Pheaturing Michael Nesmith

 

Rabbit. Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile. It's March already. Crazy, right? I think there's gonna be a rapture this month. Over the past few years, Dr. Seuss has been widely criticized more and more for the “racial undertones” that have been drawn in his books. Dr. Seuss books have been an iconic staple in children’s literature, but a national educators organization is determined in “cancelling” the author in the name of change. Learning for Justice, a left-wing educators group, has been fighting for the famous cartoonist to not be highly recognized and acclaimed as he normally has throughout history. They claim that Theodor Seuss Geisel’s children’s books have “racial undertones,” and that schools should avoid Read Across America Day with Dr. Seuss, a national holiday on March 2nd honoring Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The group under the Southern Poverty Law Center promotes radical teaching views, believing that racial and social justice should be taught to students as young as five-years-old. Learning for Justice cited a study from St. Catherine University in a magazine article called, “It’s Time to Talk About Dr. Seuss,” that claimed that, “Dr. Seuss’s children’s literature is rife with ‘orientalism, anti-blackness, and white supremacy,'” referring to 50 Dr. Seuss books. The researchers concluded that there was simply not enough diversity, especially since many of the books were written in the 50s. They said, “Of the 2,240 (identified) human characters, there are 45 of color representing two percent of the total number of human characters,” and of the 45 characters of color, 43 “exhibited behaviors and appearances that align with harmful and stereotypical Orientalist tropes.” The organization also expressed that many of the non-white characters in the books were men who were “subservient” to the other white characters in the books. They wrote, “It’s also important to note that each of the non-white characters is male and that they are all ‘presented in subservient, exotified, or dehumanized roles,’ especially in relation to white characters.” Some experts have said that much of the “racist” portions of Dr. Seuss’ work was done before books such as Horton Hears a Who, the Cat in the Hat, the Lorax, Green Eggs and Ham, and Oh the Places You’ll Go, while he was still a cartoonist. And Learning for Justice claims that anyone who defends Dr. Seuss is actually a “racial apologist” who makes excuses for why “bigotry doesn’t matter.” They believe that teachers should directly discuss Dr. Seuss’ racist past with not only young children but also older students. Since older students were exposed to his books as young readers, they asked teachers to explain racism, how to spot it, and when they could expect it. They said, “You can address these arguments directly, discussing the degree to which cultural norms excuse biased language or actions, how harmful stereotypical representation can be, and whether... and how... a person can make up for hurtful mistakes.” 

“Do not speak ill of the dead” is an aphorism dating back to Ancient Greece. The line was first recorded by the philosopher Chilon of Sparta, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, in 600 B.C. For more than 2,000 the simple adage has been our go-to etiquette when it comes to talking about the deceased. But it’s safe to say that any last shred of decorum in our present-day politics flew the coop (or should I say, flew the coup) when a certain presidential candidate bragged about grabbing women “by the pussy”... and still won. So when conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh died recently, at the age of 70, it was no surprise when some high-profile celebs used their platform to say good riddance. Limbaugh died in Florida after battling lung cancer... a disease which he insisted had nothing to do with his habit for cigars. He left behind his fourth wife, Kathryn. Many news outlets took the time to remember his wildly popular radio show and his Presidential Medal of Freedom, bestowed upon him by the former president Donald Trump. Fox News called him a “conservative talk radio pioneer” in a glowing obituary. GOP officials like Mike Pence tweeted out, saying, “Today America lost a Giant with the passing of Rush Limbaugh.” Meanwhile, many Democrats took to social media to directly call out the bigotry that the Republican broadcaster perpetuated throughout a long career in conservative radio. For some time, #RestInPiss and #RotInHell became trending topics! Progressive talk show host Cenk Uygur, of The Young Turks, tweeted his own concise explanation of this immediate online phenomenon...

As comedian Billy Eichner points out in a response to his own re-tweet... As comedian Billy Eichner points out in a response to his own re-tweet, “Honestly Rush would’ve loved all the hate-tweeting about him today. Hate was the BRAND.” 

Demi Lovato is getting mixed opinions on social media after she called gender reveal parties transphobic. The pop star shared a very lengthy Instagram post where she attacked the idea of celebrating baby girls and boys with a tradition that “neutralizes culture myths as biological facts.” The post, which was originally authored by transgender rights activist Alok Vaid-Menon, reads, “Gender reveals upholds the gender binary and the binary prevents people from observing reality. Only individuals can determine their own gender.” This isn’t the first time that gender reveal parties have been under attack in recent years. This is due to the gender reveals gone wrong with couples using alligators or pipe bombs to share the blue or pink news. One famous reveal triggered a heavy bush fire that burned 45,000 acres in Arizona. But, the Hollywood actress’ take on the gender reveal parties show the deeper reason gender reveals are problematic, saying that they simply reject the progression idea that gender is a spectrum, as well as a social construct. The act of a parent announcing that a baby is a boy or girl indeed confirms what biology tells us, which is that sex is binary, and no, gender is not a product of society’s biological sexual difference. Lovato attempted to debunk the truth as a cultural myth, claiming that the fact that there are only two options is an illusion. Denying the reality that there are only two sexes, female and male, the post read, “This is not about political correctness. It’s just… correct. We condemn gender reveals not because of our identity but because of reality.” The author of the post, Alok, also argued that gender reveals link back to the idea that "genitals equal gender" and how girls or boys are the two default options. The post added, "This definition erases the fact that there are boys with vaginas and girls with penises and that there are people who are neither boys nor girls. The idea that sex is based on genitalia is inconsistent with science." Although the Disney celeb did get some support from her fans, other followers in her, disagreed with the declaration. One user wrote, “Baby girl most of parents just wanna celebrate [sic] that they’re having a baby. Not the gender of the baby.” Another Instagram user commented, “Let people do what they want. Mind your business!” The singer is a member of the LGBTQ community. Last year in January 2020, she told Andy Cohen about her sexual fluidity, saying that she was still figuring out her sexuality. The singer also made headlines on July 24th, 2018, Lovato was hospitalized amid a fatal overdose speculating that the singer had been using heroin. She spent two weeks recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. 

As society continues to re-examine its mistreatment of people of all kinds, Disney has decided to help enforce change. "The Muppet Show," which streaming service Disney+ has released five seasons of, will now feature a content disclaimer warning of “offensive content” at the beginning of each episode of the show. Disney+ subscribers will now be able to watch the iconic characters from the show such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and their other celebrity guests, but they will see the content warning that says,  “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.” The statement also says, “Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe,” although not specifying what Disney actually considers offensive on the show. However, some of the characters do depict Native American, Middle Eastern, and Asian people. In the fifth season, Johnny Cash is even seen performing in front of a Confederate flag. The same content warning that will appear on "The Muppet Show" will also appear on other favorite Disney+ movies, including The Aristocats, Dumbo, Peter Pan, and Swiss Family Robinson. The content disclaimers stem from Disney’s Stories Matter initiative. They said, “Rather than removing this content, we see an opportunity to spark conversation and open dialogue on history that affects us all. We also want to acknowledge that some communities have been erased or forgotten altogether, and we’re committed to giving voice to their stories as well.” 

There are many reasons why fans are excited about the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. While others are already hoping that their favorite actors will play the superheroes, some are also looking forward to the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe flick. Not surprisingly, Tim Story is hyped up about Galactus' arrival in the MCU. Story, who directed the first two Fantastic Four movies starring Jessica Alba, recently spoke to DesdeHollywood while promoting his new film Tom and Jerry. Interestingly, Story pointed out that some people were afraid of what Galactus would look like in his true form in his films. However, that's something to look forward to in the MCU. "What I am so looking forward to is when they [Marvel Studios] get their hands on Galactus and show Galactus, I can't wait. I can't wait," Story said. He added that a certain scene from Avengers: Endgame convinced him that Marvel will do things right. "When I saw Ant-Man big on-screen, when I saw that, I went, 'Oh my God, wait until they get to Galactus.'" Story said. I understand why Story is so excited about Galactus joining the MCU. In Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the villain only appeared as a cloud-like entity and we never really get to see him in his true form. However, there's a good chance that Marvel Studios will feature the super villain in the upcoming reboot. The Fantastic Four reboot will be directed by Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts. For now, the new cast has not yet been announced but fans believe that Reed Richards could eventually show up in WandaVision. However, this has not yet been confirmed by Marvel so it's best to take it with a grain of salt. Watts' Fantastic Four reboot has not yet been given an official release date. However, this could be updated in the next few weeks. 

Instead of doing this blog thing I should be listening to this album...

Maybe not. So, you know what makes me smile? When people reenact pictures from their childhood, like this one...

Hahahaha. So, I went to the beach yesterday and noticed a new beach warning sign...

I wasn't there long enough to get sunburnt and I was covered up pretty well but I have gotten sunburnt before. Not as bad as this guy though...

They tell me if I go to Walmart I'd see some odd sights. I didn't believe it until I saw this...

Hahaha. So, James Hatfield of Metallica is a really good guitar player but did you know he also plays a mean giant slug? Check it out...

Hahahaha. So, sometimes when I'm bored, which is not often, I go to Twitter and look up certain words to see what people are talking about. One of the words I look up is "Foghat" and this is a tweet I recently saw. 

Hahahaha. That's fantastic! Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, here is...

Top Phive Things Said About The 2021 Golden Globes

5. We've had a FULL YEARrr to figure out the Zoom. A FULL YEAR.

4. Al Pacino sleeping at the Golden Globes is the most I've ever related to a celebrity.

3. Jane Fonda's skin deserves its own Lifetime Achievement Award. 

2. I really hoped that all of these people have sweatpants and slippers on the bottom halves of their bodies. 

And the number one thing said about the 2021 Golden Globes was...

1. The Golden Globes are so embarrassing right now and I have done improv over Zoom. 

If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jefferson, New York, shall we?

Looks like a cold and wet morning there. Now for a story from...

Two men were arrested in Florida after a TikTok video went viral on social media last week, showing them performing an unauthorized surgery on a pregnant dog that later led to its death. According to authorities, 50-year-old Larry Colon was allegedly trying to save money by having 33-year-old Frankie Huertas-Rivera perform a c-section on his pregnant French Bulldog, Lyla, in his Clermont home. Colon told authorities that he had agreed to pay a total of $650 cash for the operation to Huerta-Rivera, who claimed to be a licensed veterinarian. The surgery was captured by Colon’s 15-year-old daughter in who then posted it to TikTok. In the video, the dog was seen screaming in pain on top of the table in Colon’s home. The dog was said to be semi-sedated squirming in pain as Huertas-Rivera attempted to deliver the puppies via an illegal c-section in the living room. Colon later brought the animal to a veterinarian’s office but the dog had already died. Unfortunately, the two unborn puppies were also found dead inside of her. The vet staff stated Colon told him the surgery was performed by an unlicensed person and he knew it shouldn’t have been done. According to the affidavit, staff told officials the pregnant dog and her puppies had “suffered unjust cruelty and suffering due to unethical medical services performed.” The clinic also told authorities that Colon was told to take the surviving animals to the veterinarian as soon as possible in order to assess the puppies, but that they had not been by the time animal cruelty investigators arrived at the home the following day. Colon was arrested Friday on a charge of animal cruelty. Huertas-Rivera also facing animal cruelty charges in addition to another for practicing medicine without a license. Both men posted bond and are now set to be arraigned this month. Lawyers for both men could not be reached for comment on their behalf.

The 146th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...

Pete will be the guest on the Phile on Wednesday. 

Two archeologists, exploring a remote mountain in Tibet came across a huge granite statue which resembled a sitting man. It stood almost 400 foot tall, and its bodily details were accurate down to the fingernails and teeth. "It looks real enough to talk," says one. "Let's try," says the other and turning to the statue he asks it its name. No answer. "How old are you?" No answer. Finally one man shouts out, "What is the square root of 64?" Suddenly, the mountain shakes as the giant statue rises onto its feet and puts its hand on its chin. Then after about ten seconds, the statue answers in a roaring voice, "Eight." "Of course!" says the scientist, "It only stands to reason." 

Today's guest is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series "The Monkees." Please welcome to the Phile... Michael Nesmith.

Me: Hello, Michael, welcome to the Phile, sir. I am so excited to have a member of the Monkees here on the Phile. How are you? 

Michael: Thank you, Jason. Great to be here. 

Me: So, you have done so many things, not just the Monkees stuff. Do you ever get time to still songwriter these days? 

Michael: Yes, what happens is if I'm in a songwriting mode which is to say listening to the songs that I continually play, if a song jumps out at me there's a snippet of poetry of rhyme is stop everything and sit down and write it up. But it doesn't always make a song so I gave to be prepared to walk away when I hit the block. There's a little companion songwriter who rides with me who says, "That's never going to be a song. Let's get out of here before they kill us." I often write if something takes me over, that could be in the middle of the night. I keep a pen and pad by my bed. It could be in the career I'll just do a snippet on the telephone. 

Me: So, you don't pick up a guitar and force it to come? You just let it come to you? 

Michael: Sort of like that. I think the point I'm making is there is no process by which it continues to come in. My first wife said, "Oh my goodness, you're such a great poet. You write 3 songs every morning." I said, "I do?" I wasn't even aware of it. I would just sit down and scrabble some stuff that occurred to me then they'd turn into songs because I need to play them in order to remember them. To get them registered in memory is to sing them. 

Me: So, what instruments do you play, Michael? 

Michael: Well, I can play guitar and I can play piano if you allow me to use play it not the meaning it says. 

Me: Do you write with other people? 

Michael: No, not really. There were all those songs that John Lennon and I wrote but no one ever heard those. I guess his estate keeps them in a drawer somewhere because we really wrote thousands, at least that's how I recall it. I typically don't reach out to people to write with them. The only person who I said they'd like to write me with is Steve Martin who did it at dinner one time. But putting myself in a spontaneous element to write with someone has never gone very far with me. When I got the part of the show on the Monkees I was talking to the guys in the Brill Building, they said, "Well, are we going to write some pop songs, Nez?" I said, "I don't know how to write a pop song, I don't know what a pop song is. But maybe we can try some things." It just never went anywhere. 

Me: So, back to John Lennon, you actually wrote with him? What was that like? 

Michael: Yeah, Lennon was a pretty good time. He was a wordsmith and he loved to play with words, and I did too and if we went out to dinner we would jive back and forward with these poems which delighted him. We would find the communication really simple but those are a long way from songs. I could do that at a dinner party and all kind of places. 

Me: That's cool. Did he eve give you some insight on songwriting? 

Michael: We were standing in his little music room and there was one song with a huge vocal spread that they used from time to time with the harmony kind of thing. I said, "Jeez, that's beautiful, John." He said, "Yeah, that's our homage to the Beach Boys." And I thought he writes songs like other songwriters? But I didn't say anything, it's not the sort of thing I should say. But it was fascinating for me to see that this was a process that we run into all the time. It never occurred to me that John and Paul did that, but I guess they did. 

Me: You songs are different genres, am I right? Is there a reason for that? 

Michael: I think we all live in a sea of music, an ocean of music. It plays all the time, it plays when we are in a restaurant, it plays when we are on airplanes, its just playing all the time. There's some sort of switch in my head that I can shit off that external music and listen to it internally. Bit the weird thing about it is the internal music is the same as the external music in terms of its style. It can be calypso, it can be whatever, it can be funk. For example, the song "Rio," I wrote as a Doobie Brothers song. 

Me: You also have done some blues, which is surprising to me. Do you like that genre a lot? 

Michael: I'm a little careful of the word genre, although I take your meaning. The thing that made the blues wok is the same thing that made folk music wok, they were very easy to put together. 

Me: So, what kinda singer do you think you are? 

Michael: A cross between Perry Como and Little Richard. 

Me: Hahaha. Fair enough. Okay, so, were you around music much when you were a kid? 

Michael: I was surrounded by music at this little bar that was next to the laundromat where my mother did her clothes. I would go with her as a kid, a kid being 8-years-old, 7-years-old, and out of that bar came the great blues singers from that time. They would play loud on the juke box and while we were doing laundry fo an hour and a half I would listen to that. 

Me: So, when did you first realize you wanted to be a musician? 

Michael: When I first head Bo Diddley. 

Me: Really? Why is that? 

Michael: Everything was perfect from the way he looked, from the hat he wore on his head to the guitar that he played, to the amplifier he played though. It was a life changer, I heard that pulse that happened with the tremolo and the reverb, the delay, the way he strummed it, it was just a magical moment for me. It set my feet in concrete in that particular kind of rhythmic style. 

Me: Okay, so, I have to talk about the Monkees, Michael. Here's a pic of you guys back then... 

Me: When you were on the show was it a different experience than you expected? 

Michael: Well, I had the idea, I'm not sure where it hatched but it probably came from the advertisements the TV producers put in Variety for guys my age playing music, wandering the Sunset Strip looking for work playing music. None of the music I heard being brought forward for the Monkees show was any of the music I was hearing in my head. I had gone down and I had auditioned for the part of the television show but I didn't rally understand how the music was supposed to fit. I knew the concept of the show was an out of work rock and roll band trying to make it and there was a new day dawning and it included rock and roll but it sort of didn't include me and I didn't know how to make it fit. So what I did basically was sit down and shut up and just listened and be grateful for it and take the ride. I learned a lot, I learned a lot from the pop song writers and from the pop producers and so forth because I didn't have any notion or any traction that I could get from the music that was being played for the show and for those records. It isn't until we started playing as a band in front of a live audience it started to make sense to me. I started to say this is fun, this is good, I understand what we ae doing here. Of course it was pandemonium. We went out there and walked out in front of 20,000 people and the place would just go up in smoke. That was unexpected, I didn't think I signed on for that. I thought basically I was going to sign up for a new rock and roll band that they were going to put on television. But that wasn't the case, it was a television show that was about a rock and roll band and the whole things had to be made up from start to finish. 

Me: A lot of people loved you guys but a lot of people said you guys were a fraud. How did it feel to you back then when all that was happening? 

Michael: Well, it was completely understandable. 

Me: It was? Why? 

Michael: Because television was largely unknown in the 60s. Television only got on the map in the 40s and became a real force in the 50s. So television was a teenager, it had only been around for ten years. Nobody understood the medium, nobody understood what it did and what it was and how it worked and so forth. But Lennon, he did understand it and I understood once I was in it. The luminaries all understood, this is television, this is not pop music. Some people thought the Monkees are a pop band but they don't really play and they don't really sing, these aren't their songs and this is just an artifice. This is just a creation, which of course it was but it was a creation that we thought of was a feature, not as a fiction, not as a fraud. It was a part of what it was, it was a narrative about an out of work rock and roll band. It wasn't really an out of work rock and roll band that was out making music, it was a television show. And it just confused everybody and it has for decades. 

Me: Was it frustrating for you? 

Michael: Well, spiritually it was self evident. I knew there was a difference between a rock and roll band and a television show. And now that's real simple. We don't have any trouble understanding, we know that the music videos we see is not their life is. That's the same then that the music that was on records, Bo Diddley for instance, was certainly not anything like four young adults living by themselves in a house on a beach. So it was completely at odds. 

Me: Hahahaha. That's crazy, but you have a point, Michael. But you did play shows as a rock and roll band, so that probably confused people even more, right? 

Michael: The fact that we played, Jason, and performed as a rock and roll band like bands do which is play and write songs and record them even confused things further. Wait a minute, I just ordered dessert. Well, that is dessert. No, I just ordered a hot fudge sundae. That is a hot fudge sundae. We had those conversations all the time and they just came to nothing so we struggled and struggled and struggled. 

Me: Okay, so, what's the deal with Jimi Hendrix opening for the Monkees? 

Michael: There was nothing that competed between the two of us, we were so completely different than what he was. The crowd was also with us entirely, they were not with Hendrix. Hendrix was an anomaly, Hendrix scared the 14-year-old girls who were waving their pink arms in the air screaming, "We want Davy" while he was singing "Hey, Joe." 

Me: What was Hendrix like? 

Michael: He was a prince of a guy. I loved him from the minute we met and as long as I knew him. 

Me: So, what was it like fo you to perform live in concert? The fans must've loved it. 

Michael: The Monkees had its own personae and it was fueled by television. Because the power of television, which is very different from the power of music, we were "bobble-heads." We bounced around on stage and we rendered the songs that 9-year-olds had watched on television and they were thrilled with the idea that it had come to life. I was thrilled with the same thing, that Hendrix had come to life. It was a great match, but we weren't the same things at all, we weren't running on the same track. 

Me: So, how did you get involved with the movie Repo Man? 

Michael: I guess it was the intelligence of it, the way it bored down and though the culture and society of the time. We shot it in the swamps of L.A. The swamp of L.A. used to be the downtown golden chariot that had turned into this thing in the 80s that was just weird. Then it was Alex Cox ear for the language on the streets and for the punk sensibilities which I didn't know anything about at all and frankly still don't. But he lived it. 

Me: Michael, thanks so much for being on the Phile. I hope this was fun for you. 

Michael: It was, and I enjoy your blog. So long, Jason.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Michael Nesmith for a fun interview. The Phile will be back on Wednesday with Pete Townshend. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Kiss your brain. 

Give me some rope, tie me to dream, give me the hope to run out of steam, somebody said it could be here. We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year. I can't count the reasons I should stay. One by one they all just fade away...