A pop movie is normally a chance to consolidate, rather than destroy, an image, which is why the Monkees’ sole trip in front of the camera is such a strange affair. Produced by BBS Productions at the same time as they were making Easy Rider – and with the Dennis Hopper cameo to prove it – 1968’s Head is a freeform collection of surrealist sketches, musical numbers and anti-war agitprop, shot through with a viciously sarcastic take on the band’s status as a consumer product and co-written by Jack Nicholson. Yes, that Jack Nicholson.
It flopped hard before accruing a devoted cult following, but as The Dreaming Machine‘s Joe and Graham discover on this week’s show, it isn’t all that different to the Monkees’ extremely meta television series. Along with the events of a film its director Bob Rafelson described as “fifty movies in one”, there are detours to discuss how and when “manufactured” became pop’s gravest slur, the extraordinary career of choreographer Toni Basil, and the film production career of the late Mike Nesmith.
Pop Screen, like the Monkees, is a meaningless consumer product designed to distract the youth from what’s really going on with the military-industrial complex, and if you want to help us do that you can donate to our Patreon, where backers will receive a monthly bonus episode, Graham’s Doctor Who reviews, extended cuts of our other movie show Directors Uncut and lots of other goodies that aren’t available anywhere else. For more information, follow us on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
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