Elephant Parts
Encyclopedia
Elephant Parts is a collection of comedy and music videos made in 1981 by Michael Nesmith
, former member of the Monkees. Nesmith produced the video through his company Pacific Arts, using money he inherited from his mother, the inventor of Liquid Paper
. Elephant Parts is one hour long and features five full length music videos, including the popular songs "Rio", and "Cruisin'", which featured wrestler Steve Strong
and Monterey-based comic "Chicago" Steve Barkley.
of the Canadian
band and was featured as a pretaped sketch on a season six episode of Saturday Night Live
), "Large Detroit Car Company", "Mariachi Translations", recurring comic blackouts that ended with the catchphrase "Just to prove a point!", and several series of bits with a lounge singer and a pirate, as well as a game show called "Name That Drug".
Throughout Elephant Parts, Nesmith makes fun of his own works, with segments including a parody of his song "Joanne
" called "Rodan
", and comic promos for his albums Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma
and Live at the Palais
. Although Nesmith's solo career is punned or highlighted, he doesn't make any reference or mention of The Monkees
.
Elephant Parts won the first Grammy
in the Music Video category, and was later followed by two TV series: PopClips for Nickelodeon
(also released in 1981), and Television Parts
for NBC
in 1985. PopClips was sought to be expanded into an all-music video format, but after Nesmith declined the offer, Warner Cable started work on what would become MTV
.
in 1998, Nesmith recorded an esoteric commentary track which did not describe the content of the video. Later, Nesmith recorded a new commentary track which does describe the content, included as part of a second DVD version released in 2003.
Michael Nesmith
Robert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...
, former member of the Monkees. Nesmith produced the video through his company Pacific Arts, using money he inherited from his mother, the inventor of Liquid Paper
Liquid Paper
Liquid Paper is a brand of the Newell Rubbermaid company that sells correction fluid, correction pen and correction tape. Mainly used to correct typewriting in the past, correction products now mostly cover handwriting mistakes.- Brand history :...
. Elephant Parts is one hour long and features five full length music videos, including the popular songs "Rio", and "Cruisin'", which featured wrestler Steve Strong
Stephen Cepello
Stephen Cepello is an American artist and a former professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he was best known by his ring name, Steve Strong...
and Monterey-based comic "Chicago" Steve Barkley.
Overview
There are various comedy sketches between musical numbers, notably "Elvis Drugs", "Neighborhood Nuclear Superiority", "The Tragically Hip" (which was the inspiration for the nameThe Tragically Hip
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, is a Canadian rock band from Kingston, Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie , Paul Langlois , Rob Baker , Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay . Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, and 46 singles...
of the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
band and was featured as a pretaped sketch on a season six episode of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
), "Large Detroit Car Company", "Mariachi Translations", recurring comic blackouts that ended with the catchphrase "Just to prove a point!", and several series of bits with a lounge singer and a pirate, as well as a game show called "Name That Drug".
Throughout Elephant Parts, Nesmith makes fun of his own works, with segments including a parody of his song "Joanne
Joanne (song)
Joanne was the only Top 40 single for Michael Nesmith as a solo artist. Nesmith released the single in 1970 from the album Magnetic South, the first album released by Nesmith and The First National Band after he left the Monkees. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Top...
" called "Rodan
Rodan
is a fictional Japanese mutated pterosaur introduced in Rodan, a 1956 release from Toho Studios, the company responsible for the Godzilla series. Like Godzilla and Anguirus, he is designed after a type of prehistoric reptile...
", and comic promos for his albums Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma
Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma
Infinite Rider on the Big Dogma is Michael Nesmith's ninth post-Monkees studio album and the third studio album from his own company, Pacific Arts. To continue developing Pacific Arts' multimedia projects, Nesmith originally developed the album as a "video album"...
and Live at the Palais
Live At The Palais
Live at the Palais is a live album by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith, initially released in 1978.The material covered on the album was primarily derived from the half-dozen albums Nesmith did on RCA Records in the early 1970s...
. Although Nesmith's solo career is punned or highlighted, he doesn't make any reference or mention of The Monkees
The Monkees
The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...
.
Elephant Parts won the first Grammy
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the Music Video category, and was later followed by two TV series: PopClips for Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
(also released in 1981), and Television Parts
Television Parts
Michael Nesmith in Television Parts was a summer TV series run by NBC in 1985. It was a 30-minute comedy-variety series created by Michael Nesmith as a sort of continuation of his Grammy Award-winning video production Elephant Parts, and earlier series PopClips. The first episode was a stand-alone...
for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in 1985. PopClips was sought to be expanded into an all-music video format, but after Nesmith declined the offer, Warner Cable started work on what would become MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
DVD releases
When Elephant Parts was first released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in 1998, Nesmith recorded an esoteric commentary track which did not describe the content of the video. Later, Nesmith recorded a new commentary track which does describe the content, included as part of a second DVD version released in 2003.