Open Letter to My Guitar Player
by mikeyk

[In response to said guitar player's being rebuffed after asking to add Led Zeppelin songs to the band's repertoire, he replied, "How can you detest zep? Heard too much or something?" And so it began...]

Yep, heard too much. Gotta remember that that crap was prevalent thru my jr. high, high school and college years. Everyone had Zep albums and played them and played them. It would be like Britney Spears or one of those lame-arse boy bands are now. You couldn't turn on the radio without hearing Stairway or Black Dog or some of that Aaaaaa-aaa! Aaaaaaa-aaa! shit. Chicks writing "Zeppelin" on their tight bell bottom jeans with a ballpoint pen. Writing Zeppelin all over their lockers. Notebooks. Frisbees. Art projects. Maaaaajor overload for a guy who never thought they were that great in the first place.

I mean, look at the movie, "The Song Remains The Same". They had their own jet, ferchrissakes. And, judging from the film, and assuming that the film would be assembled from the *best* outtakes of live performances, they must have sucked live, because most of that film's performances are barely watchable. Not that anyone would admit it to you now. The truth...and I'm being dangerously and brutally blunt here...the truth is that the fact that everyone was so stoned in the 70's is what enabled Zep's rise to power. Once everyone crashed and slept off the decade-long buzz...well there wasn't much left. Hey, how else do you explain disco? We went from smokin' dope and listening to Zep, to snorting coke and dancing all nite to Yvonne Elliman. Neither of which stands well on it's own musically or over a test of time.

Which explains by and large my total elation when the Ramones and the B-52's and the Pistols emerged. Finally! Some 3 chord unpretentious fun ROCK N ROLL!

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest, yes, I'm fine with a Zep song, as long as it ain't any of that woo woo woo shit. Really. I'm fine.

©2001 mikeyk

All material ©2001-2006 Sean Carolan, except as noted.

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