You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - Greatest FUNK Band Of All Time?

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

What makes New Orleans funk hit so different? In this episode, we dive into the swampy funk of The Meters, the iconic quartet that’s left its mark on everything from Wu-Tang to Whitney Houston and beyond. We break down Leo Nocentelli’s chicken-scratch guitar, Art Neville’s genius riff comping, Zigaboo’s “direct assault” on the high hat, and the thumping George Porter Jr. bass lines that defined their unique sound. And we explore how NOLA production legend Allen Toussaint provided the perfect roux to cook up The Meters’ musical gumbo — simple yet complex, country yet urban, and 100% groovin’! Tune in for stories of Adam’s funky DVD menu discoveries, Peter’s Snug Harbor gig with Meters’ royalty, and how the culture of the crescent city produced what may be the greatest funk band of all time.🟠 Open Studio Members -> Nerd NookSpotify Playlist - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BqPtMqKaAiYlLvzplNDwOTry OS Membership today! → https://osjazz.link/aboutAll about YHIhttps://lnk.to/youllhearitYB

Yo, Adam. Yes. Do you like meters? I prefer yards, feet, inches. I'm an imperial kind of guy. Okay, sorry, I said that wrong. Do you like the meters? Oh, like the meeters, like folks who are into a carnivore lifestyle, that's also not for me.

You're weird. I'm talking about this. Oh, like New Orleans Supergroup The Meeters, funk icons of all time. Yes. Yes, of course. I love The Meeters, yeah. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear at Podcast.

Music Explored. Exploid brought to you today by Open Studio. Go to Open StudioJadiojazz.com for... Oh! Your jazz lesson needs, Peter. Are you okay with the drum roll? Nice. You were looking at me.

I was waiting. You may be self-conscious. I went single-stroke roll. Okay. Can you do a double-stroke roll? Yes, I can. Tune in next week for double-stroke rolls from Peter. You heard of here first, folks.

You have a small bird on you. A small Charlie Parker on you. It is a cardinal. A cardinal. Representing the St. Louis Cardinals, which is my favorite professional sports team. all the time. I'm familiar with their work. Are they still professional? Boom, boom. Barely. If there was a regular, if we did, what is it,

relegation like they do in like the Premier League, they would be. They're in a rebuilding stage, but it's all good. Man, I'm so excited today. We are talking about, is this a provocative title, the greatest funk band of all time? Did I overstate this? No, I think this is, that's a perfectly fine title, especially because there's a question mark. Listen, there's no greatest anything. But if you're going to put a conversation of the great funk bands of all time, how can you not include the meters? It's got to be in the conversation.

I mean, James Brown is the first thing when I see a title like that that we're like, hold on now, you know, James Brown, slide the family stone, a lot of folks. Parliament. But I think that, you know,

the unique thing about the meters is, like, they really infused the New Orleans sound, the ethos, the culture, the feel into, beyond just funk, but just into American popular music. Of course, New Orleans music

has always kind of, kind of been the foundation of rock and roll, R&B, you can see a lot of that. But I think, you know, we're going to kind of look at like 1966 through 1976, sort of, you know, a rough estimate of the time period of when the meters were really having their influence, their initial influence. And I think that you can, there's sort of a through line all throughout American pop music that, you know, knowingly or unknowingly, you know, got that New Orleans Five vibe, that street beat, that flavor through the funk and through the music, that just the authenticity.

of this band, The Meter. So I'm excited. Yeah, they're just the greatest. So what do we starting off with here? Are we going to start with... It looks like you have Alan Toussaint written down here as your first place to start with talking about the meter's music.

Yeah, Alan Toussaint was really just a giant of New Orleans music, New Orleans culture. He produced a lot of the Meeters' music. A lot of it was recorded at his studio, kind of from 1972 or 73 on. I got the chance to know Alan to work at his... at the great C. Saint Studios and to kind of be part of that up until the early 90s when things were still rolling. So where should we start? Well, let's go back to a little bit of Professor

Longhair, who is, you know, a lot of folks know about him. A lot of folks don't. But he's sort of the foundation and the bridge between the oldest style New Orleans sort of piano stuff. But I think we're going to hear it going all the way up into the way that the meters play and stuff. This is Professor Longhair on one of his great versions of Tipitina. But what you hear in that, you know, is like, it's not funk yet, but you get that bong, that rumba, that... It's not fun, but it is funky. It's funky and funky.

And it's got that New Orleans thing. It's got that Caribbean thing. All this stuff. So a lot of the, you know, Alan Tucson, who's going to be a huge name that we talk about, producer of the meters and really the one who put the meters together, even though he wasn't in the band. Great keyboardist, legendary. you know, engineer and studio owner and producer and sort of architect of modern New Orleans

music. But you got James Booker, all this stuff going all the way up to Harry Connick and stuff. But Art Neville, you know, one of the founders of the meters, definitely was listening to Professor Longhaired. So the first track I want to play from them is Sissistra, which is like, you know, everybody knows this, but I think you're going to hear the connection a little bit. This is 1969. Ben, my first introduction to the meters, I just now realized I was like, where did I first hear this because I don't think my dad had any meters records, but it was the DVD for the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown. Do you ever see Jackie Brown? Yeah, sure. So the load screen, I believe it was Jackie Brown. I was either Pulpiction or Jack and Brown, but I think it's Jackie Brown. The load screen

was Sissy Strut. Oh, that's so awesome. Just on like a minute-long loop. Yeah, and I would just have just have it playing. Just a load screen in my apartment. Right. As I just smoked a bunch of marble Reds. Oh, Reds. You went with the Reds. Nice. I should have just bought a Sissy Strut CD. I don't what I was thinking. Yeah, I mean, it's that sound. And I think what we're going to see is like, there's like, so if we check out, this is just, so this is Zigaboo Motelast, who's, you know,

really the final, he's the drummer. He's, you know, Joseph Modelast. And, I mean, he's such a iconic figure, you know, often copied, never duplicated. But this is just the drums on Sissy Strut. I mean, it's funky, the backbeat, but that high head. But that's one of the most, you know,

kind of famous funk drum grooves. the drummers try to play that people love. And this is Ziggibu, kind of what he was talking about, how this groove came about. For the information I wanted to display, I tried to use the high hat with both hand. There's at least a thousand patterns where you could actually do.

Patterns, pattern. That's New Orleans. Mixing it up. So this was a, this to me, was a direct assault on the high hat. And being able to interact in a more aggressive way and to get more flavor out of simplicity. Okay, mission accomplished Zigaboo. More flavor, a direct assault on the hi-hat, you know.

But the last thing he said... So he's talking about playing the head with two hands. Two hands. As opposed to usually you would just play it with your left hand. I see a lot of drummers playing with Just, which can work, you know, for sure. But it's that originality. Like just the way, like there's so much New Orleans than what he was. just saying direct, like the way, the way folks talk, the way they play.

It's so unique. Can't disassociate the culture from the music. Absolutely. And it's so like out there in your face for New Orleans in such a beautiful way. It's so, like he said, it's a direct assault. But he said, the last thing he said with simplicity. And this is sort of a, you know, a lot of people look at their way that they played funk is very complicated.

But there's actually a lot of space. There's a lot of like, there's a lot of opportunity for things to, for the sunlight. like to go shine in different places in the quartet. This is George Porter Jr., the bassist, talking about space. It was always like we had learned by them from doing the sessions that we had been recording these sessions with Alan Tusset, which was almost about probably close to a year before we started recording our own stuff. And we would have had to do that statistic struck before we actually had done those sessions

with Alan. We probably would have played. We probably would have played that because we'd be. been busier. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Playing the sessions with Alan and then doing the lead desk of things, it was like he used to always say, it's not what you play, it's what you don't play. Yeah.

You know, and so, you know, so playing with space was essential. So that's, you know, really coming from Alan Toussaint in terms of like how he produced, how he informed them in the, because basically like from like 65, 66, 67, the meters weren't even called, I mean, they started calling themselves the meters, but first they were the back, the kind of back, you know, studios used. to have like the rhythm sections and the sound. And a lot of people don't realize just because New Orleans we get a little disorganized in New Orleans.

I'm not going to lie sometimes with our business stuff and our storytelling. But like, I mean, this was what the meters were doing in 1966 with Lee Dorsey at Allen Tucson Studio. You might have heard of this little ditty before. Working in a coal mine going down, down, down, working in a coal mine about the best down, working in a coal mine going down, down, down.

But they've already got that. That professor Five o'clock in the morning I'm already up and gone Yeah Lord, I'm so tired So you know They were backing up here

It's a bunch of stuff But they've already got that sound You hear that New Orleans flavor Even coming out of that kind of mid-60s Do what is that doo-Wop? Yeah, who was that? What was the band on that one? Do you know?

That band, that was the meters No, but who's the artist? Lee Dorsey. Lee Dorsey. Yeah, he had a couple big hiss He was New Orleans. Cat, I think he was in the military and the West Coast and then came back to New Orleans

and Allen Tucson basically was like put the thing together and they'd have these regional hits but sometimes I mean this was like that was like a billboard R&B you know hit. You know Memphis, Nashville of course different places but New Orleans Detroit obviously Motown but New Orleans

had its own thing going on too. Man truly yeah very cool so yeah so that's kind of moving along so their first record that Sissy Streat was almost called the meter so like they came out the gate with some hits and and that was in 1969 so you hear the evolution already from like 66 through 69 and then they released two records two or three maybe even in 69 the first being you know the self-titled the meters but then they had look a pie pie we're going to play some of this and we're

going to come back to it later because i think i'm going to actually alter my we have our wonderful apex moments that i'm looking forward to this because there's a lot for me but this is also 1969 later on the year look a pie pie. That's a high hat of salt. So you're hearing that simplicity, right? Yeah, the production's so good, the way things are panned. Sound of the guitar. And then this right here, this next drum break

coming up right here, is coming straight out of the street beats of New Orleans, layered on top of funk, boom. That's Ardneville, Oregon. So Art Neville, you know, did a lot of the least. vocals, although a lot of this was instrumental music, you know, which was a little bit unusual during that time. But Art Neville, we got Leo Nisantel

on the guitar. Who do we already mentioned? Zigaboo, Moalas, Joseph Zigaboo, of course, and George Porter Jr. on the bass. And that was the core quartet. I mean, they started added like some of the other Neville brothers, Cyril Neville later on, but it was really that quartet and that partnership with Allen Tucson

that over the next four to five years was just a beautiful thing, as they Man, they have such a distinct sound too. And like all great funk music, like you're talking about James Brown, you can talk about sign of family stone, parliament of Funkadelic, everybody's just got their own, they're just have their own part that they're

that they're just, you know, releasing themselves too. Like you just give yourself up to the part. But I think what makes the meter sound so distinct, of course, Sigriman, more or less, the complete, you know, the loose change pocket. Yeah.

Right? Where it's just like you can feel the beats between the beats so it's such a huge part of the music and then the chicken scratch guitar is just the sound of the guitar that Alan Toussaint got in the studio that chicken you know what I mean?

That is super distinct to me that's what makes it and Leo actually started it's a really there's a lot of unique stuff that goes all the way back to like banjo and mandolin Leo actually started he was from Donaldsonville Louisiana which is kind of a country town

but it has its own very rich music This is like country funk. It is. Very country funk. It's like funk for the country. Yeah. And he started on mandolin. And then when he said when he started playing guitar, he's like, wow, I got a couple more strings.

And, you know, it's a really interesting thing. And we talk about, like, the drum groove. Let's check out the drum groove of what we just listened to drums only here. Like that secondary, uh, backbeat, right? I mean, it's so deep. It's very swampy, right? It's like you're walking along on the edge of the swamp. And then, ah, foot kind of goes down.

in a gator might get you and then you know it's just so um we talk about different music and i think that we really can hit on something here on this pod of joy that we all share you and i you know caleb uh bob all the audience everybody listening like when music is so directly connected with culture with the landscape with the food and whether you've been to new or you haven't if you hear this stuff and you like it once you go to new orleans and you go out like go over to the West Bank, go over to Algiers, go over to the swamp area and stuff, it'll all start to make sense. The same way, like, if you grow up

hearing, I remember I listened to like a lot of Bach chorals and classical music because my parents were both classics. The first time, but I was like, oh, I know this stuff, you know, I went to Julia or whatever. The first time I went to Germany, actually on a jazz tour, and like, went into some of these churches, these cathedrals. I was like, damn. I mean, not that you have to go there to enjoy it, but then it starts

to really come together. And I can't tell you, like, how, like, humid this music is, how swampy it is. connected to people in that city for sure. That's amazing, man. And then we're going to move on to 1970 now, which was a very important year, as you know. Oh, you don't know, man.

That's why I didn't get a birthday card from you last year. So sorry, I was born as 70, man. But this year, you know, a glorious year in the world, of course. But they had a record called Strutton. I mean, just the words and like the sounds and the way they would look at Pi Pi, apoc you. I mean, it's like they have their own language for this stuff. but this track hand clapping song

you know when we talk about great funk bands I think the influence on hip hop becomes very important because early hip I mean really up until today but early hip hop culture was all about sampling funk stuff you know R&B and different things too but especially funk crews drum brakes that kind of thing

and the meters for sure yes absolutely absolutely and jazz stuff but the jazz stuff is usually the funky jazz stuff right you're talking about Lou Donaldson Allegated boo-guloo and whatnot yeah yeah but this is hand clapping

Ronnie Foster, which you've probably heard some of the stuff and said, oh, this way of like, clap your hands now has been around forever. This is actually where it came from, 1970. Leo. Oh. Those are real claps. That's not a machine. You got that blues, of course. And I think this thing, too, of like repetition, like, that's eight times they just did that phrase, right?

Normally, a lot of times it's like, oh, don't do it that much or change something up. Remember what they said, what George Porter Jr. said. they learned from art, I mean from Alan Toussaint was simplicity. Like, how do you do something funky and repeat it? Repeat it. Keep it the same. Don't change anything. Boom.

You know, like there's such a value of that in all different kinds of music. But I think with funk and the way that the meters laid this stuff out, it's very patient. It's very, like, there's a complexity there to the grooves when you break them down. But there's like a commitment to the groove and the simplicity of how the stuff is laid out. Well, the repetition becomes part of the groove. It's that becomes part of the relationship to what's happening is how many times it happens. Right.

It keeps happening again and again. It just becomes part of this conversation that's going on where it's like, is it coming back around? Ah, right, right. And then you're waiting for it. Yeah, very James Brown. Very James Brown to. So you got that dappoo-de-a-dip clap your hands now.

Now, so the hip-hop influence. We've got Tribe called Quest. Right? We've also got the Wu-Tang. Clap-blap your hands now. Clap, clap. You know what you say? Yeah, I drink till I'm drunk, smoke skunk with my stinking ass motherfucker.

Even Whitney Houston. Ooh, dang. Late 90s, Whitney. Yeah, yeah. So when we talk about, that's what I'm saying, like the New Orleans, like ethos, musical ethos, the culture being, you know, the meters imprinting that. on all of popular music. That's where you start to hear. Because everybody thinks that,

oh, that's going back. Everybody claps their hands. But that way of doing it, that kind of vibe, that was just something the meters came up with. Pete, when we're doing our Wu-Tang, you'll hear it. When's that happened?

I mean, we could probably fit that. We could make that like a thing where we have a category. Yeah. There has to be some connection. Yeah. So, how are you feeling so far? Man, I feel great.

I really feel great. I mean, the whole thing is, too, is like, there's certain music that is just music that is meant for a party. It is a party. The music itself sounds like a party. And the meters is one of those bands

that is the best party music in the world. Yeah. Put it with anything else, Brazilian music, whatever it is you got. It holds up to all of that. I'm glad you said Brazilian music. That's, to me, is the direct connection, not in terms of, like, the groove

or, like, the harmonies or whatever. There's a philosophical kinship. Yes. For sure. Like, Brazilian music, like, where it's really music for the people, And you have a culture, like that's a very direct connection between New Orleans and Brazil, is that you have a culture of people that know how to dance, know how to sing,

kind of across all different people that have their own thing. And that the musicians, the audience and the musicians are very connected and they're held to a very natural high level. You know what I mean? It's kind of like if you're in a food city, a bad restaurant is just not going to survive because people aren't going to be interested in that. And that's very much the way Brazilian music is for Brazilian people. They have certain songs that everybody knows.

And the connection, like, it tastes, smells, looks, how it sounds. Yes. You know what I mean? Like, everything is connected. Yeah, yeah. And so what we're doing on this episode, by the way, thank you guys for being here. Are we allowed to say give a little like and a subscribe? I feel weird doing that with it.

But do it. It's your like. It's your show, man. Say whatever you want. No, no, it's our show. Every week we're breaking down great albums. And what we're doing like this week is a little different. Well, it's not a little different.

We've done it before. But we have a playlist. So we'll have a link to that below Apple Podcast. I mean, Apple, Apple, Apple, Music, Spotify, whatever. because I picked out these nine tracks because it's not to say that like Struttner Rejuvenation, look a pop, these are all fantastic meters records, but I love them

so much, I couldn't be restricted to one album and so this is more just sort of like my favorites, but I think they're also pretty representative of sort of the lineage of the meters and what they did. I was going to play next just a little bit. This isn't even going to be on the playlist, but just like you might know about this. This is Dr. John.

1973 We definitely need a Dr. John you were here at that point But this is the meters With Dr. John on his And this is a big hit So like What was happening with the meters

They never really had huge They had some hits But they never had huge commercial success On their own Although they did like Open for the Rolling Stones Stevie Wonder used to come to New Orleans And jam with them

Don't forget about that Jackie Brown DVD I didn't even know But like there's all these It was always kind of an insider thing and their music is so great that it's kind of like it's gonna find its way. Yeah, but they're one of those bands where

even if they never had like a huge smash worldwide hit, every musician I know talks about them to each other. Like we all talk about the meters. Everybody is listening to this music who is into playing music at all. You've got to go through your meters phase for sure. Absolutely. And, you know, I got a chance to do a gig once with George Porter. Hey.

At Snug Harbor in the early 90s. It was actually a jazz gig. And he was so nice and like just fun to work with. And he was so humble. because he's like, you know, I'm not really a jazz basis. I was like, George Porter Jr. You know what I'm saying? It's like, it's like, and he had his little fake book and we played standard.

Oh, come on. He had a fake book. And I wanted to do some meter stuff. He's like, no, no, no, we're doing all jazz stuff, you know. He was the first one I ever saw with the teeny little, I was like, dang, you know, the real book. Yeah. It was like the mini one. Pocket real book.

He busted that thing out. And that was a joy. I knew Art Neville. I actually lived. When I first moved to New Orleans, I lived on Du Fossett Street, which was like a block over from Valon Street, where Art. Art Neville. Well, the Never Brothers grew up there, uptown, and I got to meet Art. Literally, like, he had moved back to the block and, like, fixed up this beautiful double shotgun

house. And, and, I mean, he was, he was a great guy. Like, New Orleans, like, the, like, the, the culture and the connection between the elders and the current and the wannabes is so together. I didn't even realize what I was getting into. It took me years later. I was like, wait, that's Art Neville from the, you know, it's like, he was just somebody in the neighborhood. So I love those guys. But we're moving along. That was Dr. John, who had a big hit with that in 1973. And then 1974, we've got the album Rejuvenation.

And this is probably, you know, kind of the apex of their recorded output in a lot of ways. Although, to me, it kind of kept going from here. But this has got some, like, really important stuff. This is people say from Rejuvenation. Leo Nisantelli. Check out this drum group here. But the simplicity, the repetition, and the bass, Like you do.

Art Neville. So Adam, there's something that Art Neville did there that I think we need to do as jazz players a little more. Can we get a little... I know we're not in the nerd nook now. But he played the same fill twice

and it was killing. Like, this is what I'm saying. Like, we don't do this enough in jazz. We feel like we play one thing. Check it out. You hear that line? Art Neville, we got the... Although he did alter it just a little bit, you know.

And this is getting into some... A little bit of political commentary with the vocals that they were... All of them start to coming together. And you know where we're going, Adam. We're going to the four core. Come on now.

Back to the one. Is that Phil again? The piano film. Oh, right. Right. Repetition. One more time to the four. Here we go.

And then this is going to be one of the greatest breaks of all times. Oh, no. It's the second time. Sorry. Really left us hanging there, Pete. Here we go. Wait, we're going to go.

But again, but this is part of the thing. Like, they build it up, right? The architecture of this, the repetition, everything in its place. Let's check out the second time. And it's not even on one, it's on two. So good, man. It's so good. There's so many details that are like repeated.

It's not like the jazz stuff where it's like, oh, that one thing and then train went to something like, which is great too. But this is like the fill. Like, and you caught it more. I didn't even realize it was that many times, you know. It's like a mosaic. It's like this mosaic where things are sparkling and popping off in different places. and every time you listen to it, there's something else sticking out.

It's great. Yeah, yeah. So other stuff from rejuvenation, we'll move to this a little quicker, but... Like, you're not even quite sure where the groove is, but it's there. Then here. Just pecking. Just pecking like a chicken. A chicken in the swamp, right?

Damn. Woo! Baseline. That's what he did. Again. You know, my name. But this stuff, too, in here. But there's so much syncopation and like, it's never,

because I just kiss my baby, yeah. You know, it's because I just kiss my baby. I mean, this stuff is so, check it up. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Because I just kiss my baby. It just dances above the meter.

But that backbeat is always there. He was reading this off of the staff paper. Definitely. Dibu-dupea-ha-how. I mean, the counterpoint, the rhythmic counterpoint. So that kind of thing, again, I had to hunt around because I was like, where was this? Check out a little more to hip-hop influence. See if you remember a little band called Public Enemy.

Speed it up a little bit. You got to get stupid. You got to let them know what time it is. Bar. But they keep that line that It's up like a whole step or whatever because they sped it up. Fantastic stuff.

But I mean, there's so much rich. Yeah, man, it's just, it's intense, right? All right, should we keep moving along here? We're getting to 19, well, we're still in 1974, but rejuvenation. Now, this to me... You can't skip over.

Hey, Pacu, Paci Way. Right, that's what we're going. Oh, okay. That's where we're going. Actually, should we sort of jump into, let's jump into the desert. tracks because I think we're going to be because this is actually my Desert Island track

on and the reason is like I wouldn't say Apaki way and when you guys hear this it's going to be like oh that's the meters oh I didn't know that that's New Orleans like the reason it's my desert island track is not because it's the funkiest thing the meters did the most

you know I mean there's like it's killer funk in it it's like but it's kind of a combination of like their joyful stuff there's more lyrics on this there's more of a direct connection this is one of those songs in New Orleans that's very much connected with the streets, very much connected with Mardi Gras and just very much like

everybody knows this there. They don't even know why they know whether they're music people or not. So let's check out my Desert Island track. A Paki Way from Rejuvenation. Hey. And that's that Caribbean rumber.

That bass drum. Hard Neville. So powerful. It's right there on the snare. Stan Zinglinger. I'm getting hungry. I know. He's not even playing the big backbeat. They add the horns, all here on the snare drum.

It's a very, you know, now you're starting to get the claps coming with the backbeat. But like, Zig's staying right here. Stick, kak, kak-dunk-bunk. Like, it's a very, like, direct connection with the street beat, with the parades and stuff. I mean, it's funk. But I don't think any of them were in there like, let's do a New Orleans funky thing. Like, it's very much from the street beat in a super-excited way. So, I mean, I love Pocky Way.

it's like, to me, that's the joy of, like, if you were to say, what's the most joyful musical track that you want to listen to for the rest of your life? I'm ashamed to say that would be that. Maybe overthlone this month, John Coltrane, J.S. Bach or anything. Really, really strong. What you got for your desertine track? I see you doing some scoring and some readjusting perhaps. I'm going Sissy Strut.

I'm going classic Sissy Strut just because, like I said, that was really the first, my first exposure to the meters. It's my favorite meters track still. Yeah. It's a great one. It's a great one. Yeah, it's a great one. You'd be happy on that dessert island if you had a 60th.

I'm sure. Apex moments, Peter. What do you got? Okay, so my apex moment is everything the meters every day. Sue me. But if I need to be restricted to one moment, I found, like, to me, look a pie pie, the vocals on that, of which there's no actual words that I can discern from the English language. Even the title isn't. But there's some stuff that they do.

I'm going to just play you. my apex moment. So they start out there with the little vocals. But you hear that little oopachia, whatever. There's a break later on. Let me sit right here.

Sorry, let me get the right place. Hey, check out the vocals. Coming up. One more time, sorry. Okay, so they're doing all that stuff. So those guys are all right. They were all right. They're doing all that while Zag on the drums

is playing that killer group. But check this out. This is just the vocals for the second break. The first one is incredible, too. But this is my Apex Apex Moly. This is just isolated the vocals only. Check this out. Layered.

Well, that's cool. That's cool. Yeah, yeah. I mean, this stuff is just like... Oh, it's so great. Amazing. So that's the second break. The first one's incredible, too,

but I only get one Apex Moment, so that's mine. My Apex Moment, I'm going with all of rejuvenation. Honestly, I think the album itself, for their career, I think that's the peak. What about if there was a bespoke playlist. I'm just going to start talking like that to you. I'm not even speaking English anymore.

Just Bawai. That's the bespoke playlist title. Oh, bespoke playlist. Gotcha. All right. got funk below sea level. Because New Orleans is below sea level. I like that.

I have a few. I have Swampstank. The playlist would be called Swampstank. It would be a lot of meters, be a little Dr. John, maybe some Cajun music in there, too. You know what I mean? It would be the whole thing. If this was an Apple playlist on Apple music,

if it was in that, it would be in a playlist called Southern Knights. Totally. Well, that's the great Alan Toussand. He had a big hit with Southern Knights, so that would be perfect on there. That's what I'm saying. And then if this was a play

There was a Spotify playlist. The Spotify would call it directors cut. And it would be like this, some Rolling Stones, just some stuff, maybe some like some Ohio players,

things you would hear in like a Scorsese, Tarantino, maybe Guy Ritchie movie. Right. This kind of music. The bespoke of the bespoke. Yeah.

You got to know. You got to know. The directors who appreciate funky and soul music from the early 70s. Right. Okay. Wait,

was that up next? No, that was bespoke playlist. Sorry. So our up next, though, is what would come up next on Spotify? Oh, right. To pair with this. Yes. What's some good stuff?

What you got on that? I've got Parliament's 1974 masterpiece up for the downstroke. Up for the downstruck. You know, I'm a parliament guy through and through. Yeah. That's my band. That's who I'm most influenced by in this genre is Parliament and Funkadelic. Absolutely.

I love pairing stuff like that. I think they would go well together, actually. Even though Parliament, you know, we talked about how meters is this is, It's got a lot of country in there. Yeah. Parliament feels very like you're driving in the city. In the city, right. But there's some interesting intersection.

So I remember seeing, well, it was like George Clinton and the funk. You know, they started changing the thing. But like in the early 90s at Tipitinas on Chappatula Street in New Orleans, George Clinton used to come or Bootsie Collins or some combination of those bands, like usually two or three times a year. And they would do shows that were legendary, three and four hours long. Like they started 8 o'clock, but they'd hit stage at 10. and they'd be in there until one, two, in the morning.

And, like, they had a deep love in New Orleans for Parliament, all things George Clinton, all things Bootsie. Because, I mean, that's why it's what's up next. You know, like, that's a natural connection. And I agree, it's more of a city funk, if anything, country funk, but the overlap is beautiful. Yeah, I got to open for George Clinton once, just down the street here at the firehouse.

Remember the firehouse? Wait, hold on. It's now condemned, I believe. Like it. And my girl at the time, when we met him, he just took her hand, and he just, this was the 90s, by the way. Couldn't do this now. And he just licked from her hand all the way up to her shoulder.

And I was like, she was, she was bewitched, George Clinton. She was bewitched. Okay, for up next, I've got, for sure, Alan Tussain's Southern Nights, which was 1975, so that's a year after rejuvenation. Professor Longhair, any of his stuff, but especially New Orleans piano, I mean, like, that's that's sort of the compilation of all things

FAS. And James Booker, Junko Partner, which is like from mid-70s as well and is like kind of a manifestation of a lot of things the meters did in solo piano and really shows that direct connection there. You'd be staying swampy, funky, jazzy with all those.

Those are all great. Those are all great. Yeah. What about any quibble bits? Anything to quibble bit about this one? This might be unquibbleable. Well, we did, Full disclosure. Oh, we definitely need to talk about our attorneys at law in South Louisiana. Debossier and Debossier.

DeBosier and Debossier may have represented the meters in some litigation at one point. Of course they did. Esquois. Esquah. So we did talk about this a little before. Possibly, and this is so weak, we can co-own it if you want. Equival bits would be like they come out doing swampy funk and that's all they do. Yeah, there's not a lot of like different textures.

besides the swampy funk texture or like a huge, you know, tonal color palette with like core changes or anything like that. And I don't know if it needs it, man. Like, that's the other thing too is like the sort of like quibble bit is also their biggest strength. That's why it's so good. Right. It's because it's just like this relentless

groove that hits you. So... Yeah. It's like Mozart. All of your sonatas follow the sonado a laborer for. And they do it beautifully. And like, like you said, it's like the times that come around again. It's the relationship to the repetition that means so much. So I don't know. It's not really a quibble bit as much as just kind of like baked into the music.

So that's tough. Yeah. Well, actually, you know what? I got a quibble bit. They didn't, they weren't allow. Okay, so they actually were still around. And everybody except for Art Neville passed about five years ago. But the rest of the band is still around. And they have come together. I actually saw their first reunion, I believe

it was like 91 or 92, sometimes around that time at New Orleans Jazz Fist. It was such a big deal because they hadn't all played together as a band under the meters since I believe like 76 or 77. Oh, wow. So it was like, I don't, there was some different things that, that occurred or whatever. And they have come back at different parts, but they basically stopped being a band after

that. You know, two of them kept living in New Orleans. Two of them were living on the West Coast. And they would come together. It was always a huge, I mean, it was a huge deal when they would. But that would be an only quibble bit is that they didn't progress past this incredible. It's kind of like Stevie Wonder. We talk about that period.

We talk about, you know, different, you know, John Coltrane for certain. years and then they go on to the next period. They didn't really go on to the next period. Yeah, but, you know. Maybe it was just for that time? Yeah, it's like, neither did, like, I mean, they could have just kept making music like, what, the Stones and Bowie and people like that,

but like, what happened after 82 for those guys? You know what I mean? It's like some good music. About a billion dollars in revenue. Okay, that's true. That's true. They didn't make a ton of bank. But you know what I'm saying?

Artistically, maybe it's like they called it when it was felt right to call. Right. That could be. I don't know. Snobomomomomom. I mean, I think this is 10. You think it's super snobby? I think it's super snobby, yeah.

Okay, I don't know. Do we see that on here? Adam just looked at me with a very rare look of shock. Shock and all. I have the exact opposite. Okay, because our snobometer is faulty. So you think that this is an album that snobs only would love? Well, no. Is that what the snobometer is? I think it's that snobs would love it.

How snobby is the album? is like, is it more towards a general population or more towards like a niche snobby music nerd? You know what I mean? So five. Do you think so? It's got to be fine. I say 10, you say zero.

We got to average it, right? I guess you're right. I mean, I think it's snobby because a lot of people don't know, like for some reason, they're still a little bit under the radar. I mean, of course, if you're a hardcore funk. It's party music, though. I know, but it's also, but it's got these layers. It's not party music in the way that, like, you know,

Millie Vanilli's one record is party music. If you're having a late 80s party, I guess. Don't blame it on the rain. See? But I'm saying, what's the snobometer on Millie Vanilli? That's zero. Right.

So you're going to put the meters at the same place? I have three. Oh, you have a three. So like a slightly snobbier than Millie Vanilli. I love that that's now our criteria. Oh, say Whitney Houston. That would be a zero. Would Aunt Linda love this record?

No. Okay. Would Alan Iverson love this record? I hope so. Would Ethan Iverson love this record? I think he would, yeah. That's why I said 10. Because isn't that our, the snobometer, Aunt Linda, to Ethan Iverson?

Okay. We need some work on that. Let us know what your snobometer rating is if you understand the snobometer. Someone did put a comment. And look, please, if we're getting stuff right, which we often do, please give us a compliment in the comments. If you have a quibble bit with us, please put that in the comments. We welcome those and receive those.

We're very good at accepting those. Let us know what you think of this. But somebody did put in the comments in the last episode about the snobometer. They said they think it's faulty. Did you see that? Yeah, that technically it should be a 10 if both Aunt Linda and Ethan Iverson like it. That they both get five points. Which is what I suggested months and months ago, but it's too confusing to explain then.

You just explained it. Yeah, I know. But then what happens if I guess so? This might make that just like a six then, because Aunt Linda might give it a one? I think Aunt Linda would give it a three. She'd give it a three. I'd say, well, I'd say Ethan Iverson would give it a five, probably. Or he'd probably give it a four.

Probably a four. So it would be a seven, meaning that it's like a great album that appeals to both the masses and to snobs. Yeah. But see, I just don't like that because then you can't tell how snobby an album is, which is what I want out of the snobometer. It's measuring the snobbiness. That is inherent in the name snobometer.

Because if it's five, then you're like, well, is it five for Aunt Linder or five for Ethan Iverson. Right. You know what I'm saying? Right. All right. I'm going nine. the whole point of a snobometer is to rate the snobbiness of an album.

Did you ever think you'd be sitting on a podcast saying, quote, the whole point of the snobometer is to rate the album. Buddy, I manifested this podcast. This whole idea was to be able to have a job where I sit and talk music with you and we discuss how snobby a thing is. Okay. I'm living my dream, Pete. Is it better than K-O-B?

Kind of blue. It is not. Okay. I'm going to say, now, this is a little bit unfair because this is not an album, actually. We're talking about rejuvenation. This is a playlist, like Peter's favorite meter tracks. I'm going to say it is equal

to count of blue. Controversial. Yeah, I'm going to say it's equal. And I almost, if you would have forced me and say, like, tell me that I'm not allowed to do, we don't do equal. We don't do equal. It's better then.

Oh, no, it's not. If I was forced off, I would say. Okay. For me. Okay. Isn't that what they, is this, we're not talking about the cords are better. I don't see, is John Coltrane in the meters?

I don't see that. I'm just saying, these tracks to me, like if we're saying better than, do we mean better than to us just for pure enjoyment? Yeah, I would say, okay, okay, I put it out there. Let me know if you agree or not.

Okay. Uh, Ocuchamals. I said nine. Nine, yeah. I just said all killer. Yeah, they're all great. So that's probably a nine. Great art in general. They're great. And they're very iconic. Well, you will have seen them. Caleb will have them in the episode. They're really fun. They're indicative

of the period. They're, you may have seen them, may have not, but they're fantastic. Cool. Yeah. All right. Well, hey, listen, leave us a comment. And also, leave us a rating and review on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts. We love ratings and reviews. We read the reviews sometimes. We're going to get back to that. We're going to be doing a mailbag episode coming up.

A muckbang, mailbag. A muckbang mail bag. So if you want to leave a speak pipe, go to you'll hear it.com and leave us a voicemail. We'll be taking some questions. We'll also be reading some of your comments, including some of your suggestions about things like the stomometer. That'll be in a couple weeks. Should we talk about what's coming up next week, though?

Can we even do that? Yeah, next week is going to be some Bill Evans. We're going to be talking about one of the most influential jazz trios in the history of trios, Bill Evans, Paul Motion, Scott LaFaro. They were only together for 18 months, recorded four albums, recorded two of the most iconic jazz piano albums in the same day. We're going to be talking about that next week. Was it a Sunday by any chance?

It was a Sunday. June 25th, 1961. Cool. And the nerd nook. I already know what we're going to do for the nerd. The nerd nook is something exclusive for Open Studio members. Yeah, you got to be a member. it's in the hang, you can find it in the S.

And this is for like, if you like some of the stuff we play at the beginning, and we're going to play another tune in a second here too. But I did a little arrangement on that cissy strut. I hope it's cool with the meters. You know, I'm always like, we can't do it just like them because we can't do it just like them. No way. So I put some kind of chords and some rhythms.

I'm going to kind of just break down those chords. They're relatively simple, although in the words of Caleb Kirby, what he told me earlier this morning, just learn it. So I think that's going to be an opportunity for me to just learn it. But to show you guys kind of why I did that the rhythm. Love it when drummers say, just learn it. That's right. So we're going to talk about that.

That'll be available very soon. Actually, when this episode drops over at Open Studio Jazz in The Hang and the Nerd Nook. And so... Cool. What do you want to go out on? Well, let's do... Oh, first of all, give it up for Bob to Boo at the bass laying down. Kayla Kirby at the drum.

They're taking this podcast to the next book. We appreciate you guys. Why don't we do a little bit of that? Bounce, bong, bong. Yeah. Bown to bounce. Until next time. Bok don't do, you'll hear it.