Mardi Gras Mambo by The Meters
A music review in the form of re-imagined lyrics set the rhythm of cooking Mardi Gras gumbo 1500 miles from New Orleans. I expertly wield arrangement and style to place the reader in my kitchen with me on a snowy late-winter night.
Creative Strategy
- Write a music review where writing style plays an integral part in telling the story of the music.
- This multi-layered approach uses one medium (writing) to tell a story about another medium (music).
- Anyone who loves music, New Orleans, Mardi Gras, or wants to learn to love them.
- Mardi Gras Mambo is a not just a great New Orleans party song. My review of it illustrates just how it transcends this simplistic description and permeates and resonates far from the Crescent City.
- You can experience the sounds, smells, and vibe of New Orleans even if you’re not there.
- By mimic-ing the tempo and cadence of the music (what is this stylistic device??), with reimagined lyrics, this music review reveals another layer with which a listener and review reader can interact with and understand the music.
Visual Communication
- The layout of the text visually reinforces the message by mirroring the tempo and cadence of the music and lyrics.
Down in New Orleans.
Down in New Orleans
Where the blues was born
I put on the Meters. Or the Hawketts. No, today it’s the Meters. I need a little funk to lift me out of mine.
First the guitar.
Ba-dah, dah-dah, dah, dah, ba-dah, dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah. Ugh!
Then that voice!
Rich. Warm. The edges of one word melting into the next. My onions breaking down and recombining with the celery and pepper to create another flavor, texture, another experience altogether. Art Neville, I’m falling in love with your voice for the millionth time over.
It takes a cool cat
To blow a horn
“to blo-a-hoan” Cool cat, indeed, Mr. Neville.
On Lasalle and Rampart Streets
I’m there.
The combo's playing with a mambo beat
Now the horns. Low at first, building and sparking with heat and intensity. Time to add the cayenne.
The Mardi Gras, mambo, mambo, mambo
Party Gras, mambo, mambo, mambo
Mardi Gras, mambo-ooh
Down in New Orleans
1954. 17 years old. (I AM Art Neville. How’s that?!?) My band is playing around with calypso—because New Orleans—when we get a call from Jack the Cat at WWEZ on Canal Street. Wants us to re-record a country song. A country song with a Latin feel.
Chopping dey onion, onion, onion
Chopping dey pepper, pepper, pepper
Chopping dey cel-er-ee
In my ki-itch-en
My roux is getting a little too dark. Feeling some bad juju from Junior Leaguer of Lafayette Mrs. Donald Labbe, whose spattered and dog-eared recipe I’m following from “Talk About Good!” Time for some stirring.
In Gert Town
Where the cats all meet
I’d love to be passing a good time in Gert Town, me. I can even walk there from Hop’s house. How’s she makin’ with her jambalya?
There's a Mardi Gras mambo
With a beat
Join the Chief with the Zulu gang
Add the Andouille, slowly now
And truck on down
stir rice in next
Where the mambo's swing
and finally dem shrimps
Where y’at, keyboards? What it is. Tomatoes and water for the interlude before the final simmer.
Chopping dey onion, onion, onion
Chopping dey pepper, pepper, pepper
Chopping dey cel-er-ee
In my ki-itch-en
Keyboard and Vocals—shrimp and andouille—Art Neville
Guitarist—tomato—Leo Nocentelli
Drums—rice—Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste
Bass—holy trinity and roux—George Porter Junior
Horns—cayenne—not credited