‘The Monkees’: Mike Nesmith Fans Agree After Hearing ‘Tapioca Tundra’ Backstory That it was Perfect For ‘Better Call Saul’
The Monkees fans were shocked when they heard the familiar chords of a rare B-side by Mike Nesmith on the Aug. 1 episode of AMC’s Better Call Saul. “Tapioca Tundra” is a touchstone recording for Nesmith fans who strongly feel the tune’s messaging. However, after the episode titled “Breaking Bad,” fans of the band took to social media to agree that it was a perfect backdrop to the story that linked the AMC series and its predecessor.
‘Tapioca Tundra’ was the B-side of The Monkees’ final Billboard hit in the late 1960s
In 1968, The Monkees TV show featured one last song to make the Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100 called “Valleri.” The series starred Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork.
Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart wrote the song. “Valleri” was the name of a girl Hart pined for while in high school, and it became the song’s title.
“Valleri” was first heard in the “Captain Crocodile” episode of The Monkees, which aired on Feb. 20, 1967. The song was featured a second time on the “Monkees at the Movies” episode on Apr. 17, 1967.
But, according to the book Total Control, Nesmith called “Valleri” “the worst song [he’d] ever heard in [his] life.”
However, that didn’t stop Nesmith’s song from becoming the single’s B-side.
Nesmith understood that B-sides paid the same as A-sides in songwriting royalties. Therefore, even if the flip side of a single didn’t become a hit, it still made a lot of money.
“Tapioca Tundra” was a track on The Birds, Bees, and The Monkees album.
‘Tapioca Tundra’ was a perfect fit for ‘Better Call Saul,’ say fans
In a Reddit post titled “Why ‘Tapioca Tundra’ was such a fitting song for the montage in the last episode,” fans spoke of their love for the song and why its backstory suits its placement in Better Call Saul.
“I stumbled upon this video where Nesmith explains the meaning behind the song,” wrote a viewer.
“It’s about a conversation between Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain where they’re discussing Twain’s ideas for a sequel to [the book] Tom Sawyer,” the post continued.
“But during the conversation, Kipling protests Twain’s ideas, claiming that Tom Sawyer isn’t Twain’s “property anymore. He belongs to us,” the fan continued.
Therefore, they deduce that “Tapioca Tundra” is about storytelling and how once a famous story or character enters the public lexicon, it ceases to be the property of the creator and becomes the property of the audience.
The song includes the line, “It cannot be a part of me, ‘cuz now it’s part of you.”
The poster concluded, “As this story that so many of us have followed over the past decade and a half approaches its conclusion, this is the writers handing these cherished characters over to us, the fans.
“The song is placed in an episode with significant Breaking Bad callbacks amplifies the effect.”
“Huckleberry Finn is the Better Call Saul of the Tom Sawyer universe,” wrote a second fan.
Mike Nesmith explained the meaning behind the song
In a video clip, Nesmith allowed fans into the deeper meaning behind “Tapioca Tundra” during a 2012 concert held at The Royal Northern College of Music in Machester, England.
“I stumbled across this passage in a book titled Hello Goodbye Hello: A Circle of 101 Remarkable Meetings, by Craig Brown,” Nesmith explained.
However, “It’s about meetings between famous people,” Nesmith said. He followed his statement by reading a book passage explaining the exchange between Rudyard Kipling and Mark Twain.
Nesmith followed that with an acoustic performance of the song.
