Michael Nesmith - Elephant Parts

Starring: Michael Nesmith , Jonathan Nesmith , Bill Martin

Directed by: William Dear

RS: 3of 4 Stars

Prescient, and experimental for its time, this witty Grammy-winning 1981 "video album" by the thinking man's Monkee and Liquid Paper heir has been cited as the precursor to MTV. Several of Nesmith's pioneering late-Seventies music videos are juxtaposed with SNL-ish comedy sketches, with more hits than misses amid the ad parodies and stoner jokes.

While the video and song production are dated, this is more than made up for by the presence of the skit that introduced the phrase tragically hip into the lexicon.

GAYLORD FIELDS
(April 3, 2003)