Still a bit behind, but several things on the place, so let's get with it!
We lost another accomplished musician this past weekend. One that was very innovative in the country-rock genre as well as that of the music video. Without him, we probably wouldn't have The Eagles or even perhaps MTV. Oh, and yes, there was that matter of that TV show about a fictional band he was a part of.
 |
| Michael Nesmith, one of the stars of the TV series The Monkees as well as a key member of the band of the same name, passed away on December 10 at the age of 78. |
Michael Nesmith, the guitarist for that television band and TV show, The Monkees, died of natural causes at the age of78. He is the third member of that band to pass away, following Davy Jones in 2012 and Peter Tork in 2019. While much of time he was in the "background" while much of the focus was on the cute Brit, Davy Jones, and the antics of Micky Dolenz, it was Nesmith, along with Tork that had musical experience prior to the launch of the show, a takeoff of Help!, a movie starring The Beatles.
Nesmith had performed on the folk circuit when he saw an ad looking for "Four Insane Boys". Wearing a wool hat, he had auditioned, with his deadpan stance and humor, and got the job as the "guitarist". I put that word in quotes since, as he soon discovered, that this new band assembled for a sitcom was a fictional one, and the members only supplied the vocals, while the instruments were dubbed in, provided by the legendary studio ensemble known as The Wrecking Crew and other studio contingents.
The show was an instant hit, but what blurred the lines between fiction and real life was that the music featured on the show---up to three songs per episode---as well as actual records and albums released that competed with the pop artists of the day on the charts, created an issue that Nesmith noted from the start. When he signed up, he wrote some songs and expected to play his guitar; but the producers did not let him or any of the others play their instruments. Music impresario Don Kirshner was the musical director providing songs from established writers like Neil Diamond, Boyce and Hart, Carole King and several others. Much of Nesmith's songs were rejected; only a couple of his compositions were allowed on an album, with the reason that they were a bit too "countrified" or 'intropective" for a "pop" group in the show.
Soon, both Nesmith and Tork made an issue out of it. Nesmith told the press that the band is being passed off as something they weren't, namely a real rock group. Critics then pounced all over them, calling them the "Prefab Four", as the band was one of the hottest acts on the charts, racking up six top 10 hits in the process. Finally, Nesmith had enough; he went into Kirshner's office and demanded creative control, even going as far as putting his fist through the wall in Kirshner's lawyer's office, saying "That could have been your face!". Kirshner was fired, and finally The Monkees were able to do their own thing, releasing the album Headquarters in the Summer of Love.
While the band had their creative input granted, the TV show was cancelled in 1968 after two seasons, after which they starred in the movie Head, in a more grown-up, psychedelic direction. It bombed, although today it's a cult classic. Unlike the Beatles, however, the group never really was accepted on its own terms in spite of going on tour and releasing more adventurous albums. Nesmith's input had much to do with the acceptance of the band; he had written the song "Different Drum" which was a hit for Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Poneys. Some of Nesmith's songs that were performed by The Monkees were "The Girl I Knew Somewhere", "Tapioca Tundra", "Listen to the Band" and many others.
Peter Tork left the band in 1969, but Nesmith stuck around with Jones and Dolenz the rest of the year. Monkees reruns surfaced on Saturday Mornings, with new segments with the three existing members, and even kid-oriented TV commercials during that time. But finally, in early 1970, Nesmith finally left the band, with Jones and Dolenz carrying on briefly but without success.
But Nesmith had a "second act" ready, and it help to popularize a new genre, "country rock". Being from Texas, Nesmith had that twang in his voice, but his textured music and production was ripe for this style of music. By 1970, the genre was getting established: The Byrds (incidentally another band that in its heyday had studio musicians playing on its songs), released Sweethearts of the Rodeo, while Gram Parsons and his band The Flying Burrito Brothers are usually credited with inventing country rock, Nesmith's compositions, both with The Monkees and then with his new outfit, The First National Band, were just as innovative, but along with Ricky Nelson, another country rock pioneer who didn't get his due because of his television and pop idol past, definitely contributed to the eventual success of bands like Poco and The Eagles.
Nesmith had a #21 hit in the late summer of 1970, "Joanne", with the First National Band, and two other charting singles as follow-ups but didn't chart after 1971. He did release critically acclaimed albums after that, including 1972's The Hits Just Keep on Comin'. But he ventured into other media, including, books and movies....and video.
He made a video for his song "Rio" in 1977, and eventually jumped headfirst into music videos. In 1980, he produced a show on Nickelodeon called PopClips which showcased music in its visual form as many promotional videos were now being made. Nesmith had an idea about the equivalent of a radio station playing music and incorporated it into the show. That pretty much directly led to the birth of MTV in the summer of 1981. He also created a long-form video, "Elephant Parts" that won a Grammy in 1982 for the first longform video. That in turn led to a summer-replacement series Television Parts, in 1985.
Aided by his inheritance of his mother's Liquid Paper invention, Nesmith invested in several multi-media ventures and was doing alright for himself. He produced the 1984 movie Repo Man as well as videos by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. And then, 1986 arrived, and with it, renewed interest in The Monkees TV show. A marathon of episodes were aired on MTV and their popularity increased during this nostalgia wave. While the other three Monkees reunited and toured (and released an album in 1987), Nesmith did not participate. I believe he did join them for one show when they were in Los Angeles but that was it. There was the assumption that Mike was ashamed of his made-for-TV band, but he has always denied this.
However, he did reunite with them for their 1996 reunion album Justus, the only album completely written, produced and performed by the four members. Unfortunately, it was critically lambasted, prompting Nesmith to say, "never again". Meanwhile, he had written a couple of memoirs, and formed another version of his First National Band and continued on the road.
It wasn't until the 2010's that Nesmith started playing some gigs with his former bandmates, but unfortunately, it took the passing of Davy Jones for that to happen. Another album, 2016's Good Times, with the three surviving members, with some prior studio takes from Jones, was released. A single, "She Makes Me Laugh" was released and landed at #43 on my blog playlist. In 2018, Nesmith played several more dates with his First National Band Redux (and recorded a Christmas Album with the surviving Monkees), but again, with Tork's passing, Mike and Micky planed a Monkees "farewell" tour as a duo. Nesmith suffered from heart issues around that time but recovered, however he became frail. Unfortunately, COVID-19 delayed that tour until this year. It finally resumed this fall, with the final show just last month. It seemed that Nesmith had a renewed vigor and came to embrace his pop past: He needed to sit down during the first dates of the tour, while playing, then started to stand up with a cane, and then finally on his own two feet for the last few dates, during the entire gig. It turned out to be a nice finish to what was really an underrated career aside from his stint in the most popular prefab band.
Mike Nesmith will certainly be missed.
TO THE HOT and SNS 100: More action to note with both the national and blog charts. Let's cover mine first. ScreenAge lands its fifth #1 song this year, all from their DNR album, with "Like Fine Wine". It's the fledging Jersey quartet's sixth number one in a row, including their 2020 standalone single "Blue Eyed Addiction". That ties a couple more blog records: The five blog toppers from DNR equal that of Fitz and the Tantrum's More Than Just a Dream album. It also ties the Tantrums consecutive #1 streak of six: "Fools Gold" and "Last Raindrop" from More... and four songs from their eponymous third album. It breaks a tie with Adele (who they replace at #1) for most number ones by a female or female-led band, with six. That also ties them with The Black Keys for second place, behind Fitz and the Tantrums' 12. ScreenAge aided that by keeping the Keys' "Crawling Kingsnake" out of the top spot last spring. With lead singer Emily MacMahon also topping the list earlier this year with the solo "Only Us", that sets a record for consecutive number ones by a single artist with or without a group.
Earlier this year, ScreenAge had the #1 and #2 songs simultaneously, and there's a shot that Anna Lavigne might equal that, as the Scottish songstress has two songs in the top 5: "Dance the Last Goodbye" moves 4-2, while "This Time" moves 8-5. "Dance..." has a shot at the top spot next week, duking it out with the Screeners. Meanwhile Fleet Foxes' "Featherweight" holds at #3, while Adele's "Easy on Me" drops from the top spot to #4 after a three-week run. The rest of the blog top 10 is stagnant with Tinkers Lane's "It's Called Love" moving 11-10.
In the second ten, there's a lot of movement, spearheaded by Kristin Chenoweth's holiday song, "Why Couldn't It Be Christmas Every Day" with a big 54-15 move for Impact honors. Shannon Marsyada's holiday ballad "Hear the Angels" gets a 44-18 rise; those two songs lead the holiday pack thus far here. But Kacey Musgraves and Babeheaven's non-seasonal songs aren't chopped liver, either with impressive entries. Still rising is Zac Brown Band's country #1 "Same Boat" (14-12) in its 21st week.
Moving to the Billboard Hot 100, Adele still holds at #1 in a sixth non-consecutive week. However, the annual invasion of the holiday songs is about to invade the top spot, with Mariah Carey yet again leading the pack at #3, followed by "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Brenda Lee, #4)"Jingle Bell Rock" (Bobby Helms, #5), and "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (Burl Ives, #7), in roughly the same order as they finished last year. 15 others debut in the top 50. While much of these are classics from decades ago, it's nice to see more recent entries by the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, and Michael Bublé, mixed in with Andy Williams, Perry Como, Wham!, Bing Crosby and Jose Feliciano.
MEANWHILE ON MY LIST: Christmas songs abound with nice gains. Aside from the ones mentioned above, the Christina Taylor and friends' version of "Jingle Bell Rock" moves 63-37 to grab Mover honors. Michael Bublé's "The Christmas Sweater" tops the Billboard Adult Contemporary list and gains a 72-45 rise here. Rob Thomas, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood also make gains.
NEWIES: Another holiday song heads the list of adds, that being "Merry Christmas" by Ed Sheeran and Elton John. It's a nice festive outing, with Elton accompanying Ed's awesome vocals, then Elton himself sounding great vocally as well. The harmonies work so well as well. It does address the COVID-ridden times but has a positive message. Not the bouncy beats of recent favorites, but these works very well, nonetheless. The video pays homage to the perennial holiday movie, Love Actually as well as a few nods to British pop holiday songs from the past. The proceeds to this song will go to Elton's AIDS Foundation and Ed's Suffolk Music Foundation.
Other adds this week include Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats' "Face Down in the Moment", which radio is considering the follow-up to "Survivor" (too bad, as "Love Don't" is an excellent song as well). Philadelphia-based soul and folk artist Amos Lee enters with "Worry No More"; his "Vaporize" hit #25 on my list in 2016; and Adia Victoria, a gothic-blues singer from South Carolina, making her blog debut with "You Was Born to Die"; she did chart on Triple-A in 2019 with "Different Kind of Love".
Scenes ‘n’ Soundwaves 100 Playlist
December 5, 2021
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This Week |
Last
Week |
ARTIST-Title |
Weeks
on List |
|
1 |
2 |
NUMBER ONE:  Album: DNR |
6 |
|
2 |
4 |
8 |
|
|
3 |
3 |
10 |
|
|
4 |
1 |
8 |
|
|
5 |
8 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
7 |
12 |
|
|
7 |
5 |
13 |
|
|
8 |
6 |
11 |
|
|
9 |
9 |
13 |
|
|
10 |
11 |
8 |
|
|
11 |
12 |
11 |
|
|
12 |
14 |
21 |
|
|
13 |
13 |
7 |
|
|
14 |
19 |
10 |
|
|
15 |
54 |
TOP 20 IMPACT OF THE WEEK:  "Why Couldn't It Be Christmas Every Day" Album: Happiness Is...Christmas |
2 |
|
16 |
27 |
5 |
|
|
17 |
30 |
4 |
|
|
18 |
44 |
3 |
|
|
19 |
15 |
20 |
|
|
20 |
10 |
10 |
|
|
21 |
16 |
19 |
|
|
22 |
24 |
8 |
|
|
23 |
17 |
21 |
|
|
24 |
23 |
9 |
|
|
25 |
20 |
10 |
|
|
26 |
22 |
10 |
|
|
27 |
29 |
5 |
|
|
28 |
32 |
6 |
|
|
29 |
18 |
15 |
|
|
30 |
25 |
9 |
|
|
31 |
36 |
5 |
|
|
32 |
26 |
7 |
|
|
33 |
33 |
9 |
|
|
34 |
39 |
5 |
|
|
35 |
42 |
4 |
|
|
36 |
43 |
6 |
|
|
37 |
63 |
MOVER OF THE WEEK:  CHRISTINA TAYLOR, HALEY MAE CAMPBELL and BRENNA BONE featuring KAYLEE ROSE (Single Only) |
2 |
|
38 |
28 |
30 |
|
|
39 |
53 |
3 |
|
|
40 |
55 |
3 |
|
|
41 |
41 |
8 |
|
|
42 |
48 |
4 |
|
|
43 |
38 |
14 |
|
|
44 |
21 |
9 |
|
|
45 |
72 |
2 |
|
|
46 |
58 |
4 |
|
|
47 |
66 |
4 |
|
|
48 |
34 |
14 |
|
|
49 |
35 |
17 |
|
|
50 |
31 |
16 |
|
|
51 |
37 |
17 |
|
|
52 |
56 |
4 |
|
|
53 |
46 |
26 |
|
|
54 |
40 |
8 |
|
|
55 |
67 |
3 |
|
|
56 |
65 |
5 |
|
|
57 |
92 |
2 |
|
|
58 |
69 |
3 |
|
|
59 |
75 |
4 |
|
|
60 |
62 |
6 |
|
|
61 |
64 |
6 |
|
|
62 |
45 |
10 |
|
|
63 |
52 |
20 |
|
|
64 |
47 |
17 |
|
|
65 |
50 |
16 |
|
|
66 |
79 |
2 |
|
|
67 |
85 |
Courtney Barnett - Write A Listing of Things to Look Forward To |
2 |
|
68 |
57 |
15 |
|
|
69 |
84 |
3 |
|
|
70 |
49 |
12 |
|
|
71 |
71 |
7 |
|
|
72 |
60 |
26 |
|
|
73 |
--- |
TOP DEBUT  Albums: = / The Lockdown Sessions |
1 |
|
74 |
90 |
2 |
|
|
75 |
91 |
2 |
|
|
76 |
70 |
9 |
|
|
77 |
87 |
3 |
|
|
78 |
77 |
28 |
|
|
79 |
51 |
9 |
|
|
80 |
76 |
17 |
|
|
81 |
59 |
Christina Alessi and the Toll Collectors - Stone Meets the Sea |
18 |
|
82 |
61 |
20 |
|
|
83 |
74 |
5 |
|
|
84 |
81 |
17 |
|
|
85 |
73 |
6 |
|
|
86 |
68 |
20 |
|
|
87 |
86 |
7 |
|
|
88 |
83 |
13 |
|
|
89 |
93 |
23 |
|
|
90 |
78 |
13 |
|
|
91 |
82 |
23 |
|
|
92 |
--- |
Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats - Face Down in the Moment |
1 |
|
93 |
97 |
25 |
|
|
94 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
95 |
80 |
14 |
|
|
96 |
89 |
16 |
|
|
97 |
95 |
3 |
|
|
98 |
--- |
1 |
|
|
99 |
88 |
12 |
|
|
100 |
100 |
12 |
Tremors:
101. The Kid LAROI featuring Justin Bieber, "Stay"
|
|
Songs with the greatest increase in
favorite points over the prior week. ●
Songs with
25 or more plays on iTunes/iPods ▲ Songs with 50 or more plays.
|
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Holiday Songs
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