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November 26, 2008

Michael Lee R.I.P. A Really Good Drummer Gone

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 6:27 pm

Michael Lee, who drummed for Page and Plant on all their reunion albums, and tours, died on the 24th of November. That’s a bummer because he was a joyous drummer who really brought fun to the Page/Plant tours. He played great with Jimmy Page, and they had nice chemistry. This clip is from the Bizarre Festival in 1998. It was broadcast on German television (hence the great quality) and it is fucking great. Check the tightness at 5:59. Yes, I’m a geek, but I’m right. This is an absolutely amazing of Led Zeppelin’s Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, and Jimmy plays the hell out of the solo. It’s tight tight tight. The ending is as brilliantly tongue and cheek as a supergroup would ever dare. I love live music.

Sorry, Michael Lee. My experience of you was 100% positive. Youdopia mourns you as Valhalla’s gates open.

November 11, 2008

Coolest Shit Ever: Yes, Starship Trooper Live On Yessongs

Filed under: Coolest Shit Ever, Jimmy Page, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:33 am


Vale, Youdopia. I’m not much of a prog rock fan, although I certainly had my share of Yes albums in high school. I really dig Rick Wakeman’s keyboard playing, still. I came across this on Youtube today, and I listened to it a billion times on headphones, but this time without the weed. It’s still great. The chord progression is unique, the bass playing of Chris Squire is excellent, Steve Howe is an amazing guitarist (Mood For A Day is one of the most beautiful classical pieces I’ve ever heard), and Rick Wakeman is a keyboard virtuoso.

Listen to the bass build the tension and then release by sliding to the root, in time for the keyboards to take over with the mellotron chorus. Good stuff. And then when Rick Wakeman comes in with that amazing solo. I am not a progressive rock fan, as a rule. I don’t dig songs about the not to distant future, or hope, or sunrise, but… I like Yes. And the last section of the Starship Trooper cycle is The Coolest Shit Ever.

So here I stand at 40 saying that Yes is/was and awesome band that I like twice yearly. It must be that time of year. There’s no video to this, only the album cover, and you just hear the last segment of the song (Wurm), but it’s live and it’s fucking amazing. And hey, it’s not about Led Zeppelin or cancer, or fucking lolcats. :)

Chris Squire and Alan White got together with Jimmy Page in 1981, after their respective bands went belly up, and recorded some tracks, all of which were used later by one or the other on different projects. Their project was called XYZ, for Ex Yes, and Zeppelin. w00t.

Here’s a shorter version of the same song, but with some video. The sound quality isn’t as good, which is odd because it’s an official release.

October 27, 2008

John Paul Jones Talks About Led Zeppelin Tour With/Without Robert Plant

Filed under: Coolest Shit Ever, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 8:27 am

Youdopians, I love John Paul Jones! He had a Q&A at a guitar clinic recently, and this is what he had to say about a tour with Jimmy Page, and Jason Bonham. Robert Plant? Probably not. I would love to see the boys play again. They hit it out of the park at the 02 reunion. We’ll see. They may not call it Led Zeppelin, but I’d love to see it, whoever they have singing.

September 2, 2008

Jimmy Page, Jack White, And The Edge Jam Together In “It Might Get Loud”

Filed under: Coolest Shit Ever, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:10 am

Jack White, Jimmy Page, and The Edge Jam Together

Originally posted on The Toronto International Film Festival Page.

The electric guitar has dominated popular music for the last half century. Anyone who has ever plugged into an amp understands its power. So does the average stadium crowd. But if you have too much exposure to amateurs, you might forget the incredible range of expression that the creation pioneered by Les Paul can achieve in the hands of masters.

Director Davis Guggenheim, well-known for his Academy Award-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, deepens our appreciation for going electric by bringing together three virtuosos from different generations: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2 and Jack White of The White Stripes. It Might Get Loud weaves together their stories to reveal how each of them developed a unique sound.

Unlike rock ‘n’ roll documentaries that focus on backstage drama, this one concentrates on the music, giving us intimate access to the creative process. Each guitarist describes his own musical rebellion: Page against the saccharine pop of the sixties; The Edge against the self-indulgent solos of the seventies; White against the soulless bass machines of the eighties. The film also travels to the locations that left a mark on each player. Page visits the stone halls of Headley Grange where “Stairway to Heaven” was composed. In Dublin, The Edge pulls out the original four-track rehearsals of “Where the Streets Have No Name.” And in Tennessee, White describes being inspired by the raw style of bluesman Son House. What’s more, we see each musician play new work that has yet to be released.

The trio comes together for a jam session, during which they demonstrate their varying tastes in gear, from Page’s double-neck guitar to The Edge’s array of accessory pedals to White’s cheap plastic instrument. Contrary to the stereotype that rock ‘n’ rollers are sullen and guarded, these three display an infectious joy when discussing their craft. Anyone who has ever played air guitar along with a Zeppelin song will be thrilled watching Page mimic the licks of one of his own favourites, Link Wray’s “Rumble.”

You don’t need to be an aficionado to enjoy the pleasure of this company. This film might not affect how you play, but it will change how you listen.

Thom Powers

August 29, 2008

Coolest Shit Ever: The Song Remains The Same: Fan Version

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 12:24 am

You know what, Youdopians, I discovered my porn in the same place that every American boy does, in the woods.  It was a stack of Club magazines. Faded from the sun, and starting to pulpify… but intact nonetheless. That’s exactly where I found this. It’s the Fan’s Edition of The Song Remains The Same.

What’s that mean? Well if you love Led Zeppelin, and you do, then you have always been ashamed of The Song Remains The Same. I am. It blows. I can’t honestly say that I’ve watched it all the way through. I’ve seen it all, but I don’t know if it was ever in one sitting.  Since the release of the Led Zeppelin DVD in 2003, with a bunch of songs, some unreleased, from The Song Remains The Same concerts, and some songs from the movie itself.  Well, some wonderfully adept soul edited the entire concert from all the disparate sources. The DVD, The remastered version of The Song Remains the Same, and some songs from the bonus section of the new version of TSRTS.

The result is really great. It’s a Led Zeppelin concert. The transitions are smooth, with some differences in the sections remastered in 2003, and the original 1976 transfer. Whoopee. What I’m saying is that if you bought this at Best Buy, you wouldn’t have a thing to bitch about. It’s awesome and amazingly cool. Like the 4 hour version of Apocalypse Now.

This is very cool. I found it in the woods.

August 24, 2008

Jimmy Page Closes The Olympics In A Genius Move From A PR Standpoint

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 10:10 pm

I think this is brilliant, youdopians. Cheesy to the max, the Super Bowl Halftime Show times a thousand, but… BILLIONS of people saw Jimmy Page not suck. From a PR standpoint, Mr. Page was just watched by half the fucking world. Nice. His solo was HOT! He’s obviously playing, and his appearance with John Paul Jones and the Foo Fighters had been rehearsed for months. Why? Is there new product to promote? Nope. Why? Why indeed?

June 29, 2008

My Take On The Led Zeppelin Reunion, Written While Listening To The Show With Headphones.

Filed under: Coolest Shit Ever, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:17 pm

This is a post from the old blog. I liked it and I moved it to its new home.


Led Zeppelin. They’re back… and they’re a real band. I’m listening to the reunion show, w/ headphones, and… I just got lost in the groove… like w/ Zep. Jason Bonham is doing a remarkable job of honoring his dad, not being a mere mimic, and jamming with the boys. There is no grading on the curve. The band I’m listening to is not in their 60’s. Nor are they merely performing. They’re grooving. That indefinable synergy is there. Holy shit. They’re not free form jamming like the old days, but… the little fills, responses… the telepathy is there. And the tone! Jimmy’s tone is rich. I don’t mean digital preset rich, I mean like think and heavy and pregnant with meaning… like Hendrix, or … Jimmy Page. They’re playing a whole step lower, to accommodate a 60 year old Robert Plant. But.. even then, they had guitars made, reworked, customized to play lower while still maintaining that tone. Holy shit. The tightness and effortlessness of this music is insane. They’ve been rehearsing since June, and… it shows. I’m listening to In My Time Of Dying… a song that needs that tightness, that dynamism.. or else it’s just Aerosmith. It’s scary how good it is. It’s like driving with the top down at 120 mph, with a drink in your hand, and a smirk of complete relaxation.
This…

This…
is the that vitality that is missing in today’s culture. It’s alive… you know what I mean, you hear it in your music. Jason Bonham is in on it. He grew up like me, listening to every bootleg and absorbing it like a native language. It’s in his blood. Rudolf Steiner would understand.
I can’t believe this is only two days old. It’s so… amazingly proper. It is 100% current, and modern. This is definitely 2007, but it is also 100% Led Zeppelin. It’s like a parallel world opened up and we get a glimpse of the Zeppelin that would have kept going hadBonzo not died.
It’s insanely good.
Jimmy is so good. Better than… anytime since like 1973. He’s as flawless as Dave Gilmour, but he’s Jimmy Page. Wow. He’s 63. He broke his hand two weeks ago. It’s criminal that he hasn’t toured in seven years, or released new music in nine. Damn him This is incredible. I had to live through the Firm.
You know how Dave Gilmour is old now, but he’s still vital and relevant and fresh? He still sounds and plays great? That’s what I’m hearing now. It’s insane. They’re a band again. For real. Jonesy is insanely good. He’s 62 and he’s playing Good Times Bad Times. Think about that. Opening number. Ballsy. Successful.
Now they’re playing For Your Life. From Presence. Never Done Live before. ever. Wow.
Led Zeppelin in the present tense. It’s like the return of Christ. You always kind of hoped, but… wow it’s real. Yes, I know I compared the Second Coming to the Zep reunion. You think I’m the only one? I’m not even the first. Buckle Up.

“he Times of London commented, “With a synergy like this going on, it would be an act of cosmic perversity to stop now.” Yup.
(PS- No Quarter kicked ass.)

June 27, 2008

That’s Dr. Jimmy To You. Jimmy Page Receives Honorary Doctorate

Filed under: Coolest Shit Ever, Jimmy Page, craziest shit ever, music, wisdom — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 9:15 pm

Score one for clean living, I guess. James Patrick Page (all hail!) was given an Honorary Doctorate (in Hermetic Studies… just kidding) by the University Of Surrey. Why? Because he is all things to all people, that’s why, apostate! So there you go kids. Study the occult, do drugs, bang teenage girls, and all this can be yours. Follow the narrow path of Dr. Jimmy. An honorary Ph.D. Goddamn.

June 8, 2008

Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones & The Foo Fighters 6/7/08 Video

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, craziest shit ever, fnord — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 4:42 pm


This one’s all for Daddy. It’s Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones jamming with the Foo Fighters. When was this? Oh, yesterday. Yup. gotta love video cell phones, and the internet… and Led Zeppelin. All Hail.

May 30, 2008

Readers. I haz them.

Filed under: Jimmy Page, craziest shit ever, fnord, humor, lolcats, music — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 1:22 pm


more cat pictures

kitty

Rockabilly week was a huge success. I actually have traffic. People read this blog. As a thank you to the fine folks at Planet Zeppelin for the clicks (I joined your board, but I am awaiting moderation), I give you locats.
Also, oddly enough, Harvey Korman’s passing coincided with my posting of a clip from History of the World Part 1, featuring the late Mr. Korman. I’m sorry he died. He was hilarious.
Ok, so we’ll see who I mark for death next, in the Youdopia Premonition Laughorama. Stay tuned.

May 28, 2008

Rockabilly Week: My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It - Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Rockabilly Week, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 9:00 am


This is from (I think) 2001, and features Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and the late, and legendary Ahmet Ertegun (whose memorial concert featured the reunion of Led Zeppelin) performing My Bucket’s Got A Hole In It. It was for the album, A Tribute To Sun Records. Ahmet produced this track, as he produced the Honeydrippers album 25 years ago. Enjoy.

May 27, 2008

Roackabilly Week - Baby Let’s Play House : Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, Montreaux Jazz 2001

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Rockabilly Week, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:24 pm

I don’t know why, but I’m on a rockabilly kick. It started with the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss business, jumped to Neil Young, and now it’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. This show was neat, in that it was a strictly rockabilly set, even though they did play Heart In Your Hand, that’s a lonesome reverb song as well. Good stuff for the rockabilly fans. The boys stay true, and really play the style. I like Jimmy’s little riffs. This is the music he cut his teeth on.

April 26, 2008

A Glimpse Into Jimmy Page’s Art Collection

Filed under: Jimmy Page, fnord — Tags: , , — admin @ 2:29 pm

This little piece about Jimmy Page’s collection and passion for Pre-Rafaelite Art was found while researching the article about the Templar Tomb. It is an interesting aside that Mr. Page is quite the Magus. ;-)
Anyway, check it out. It’s from The Earthy Paradise.

It turns out that gifted Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has a thing for Pre-Raphaelite art! I read the news on Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood yesterday and decided to do some more research into Jimmy Page’s art collection.

I can’t say that I’m that surprised…if you’ve ever listened to Led Zeppelin’s music, you’ve probably noticed that the band was heavily inspired by Medieval/fantasy themes. Lead singer Robert Plant’s favorite book was the Lord of the Rings and it’s evident in their music. A number of their songs reference material from Lord of the Rings, including “Over the Hills and Far Away,” “Misty Mountain Hop,” “Battle of Evermore,” and “Ramble On”, with “Ramble On” being the most explicit.

Jimmy Page has stepped beyond admiration for the medieval and has become an avid collector of Pre-Raphaelite art (including at least one painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti). All of this has come into the news in the last couple of days as Page plans to auction one of the tapestries in his collection at Sothebys–the final scene from Edward Burne Jones’ Holy Grail Tapestry (pictured above).

The piece is expected to fetch around $2 million at auction. It was originally designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones and woven by Morris and Company’s tapestry weavers. It took three weavers a full two years to complete. **edit**I guess it depends on who you ask. The New York Times reports that the 24 foot wide tapestry actually took eight men two years.

According to Page’s art dealer-to-the-stars, Paul Reeves, (who has many hats, it appears–he also designed clothing for the Rolling Stones and Beatles, but has been a full time art dealer since 1976) Page is forced to sell because the wood panels on his Thames Mansion are too weak to support the tapestry. It seems more likely that he is in financial trouble, since he also plans to sell a gigantic set of Arthurian round table and chairs, and two sideboards at the same auction.

April 21, 2008

Led Zeppelin 3/25/75 And How Two Wrongs Make A Right.

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord, music — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 5:31 am

You probably know by now that I have a fondness for the Zep. I also have an extreme fascination with bootlegs, and illicit recordings, of any nature. I love it that almost every show performed by my favorite band has at least some sort of document it. This little gem is great, because it consists of two separate media, and recorders, spliced into a seamless whole. Apparently the band themselves oversaw/approved this little video. It is from LA 3/25/75, and it is a super 8mm film of the boys performing Over The Hills And Far Away. The film was shot from the front row, or even the security pit, and since Peter Grant is shown grinding the filmer into a fine powder, one must assume that the filmer had the ok of the band. Thus, the footage is of excellent quality, with Jimmy in frame throughout. Yay.

The audio is from the excellent stealth recording made by the legendary Mike “The Mic” Millard. He was a taper who used a wheelchair to get moved up to the front and center of almost every LA show, in the 70’s.  He built high end microphones into the chair, and had a battery pack, and a top end Nakamichi tape deck built under the seat. There wasn’t handicapped seating back then, so all the gimps got slid up front and center, just like at a Benny Hinn revival.  His work is so good, it’s Zep used it as the menu music for their DVD set. It’s the Song Remains The Same. That song is from Mike, and was taped on (if memory serves it was 6/21/77). Legitimacy.

So, Mike the Mic was able to get stunning quality with his rig. Great stereo separation, and a clarity unrivaled in the non Grateful Dead taping world. The guy’s a legend. So, the Zep camp used this great silent footage and great audio (all low generation or master) to make this wonderful little video of a song from 33 years ago (also known as one Jesus).  The song is great, the performance is great (ignore Robert Plant. I have for 20 years), and the fact that it’s reconstructed from two different illicit sources… is priceless. The underground is so alive. As Tom Waits sang, “There’s a world going on underground.”

February 26, 2008

Jimmy Page Interviewed In Japan. All Rise (Tetelestai)

Filed under: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, fnord — Tags: , , — admin @ 4:35 pm

Jimmy Page can do no wrong. He is my real daddy. I love him. Every insane
quality attributed to Chuck Norris is false. The question to every Jeopardy answer is “Who is Jimmy Page?”
It’s true. From the Crown to the Kingdom…. the Zosophonic one reigns. By the way, this clip is surreal and ridiculous in nine different ways. Can you name them? It’s like an outtake from Ab Fab

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