Tue, 14 Jun 1994 08:48:26      alt.music.monkees            Thread    2 of    6
Lines 26                      Re: Q suggestion              Respno   5 of   5
nez@netcom.com  michael nesmith at NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 2

: --
: Ken Wang
: kkwang@seas.ucla.edu

LA in the mid 60's was strange. The songs I wrote during that period were
uniformly reviled. Producers and such (like Bob Krasnow) wanted me to
record "hits"... a kinda of 'buy low, sell high' wisdom... and so
rejected my own songwriting in favor of those early singles, etc. Then,
when The Monkees came along my songs were only allowed  on the records to
humor me, the 'music side' of the show having been promised to Tommy and
Bobby.  However, none of the songs you mention were even considered for
the show. Bert and Bob wanted 'hits' too.

Of course they were right in some way. I don't think the show would have
been the same without the early Boyce and Hart material.  Clarkesville WAS
a hit, even before we even hit the air. Yet, to this day I have never
conciously written a "hit' since I generally ignore the politics and
conventions of the times. I wouldn't know a hit song if it bit me. I seem
to be getting worse at this too...wait till you hear The Garden. It's all
instrumental.

So the early material is more about producers trying to catch a hit,
rather than the message or artistry of a singer or a song, and that's why
it's so poor and why it makes me cringe a little. Baby pictures, but in
some weird make-up. nez