WTF?

Micky Dolenz of The Monkees is suing the FBI over…what?

Donald Trump isn’t the only person having issues with the FBI these days. Micky Dolenz of The Monkees is suing the agency over some documents related to the band.

He says the FBI has at least two records related to the band–including one about the group’s anti-Vietnam activities–but hasn’t released them. Dolenz claims that the band was monitored for subversive behavior, just like the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.

Things get a little weird when you dig into what the FBI wanted to know. According to Dolenz, an FBI informant went to a Monkees show in 1967 to investigate the possibility that the band was broadcasting subliminal messages to the audience with their on-stage projects. I quote from a 2011 release of some FBI documents:

“During the concert, subliminal messages were depicted on the screen which, in the opinion of [redacted informant’s name], constituted ‘left wing intervention of a political nature. These messages and pictures were flashes of riots in Berkeley, anti-U.S. messages on the war in Vietnam, racial riots in Selma, Alabama, and similar messages which had received unfavorable response[s] from the audience.”

Dolenz wants ALL the Monkees-related documents back. Maybe they were in the basement at Mar-A-Largo?

More at Pitchfork.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37980 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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