MetaFilter posts tagged with reunion

From Bass to Brother

zizzle — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:16:31 -0800

A poster on Talk Bass wanted to get a cool, old, down-on-his luck bassist a bass to play again. And in the course of doing so, reunited him with his long lost brother. Arthur "Butch" Porter was a down-on-his-luck bassist working as a day laborer in New York. In a previous life, he played with Empress and Johnny Dynell. General Electric, the original poster, worked in a restaurant Butch frequented. Upon learning of Butch's hard times and after hearing him play his own bass, GE decided that he would find a bass for Butch. With the help of the Talk Bass community, he started the thread linked above. But by page 2 and post 28, the thread took a turn into the unbelievable when a new poster from California came on the scene claiming that he was Butch's younger brother Andre and that they were separated 40 years ago. The conversation unfolded from there to reveal that Andre's claims were true and a reunion is planned for the future. And yes, General Electric did give Butch his bass.

All Tomorrow's Parties

Joe Beese — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:38:08 -0800

Rock band reunions normally involve, at minimum, a little live music. But as The Velvet Underground are not your typical rock band, maybe none of us should have been surprised that the reunion of The Velvets at LIVE from the NYPL on Tuesday December 8th had none.

"My dad, Master Sergeant Joe Myers, is in Iraq right now ... "

WCityMike — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:06:56 -0800

Tricked on Halloween (in the nicest way imaginable).

"Lies and betrayals, fruit covered nails, electricity. . ."

bardic — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:39:02 -0800

Pavement to reunite and tour the world. On their final tour in 1999, band leader Stephen Malkmus infamously took the stage with a pair of handcuffs. Now playing with his new band The Jicks, people were surprised when he started to throw some Pavement tunes into his set-list (YT). But a full-blown reunion? Pretty shocking. Youtubery: "Cut Your Hair" "Range Life" "Father To A Sister Of Thought" "Rattled By The Rush" "Zurich Is Stained" "Space Ghost Jam" "Summer Babe" (live)

Pogue Mahone, ya Nipple Erectors

filthy light thief — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 13:51:20 -0800

Shane MacGowan is the face and name most often associated with The Pogues. Unraveling Shane's psyche would require a book-length study but the crux of his identity lies somewhere in that conflict between English experience and Irish heritage. The abbreviated story of his life starts with his birth in England, but he was raised in Ireland, and moved back to England some years later. He won a scholarship to the renowned Westminster School, where he was possibly enrolled alongside Thomas Dolby and other notable people. MacGowan was involved with drugs and publicized hooliganery before being in a band, the first of which was The Nipple Erectors in 1977. In the short life of the band, the line-up shifted a number of times, the name was changed to The Nips, and their sound ranged from rockabilly to a punkish R&B, and softer pop. The band in one form or another released four singles, and got as far as to send a demo to Polydor Records in 1980, but the band broke up before the end of that year. MacGowan joined up with another group, The Millwall Chainsaws, who formed in 1979 with Spider Stacy, where Stacy sang and MacGowan played guitar. Inspired by The Dubliners (previously), they renamed themselves The New Republicans, with Shane as the lead singer. "Singing Irish rebel songs was a really good way of sticking up two fingers at the establishment," says Spider. The band shifted a bit, changed their name, and coined their own battle cry: "We are the Pogue Mahone/Fuck The Clash and The Rolling Stones", and began to blaze a trail across the bars and venues of north London. "We just wanted to do something that nobody else had ever done and take it as far as it would go," says MacGowan. "We, knew that people didn't want retro-punk. They wanted fast dance music with good tunes, something they could whoop and scream and cry to. And what fits the bill better than Irish music?" The Pogues had begun. Pogue Mahone initially playing old Irish folk tunes like Waxie's Dargle and Poor Paddy, alongside new compositions like Streams Of Whiskey (here on Old Grey Whistle Test) and The Old Main Drag (BBC Radio Session). In 1984, the band released their first single, Dark Streets of London, and received serious airplay until a Gaelic-speaking producer on BBC Radio Scotland heard the band's name and realized what was being said, and it was banned in Scotland and frozen by Radio 1. The band changed their name to The Pogues, and in October 1984 they released their next single and their first studio album, Red Roses for Me. Their view of The Clash changed enough that they opened from the band's 1984 tour, and Joe Strummer became a friend and accomplice to the band. The band continuing to gain renown, opening for Stiff Records label-mate Elvis Costello in 1985. That same year, Costello produced their second studio album, Rum Sodomy & The Lash, which has been included in a number of "greatest albums" lists. In 1986, band released Poguetry In Motion, a four-track EP that was also produced by Costello, though it was considered "hardly a collection of leftovers." There were strains on the band in this time. The long-time bassist, Cait O'Riordan, left the band and married Elvis Costello, leading to the first major change in the band's line-up, and Shane MacGowan was increasingly erratic and unreliable. The group survived to make their third studio album, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, which came out in January 1988. This effort included more than the Irish folk/punk sound of the past, including middle-eastern influences, a Spanish-inspired party song, and a Christmas ballad (previously, twice), featuring vocal accompaniment from album producer Steve Lillywhite's wife, Kirsty MacColl. The band's fourth album, Peace and Love, is the first to be without a single cover of a traditional Irish song, and includes songs of London, more Spanish influences, even opening with some instrumental jazz of a sort. Unfortunately, Shane MacGowan's drinking and drug abuse worsened, and he failed to turn up for opening dates for the band's 1988 tour, and hindered the band's effort to promote their fifth studio album, Hell's Ditch. This album shifted farther from the Irish folk roots of the past, and included Asian themes and more Spanish influences that were gained in part from the band's time in Spain while shooting Straight To Hell, an action-comedy homage to Spaghetti Westerns (clip). (Director Alex Cox wanted to put on a tour to raise money for Nicaragua, but instead shot this film in Spain and made what one critic called "A Fist Full of Nothing".) The soundtrack includes covers and exclusive tracks. Finally the band dropping MacGowan in 1991, and two Pogues compilations were issued that same year: Essential Pogues and The Best of The Pogues. Another compilation was issued in 1992, The Rest of The Best, as if to mark the end of the band. But The Pogues lived on, with Joe Strummer filling in for vocals until Spider Stacy took over and returned to his old role of lead vocalist, and giving other band members a chance to write songs for the group. In 1993 they released Waiting for Herb, their second album without a traditional cover. Even though the band was without their iconic frontman, they still had their first top 20 single since Fairytale of New York, with Tuesday Morning (YouTube). The band line-up changed dramatically between their 6th and 7th album, Pogue Mahone, which even the band members considered "a less ambitious, rather conservative Pogues album, all in a well-established Pogues style." Reviewers were less forgiving: "No angst. No identity. Nothing memorable." In 1996, the remainder of the band called it quits, but this wasn't the end. Various members of the band went on to their own side projects or to form new groups. In October 1995, Jem Finer (one of the original Pogues) started to work on Longplayer, the one thousand year long musical composition (previously). Spider Stacy, Darryl Hunt and Andrew Ranken formed The Vendetta (initially named The Wisemen, not Stacy's idea), and had half an album written before The Pogues reunited. Ranken also performed with Nigel Burch and the Flea-Pit Orchestra. James McNally released a solo album and joined Afro-Celt Sound System. Jamie Clarke formed Perfect in 1997. Shane MacGowan formed The Popes in 1994 after parting ways with The Pogues, releasing two studio albums in the 1990s, only to reunite the band in 2001 and again in 2004, then in 2006 and 2008, though no new studio material has been recorded. The Popes live on, without MacGowan. They released a studio album from the new line-up in 2000, then released a 2-disc Best-Of compilation and a live album in 2002 from their time being fronted by MacGowan. The Popes released another studio album in May 2009, featuring a more orderly Shane MacGowan. More Pogues Media BBC Radio 2 documentary - Pogue Mahone: The Story of the Pogues Written summary and and streaming in Real Media The Story of Fairytale of New York (2005), from BBC Three 6 parts on YouTube: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, and part 6 The Pogues: Live at the Town and Country on St. Patrick's Day in 1988, one of the official live video recordings (also available via unofficial media, as listed on the highly detailed database of live audio and video recordings of The Pogues and related bands) and YouTube, from the Japanese LaserDisc:

Intro 1. The Broad Majestic Shannon 2. If I Should Fall From Grace With God 3. A Rainy Night In Soho 4. Thousands Are Sailing 5. Fairytale Of New York (with Kirsty MacColl) 6. Lullaby Of London 7. Dirty Old Town 8. London Calling (Joe Strummer vocals) 9. Turkish Song Of The Damned 10. Fiesta 11. The Irish Rover 12. Worms 13. A Message To You, Rudi (Lynval Golding vocals) 14. The Wild Rover and end credits

Demos on YouTube Dark Streets of London (1983 demo version) Fairytale of New York (2nd demo of the song, with Cait O'Riordian dueting with Shane) Playlist with another 10 or so Straight to Hell, the movie, as a 9-part YouTube playlist. Viewable in scaled up HQ, but with a wonky display ratio either way.

NKOTB Reunion?

brooklynexperiment — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:10:21 -0800

The New Kids on the Block are getting back together according to the Boston Globe. It wouldn't be the first time the Globe played an April Fool's Day prank on its readers. But it's also in RollingStone. Countdown to the reunion. NKOTB myspazz.

Lennon and McCartney Reunite

New Frontier — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:19:15 -0800

Lennon and McCartney's Studio Reunion. On March 28, 1974, John Lennon was in a Burbank studio producing Harry Nilsson's "Pussy Cats" album when Paul McCartney dropped in. The room froze and remained silent until John said, "Valiant Paul McCartney, I presume?" Paul responded: "Sir Jasper Lennon, I presume?" The tension broken, a jam session [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] ensued featuring Lennon on guitar and vocals, McCartney on drums and vocals, Stevie Wonder on electric piano and vocals, Harry Nilsson on vocals, Jesse Ed Davis on guitar and Bobby Keys on saxophone. A bootleg of the session has circulated under the title "A Toot and a Snore in '74".

Strange reunion

Artw — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:45:13 -0800

Vietnamese maid finds Taiwanese employer is her long-lost dad

Réunion Erupts

djgh — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:29:26 -0800

The volcano Piton de la Fournaise on the island of Réunion has erupted. Réunion, 800km from Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is technically part of the EU as an overseas département of France. The latest eruption (BBC video, requires Realplayer) of Piton de la Fournaise has resulted in some beautiful photos Top right - Voir le diaporama.

'The Family' Reunion

dagarrat — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:47:09 -0800

'The Family' Has Reunited. Members of the studio band created in the wake of The Time's disintegration, who never toured and who only released one self-titled album (featuring the beautiful photography of Horst and lavish orchestration by Clare Fischer, like much of Prince's other projects at the time) have reunited. No word yet about any involvement from either Prince (writer of nearly all the band's songs, including their gigantic hit Nothing Compares 2 U - well, at least for Sinead O'Connor) or his Revolution cohorts Wendy (twin sister of Family co-lead vocalist Susannah Melvoin) & Lisa, now a successful scoring team for film and television.

a facinating collection of life stories

ronenosity — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 00:33:08 -0800

Gulfport High School class of '61 a facinating collection of life stories. check out the Our Classmates page. David sailed across the atlantic. Babs died when katrina hit the gulf coast. jane has 17 grand-children. C. H. Locklin was a chaplin working at the pentagon on 911.

A sign of the end times?

deusdiabolus — Tue, 24 May 2005 03:06:06 -0800

The Spice Girls reunite. No, this is not a joke. It's more like an advisory.

Googling for Holocaust survivors

arco — Thu, 08 Jul 2004 13:42:13 -0800

High school students in Israel are harnessing the community-building power of weblogs to locate survivors of the Holocaust.

METALFILTER - Priest and Halford to Reunite

Joey Michaels — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:48:45 -0800

METALFILTER: Rob Halford reunites with Judas Priest. "Ripper" Owens, the fan who replaced Halford (inspiring the movie Rock Star), has been a "complete gentleman" about the decision, though opinion of the fans is mixed. Still no hope for a Osbourne/Black Sabbath Reunion, but (on the plus side) also no plans for a Halford reality series.

The Doors... 2003?

GriffX — Mon, 10 Feb 2003 18:51:22 -0800

Huge surprise: The Doors suck without Jim Morrison. "Whatever you might think of Robbie Krieger and Ray Manzarek, just don't call them "The Doors." link and title via jasonbuckley.com

Good Memory.

plep — Fri, 17 Jan 2003 09:17:35 -0800

Good Memory. From Argentina, a 1967 school photograph with a story. From the introduction :- 'decided to hold a 25th reunion of my classmates from the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires so that we could see each other again. I invited those I was able to find to my house, and proposed doing a portrait of each of them ... Later, a ceremony was organized, in memory of the students of the school who had disappeared or were murdered by state terrorism in the black years of the dictatorship. After twenty years, the school authorities accepted, for the flrst time, that the missing be officially recognized in the school's main hall. It was a historic occasion ... '

kramer_101 — Mon, 03 Sep 2001 04:52:30 -0800

Friends reunited helps people who went to school in UK catch up with school mates. Except most of them are in IT living in London!!