Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff

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.)