Tune Tag #133 with Joi of The Radio Room: Flamingos, Anna Calvi, Twilight Gallery, Lee Ritenour, Tin Machine, Florence + The Machine, Backstreet Boys
From Doo wop to boy bands; from 2 machines (a Bowie side-car and a Flo-ridah) to whatever's in-between, we welcome a great gal whose newly-rewired 'Stack is the talk o' the town! Tune in, Taggers!đ»âĄ
Fuzzbucket Q. Fluffpuddle is head over heels for todayâs guest! Tune Tag certainly canât blame âim!
Welcome, Joi of The Radio Room!
Joi (pronounced as Jo-Ee) is a video collage artist, music curator and DIY Radio Show Producer. Her Substack newsletter, The Radio Room, provides an inspirational hub of creativity. Joiâs artwork has been displayed in various locations such as the Joslyn Art Museum, The Kaneko, Chicagoâs Union Station, Omahaâs Millwork Commons, and the Cadillac Theater.
All of Joiâs art is inspired by song lyrics, so itâs no surprise to many that she has a radio show! Her DIY radio show, âElectric Radio Clubâ began in 2021 where Joi combines her love of music curation and deep thinking to create motivational mixtapes. You can listen to her indie/alternative-based radio show, âElectric Radio Clubâ on MixCloud.
đżA few months ago, Joi made a memorable appearance on Andresâ The Vinyl Room for his always-fascinating âVital Recordsâ series! In a wonderfully entertaining video interview with Andy (click here), Joi reveals 3 of her all-time favorite albums (& why!).
Last week, we rolled out the welcome mat to welcome Ali of Hi-Fi Amateur for his first Tune Tag:
Tune in next week for the 3rd visit from Matt Madurski of Chart Chat!
Joiâs song #1 sent to Brad: The Flamingos, âI Only Have Eyes For You,â 1959
Joiâs rationale: As an artist, sometimes my best ideas come from daydreaming. Yet, there are those agonizing moments when the ideas donât always come. It can be a struggle to finish a project when you know it needs that final thing for it to be done: That final piece of magic to bring everything together.
I love listening to stories and interviews from artists of all kinds on how a project comes together. I recall listening to an episode of Soul Music about the cover song, âI Only Have Eyes For You,â made famous by the band, The Flamingos: Peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on Billboardâs Hot R&B chart, it reached #7 in Canada in 1959.
In the episode, songwriter Terry Johnson (lower right-hand corner, above) 2001 Rock Hall of Fame inductee with the group), talked about his struggles when writing the song, and how the songâs iconic vocal part, âDoo-bop, sh-bop,â came from a dream. âI Only Have Eyes For Youâ was written by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, and was written for the 1934 Busby Berkeley musical comedy, Dames (directed by Ray Enright), in which it was performed by Dick Powell:
Considering the time in the late â50s when it was covered, in my opinion, what Terry Johnson of The Flamingos did with the vocals was so inventive. In that same episode, it was also mentioned by radio DJs and record label execs that the song would not be a single. It hit the Top 20 Billboard charts and became a commercial success!
During these times of AI threatening the work of artists, this song reminds me about the creativity of the human voice. The overlapping of vocal harmonies make it sound like how being hypnotized might feel or drifting off on a cloud. Itâs so hauntingly beautiful, and I think it is an absolutely timeless song!
Moral of the songâs story? If you know in your heart that something is right for a project, trust it! Ignore the doubters. If someone thinks your song or art is weird, it might just be the kind of magic people are looking for!
Bradâs song #1 sent to Joi: Brazilian Love Affair Project, âPrivate Eyes,â 2006
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