Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, and Jones Ltd

November 2, 2025

Everyone is getting their panties in a bunch over the success of Velvet Sundown, an AI-generated band who racked up tons of downloads on streaming services. Lou shrugs. Haven’t the machines been taking over since the first seconds of recorded sound? This is one of the main themes of its entire history. From the influence of recording technology on Bing Crosby’s singing style to the use of autotune this is a case of always already. Read Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music by Greg Milner. It is all there.

There is talk of proto-punk, proto-heavy metal, and proto-grunge. What about proto-AI music? The Beatles and Brian Wilson with their use of the studio as an instrument. Kraftwerk and all the other Krautrock bands. Brian Eno and ambient music. The various forms of dance music like House, Acid and Techno. Cher, a pioneer in the use of autotune. Quite possibly much of popular music is proto-AI.

One of Lou’s favorite proto-AI bands is The Monkees. The Prefab Four were at their inception a fake band created by TV producers and studio musicians. In the list of all-time TV bands, the Monkees rank amongst the top right behind Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem and The Banana Splits. Not sure if The River Bottom Nightmare Band from Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas counts as a TV band but if they do, they are number one. You cannot convince me that the weasel bassist for the Nightmare was not the inspiration for Izzy Stradlin of GNR’s entire look and persona.

Could studio musicians like The Wrecking Crew be thought of as proto-AI in spirit? Lou will have to mull this over while listening to The Monkees Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd which appeared in the bins at Vinyl Vogue. The Monkees are two-dollar bins stalwarts, kings of the bin if you will. But they deserve better. They were a great band, no matter who pulled the strings or plucked the guitars. On Pisces, the members of the Monkees exert more creative and musical control and it holds up like most of the Monkees albums. The album was immensely successful selling millions of copies and reaching Number 1 on the Billboard charts, the fourth consecutive Monkees album to do so. “Pleasant Valley Sunday” has become a classic and “Daydream Believer” another banger was recorded at the same time but kept in reserve for a future album. “Salesman” scared record executive with its hints of drug use in the lyrics and “Star Collector” deals with the new phenomenon of rock groupies. The Rolling Stones did it better with “Starfucker” just saying.

Michael Nesmith is front and center on Pisces with his country rock influence. Nesmith is a pivotal figure in rock music, not only for his pioneering work in rock videos and as an inspiration for MTV, but also for being one of the first country rock artists on the scene. In Lou’s opinion, Nesmith is more important in that regard than Gram Parsons. But Lou has been drinking so take that with a grain of heroin.

Mickey Dolenz is also a very accomplished singer-drummer. In the pantheon of singer-drummers, Dolenz makes the list. For example, Lou saw one list that put Dolenz fourth behind Roger Taylor of Queen, Don Henley of The Eagles, and Phil Collins of Genesis. Queen, The Eagles and Genesis. A triple crown of crap. Lou will take Dolenz and The Monkees ahead of all those wankers. Of course, Chuck of The River Bottom Nightmare Band is the best of all time. No question.

Speaking of machines, Pisces features some very early use of the Moog Synthesizer, particularly on “Star Collector”, and Dolenz owned one of the first twenty in existence. So, it could be argued that The Monkees are proto-AI in that regard as well, as early practitioners of machine music.

Dolenz and Peter Tork were pivotal members of the LA rock scene and their homes in the canyons of L.A. were salons for early L.A. rock stars, like members of The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas. Remember Stephen Stills auditioned to be a Monkee. The rock gods who roamed the earth, like Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix,stopped by. In fact, any rock musician on tour in LA had to stop at Dolenz or Tork’s house to out, jam, and fiddle with the latest and greatest in up-to-the-minute instruments and music technology, like the Moog. Unlike many rock stars of the time, the Monkees got paid. That was one benefit of being in a fake band, the money was real. The money behind the band was real as well, which meant the band could experiment and utilize the latest in studio technology and effects on their records. Any book on the scene in Laurel Canyon like those by Harvey Kubernik, Barney Hoskyns, and David McGowen all feature the Monkees’ important and influential role.

That leaves Davy Jones. Unlike the rest of the band, he did not exert as much influence in rock circles, but he had the undying devotion of Marcia Brady, so he did all right. Give Pisces a listen with its elements of psych, country rock, and electronica it is a forward-looking album that shows The Monkees were ahead of their time for better or worse.