Should Zeppelin Re-Unite?

This was probably my first exposure to delta blues and I remember being transfixed by the sound of the slide. Strangely enough, the father of the girl whom I’d lose my virginity to burned me the BBC sessions the summer prior to the big event. 

My brother sent me an article last week about Robert Plant saying he’d be open to to doing something with his former band, the mightiest rock quartet ever, Led Zeppelin. I am sure it’s obvious from my love of 70’s rock that they are in fact one of my favorite bands. In fact, along with the Beatles, I think Zep is a band that almost everyone likes to some degree.  They did so much for popular music that I don’t think it can be written about enough. I’ve read at least three books on the band and I learn more every time. The question is, should they re-unite?

On the Radio: Melody’s (not) a Fool

While driving to work during a run of recent rainy days–which is a rarity in my state where it is sunny 90% of the time–I was contemplating some weather-appropriate emotions of weariness, worry and frustration. I know that a great deal of this came from the weather, but it seemed to be bubbling from within and spilling over without.

As usual, I was listening to the radio. This day was a jazz day because I just couldn’t handle commercials or, I thought, anything with words in it. The children were strapped in their car seats. The traffic was beginning to clear. The rain stopped and the sky seemed to lighten. And then this song came on the radio:

The Felice Brothers: How did the Elder get to this before me?

What a sick song! As I shared last week, I did in fact give up alcohol for lent. I am listening to a lot of drinking songs as of late as a means to cope I think, although it is not really that bad. I actually don’t even drink as I did in my college years and its more of a social thing now, but I couldn’t remember the last time I went more than a few days without a single beer so I thought it was probably the best thing for me to give up for Lent.

On the Radio and In the News: Lil’ Wayne, Lover and Luminary (!?)

So, last week I accidentally posted the bit below about Lil’ Wayne and then deleted it in favor of something else. Lil’ Wayne’s appearance in the gossip mags as the lover of Chris Bosh’s wife made me remember it. My first thought was, screw the Heat. My second thought was, why? I compared pictures of Bosh and Wayne, then considered the height differential and examined all the angles.

Some things are just meant to stay mysterious. But, the current events do give me a good excuse to go back to Lil’ Wayne, the big talent in a not so small package.

Grammys: Why watch?

My brother wrote the other day about his “issues”  the Grammys and how he doesn’t like award shows yet still pays attention.  I agree with each one of his points. It is all about money and who sells records, but why wouldn’t it be if it was created by record executives?  I don’t say this as a point of contention with my brother, just that it has always seemed to me like it was all about money. Same with his next two points in that its meant to sell more records and it is a rich person party thrown by rich people.

A Should-be Classic: Tegan and Sara’s The Con

About four years ago I was renovating a house myself—doing tile-work, demolition, painting, you name it—and commuting a lot. In my car, I listened to the radio; in the house, headphones. When I was actually in my office to talk to students I was, for better or worse, usually exhausted, a bit over-caffeinated and still vibrating with whatever music I found compelling that week. During one of the meetings, a quiet girl told me she was going to a major music festival in our region. I said I was going too. She asked which band I was most excited to see. I turned into a teenaged girl from New Jersey.

Learning More about New Music!

A few weeks ago I ruminated on the difficulty of learning about music (in a dependable way) in an age when we are overwhelmed by both the number of bands available and the media outlets discussing them. It isn’t so much that there are more acts out there (though, there may be) but that we hear about them all. One of our frequent commenters, londongigger, who has a very nice blog where he reviews live shows, noted that in London there are literally thousands of performances a week.

From experience, I know that the scene is similar in places like New York City and Austin, Texas. Learning about new music by seeing the bands becomes a full job, a needle-in-the-haystack obsession. Who has the time (or money and stamina) to keep up with this?

At the same time, another thing I failed to mention is that the digital age has sapped the power of critics and tastemakers. While this is good (freeing up both artists and audiences from certain hegemonies) it has the unintended effect of splintering music experience and reducing the framework provided by a common canon of music. I don’t know if I am lamenting or just observing.

Anyway, writing this blog has both forced me to engage with newer music more fully and to seek out new artists at a faster pace than previous years. Recently, I have been aided in this by a younger friend, The Only D. After I reacted (with some speed) to his last list of suggestions, he hit me up with another.

Here we go.