Led Zeppelin

So...it's been a VERY long time since I've posted any truly original content on this blog, and I know I can't skate by on reposting stuff I wrote almost five years ago.

The political situation has changed for the worse since I have actively blogged, and to be honest, I have had a real temptation to despair. Things just seem SO overwhelming, and it's not just politics, it's the killing and bloodshed my tax money pays for, the blood on my hands. I try to remain engaged, but sometimes I just get SO tired. (My personal life is fine--I just take the ideals of my country seriously.)

So--what have I been doing lately??

I have been rediscovering Led Zeppelin, the first band I was ever into. Back almost 30 years ago, I bought my first two rock albums. They were Led Zeppelin IV (Zoso, Untitled) and Love Gun, by Kiss (which had a cardboard "love gun" included). I was in seventh grade in Catholic school, and I remember my homeroom teacher, a 1970s nun, played Stairway to Heaven for us in class, and gave us a very Christian interpretation of the lyrics. As the lyrics are vaguely universalist, sure, that interpretation is plausible.

My parents did not give me a LOT of crap about my taste in music, yet, nonetheless, I felt a little embarrassed that the noise coming out of the speakers was mine, that I was ALLOWED to have my own tastes. (By the time I was in HS, I had gotten over that "fear" of "taste independence," and was confidently interested in what I was interested in.)

I got Physical Graffiti about the time it came out, and I think Houses of the Holy. I always thought it was weird that the song Houses of the Holy was on Physical Graffiti, and not on Houses of the Holy. My favorite song on Physical Graffiti was In the Light. Just WEIRD and cool stuff. And a week before I started HS, I bought In Through The Out Door, Zep's last studio album. In HS, though I didn't get into the rest of their catalog, it really was the background noise for many of those years.

Then, for a fairly long time, I just lost interest, and, I guess, in theory, I kind of hated them. They represent(ed) everything I don't like in music--long, long (sometimes bloated) songs. And I was never much for cock rock--I fancy myself a lover of power pop.

That changed earlier this year, when I picked up IV; it's always been their most accessible album. I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up Physical Graffiti--it still sounded STRANGE, but I remembered all the songs and liked most of them. On a friend's recommendation, I picked up How The West Was Won, and, yes, I know this is cliched, I was blown away, and, through the miracle of the same friend's MP3 collection, have been spending the past few days rediscovering their music.

Music always brings back strong memories, and I'm having fun reacquainting myself with my 15-year old self. With the benefit of 25 years of music listening, I can now see influences, and listen to things I've never listened to before in the recordings. Hammer of the Gods, indeed! And this time, I GET and LOVE Zep's presposterouness and occasional bloat. They are the kings of blooz!!

Valhalla, I am coming!!