Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff

by Michael Nesmith

Overview

Michael Nesmith’s eclectic, electric life spans his star-making role on The Monkees, his invention of the music video, and his critical contributions to movies, comedy, and the world of virtual reality.

Above all, his is a seeker’s story, a pilgrimage in search of a set of principles to live by. That search took Nesmith from a childhood in Dallas, where his single mother Bette invented Liquid Paper, to the set of The Monkees in Los Angeles; to the heart of swinging London with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix; and to an unexpected oasis of brilliance in the Santa Fe desert, where his friendships with Douglas Adams and Los Alamos scientists would point him toward the power of the infinite and the endless possibilities of human connection. This funny, thoughtful, self-aware book is a window onto an unexpected life, inflected at every turn by the surprising candor and absurdist humor of an American original.

Opening Infinite Tuesday is like stepping into the world of Michael Nesmith, where something curious is always unfolding, and where riffs on everything from bands to dogs to the nature of reality make for an endlessly engaging journey.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101907511
Publisher:	Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/17/2018
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	502,694
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

MICHAEL NESMITH's career in music and television took him from starring in The Monkees to a celebrated run of albums as a solo artist and in the First National Band. He created the TV show Popclips, a forerunner of what would become MTV, and produced the films Repo Man and Tapeheads. He is the author of two novels and the founder of the Pacific Arts Corporation, which produces projects in the worlds of audio, video, and virtual reality, including Videoranch 3D. He lives in Carmel, California.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Infinite Tuesday

"Beautifully written." —New York Times

“Penetrating… As a writer, Nesmith is practical without being conventional. And he riffs on metaphysical topics like ‘non-time moments’ – when portent and symmetry seem to enter our lives – without sounding trippy or losing his relatability. He also abstains from using his pen to settle scores, something from which other celebrity memoirists could learn. In fact, he’s delightfully self-depricating… [Infinite Tuesday is] a nonlinear realm to which [Nesmith] is a distinctly likable, erudite guide.” —Washington Post

“In his memoir, Infinite Tuesday, the highlights of [Nesmith’s] career speak for themselves… Jimi Hendrix, who supported the Monkees on their first tour, got the Monkees; John Lennon got the Monkees; Zappa did too. These countercultural icons understood the genius of its premise – simultaneously celebrating and satirizing popular culture, fabricating a faux-Beatlemania to rival Beatlemania itself – and recognized its brilliant execution.” —Wall Street Journal

“Reads like the chronicle of a relentless seeker…although Nesmith certainly doesn’t ignore the professional and social collaborations he’s had with Douglas Adams, members of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, actor Jack Nicholson and numerous others.” —Los Angeles Times

"This selectively revealing, insightful memoir casts the cerebral Monkee as a spiritual seeker and self-deprecating visionary. Popular culture has barely revealed the tip of the iceberg that is Nesmith….A book—and a life—unlike any other in rock." —Kirkus Reviews (starred)

"Nesmith may be most remembered for his role as the stoic guitarist in the Monkees, but his brilliant, candid, and humorous new autobiographical musings give readers a much clearer picture of his originality and inventiveness...Nesmith’s entertaining memoir reveals his creative genius, his canny ability never to take himself too seriously, and his restless questions about the value of spirituality."—Publishers Weekly

 “The Monkees were the beginning for me, the amazing thing is they were only the beginning for Mike Nesmith. This is the way a genius lives life right.  Great stories of his buddies Hendrix, Timmy Leary, and Douglas Adams, adventures while inventing the music video and changing home video, yogis in California, VR, and why you should never complain about the air conditioning on a private jet.  Nez inspired me when I was 13 and now with this book he continues to inspire me at 61.”—Penn Jillette of “Penn & Teller”
 
“You know it’s a good book when you quote lines and anecdotes from it, and claim them as your own. Infinite Tuesday is fascinating and funny! In a word, Nezmerizing.”— Jack Handey, author of Deep Thoughts and The Stench of Honolulu
 
“Mike Nesmith is a pop-culture spirit guide.  Every creative person should take this revealing, hilarious, semi-hallucinogenic trip back in time through all the biggest cultural revolutions of the late 20th century. Nesmith himself was a driving force in many of them. This book is honest, moving, and inspirational.”—Jay Roach, director of Austin Powers and Meet the Parents
 
“Infinite Tuesday is a picnic in forward motion.  The table is full of gems, big and small, and studded throughout with a full cast of characters.  I am already looking for volume two and, please, let there be one.”—Ed Ruscha
 
“Nesmith is an artist, adventurer and thinker whose nimble creativity soared far above the appellation he was given: “The smart Monkee.” In Infinite Tuesday, he details the inner forces, from personal to spiritual, that kept him forging ahead –and that created stumbling blocks as well. Unsparing and revealing, this book is an unusual, unforgettable read.” —Ben Fong-Torres
 
“Nesmith is witty and ironic and has a fund of amazing and often absurd stories. Infinite Tuesday is unlike any other music or movie autobiography.” —Alex Cox, director of Repo Man

From the Publisher

…beautifully written…[Nesmith] does not devote all that many words to his Monkee phase, but he writes about it with considerable affection and charming self-deprecation.

The New York Times Book Review - Peter Keepnews

01/30/2017
Nesmith may be most remembered for his role as the stoic guitarist in the Monkees, but his brilliant, candid, and humorous new autobiographical musings give readers a much clearer picture of his originality and inventiveness. In a breezy, conversational tone, he invites readers to join him as he looks back over his life to see how he’s come to this point. Nesmith doesn’t move chronologically through his life; instead, he riffs, letting one topic lead into another, building layer on layer of a life in music, television, and movies. He riffs on his deep friendships with Douglas Adams (from whom he gets the title of the book), Jack Nicholson, and Johnny Cash, among others. He tells his side of the now-well-known contentious backstory of the Monkees and the roles that the musicians played on the set of the television show, and the ways that his ceaseless creative drive led him to form his first post-Monkees band, the First National Band. Later Nesmith shot a video for his song “Rio” and tried to convince others, over 10 years before MTV came along, that there should be a broadcast outlet for music videos. Eventually, Nesmith started up Videoranch, where he developed a technique for hosting live shows and streaming them in the virtual world. Nesmith’s entertaining memoir reveals his creative genius, his canny ability never to take himself too seriously, and his restless questions about the value of spirituality. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2017
Mike Nesmith, best known as a member of the Monkees, has also been involved in music videos, film, virtual reality technology, and writing. In his memoir, which he describes as an "autobiographical riff," he highlights a fascinating and varied career and life in assorted forms of the arts and technology. Nesmith describes his youth and his musical beginnings and influences, moving on to the daze of celebrity with the Monkees during the Sixties. The narrative continues with his solo musician years in the Seventies, friendships with people ranging from actor Jack Nicholson to author Douglas Adams, and his pioneering work with music videos, film, and video producing, and later with virtual reality--with an emphasis on the business aspects as he sought to bring these forms to a wider public. This book also describes a spiritual journey as Nesmith explores different forms of religion and philosophy over the decades, eventually finding involvement within an intellectual foundation. VERDICT Those seeking a detailed portrait of the Monkees will have to look elsewhere, and sometimes Nesmith's narrative becomes somewhat discursive; however, he is a gifted writer who has entertainingly documented his renaissance life.--James Collins, Morristown-Morris Twp. P.L., NJ

Library Journal

★ 2017-01-31
This selectively revealing, insightful memoir casts the cerebral Monkee as a spiritual seeker and self-deprecating visionary.Popular culture has barely revealed the tip of the iceberg that is Nesmith. The author has a droll, ironic sense of humor, which has helped him connect with like-minded spirits and which readers should find engaging. He's also an eccentric who describes the aftermath of Monkeedom as "the detritus of a collective dream we were all waking from, each in our own room, and each afflicted with our own case of Celebrity Psychosis informing us about the furniture in that room." This "Celebrity Psychosis" ultimately figures more heavily in the book than the Monkees do, a demon that haunted him for decades after that 1960s fluke of fame. As much as he resented those who treated him as a puppet or a "pariah…pummeled by opprobrium and ridicule and reviled among my peers," he eventually came to consider his Monkees experience "a gift, an odd gift to be sure but with a deep message for me that I am still parsing and for which I am never less than thankful." As for the rest of his fascinating life, Nesmith was raised in Dallas by a single mother, a devout Christian Scientist who became wealthy as the inventor of Liquid Paper. If he didn't invent country rock, he was there at the beginning, and he did invent the music video and had the vision for what would become MTV. More recently, the author has been involved with virtual reality and received a patent "for the embedding of real time video into a virtual environment." Along the way, he was influenced by both hippie mystics and a Christian Science teacher, and he bonded with Jack Nicholson, Timothy Leary, Douglas Adams, and John Lennon. Nesmith doesn't even bother to mention that Linda Ronstadt enjoyed her breakout hit with his "Different Drum" or that the Monkees have experienced a series of comeback reunions (with and without him). A book—and a life—unlike any other in rock.

Kirkus Reviews

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