Tune Tag #106 with Andy's Weird Ohio, Pt. 2: World Party, Sting, Kevyn Lettau, Elliott Smith, Mark Owen, Stone Roses, Genesis

Keep Austin Weird meets Andy's Weird Ohio. Where could that possibly lead? We actually discover the CD that was the first item ever sold on the internet! That's weird! What was it, and do you have it?

Here ya go, Andy! I heard you were coming, so I whipped us up a snack!

Now that you’re full, welcome to Tune Tag,

Andy’s Weird Ohio

!

My name is Andy, and I'm a writer from, you guessed it, Ohio! I mainly focus on writing about music and/or film on my Andy’s Weird Ohio Substack!

“The last time I did Tune Tag (#68…see below. It’s the one with the photo of me with Chubby Checker!), I was interested in making Andy’s Weird Ohio a more versatile channel (including fiction). Nowadays, I break up my musical posts with the occasional poem. I also make comedy videos with friends under the name TV Head Productions.”

Tune Tag #68 with Andy's Weird Ohio: King Crimson, Lou Reed, Curved Air, Michael Tilson Thomas, Slowdive, The Smiths, Alice Cooper, Curve

Last week, we enjoyed visiting with published author,

Michael Elliott

of

The Mixtape

:

Tune Tag #105 with Michael Elliott of The Mixtape, Pt. 2: Alice Cooper, Lee Dorsey, O'Jays, Starz, Pointer Sisters, Solomon Burke, Fallen Angels, Allen Toussaint, Elvis Costello

Next week, join us in welcoming

Brain of J-Hawk (he/him)

of

Music of My Mind

!

Andy’s song #1 sent to Brad: World Party, “Put the Message in the Box,” 1990

Andy’s rationale: I started things off with Karl Wallinger’s “Put the Message in the Box” by World Party. It’s a special song to me that I discovered sometime in high school. Growing up in Northeast Ohio, we had a local indie radio station that played old and new songs that needed more appreciation.

This one stuck out to me for being a ‘90s song that could've been released 20 years earlier. To me, I feel the same way about myself. I grew up in the late ‘90s and early 2000s as the child of two boomers. The generational divide inspired me to listen to music from the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. World Party had the ability to bridge those gaps with their music. Rest in peace, Karl Wallinger (October 1957–March 2024).

Brad’s response: The song’s first cover was six years later, with Brian Kennedy’s 1996 turn. It got to #37 in the UK (and Top 20 in Kennedy’s native Ireland). I like his style:

2008 brought us Reina Collins and her nifty arrangement from her Austin to Boston album:

Brad’s song #1 sent to Andy: Kevyn Lettau, “Message in a Bottle,” 2000

Andy’s response: This one is connected via the “messages,” but the devices have switched up. I hadn’t heard this cover before, but I’m always amazed at how great people are about interpreting Sting and The Police. Everybody from Bruno Mars to Eva Cassidy (“Fields of Gold,” click here for YouTube) seems to knock it out of the park. I guess that speaks to Gordon Sumner’s songwriting skills.

Brad’s rationale: Sometimes perseverance pays off! Secondhandsongs.com lists 185 covers of this Sting-composed 1979 Police hit!

Andy’s song #2: Sting, “Seven Days,” 1993