Original Meters Reunion
Friday, February 04, 2005
There's no time like Mardi Gras to make a New Orleans native seriously homesick. I haven't been to Mardi Gras since 1997, and every year i say "next year..." It always seems to turn out that March - May is a much more opportune time for me to take a trip home. This isn't such a bad thing, though. If there's any event in nola that rivals Mardi Gras, it's the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
A few years back i got the song "They All Asked for You" by The Meters to play for my daughter. My mom sang it to my brothers and i when we were young and we loved it, so i figured she would too. (She does, but she likes Mardi Gras Mambo better.) Then Mardi Gras came around, and with it the homesickness, so i found a bunch of mardi gras music to listen to, several of which were also by The Meters. I wound up with a few other Meters songs in my small collection and recognized some of them from samples in other songs... beastie boys, meat beat manifesto, public enemy too, i beleive. So i started to slowly collect more stuff from them and began really listening to it a lot because, honestly, it is very kid-safe. Rarely a swear word, always upbeat...
(portrait by Wayno)
Truth of the matter though, is that i was hooked. It's really just very good music, besides the obvious connection to home for me. I mean, it sounds like new orleans. So i learned the other day that the original Meters are regrouping to play the 2005 Jazz Fest. I am seriously considering going. If you need convincing, hunt down the song A Message From the Meters. "IN THE ANNALS of popular music, the Meters are to R&B what the Beatles were to pop--innovative players who helped to define a magical musical moment." Definately something to be excited about.
posted by j. Permanent Link
