Tune Tag #89 with Andrew Smith (Goatfury🐐), Pt. 3: Petula Clark, Nirvana, Deee-Lite, Shai, Dionne Warwick, Tesla

Andrew "🐐fury" joins us for his 3rd Tune Tag! He's either A) a glutton for punishment B) took the wrong turn off the freeway or C) obtained a duplicate key to FR&B HQ! He may just love The Tag!💖🎵💪

Greetings, Andrew! TAG! You’re unmistakably IT!

Tune Tag proudly welcomes

Andrew Smith

of the totally unique and enjoyable

Goatfury Writes

for his third appearance!

From September 2023, click here for Andrew’s first Tune Tag showing!

Here’s his Tune Tag appearance #2, from January 2024!

Bow-wows in repose: Andrew with a whole lot of senior Dachshunds, whom he continues to adopt and foster with his partner.

My name is Andrew Smith. I have a profound sense of wonder and awe about all that’s changing in today’s world. I want to share that with you. Every day, I spend a couple of hours writing and publishing a piece on something interesting to me on my Substack, Goatfury Writes.

I’m a senior-dog whisperer, a writer, a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a business owner, and a lifetime learner. I want to share my view of the world with you, mainly because I think I have things to say, and because I feel a burning passion to create.

I made mixtapes from the radio! My dub skills got pretty good. My passion for music started at an early age, and that led me to want to create original music in bands in my early 20s. And, I wrote.

Practicing writing (and creating, more broadly) led me to create a ‘zine when I was in middle school, a DIY publication that involved Xerox copies and staples!

Tune Tag is such a fun game! I really like it because of the blend of music, history, and creativity, with heavy emphasis on that last one.

Last week, we were proud to welcome singer/songwriter/guitarist, Nashvillian,

AJDeiboldt-The High Notes

for his first Tune Tag, and by all accounts, it was a rousing success (included is his newest single, “Diamonds in the Dust”!):

Tune Tag #88 with AJ Deiboldt of The High Notes: Nirvana, Van Dyke Parks, Bee Gees, Alessi, Sly & The Family Stone, Frank Sinatra, Al Kooper

Next week, we’ll enjoy the company of

Ellen from Endwell

from Rock’n’Roll With Me!

Andrew’s Dink-Dink waits patiently…for either a Beggin’ Strip, or the starting whistle for Tune Tag!

Andrew’s first song sent to Brad: Deee-Lite, “Groove is in the Heart,” 1990

Andrew’s rationale: Lately, I've been experimenting with the way music can trigger memories, ultimately with the goal of writing some kind of autobiography.

I keep coming back to 1991, which was a pivotal year for me, as you’ll inevitably see!

Few songs speak to this time in my life like “Groove is in the Heart.” Imagine being in the middle of an awakening of the broadest type you can imagine. Everything seems different and exciting for you, and things you've looked at your entire life are beginning to look different for you. I have a hard time coming up with a better pop song from any era, much less from 1991!

Brad’s song #1 sent to Andrew: The Green Acres Cast singing the theme, (aired on CBS-TV, 1965-1971)

Andrew’s response: Brad followed up with the theme to Green Acres. Great pick! I don’t want to cheat by looking this stuff up, but from what I can hear, the background sounds are absolutely present here. “Groove is in the Heart” very likely drew from the more playful sounds we can hear. I know those wild sounds were intoxicating for me! They really drew me into the song, and they also really make this theme song pop.

Brad’s rationale: The repeated motif “I, I-I-I-I-I” is performed with the first word of a sample of Eva Gabor saying/singing, “I get allergic smelling hay!” from the theme song of Green Acres (see the demonstration reel on YouTube by clicking here).

The theme’s composer, Vic Mizzy, plays and sings it for us here:

A brief tour of Paso Robles, CA (subbing for the show’s Hooterville), and the filming location for Green Acres:

Andrew’s song #2: Tesla, “Signs,” (live, 1990)

Brad’s response: Gonna defer to Andrew to explain the connection between Vic Mizzy’s Green Acres theme song, and The Five Man Electrical Band’s “Signs” (written by that band’s lead singer/guitarist, Les Emmerson) famously covered by Tesla in 1990 (and peaking at #8 on the U.S. pop charts, and #70 in UK, #72 in Canada), named after the famed inventor, Nikola Tesla, some 5 decades after his death, and a dozen years before the car company became a thing.

Andrew’s rationale: I’m sticking with the civilization vs. wild theme to a degree, and staying within my time restriction, and picking Tesla’s “Signs” for my next pick. I think I was mostly unfamiliar with the original Five Man Electrical Band version prior to Tesla’s live version, which I still think is an amazing cover. What does give someone the right to keep long-haired, freaky people out, anyway?!?

Brad’s song #2: Petula Clark, “Sign of the Times,” 1966