#the monkees*

[kafkaguy]

why did head (1968) flop so badly, you may ask?

the short answer is: terrible promotion. why the promotion was so terrible is another question entirely. there are two schools of thought: 1) bob rafelson and jack nicholson were being deliberately avant garde and obtuse (maybe to attract a certain psychedelic audience) or 2) deliberate malicious intent from columbia pictures to get rid of the monkees (by November 1968, when the movie premiered, the monkees TV show had been cancelled for 2 months).

(LA Times, 2008)

what exactly was the ad campaign? Well, it was originally supposed to be Bob Rafelson's head displayed for a few seconds smiling at the camera--according to Wikipedia this was a spoof on Andy Warhol's short film Blowjob (1964). but in the end it was John Brockman, even more unknown, and he was just the guy who was supposed to be filming the clip.

from Andrew Sandoval's The Monkees Day-by-day Story (page 210). explains more about why they did this. Micky also says he thinks it was a way to get back at the monkees for striking on the first day of filming when they found out they would get no creative credit for the film and had been "getting ripped off pretty badly" basically for years.

another factor was the critics reviews. obviously Head is not your average film, and loads of reviews looked down on it as psychedelic garbled trash. they didn't get it. there were positive reviews of course, but most people just didnt get it (and you cant really blame them - its at its most enjoyable when you are a) a bit of a freak, b) a total anti-capitalist, or c) substantially aware of the horrors the monkees were going through at this point. no film critic at the time ticked all 3 of these boxes). i think at this point bob rafelson panicked, because he wanted the film to do well, he just wanted it to do well independent of the monkees (hubris). there's a funny story about the night before the movie premiered in new york, he and jack nicholson got arrested for putting up stickers promoting head, after jack tried to put one on a police officer's helmet. and it makes me wonder why he then didn't fight harder for the film to do well.

it's funny (re: sad) how so many things came together to bring about the doom of the film: bob rafelson and jack nicholson's own cockiness about how well the film would do, their complete disregard of the what the monkees themselves wanted, the studio being tired of the monkees/already having cancelled the show, the whole phenomenon dying out a little since record sales had gone down (the last album they put out was in february 1968 - by this point it was november, and the Head album wouldn't be released until December)...

another peter quote because I trust him the most (again from the day-by-day story, page 210)

Mike over the years has said different things, at one point calling Head an assisted suicide (pertaining to his own desires to kill the monkees phenomenon and be seen as a serious musician), at other points calling it a murder (which i think is how peter continued to see it throughout most of his life, while simultaneously recognising its artistic and cinematic merit, and also saying the soundtrack was the record he was proudest of besides headquarters 1967). but here's something Mike said in the Head commentary (some time in the early 2000s) which i find simultaneously funny and devestating:

so yeah. the main conclusion is that nothing was in Head's favour for it to do well. there were conflicting visions, conflicting motivations, a total lack of interest from Columbia pictures, and no one was on the Monkees' side, not even really the monkees themselves. the world just wasn't ready for the crazy anti-monkees monkee movie. their swag was too different. everybody wanted to kill them. but they didnt have to cos they killed themselves it happens right at the start of the movie and again at the end. WATCH HEAD.

#hopefully this makes sense. i love to talk about head #the monkees #head 1968 #op

[releasing-my-insanity]

You know what the Monkees need? To be friends with another band that's four butch lesbians. Think how many problems they could solve that way. "Davy's been kidnapped in a haunted house." *Four butch lesbians picking up heavy wrenches.* "We've got this."

#The Monkees #Mine

[androcola]

can i put mike into a Blender 🙏🙏

#asks #anon #the monkees #LIFE OR BLENDER FOR MICHAEL!!!!

[monkee-mobile]

EVERYONE REJOICE!!

once again it’s….

🎉 WEIRD GIRL WEDNEZDAY!!!!! 🎶🎺 🎊👏👏

always remember my friends that

SHE ⬆️

is WEIRD.

a weird girl.

#the monkees #mike nesmith #michael nesmith #weird girl wednezday #<- if you click on this you can see all of my silly little weird girl wednezday posts #there are so many now #i live for this #weekly holiday of weird #a weird girl

[harry-crane]

Editing like I'm back in 2020 to remind everyone of the time davy jones' wig was plucked from atop his head

#the monkees

[harmonicawizard]

#the monkees #mike nesmith #hey guys.

[earlymorningbluesandgreens]

can you draw micky dolenz dying of rabies?

i spent like 10 minutes on this ❤

#starkey's silly art #rabies...... #the monkees #micky dolenz

[thislovintime]

On the set of "The Wild Monkees," 1967.

"Peter Tork comes over and plops down next to you in a director's-type chair. He starts clowning around, but after a bit he settles down and starts reading a book. He sees you looking and explains, 'This is a book of some of the excerpts of the Upanishads. Actually, these are excerpts from ancient Hindu writings. I guess you could say that in a sense they are like the Bible, only they were written many centuries before the old testament.' Peter stops speaking for a moment. 'Am I boring you?' he asks gently. After you assure him that is not boring anyone, he continues, 'Well, the Upanishads are simply but beautifully written. I mean, they are quite easy to understand. You can buy the Mentor pocket edition for about 50 cents —' Just about that time, Peter becomes aware of 16's camera focusing on him. He promptly becomes a clown again, laughing and joking and holding his book myopically up to his eyes. You realize that you have just had a glimpse of the real Peter Tork — the sensitive, sincere young man who hides behind the veneer of a silly-funny Monkee. And it makes you feel very warm that for a brief moment you have glimpsed Peter Tork's secret self." - Gloria Stavers, 16, February 1968

#Peter Tork #Tork quotes #60s Tork #The Monkees #Monkees #Gloria Stavers #16 Magazine #can you queue it

[dogmonkeedaily]

every pic i could find of the monkees with dogs, pt 1. (updated sporadically as i find more)

lots of davy, don't question it lol

#mike nesmith #davy jones #dog #dogs #peter tork #the monkees #60s #micky dolenz #genuinely don't know that little black dog that davy has in that pic with the coat. its very pretty

[margflower]

#The Monkees #Davy Jones #Mike Nesmith #Monkees in Texas #my screencaps

[bobdylanfanpage]

#the beatles #the monkees #beatles biopic

[kafkaguy]

btw do you know if peter saying that they didnt fuck in the meat locker is really real or not that post has been haunting me

okay finally getting to this. it took me a while cos i had to confirm what book the quote is from (i THINK this is the quote that post is referring to):

it's from hey hey we're the monkees (c. 1996) by harold bronson. i do not know what he meant by this. is he talking about sex? of the gay kind specifically? who knows. he was always saying things. often things that he then wouldn't elaborate on. but oh well. I trust him. if he says he wasn't getting it on with anyone in the repurposed meat locker then all i have to say is that if i were there things would have been different.

#👍 thats all #gerry 🐑 #the monkees #📬

[balladofsallyrose]

Michael Nesmith Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors embroidered and rhinestone-accented stage outfit, hat and boots (circa 1967-69), photographed by Bob Delevante.

An influential outfit if ever there was one in the genre. Nesmith was country-rock when country-rock wasn’t cool, when he was still in the Monkees. This rhinestone-accentuated suit — with chain-stitched peacocks, orchids, musical notes and American flag motifs — also came from Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors, circa 1967. It predates the famous Flying Burrito Brothers suits of a similar nature.

“He wore it to the premiere of ‘Head,’ and on the last Monkees television special, ’33 1/3.’ As soon as we decided to do this exhibit, this was one of the first artifacts we thought of, like, ‘Oh, we’ve gotta have that.’ You know, we had a little bit of a relationship with Michael because he was featured in the Bob Dylan/Johnny Cash ‘Nashville Cats’ exhibit that we did, and he came and played an album release party for that, and we got to know him a little and had a relationship going. We asked if we could borrow this, and he made it clear that he absolutely wanted it to come here. And then just with the timing… by circumstance, the same week he passed, we’re getting notices that the shipment is on its way to Nashville. It was just interesting timing.”

— Michael Gray, The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum {x}

#michael nesmith #nudie cohn #the monkees #the first national band #country music #mike nesmith #60s

[mystical-one]

The Snoopees! My contributions to Volume 2 of the Barrel Of Monkees zine (links to download it can be found in this post!)

#HAIIIIIIIIIII :3 #^_^ #emi's meandering doodles #the monkees

[shockyhorror]

#the monkees #michael nesmith #peter tork #micky dolenz #monkees 2x18 #monstrous monkee mash #1968 #1960s #60s tv #mine

[lugosis]

Peter rolling a joint on The Monkees jet - July 1967 - taken by Micky Dolenz

#peter tork #BEST ONE EVER BTW #the monkees #i'm told i had a good time