anything, about how he felt about the 80s Monkees revival and his participation therein; his relationship with and the deaths of Peter and Davy and how he toured with the band after Davy's death--GO ON, MIKE, GIVE US NOTHING), his Council on Ideas and the way he infantilizes much younger (my age! or thereabouts) third wife Victoria shows an insecurity and a need to seem important and a Man of Ideas. He rambles on about HTML and Christian Science and his made up concept of forming "bands" (his term for friend groups, or people who come together for a common purpose) with other people at various times in various places, and sometimes it's interesting, but mostly, it's a real snooze.
I'll try and fail to bury the memory of this book deep in my own VideoRanch chat room, and try to reconstruct the fictional idea of Mike I carried in my head since I saw the "Cruising" video some 40 years ago on HBO Video Jukebox.
January 14, 2018
My first read of 2018: a solid 5 stars!
I love autobiographies and biographies alike because everyone has a story. No person on the planet experiences a day the same way as anyone else. And, though I don't know him personally, what I learned about Michael Nesmith BEFORE ever picking up his autobiography intrigued me pretty quickly—mainly because our childhoods have many parallels, despite the fact that I was born in September, 1998—nearly 56 years after he was. Hell, had I been born exactly 50 years prior, I probably would've been one of the ones experiencing "Monkee Mania" firsthand.
I first found out about The Monkees in January, 2016. I was a Senior in high school and took a Pop Culture class in which my teacher played a 'The Monkees' episode. Since I've only been a Monkees fan for around two years now, my first exposure to them was not as a child who grew up watching them on TV. As a then-17 year old, I grew to like the group because of the connections I had with it, and the references that were slipped into the show were things that no seven year old would've understood the first time around—long story short, I wasn't much younger than the group was at the time the show aired and, as a result, appreciated a lot of the same things that I hope they did about a lot of the episodes. Nesmith can bash The Monkees all he wants, but it was clever as hell and, in my opinion, way ahead of its time in regards to the jokes thrown in and some of the subject matter. I mean, c'mon. Episodes centered around The Monkey's Paw and Of Mice & Men? That's pretty damn clever.
However, despite the fact that I like the show and the band (although I will agree on Nesmith on one thing—I much prefer the later '60s music to the earlier '60s stuff), I'm actually glad that Nesmith didn't focus all of the book's energy on his career as a Monkee. Do I wish he'd maybe spend a little more time on the subject? Sure. But being a Monkee did not and does not define him as a person, just as being a Beatle does not define Paul McCartney as a person, and being a Rolling Stone does not define Mick Jagger as a person (although I am salty about the fact that the Monkees outselling those groups is a lie—literally, Nesmith, what the hell). Celebrities are simply regular people with unusual, often times creative, careers and they can make mistakes and have their ups and downs just as anyone else can—which Nesmith demonstrated quite a bit in Infinite Tuesday. I actually really loved how self-aware he was throughout the entire read, and, unlike a lot of "celebrities," I felt he was pretty humble about it, and certainly didn't act like he was on a "high horse."
Despite the fact that this *is* his autobiography, I really admire how he didn't necessarily make it all about him. He talked about his mother, Bette Nesmith (which, by the way—hello? feminist icon? the woman was a legend), quite a bit and he owned up to the facts that he should've treated Phyllis better, and maybe wasn't the perfect person that diehard Monkees fans often portray him to be, in regards to commitment issues, anger issues, and a lot of things that "regular people" also have to deal with. There was a lot of raw emotion put into this book, which I definitely think is what made it so easy to connect with. However, he also talked about his achievements, which is GREAT. Self-awareness and acknowledging your flaws is amazing, a lot of celebrities try to paint themselves as being 'perfect,' but, just like anyone else, he deserves to feel proud of the good things he's done in his life too. And, sure, maybe I didn't agree with everything he wrote about, but when does that ever happen? Being open about your wrongs is a very admirable thing, as well as a very tough thing to do sometimes.
Overall, this was a great start to 2018. I feel like I can admire Nesmith a lot more now, and I honest to God was not expecting to fall in love with the book as much as I did. This was an amazing autobiography, one of the best I've ever read. I just wish I could let him know somehow~
I love autobiographies and biographies alike because everyone has a story. No person on the planet experiences a day the same way as anyone else. And, though I don't know him personally, what I learned about Michael Nesmith BEFORE ever picking up his autobiography intrigued me pretty quickly—mainly because our childhoods have many parallels, despite the fact that I was born in September, 1998—nearly 56 years after he was. Hell, had I been born exactly 50 years prior, I probably would've been one of the ones experiencing "Monkee Mania" firsthand.
I first found out about The Monkees in January, 2016. I was a Senior in high school and took a Pop Culture class in which my teacher played a 'The Monkees' episode. Since I've only been a Monkees fan for around two years now, my first exposure to them was not as a child who grew up watching them on TV. As a then-17 year old, I grew to like the group because of the connections I had with it, and the references that were slipped into the show were things that no seven year old would've understood the first time around—long story short, I wasn't much younger than the group was at the time the show aired and, as a result, appreciated a lot of the same things that I hope they did about a lot of the episodes. Nesmith can bash The Monkees all he wants, but it was clever as hell and, in my opinion, way ahead of its time in regards to the jokes thrown in and some of the subject matter. I mean, c'mon. Episodes centered around The Monkey's Paw and Of Mice & Men? That's pretty damn clever.
However, despite the fact that I like the show and the band (although I will agree on Nesmith on one thing—I much prefer the later '60s music to the earlier '60s stuff), I'm actually glad that Nesmith didn't focus all of the book's energy on his career as a Monkee. Do I wish he'd maybe spend a little more time on the subject? Sure. But being a Monkee did not and does not define him as a person, just as being a Beatle does not define Paul McCartney as a person, and being a Rolling Stone does not define Mick Jagger as a person (although I am salty about the fact that the Monkees outselling those groups is a lie—literally, Nesmith, what the hell). Celebrities are simply regular people with unusual, often times creative, careers and they can make mistakes and have their ups and downs just as anyone else can—which Nesmith demonstrated quite a bit in Infinite Tuesday. I actually really loved how self-aware he was throughout the entire read, and, unlike a lot of "celebrities," I felt he was pretty humble about it, and certainly didn't act like he was on a "high horse."
Despite the fact that this *is* his autobiography, I really admire how he didn't necessarily make it all about him. He talked about his mother, Bette Nesmith (which, by the way—hello? feminist icon? the woman was a legend), quite a bit and he owned up to the facts that he should've treated Phyllis better, and maybe wasn't the perfect person that diehard Monkees fans often portray him to be, in regards to commitment issues, anger issues, and a lot of things that "regular people" also have to deal with. There was a lot of raw emotion put into this book, which I definitely think is what made it so easy to connect with. However, he also talked about his achievements, which is GREAT. Self-awareness and acknowledging your flaws is amazing, a lot of celebrities try to paint themselves as being 'perfect,' but, just like anyone else, he deserves to feel proud of the good things he's done in his life too. And, sure, maybe I didn't agree with everything he wrote about, but when does that ever happen? Being open about your wrongs is a very admirable thing, as well as a very tough thing to do sometimes.
Overall, this was a great start to 2018. I feel like I can admire Nesmith a lot more now, and I honest to God was not expecting to fall in love with the book as much as I did. This was an amazing autobiography, one of the best I've ever read. I just wish I could let him know somehow~
September 6, 2019
It is the nature of autobiographies for the writer to write of their triumphs and conceal their failings. It's human nature. In that vein, I am very much of two minds about this book.
If you read it as a journey of a Texan young man from a sleepy town in the 1960's (I also grew up in Houston in the 1960's, and can attest it was very sleepy for a town it's size) and was thrust into both the intricacies of the music industry and Hollywood it can be very interesting. But don't look for much on the Monkees, he has left very little of that part of his life out of the book. So if you are looking for a book on the Monkees, this is not it.
Nesmith's mother was born a Christian Scientist, so he was raised in that faith. Like any rebellious teenager he left it, but came to return to it after the Monkees had split. At times he touches on spiritual topics; but he has a tendency to be both glowing and taciturn, so I never felt I got a clear picture of what he was experiencing.
Personally, I don't care that he was a Christian Scientist. There are far worse religions out there. But if you are going to write about a religion as if it is a major part of your life, you need to *live* it. I think Nesmith talks a good game, but his lack of ability to articulate the spiritual values he espouses, and even more so, his inability to live them, makes his commitment to spirituality suspect to me.
He is not hesitant to talk about both his business successes and failures, with one exception that I know of. He does deserve credit for creating the music video. But here is where I became rather soured with the book. I did little research and found out that each of the Monkees has strong musical abilities. Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Nesmith himself had their own bands before auditioning for the Monkees, and Davy Jones was an actor and singer on London's West End and Broadway. Each of them felt the constraints of not being able to perform or record their own work. But Nesmith; once he realized that the Monkees were a hit, went to the producers and insisted that the B side of all further singles released be one of his songs or he would leave the show. Furthermore, he added to the contract that the names of the previously hired songwriters - not his own - be given credit on the records. Get it? He would be getting royalties for both sales and radio airplay, but the other Monkees didn't know until well after the show ended, because the songs were credited to the usual suspects.
I have to say, this left a very bad taste in my mouth. He could have shared this idea with the others and he could have written every 4th Monkees B side. I don't have an issue with making money, but for someone who professes spiritual values, it smacks of betrayal. And his mother had created Liquid Paper prior to this, so he had a financial safety net. Not surprisingly, this was not in the book.
I had always wondered why Nesmith seemed to have disappeared when the Monkees broke up. Now I know. The other three had formed more than a band, they had formed a bond. Nesmith is cut of a different cloth.
If you read it as a journey of a Texan young man from a sleepy town in the 1960's (I also grew up in Houston in the 1960's, and can attest it was very sleepy for a town it's size) and was thrust into both the intricacies of the music industry and Hollywood it can be very interesting. But don't look for much on the Monkees, he has left very little of that part of his life out of the book. So if you are looking for a book on the Monkees, this is not it.
Nesmith's mother was born a Christian Scientist, so he was raised in that faith. Like any rebellious teenager he left it, but came to return to it after the Monkees had split. At times he touches on spiritual topics; but he has a tendency to be both glowing and taciturn, so I never felt I got a clear picture of what he was experiencing.
Personally, I don't care that he was a Christian Scientist. There are far worse religions out there. But if you are going to write about a religion as if it is a major part of your life, you need to *live* it. I think Nesmith talks a good game, but his lack of ability to articulate the spiritual values he espouses, and even more so, his inability to live them, makes his commitment to spirituality suspect to me.
He is not hesitant to talk about both his business successes and failures, with one exception that I know of. He does deserve credit for creating the music video. But here is where I became rather soured with the book. I did little research and found out that each of the Monkees has strong musical abilities. Peter Tork, Micky Dolenz, and Nesmith himself had their own bands before auditioning for the Monkees, and Davy Jones was an actor and singer on London's West End and Broadway. Each of them felt the constraints of not being able to perform or record their own work. But Nesmith; once he realized that the Monkees were a hit, went to the producers and insisted that the B side of all further singles released be one of his songs or he would leave the show. Furthermore, he added to the contract that the names of the previously hired songwriters - not his own - be given credit on the records. Get it? He would be getting royalties for both sales and radio airplay, but the other Monkees didn't know until well after the show ended, because the songs were credited to the usual suspects.
I have to say, this left a very bad taste in my mouth. He could have shared this idea with the others and he could have written every 4th Monkees B side. I don't have an issue with making money, but for someone who professes spiritual values, it smacks of betrayal. And his mother had created Liquid Paper prior to this, so he had a financial safety net. Not surprisingly, this was not in the book.
I had always wondered why Nesmith seemed to have disappeared when the Monkees broke up. Now I know. The other three had formed more than a band, they had formed a bond. Nesmith is cut of a different cloth.
September 28, 2017
As a result of reading this, I now have a very different image of Mike Nesmith. Far from being resentful and arrogant about The Monkees years (except maybe in the early 70's where they were truly pariahs according to the music cognoscenti), he comes off as self deprecating, grossly underestimating his own musical talent. He believed he was not a very good guitar player and probably the least talented of all the Monkees. But, as he explains, that was okay because the Monkees played a garage band on TV, and even if they didn't sound great in live concerts, they did not sound bad either. Perhaps now that The Monkees actually do get real respect for their catalog of songs (many of which Nesmith wrote), his attitude about that time has improved.
However, this book is not primarily about those years as much as his spiritual journey and other endeavors after the show went off the air. He has a rather unique way of seeing things by noting coincidences and patterns (one of which is alluded to by the title Infinite Tuesday). It's almost like he has some sort of slight form of Asperger syndrome in the way he observes things like the "gap between the finite and the infinite" in both Hinduism and Christian Science (the religion in which he was raised by his mother, who also famously invented Liquid Paper). In any case, for someone who had very little formal higher education he seems to be quite accomplished in a lot of different areas of philosophy and science.
Of course one of the things Nesmith is most known for post-Monkees - besides Repo Man - is "inventing MTV." The problem was, his ground breaking use of video images with music came just a little too early. There was no outlet to show his "Popclips" and he never got to cash in. MTV, which was the realization of his vision for a TV station that functioned like a radio station, was still at least five years away. However, I found it funny that he did not acknowledge that The Monkees show may have had something to do with this inspiration. Though music promo films were certainly made long before this by The Beatles and others, The Monkees featured non-sequitur type images set to music every week.
Though not the greatest of businessmen, he had a lot of other ideas that were ahead of their time like Country Rock, Home Video distribution (he quietly bought the rights to a lot of content only to get screwed out of them by PBS), and virtual Internet hangout rooms with streaming video (for which he was awarded a patent). In fact, that is where the book ends. Hence, there is no mention of the reunion concerts or TV shows which I would have enjoyed reading about.
However, this book is not primarily about those years as much as his spiritual journey and other endeavors after the show went off the air. He has a rather unique way of seeing things by noting coincidences and patterns (one of which is alluded to by the title Infinite Tuesday). It's almost like he has some sort of slight form of Asperger syndrome in the way he observes things like the "gap between the finite and the infinite" in both Hinduism and Christian Science (the religion in which he was raised by his mother, who also famously invented Liquid Paper). In any case, for someone who had very little formal higher education he seems to be quite accomplished in a lot of different areas of philosophy and science.
Of course one of the things Nesmith is most known for post-Monkees - besides Repo Man - is "inventing MTV." The problem was, his ground breaking use of video images with music came just a little too early. There was no outlet to show his "Popclips" and he never got to cash in. MTV, which was the realization of his vision for a TV station that functioned like a radio station, was still at least five years away. However, I found it funny that he did not acknowledge that The Monkees show may have had something to do with this inspiration. Though music promo films were certainly made long before this by The Beatles and others, The Monkees featured non-sequitur type images set to music every week.
Though not the greatest of businessmen, he had a lot of other ideas that were ahead of their time like Country Rock, Home Video distribution (he quietly bought the rights to a lot of content only to get screwed out of them by PBS), and virtual Internet hangout rooms with streaming video (for which he was awarded a patent). In fact, that is where the book ends. Hence, there is no mention of the reunion concerts or TV shows which I would have enjoyed reading about.
January 16, 2021
There are so many fascinating things about Michael Nesmith: Member of the Monkees; his mom inventing liquid paper and leaving him a massive fortune; inventing the music video and MTV. But he also likes to open chapters with quotes by people like David Foster Wallace and Erwin Schrodinger.
I remember reading his novel, The Long, Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora, and finding it interesting but not great. He seemed like an author who really likes words and ideas, but also really likes sounding smart and creative. Such a hodgepodge of good and bad. That carried through to this book.
Mike was always my favorite Monkee and the Monkees were the first band I loved as a kid, when they re-ran the show in the 80s. It's great to hear his life story from him. But man, he seems like maybe an insufferable person to be around. There are myriad anecdotes in this book where he's the asshole in the story. He seems self-reflective about it and humbled by all his mistakes. But after a while, he does come across as someone nobody seems to like or be able to be around for very long.
There are bits of great stories throughout this book. Nesmith got to hang out with John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Douglas Adams, Jack Nicholson and a bunch more. He also talks openly about Christian Science, defending it fairly well. And I can't think of anyone who lucked into more money so many different times and seemingly squandered so much of it. He's frustratingly vague on many details, but it seems like he lost most of money from the Monkees, the Liquid Paper money, and maybe from a multi-million dollar lawsuit with PBS; plus, it sounds like he walked away from MTV before getting rich from it.
There are very interesting parts to this book. He tells some of it very well. Sometimes his writing style is frustrating and pretentious. As a fan of the Monkees, there's some great stuff here, though he completely skips over their reunions and later albums. All in all, it's a mixed bag.
I remember reading his novel, The Long, Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora, and finding it interesting but not great. He seemed like an author who really likes words and ideas, but also really likes sounding smart and creative. Such a hodgepodge of good and bad. That carried through to this book.
Mike was always my favorite Monkee and the Monkees were the first band I loved as a kid, when they re-ran the show in the 80s. It's great to hear his life story from him. But man, he seems like maybe an insufferable person to be around. There are myriad anecdotes in this book where he's the asshole in the story. He seems self-reflective about it and humbled by all his mistakes. But after a while, he does come across as someone nobody seems to like or be able to be around for very long.
There are bits of great stories throughout this book. Nesmith got to hang out with John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Douglas Adams, Jack Nicholson and a bunch more. He also talks openly about Christian Science, defending it fairly well. And I can't think of anyone who lucked into more money so many different times and seemingly squandered so much of it. He's frustratingly vague on many details, but it seems like he lost most of money from the Monkees, the Liquid Paper money, and maybe from a multi-million dollar lawsuit with PBS; plus, it sounds like he walked away from MTV before getting rich from it.
There are very interesting parts to this book. He tells some of it very well. Sometimes his writing style is frustrating and pretentious. As a fan of the Monkees, there's some great stuff here, though he completely skips over their reunions and later albums. All in all, it's a mixed bag.
February 24, 2017
I have always been a fan of the Monkees, a love I have always shared with my mother, as well as a fan of Mike Nesmith in particular. The story of the Monkees has been told many times before and is not given a lot of story time here. Which is good thing, because Mike has led a pretty remarkable life and has his own story to tell. He was a single child raised in Texas by a single mother, Bette, who could and should have a biography of her own. She invented Liquid Paper in her kitchen and grew it into a multi-million dollar company before finally selling it to Gillette. She was a pioneer for women’s rights, especially in business, which was mostly a male dominated world. She had a love of the arts and was a serious practitioner of Christian Science and this is the relationship that seems to have shaped Mike’s life and spiritual journey. This autobiography follows Mr. Nesmith through his personal and spiritual journey through life and tells of a man just slightly ahead of his time. Mike found a particular passion for pursing music and eventually formed a band and moved to Hollywood. It was there where he eventually fell into the audition for the Monkees TV show. He has rubbed elbows with many celebrities and deep thinkers who left a particular imprint on him, particularly, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Jack Nicholson, Johnny Cash and Douglas Adams. He was a pioneer of the music video and indeed helped create the idea that eventually became MTV. He foresaw the eventual rise of the VCR and home video and built up quite an extensive catalog of content to later be sold to the home video market. He also foresaw the eventual rise of the internet and got in the ground floor of virtual reality and indeed, even got a patent for his particular brand of embedding real time video into a virtual 3D environment. A highly recommended read!
I received a free ARC of this ebook from Netgalley.
I received a free ARC of this ebook from Netgalley.
June 4, 2017
Don’t let the monkey on the cover lead you to think this is an autobiography focused on Michael Nesmith’s time with The Monkees. That is a small part of his life and a small but interesting part of his autobiography. Nesmith was the only Monkee who wrote successful pop songs before, during, and after the band’s reign. Nothing is overstated about saying that Michael Nesmith also invented music videos and MTV, and was a successful producer of various video, film, and virtual reality projects. He also had his share of flops, both personally and professionally. All of that is included in Infinite Tuesday, along with profiles of his friendships, including John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Jack Nicholson, and Douglas Adams. The book bogs down in the places where Nesmith over-contemplates his various spiritual inspirations, including Eastern mysticism, hallucinogenic drugs, and Christian Science. They all worked for him at various times, but the descriptions of his epiphanies do not make for engaging reading. To be honest, I wanted more Monkee material. Nothing is mentioned of why he quit the group, his decision to join the group on tour a couple of different times, or the death of Davy Jones. Reading Infinite Tuesday will help readers know and understand Michael Nesmith, his artistic and moral processes, and his role in popular culture. I’m glad Michael Nesmith wrote this book.
May 19, 2017
Mike Nesmith is best known for being the Monkee with the wool hat and triangular sideburns. He has always been the one who's been least interested in Monkees reunions, supposedly because he didn't need the money after inheriting his mother's Liquid Paper fortune (she invented it). The truth, as far as he's willing to tell it, is a different story.
Monkees fans looking for his side of that part of his life will be a bit disappointed. He does talk about the Monkees but it is just a chapter of a life with many other interesting chapters. He doesn't mention the group again after the break-up.
On the plus side, we learn a lot more about Nez and what he's been up to since 1969. His further adventures in music, multimedia efforts, movie and TV production, spirituality and virtual reality can be quite fascinating. He's had his share of failures and some success in his various ventures, but he never seems satisfied or able to maintain relationships. He is always looking at his life in a critical manner, never seeming able to just be in the moment except fleetingly. When he is able to commit to someone or something, it usually goes sour so he can be forgiven for being a bit stand-offish. His examination of his own "Celebrity Psychosis" is revealing but too often I thought it was a crutch to rationalize bad behavior. In summation, he seems like a difficult person to get to know but you'd be happy to be invited to his parties.
Monkees fans looking for his side of that part of his life will be a bit disappointed. He does talk about the Monkees but it is just a chapter of a life with many other interesting chapters. He doesn't mention the group again after the break-up.
On the plus side, we learn a lot more about Nez and what he's been up to since 1969. His further adventures in music, multimedia efforts, movie and TV production, spirituality and virtual reality can be quite fascinating. He's had his share of failures and some success in his various ventures, but he never seems satisfied or able to maintain relationships. He is always looking at his life in a critical manner, never seeming able to just be in the moment except fleetingly. When he is able to commit to someone or something, it usually goes sour so he can be forgiven for being a bit stand-offish. His examination of his own "Celebrity Psychosis" is revealing but too often I thought it was a crutch to rationalize bad behavior. In summation, he seems like a difficult person to get to know but you'd be happy to be invited to his parties.
March 20, 2017
Wow, this was an interesting book. I did not know a lot of things about Michael Nesmith, but I do now. I could amaze you with the trivia I learned, but you will just have to discover it for yourself.
Okay, okay, did you know that Davy Jones was on the Ed Sullivan show the same night as The Beatles were for the first time? He was starring in the play "Oliver" and was with some of his cast mates. Don't remember him being on the show? Seriously?
Michael Nesmith calls his book an autobiographical riff which is exactly how its written. I thought it was funny while reading the book that he sounded like an old musician. I don't really remember The Monkees being known for their musical abilities but apparently they had some. Well, at least Michael had some.
Thanks to Crown Publishing for approving my request to read this very interesting title and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, okay, did you know that Davy Jones was on the Ed Sullivan show the same night as The Beatles were for the first time? He was starring in the play "Oliver" and was with some of his cast mates. Don't remember him being on the show? Seriously?
Michael Nesmith calls his book an autobiographical riff which is exactly how its written. I thought it was funny while reading the book that he sounded like an old musician. I don't really remember The Monkees being known for their musical abilities but apparently they had some. Well, at least Michael had some.
Thanks to Crown Publishing for approving my request to read this very interesting title and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
June 16, 2017
The audiobook is the way to go on this. Although Nesmith is not a particularly inspired reader, it is good to hear it in his voice. Overall, I find this to be a mixed-bag but humans are that way, contradictory and not always consistent. There is very little time spent on the Monkees experience, but there is much about the times and the creative behind the show. Nesmith is unfailingly kind, polite, and respectful of all of his ex-wives and lovers, which earns him much respect from this quarter. In general, he manages not to bad mouth, even those who done him wrong.
He talks about his Christian Science faith without preaching at all.
He talks about his Christian Science faith without preaching at all.
May 15, 2017
Mike Nesmith always seemed like he was a little too cool for the room, and this book had the same vibe. It was a whole lot of aw-shucksing; "I didn't really know what I was doing, but also along the way I kind of invented MTV" sort of thing.
Also, I know it's an autobiographical "riff" and not an autobiography, per se, but it would have been nice if he had named more than one or two of his children in the book. (They were alluded to as collateral damage in his marital discord but not really illustrated much more)
Also, I know it's an autobiographical "riff" and not an autobiography, per se, but it would have been nice if he had named more than one or two of his children in the book. (They were alluded to as collateral damage in his marital discord but not really illustrated much more)
June 16, 2017
I love Nez's writing but am docking him a star for not including enough photos. Sass aside, his recollections of revelations and tribulations are imbued with the perfect balance of humour and pathos.
June 13, 2017
A frank and honest account of life after the Monkees. While Mr. Nesmith has a random timeline, I appreciate how he does not resort to self-depracation or self-pity.
April 27, 2017
(This will be crossposted to my blog and Goodreads -- apologies to those who read my blog via the Goodreads feed and will thus see it twice)
Michael Nesmith's "autobiographical riff" is one of the most revealing, heartfelt, books I've read in a long time, certainly in the field of musical autobiography.
It's difficult for me to review this in a way that will work for other potential readers, because the main impression I got from this book is a feeling of compassion, and an immense empathy for a man whose brain seems to work, on some fundamental level, the same way I do. Obviously there's no way to know if that would apply to any other given reader, but it certainly applied to me.
The book is not a conventional autobiography. One can certainly glean from it the broad outlines of the same life story that applies to pretty much every musician of Nez's generation -- surprise success at too young an age causes Our Protagonist to act like a complete arse towards his wife, friends, and family, a second marriage ends in a mid-life crisis. Popular hit records give way to critically-acclaimed non-hits, which in turn give way to critically-panned conceptual works. A single minor surprise hit record long after that's stopped being the norm for his career. A spiritual awakening causes him to become profoundly religious in a non-traditional manner. Becoming a businessman/philanthropist/activist takes up more time and energy than music, and he gets very excited about new technologies.
In these broad outlines, Nez's life as he tells it is not very different from those of, say, Graham Nash or Mike Love, to name two contemporaries whose autobiographies I've read relatively recently.
But this book is not really about the facts of his life. He talks about his time in the Monkees, but barely mentions the other three members (as in three or four mentions of their names, total, usually in passing). You'll discover the names of his dogs, but not of his children. No mention at all is made of any of his post-1980 music (except The River), and there's little discussion of nuts-and-bolts musical stuff even before that. *HUGE* swathes of his career go unmentioned altogether, and if you want to find out about, say, his songwriting process, you won't get that either.
What you *will* get is a huge amount of insight into his thought processes, and into the kind of person he is. And while I certainly wouldn't want to distance-diagnose someone, a lot of it resonates with my own neuroatypicalities.
In particular, Nez's thinking seems to be very much that of someone who has artistic intuitions but *about systems*. Almost all his thinking seems to be in the borderlands between cybernetics and creative art where much of my own mental life is spent. He talks in particular about an uncle explaining to him when he was very young how an engine works:
"As Chick talked, pointing out and explaining various parts of the engine, I began to see that an engine was a system of ideas. Each part of this simple system revealed more of the operating principle that governed the whole, and each part was in a ready state in that definite system."
And this seems to be how Nez's mind works all the time -- an almost Platonist way of seeing the world in some ways, looking at physical systems and seeing the parts not as physical objects but as ideas. It's no wonder that when he had his own mid-life turn to faith, he ended up at the Christian Scientist faith his mother had brought him up in (albeit a version of Christian Science heavily influenced by both Hindu mysticism and the psychedelic quantum mysticism of Timothy Leary).
The other very obvious thing about this book is that Nez is an autodidact, with all that that entails, including an insecurity that comes across in dropping as many cultural references as possible (the very first sentence of the book talks about his favourite Fellini film, and the epigraphs at the start of each chapter come from people like Marshall McLuhan, Erwin Schrodinger, and David Foster Wallace.
This insecurity comes out in other ways, as well. While the book is centred on Nez, he makes it very, very clear that most of his achievements have been as part of "bands" -- by which he means sometimes actual bands like the Monkees or the First National Band, and sometimes what Vonnegut would call a karass (one gets the feeling that Nez regards the Monkees themselves as being, to use Vonnegut's terms, a granfalloon -- the real "band" he talks about there consists of Rafelson and Schneider). Much of the good things in Nez's life, he attributes to decisions made by these "bands", while pretty much every failure seems to come from him alone -- in Nez's telling, for example, it was Rafelson and Schneider who wanted him to write, and wanted the Monkees to be a real band, and he went along with them primarily out of loyalty to them.
The autodidact insecurity comes out in other ways, too. Throughout the book, Nez is befriending men who he sees as mentor figures. If I were going to do a pop-Freudian thing I'd talk about how this reflects on his relationship with his single mother, and them being replacement father figures, but I don't think thats it. Other than an uncle and his Christian Science teacher, most of these people seem to be truly remarkable ones -- Leary, Douglas Adams, Jack Nicholson, John Lennon, Murray Gell-Mann, Jimi Hendrix -- precisely the kind of people one would choose, if given the opportunities Nesmith has had.
But in all these cases, Nez makes it clear that however strong the friendship was (in some cases apparently very strong friendships, in other cases acquaintance only), it meant far more to him that these clever, brilliant, people were spending time with him than his friendship did to them. These people changed his life, and he's utterly adoring of them even as he recognises that the adoration is not necessarily reciprocated.
In fact one story recurs over and over, especially in the early chapters of the book -- Nez is talking to someone he wants to impress (John Lennon, a girlfriend, Terry Jones and Douglas Adams...), they say something (usually a joke), he gets the wrong end of the stick by missing an obvious social cue, and the other person (usually) laughs and forgives him, for which Nesmith is grateful.
Yeah. I've been there. A lot.
On the sentence level, Nez is a much better writer (and he did write this himself, rather than the usual practice of getting a ghostwriter in) than most of his contemporaries. He talks a lot early on in the book about being fascinated by language, by rhythm and assonance (the uncle who taught him about engines is also used early in the book as an example of the ways different expletives can have different effects when spoken), and he has a clear fascination with language. Occasionally his love of a particular word or phrase is allowed to get a little too far -- a bit of "kill your darlings" could possibly have helped -- but it's a remarkably *readable* book.
One other notable thing about this book -- other than his mother (and even there he says far more good than bad) and the people in charge of PBS who tried to bankrupt him, I don't think Nez says a bad or unkind word about *anyone* other than himself. Where relationships and friendships break down and he is to blame, he says so. When he doesn't take the blame, he says nothing or very little, concentrating on the good things about the relationship. There's none of the score-settling and rehashing of arguments in here that one normally gets in rock autobiographies, and that's entirely to Nez's credit.
It's always difficult to judge a person from the way they present themselves in an autobiography, but the picture Nez paints of himself here certainly makes me empathise with him a lot more than I did. Prior to reading this, Nez was my favourite Monkee, and an artist for whom I had the greatest respect, but I got the impression that he was a fairly unpleasant person. After reading this, I think he may have behaved unpleasantly in the past, but I have a much greater understanding of the forces that caused that behaviour, and of the ways in which he has worked to change it.
This isn't a perfect book by any means, but it's an essential one for anyone who wants to understand Nez.
One thing I would point out, though, is that this may be a book that's better to buy in ebook than hardback, as the production quality of my hardback copy is fairly shoddy -- uneven page trims which make page-turning very difficult, and large splodges of ink on some pages, which are quite inexcusable given the cost premium one pays for a hardback book.
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Michael Nesmith's "autobiographical riff" is one of the most revealing, heartfelt, books I've read in a long time, certainly in the field of musical autobiography.
It's difficult for me to review this in a way that will work for other potential readers, because the main impression I got from this book is a feeling of compassion, and an immense empathy for a man whose brain seems to work, on some fundamental level, the same way I do. Obviously there's no way to know if that would apply to any other given reader, but it certainly applied to me.
The book is not a conventional autobiography. One can certainly glean from it the broad outlines of the same life story that applies to pretty much every musician of Nez's generation -- surprise success at too young an age causes Our Protagonist to act like a complete arse towards his wife, friends, and family, a second marriage ends in a mid-life crisis. Popular hit records give way to critically-acclaimed non-hits, which in turn give way to critically-panned conceptual works. A single minor surprise hit record long after that's stopped being the norm for his career. A spiritual awakening causes him to become profoundly religious in a non-traditional manner. Becoming a businessman/philanthropist/activist takes up more time and energy than music, and he gets very excited about new technologies.
In these broad outlines, Nez's life as he tells it is not very different from those of, say, Graham Nash or Mike Love, to name two contemporaries whose autobiographies I've read relatively recently.
But this book is not really about the facts of his life. He talks about his time in the Monkees, but barely mentions the other three members (as in three or four mentions of their names, total, usually in passing). You'll discover the names of his dogs, but not of his children. No mention at all is made of any of his post-1980 music (except The River), and there's little discussion of nuts-and-bolts musical stuff even before that. *HUGE* swathes of his career go unmentioned altogether, and if you want to find out about, say, his songwriting process, you won't get that either.
What you *will* get is a huge amount of insight into his thought processes, and into the kind of person he is. And while I certainly wouldn't want to distance-diagnose someone, a lot of it resonates with my own neuroatypicalities.
In particular, Nez's thinking seems to be very much that of someone who has artistic intuitions but *about systems*. Almost all his thinking seems to be in the borderlands between cybernetics and creative art where much of my own mental life is spent. He talks in particular about an uncle explaining to him when he was very young how an engine works:
"As Chick talked, pointing out and explaining various parts of the engine, I began to see that an engine was a system of ideas. Each part of this simple system revealed more of the operating principle that governed the whole, and each part was in a ready state in that definite system."
And this seems to be how Nez's mind works all the time -- an almost Platonist way of seeing the world in some ways, looking at physical systems and seeing the parts not as physical objects but as ideas. It's no wonder that when he had his own mid-life turn to faith, he ended up at the Christian Scientist faith his mother had brought him up in (albeit a version of Christian Science heavily influenced by both Hindu mysticism and the psychedelic quantum mysticism of Timothy Leary).
The other very obvious thing about this book is that Nez is an autodidact, with all that that entails, including an insecurity that comes across in dropping as many cultural references as possible (the very first sentence of the book talks about his favourite Fellini film, and the epigraphs at the start of each chapter come from people like Marshall McLuhan, Erwin Schrodinger, and David Foster Wallace.
This insecurity comes out in other ways, as well. While the book is centred on Nez, he makes it very, very clear that most of his achievements have been as part of "bands" -- by which he means sometimes actual bands like the Monkees or the First National Band, and sometimes what Vonnegut would call a karass (one gets the feeling that Nez regards the Monkees themselves as being, to use Vonnegut's terms, a granfalloon -- the real "band" he talks about there consists of Rafelson and Schneider). Much of the good things in Nez's life, he attributes to decisions made by these "bands", while pretty much every failure seems to come from him alone -- in Nez's telling, for example, it was Rafelson and Schneider who wanted him to write, and wanted the Monkees to be a real band, and he went along with them primarily out of loyalty to them.
The autodidact insecurity comes out in other ways, too. Throughout the book, Nez is befriending men who he sees as mentor figures. If I were going to do a pop-Freudian thing I'd talk about how this reflects on his relationship with his single mother, and them being replacement father figures, but I don't think thats it. Other than an uncle and his Christian Science teacher, most of these people seem to be truly remarkable ones -- Leary, Douglas Adams, Jack Nicholson, John Lennon, Murray Gell-Mann, Jimi Hendrix -- precisely the kind of people one would choose, if given the opportunities Nesmith has had.
But in all these cases, Nez makes it clear that however strong the friendship was (in some cases apparently very strong friendships, in other cases acquaintance only), it meant far more to him that these clever, brilliant, people were spending time with him than his friendship did to them. These people changed his life, and he's utterly adoring of them even as he recognises that the adoration is not necessarily reciprocated.
In fact one story recurs over and over, especially in the early chapters of the book -- Nez is talking to someone he wants to impress (John Lennon, a girlfriend, Terry Jones and Douglas Adams...), they say something (usually a joke), he gets the wrong end of the stick by missing an obvious social cue, and the other person (usually) laughs and forgives him, for which Nesmith is grateful.
Yeah. I've been there. A lot.
On the sentence level, Nez is a much better writer (and he did write this himself, rather than the usual practice of getting a ghostwriter in) than most of his contemporaries. He talks a lot early on in the book about being fascinated by language, by rhythm and assonance (the uncle who taught him about engines is also used early in the book as an example of the ways different expletives can have different effects when spoken), and he has a clear fascination with language. Occasionally his love of a particular word or phrase is allowed to get a little too far -- a bit of "kill your darlings" could possibly have helped -- but it's a remarkably *readable* book.
One other notable thing about this book -- other than his mother (and even there he says far more good than bad) and the people in charge of PBS who tried to bankrupt him, I don't think Nez says a bad or unkind word about *anyone* other than himself. Where relationships and friendships break down and he is to blame, he says so. When he doesn't take the blame, he says nothing or very little, concentrating on the good things about the relationship. There's none of the score-settling and rehashing of arguments in here that one normally gets in rock autobiographies, and that's entirely to Nez's credit.
It's always difficult to judge a person from the way they present themselves in an autobiography, but the picture Nez paints of himself here certainly makes me empathise with him a lot more than I did. Prior to reading this, Nez was my favourite Monkee, and an artist for whom I had the greatest respect, but I got the impression that he was a fairly unpleasant person. After reading this, I think he may have behaved unpleasantly in the past, but I have a much greater understanding of the forces that caused that behaviour, and of the ways in which he has worked to change it.
This isn't a perfect book by any means, but it's an essential one for anyone who wants to understand Nez.
One thing I would point out, though, is that this may be a book that's better to buy in ebook than hardback, as the production quality of my hardback copy is fairly shoddy -- uneven page trims which make page-turning very difficult, and large splodges of ink on some pages, which are quite inexcusable given the cost premium one pays for a hardback book.
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March 28, 2022
Biased because he was my favourite, but I love his writing, humour and his vision (even though he didn't have the business sense to see it through most of the time). Really liked his self awareness in hindsight and taking it on the chin where necessary, but feel like he took too much of the blame. Something tells me Bob Rafelson was not a glowing human. Would have loved this to have been twice as long.
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