That was before they were allowed to play their own songs. Pleasant Valley Sunday was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin so it’s not surprising it’s a good song. They wrote it about the neighborhood they were living in at the time. I’ve been on Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange NJ more often than I can count.
I wasn’t around for it. I discovered the Monkees when I was around 7-8 years old on Saturday morning reruns c. 1976-77.
I did buy the first album at a garage sale for 25 cents. It’s probably original pressing but well worn out in every way. It’s the first record I bought on my own.
YouTube has some material from Michael Nesmith First National
Silver Moon and Joanne are really good. I’m still working my way through what’s uploaded.
I’ve always liked this one from his post-Monkees career. Michael Nesmith - Joanne - YouTube
Then there’s bit of lunacy. Michael Nesmith - The Cole Porter Homecoming from Television Parts - YouTube
He made it possible for Alex Cox to make Repo Man
The Monkees were a follow-through on the irreverent exuberance of the Beatles’ Hard Days Night era. So it shouldn’t be a mystery that the same spirit could carry into Punk. People forget how much of Punk was plain sheer fun.
“Steppin’ Stone” is the best example for that spirit. It became a garage classic, even the Sex Pistols did it.
Of course, with all due respect, the Monkees were by no stretch of the imagination the first Punk band. That distinction goes to The Monks.
Saw this in the Times. He was always my favorite Monkee. I saw him when he was a guest on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell me when we saw it at Asilomar, and he came across just as nice and smart in person as he did on the screen.
I had just found out he liked vaporwave
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/monkees-michael-nesmith-vaporwave-714253/?s=09
He wrote it for himself and was pooh-poohed so he handed it off to her.
Different Drum was nixed by the TV producers, but Mike did end up performing it (sort of) on the show:
