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Mike Nesmith was, and continues to be, an innovator and visionary. With "Elephant Parts", he looked at the new technologies available for film making (videotape having reached critical mass, so that 'home video' could be inexpensive.) Quality of entertainment suddenly depended on writing and technique, not so much big up-front expenses for equipment and the people to use them that discouraged any number of director-wannabes.

Music videos had existed for 20 years or more (what exactly is an Elvis Presley movie but story between music videos, the Beatles and of course the Monkees had been doing this sort of thing too), but what made a good video (simple, entertaining 'story', include the band, and always cut on the beat) was not well understood by makers. Mike understood it, and with the help of a collection of crazy and energetic friends made the video equivalent of "I'll get some pallets from the lumber yard for a stage, you get your mom's sheets for a curtain, and you get some clothesline and we'll put on a show right here in the back yard!"

But this backyard show had Mike to know what it should look like and in general how to make it. From this humble beginning, this pathfinding, came MTV, and groundwork was laid for the whole the digital-indie movement (videotapes were cheap to make, but expensive to distribute - once the internet made distribution cheap, anybody with talent -- and loads of people who don't -- could show what they could do.) For the music business, it was discovered that music videos were suddenly ridiculously cheap to make, and became very quickly the primary method of reaching an audience, once MTV made distribution essentially free. From that, came a whole generation of directors, who could get experience away from film school. Pretty long path he blazed, eh?

Elephant Parts (which also spawned a ultra-short-lived TV show, "Television Parts", which Mike sells from his 'video ranch' website (check it out)) is a rapid-fire, no-organization series of Mike's songs (presented as high-quality music videos) and child-of-the-television comedy bits. My personal favorite is the foreign-language-gibberish video. It is, of course, of uneven quality, but all presented in an infectious, high-energy format that pulls you along for the ride. Worth seeing. Hat's off to ya, Mr. Nesmith.

Comprises many segments which include comedy sketches and

musical videos. The comedy sketches include a variety of

subjects that mirror real life, while the musical portions are

very well done. Although this is an older video, it is more or

less timeless in its ability to entertain.

If you appreciate the many talents of Michael Nesmith, this is a must see! The new DVD has it all, music, comedy, dancing and even newly added commentary by Mr. Nesmith, on the making of the film. "Light", one of the five music videos, is beautiful. I loved the way it was filmed. If you want to laugh, "Marnin Grita", "Bitty Soda" or "Name that Drug" should do the trick!! This was 60 minutes of complete entertainment. If you like good music or have a sense of humor, this is for you!

I just recently tracked down a used copy of "Elephant Parts" and laughed out loud many times through the show. The comedy really holds up and the songs are excellent. Hopefully, with the advent of DVD, it'll enjoy a wide release again. It was hard to find the first time around and deserves recognition. Now I just need to find the "Television Parts" compilations...

the first person who commented on this apparently doesn't have much of a sense of humor. This is a collection of hilarious off beat comedy skits (it's not a "movie") and if you have any sense of humor at all you will find something funny in this. and another thing, how could Hulk Hogan make it work? And bring integrity? All he does is walk around in a speedo, he didnt write the skit, he's just acting. thank you.

There is something really funny and really pleasant about this video film. I first saw this when I was a kid, and I will always remember the image of a vegetarian big game hunter blowing away lettuce and tomatoes in the produce section of a supermarket. The songs are great, as are the running gags. Some of it may be a little dated, but it's still pretty good stuff.

I just got "Elephant Parts" on DVD and it made me laugh the same way it did 15 years ago. Some of the music videos are a little dated but considering this was made before MTV they show how far Nesmith was ahead of the crowd (to the point of poking fun at the format before it was widespread). In fact, Nesmith came up with the music video channel concept but was told no one would watch a 24 hour music channel. Right. The comedy segments still hold up very well and in fact are of higher quality than SNL or Mad TV any day of the week. Highlights are "Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority" and the horror movie spoof "Have a Nice Day". A hilarious and pioneering work, do yourself a favor and buy it right now!

My mom was a big Monkees fan back in the 60's and Mike Nesmith was her favorite. We had the VHS copy since the early 80's, even though neither my mom, dad or anyone else knows how they got it. Anyway, the comedy skits are funny and the music videos are time capsules. Four of the videos (Magic, Crusin' (also known as 'Lucy and Romona and their brother Sunset Sam'), Light and Tonite are from Nesmith's 1980 album 'Infinte Rider on the Big Dogma' and Rio was from 'From a Radio Engine to a Photon Wing' in 1976. Rio was on of the first commercial music videos released. The DVD features a running skit not featured on the VHS release (at least MY VHS) and a hilarious and baffling commentary by Nez himself.

The 1981 VHS release of ELEPHANT PARTS marked the return of Michael Nesmith to the singer/performer rank he enjoyed as one fourth of The Monkees, encompassing what the group envisioned for their third season, had the NBC network not insisted on repeating the no longer fresh ideas that sustained the first two. In the 11 years since leaving his former band, Nesmith recorded ten albums, and pioneered the MTV format with 1980's hour long Saturday night show PopClips, on Nickelodeon (MTV began Aug 1 1981). This mixture of music videos with comedy sketches was hardly a novelty, but it's a pity that despite winning the very first Grammy for a 'video record,' he never followed it up with another (NBC did air a short-lived revival for eight weeks in 1985 titled TELEVISION PARTS). Despite the dated aspects of some of the material, the sketches are of a remarkably high standard: "Rock and Roll Hospital" shows the dreaded results of 'Bee Gees disease'; "Elvis Drugs" sympathizes with adults who find it 'a bitch' running the world; "Name That Drug" compares favorably with anything from Cheech and Chong, the contestants determined to name that drug 'in three tokes!'; the hilarious horror spoof "Have a Nice Day," not far different from future items like "Scream" and "Scary Movie"; best of all may be the Detroit car commercial, testing consumers' mentality in much the same way as politicians in Washington ('we're not just hoping you're dumb America, we're banking on it!'). Musically, all material is composed, produced, and performed by Nesmith, beginning with a Japanese-inspired take on Nes' biggest solo hit, 1970's "Joanne," while his 1978 LP LIVE AT THE PALAIS gets a plug as a vegetable shredder. Of the five music videos, the most famous is "Rio," taken from his 1976 LP FROM A RADIO ENGINE TO THE PHOTON WING, a video creation that earned accolades across the globe upon initial release. All the others comprise half of his 1979 release INFINITE RIDER ON THE BIG DOGMA, his hardest rocking LP, full of funky disco rhythms without a hint of the softer country sounds from earlier albums (it's actually mentioned just prior to "Cruisin'"). "Magic (This Night is Magic)" is a beautifully sung throwback to the delightful Beach Boys; "Cruisin' (Lucy and Ramona and Sunset Sam)," famously seen with great regularity on MTV, is a solid disco number featuring Hulk Hogan lookalike Steve Strong; "Light (The Electric Light)" is a disco number with saxophone; "Tonite (The Television Song)" shows the singer 'living inside of a little glass room'; and the self explanatory "Dance (Dance and Have a Good Time)," which is only heard during the closing credits (not in its entirety). Others picked up where Michael Nesmith left off, while the artist himself went on to a career producing movies like 1982's "Timerider" and 1984's "Repo Man," and authoring "The Long Sandy Hair of Neftoon Zamora" (1998) and "The America Gene" (2009).

Michael Nesmith was ahead of his time.

Beginning with Rodan, all the way through the final song, Elephant Parts is comprised of "Nez" and his friends stealing shots where they have to and having fun all along the way. There are too many good comedic shorts to list, but if you have an hour to spare, go rent this and give it a watch. Good music - Great laughs!

And no, that is NOT Terry "Hulk" Hogan. The actor's name is Steve Strong.

I must admit that the first forty minutes or so of my first screening of ELEPHANT PARTS was one of confusion bordering on indifference. Some of it is really, really good, some of it more eyebrow raising. As in, why is this on my TV? Half offbeat video shorts, half music videos, all of it featuring the unique talents of former Monkey Michael Nesmith. Initially conceived of as a "video album", the music is taken from two of Nesmith's records from the era (later 1970s/early 1980s) and the videos are a mixture of commercial, game show and TV drama parodies touching on the topical issues of the day: Nuclear war, drugs, the energy crisis, rock music culture, you name it. Some of it works, some of it doesn't, but one thing is for sure -- None of it fails to be "entertaining", "engrossing", "thought provoking" and "enjoyable".

There's no real linking story though a lot of what happens in one given sketch often suggests or leads to the given "subject" of another. Every third sketch is a Nesmith music video, so fans of his work will be pleased even if somewhat confused as to what car commercials have to do with it. And fans of offbeat comedy might be equally confused by a couple of moments that actually aren't that funny, not just because Nesmith seems to be a student of applied bad taste (like the "Elvis Drugs" commercial, the joke about dragging someone behind a truck, or the segment on "Battered Wives", which are downright awkward) but he seems genuinely interested in creating moments of tension with certain scenes. And all of it works as sort of little time bombs for your brain that go off after the show is over.

A couple of words need to be said about the role that drugs play in the special. It isn't the 1970s anymore and some of the drug humor not only falls flat, but suggests that maybe some of the gags were conceived of if not outright performed while under the influence of mind-altering substances. I say, so be it, if so, it reinforces how the special was a product of a specific period of time in popular culture & entertainment. There is just as much drug use going on today in our entertainment industry, it's just that political correctness has made it uncomfortable to joke about it in the way that Nesmith finds appropriate. Not to make a big deal about it, mind you, but it's a part of what's going on here, inescapably so due to my own history. Ahem.

The special also has Nesmith's beguiling video for "Rio", the first of his solo songs that I ever really connected with, so much so that I bought the album it's from within a day of seeing ELEPHANT PARTS for the first time (everything else is from a different collection made at the time of the special). He was always my favorite one of the Monkees, and fans of their wonderful movie HEAD will find a lot of similarities between that film's free-form surrealism & Nesmith's unofficial solo job update here. It's not physical slapstick or guffawing hilarity ala the Monkees, rather a somewhat more sophisticated and laid back send-up of the popular culture that Nesmith had such an important hand in shaping: A lot of what we take for granted these days as MTV oriented "music television" was started here, or at least came to mimic much of the form that Nesmith's experiment takes.

8/10

I saw a clip of this before it was officially released at the Audio Engineering Society Convention in Anaheim, May 1981. It was amazing to see on a large projection screen and hear it in stereo, especially since it wasn't a film, but specifically produced for TV!

I bought one of the first Beta-HiFi tapes when it was finally released in stereo and wore it out. My kids grew up singing along with "Sunset Sam" and others, including memorizing the "Pirate Alphabet". We have so many great memories of this, and am so glad I was part of NARAS when they honored Mr. Nesmith with his award as the first music video!!

If you can find it... buy it!!

I used to watch this on Laser Disc back when I was a kid and to this day as an adult I still remember every skit and every song. Memorable and funny. Recently, I went searching for the songs and skits on youtube they still hold up well. Hidden gem, check it out.