, Author at Through The Looking Glass

Welcome New Fans and Old Friends

Posted on July 10, 2023July 10, 2023 by emilyannawells

Welcome! Many of you have come here to this site from my new Facebook page Through The Looking Glass.

After experiencing [the perhaps inevitable] harassment, hate speech, and attacks from certain fans, other supportive, loving fans suggested I start my own Facebook page to post my own work. 🙂 Thank you! Since I have already been working on this website for about a year, this seemed like a natural next step.

Like with this website, all of this is a work in progress and figuring out what I want to do organically… As We Go Along.

While most of what I post on the new Facebook page will be my own content, such as the photos I have taken of The Monkees, I would also love to have fan involvement and post things like photos of your experiences with the Monkees as well. 🙂 If you would like–love–to have one of your photos and/or stories shared of yourself with The Monkees, like maybe a concert experience or time you met them, etc. I would love to post that. Also, it doesn’t have to be a time you met the Monkees/interacted with them directly, if you want to share something like a photo of yourself holding your favorite Monkees album and talk about what it means to you, I welcome that as well. 🙂 Please feel free to email me at emily@loveisonlysleeping.com, post here, or contact me through the new Facebook page, Through The Looking Glass.

Forever 28

Posted on June 14, 2023June 16, 2023 by emilyannawells

Wishing Micky Dolenz a speedy recovery from exhaustion, jet lag, and altitude sickness.

As Micky wrote:

“To my dear friends and fans (both old and new),
Apologies for the global post, but in response to the many calls, texts, emails and social media enquiries, I want to assure everyone that I am fine.
It turns out that extreme exhaustion, from a hectic 10 week schedule, jetlag (of the international variety), and high altitude do not mix well, and I want to apologize to anyone that had tickets for the two cancelled Park City, UT shows this past weekend.
Thank you ALL for the care, love and support you’ve shown me! I now intend to rest up and remind myself, again, that I’m 78 not 28!
Love and thanks,
Micky”

Songwriter Soliloquy

Posted on June 4, 2023July 2, 2023 by emilyannawells

It’s been a roller coaster of feelings for me, presently.

One of the cutest photos I’ve taken of Micky Dolenz is getting lots of likes, comments, and shares on Facebook. This is the famous, “Pleasant Valley Sunday” photo, where I took Micky to see Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, NJ, after we had lunch in Parsippany, and he “claimed” he had never been to Pleasant Valley Way before [really?]. Well, Micky had said he had never been, so after lunch I decided to drive him there… Or, he drove us, but I gave him directions, LOL. Whichever. Then we took photos.

Micky Dolenz on his way to Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ

Micky Dolenz at Pleasant Valley Way in Orange, New Jersey — Micky Dolenz on his way to Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ

Pleasant Valley Way is where Carole King and her then husband and songwriting partner, Gerry Goffin, lived in the late 60s, and was the inspiration for the song they wrote for The Monkees, “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, a number one hit in 1967.

So, yeah, it was pretty cool to bring Micky to that place.

Then, this weekend, I learned that Cynthia Weil had passed.

Cynthia Weil is probably one of the most influential people in my entire life that I have never met or known. Literally, this abstract figure, this artist in my mind’s eye, this person I knew was real but had no tangible connection other than all her words, writing, music, publishing… Cynthia Weil changed my life. And I never met her, or knew her, or spoke to her.

Cynthia Weil wrote “Love Is Only Sleeping”. She co-wrote it with her husband and creative partner, Barry Mann.

Literally the domain I have had and used for over twenty years.

If my domain is proof of nothing else, it is proof that Cynthia Weil touched and effected my entire life on a deeper level.

Yes, Cynthia Weil is a woman has had a strong influence on me.

Cynthia wrote so many songs that have been in so many of our lives…

Cynthia co-wrote “Somewhere Out There”, the first of her songs I ever heard in my entire life, in this life.

I first heard “Somewhere Out There” when I was 4 years old, and it effected me as deeply and emotionally then, as all her songs, and all her counterparts’ songs, effected me when I was later exposed to them in my teenage years and adult years…

Someone wrote on my Facebook and said Cynthia Weil and Carole King were good friends, and that I should read Carole King‘s autobiography.

Oh God, will I. ❤️

… but know everything lost will be recovered…

Posted on May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 by emilyannawells

Ah. Somehow someone got this site removed from Google’s indexing. That’s cute. WELL: we’re back.

I mean, really?

Goldmine magazine has a new article, Micky Dolenz details the making of The Monkees’ ‘Headquarters’ album, featuring a recent [?] interview with Micky Dolenz, and an introduction by Ken Sharp.

If you’re a well-versed fan, a lot of this is old hat. “Well, right from the get-go, Mike Nesmith was very frustrated as singer-songwriter. He’d been promised when they were casting him that he would have the chance to record his own material.” Uh huh: if you’ve been a fan for at least 48 hours, you have probably heard about this scenario before.

To be honest, I’m not sure why this all has to be re-hashed so many times. There are numerous sources with this material, and I feel there are deeper things to cover…

Epistles

Posted on April 24, 2023June 16, 2023 by emilyannawells

In honor of Micky’s current tour, I made another computer desktop/laptop wallpaper of Micky. It features young Micky photographed by an [?] unknown photographer [I am sure someone knows, please let me know], and a photo I took of Micky when we were in Canada in 2006. It can be found here, and on my Art page.

I love the plaid in Micky’s Scottish tam, and never realized it until I was making this graphic, but I have not one, but two skirts that seem to have a similar plaid… And maybe a baby blanket from my childhood… It’s a lovely plaid.