Thursday, February 8, 2007
Music / Crickets What is and what should never be
Posted by Monica Kendrick on 02.08.07 at 04:52 PM
OK, I'll say it: I think the Led Zeppelin reunion is a great idea, and I hope I get a chance to see it.
It may be that their decision to break up and "never" play together as Led Zep again after the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980 was the height of integrity and friendship, as it's often portrayed. The effect has been that they've never, er, devalued the brand the way, say, Lynyrd Skynyrd has. Not very many bands actually leave 'em wanting more with such brutal discipline.
But the idea that a reunion tour is nothing more than a big cash-in is starting to seem slightly dated; at this point it seems as much a part of a band's natural lifecycle as the breakup. Virtually every band I always thought should NEVER attempt one has (the Velvet Underground, the New York Dolls, the Sex Pistols, the Stooges, the MC5), and some fell flat on their faces. Some didn't. Rock'n'roll survived just fine.
There's a notion that rock'n'roll is somehow inherently of its time, that any attempt to bring the past forward is suspect--a bit of baggage that doesn't apply to classical or blues or jazz--and that the audience for this sort of thing is full of greybeards who ought to politely set themselves adrift on an ice floe instead of persisting in enjoying "youth culture." Seems to me, though, there are often just as many folks in the crowd who were too young to catch the band the first time around. Maybe not even born yet. That doesn't seem any more wrong than the continuing appreciation of Renaissance art, in my opinion.
Besides, no matter how haggard he might look, Robert Plant can still sing his arse off.
Upon edit, and thanks to a sharp-eyed reader, the rumor's looking shakier by the minute; here's a different take. Regardless, I stand by my thinking that they should, and I hope they do.
Comments (19)
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The difference between this and, say, the New York Dolls reunion is that the New York Dolls are not the greatest rock band of all time.
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Ugh. The greatest rock band of all time? I for one have always been on the record as not liking Led Zeppelin despite the enormous amounts of shit I've taken for it. And as for reunions? I think you, Monica, are way off the mark. It's one thing for Braid to get back together "for the kids" who never got to see them but seeing Led Zeppelin live would be like almost every other "old band" reunion. That is, like watching Michael Jordan come back today and try to play against Lebron James . . . and Michael Jordan was also missing a leg or something.
Huh? It's OK for BRAID but not Led Zep? I think it's the complete opposite: the longer a band has been broken up, the more acceptable the reunion is. If it's five years or less, it looks like they just broke up to get attention.
My point was to say that live rock is very of the moment, something you dismissed. I hate reunions like Braid as much as I will hate the Led Zeppelin reunion but Braid, at least (and as an example!), isn't recreating anything or putting on a water down version of what they used to be. They are still fresh from their days of being a band. The bottom line is just about every band does it for attention and, more to the point, money. They are rock stars, icons, and capitalists. That is as much the point of rock and roll in certain cases as anti-establishment stances. The longer the band has been broken up, the shittier their reunion is going to be, the higher the ticket prices and the older and dumber the crowd will be. You honestly think "the kids" are going to discover Led Zeppelin because of a reunion tour only their daddies can afford to go see? Please.
OK, I'll bite: what's not to like about Led Zeppelin? (Not liking Robert Plant doesn't count--half the people I know who love them hate his singing, though I'm not one of them.) I've listened to a lot of music in the past 30 years but I always come back to Zep. They got a lot done in their short life--not just blues-rock and never dumb, at least not musically.
No, I don't think anybody's going to "discover" Led Zep because of this--they hardly need "discovering"--but there pretty much always is somebody "discovering" them for themselves all the time. Recorded music doesn't just disappear after some arbitrary shelf life, after all, and there are plenty of Led Zep fans in their teens and twenties and thirties. I don't see anything strange about this. It's no weirder than a 30something being into, say, pre-war blues or big-band music, is it? I mean, I was 9 years old when Television broke up and didn't even hear them for the first time until some 5 years later, but I'm still glad I got to see 'em in '92. And of course they'll make a bazillion dollars and tickets will be grossly overpriced...same is true of bands who've never done the make-themselves-scare to increase-their-value thing.
Unfortunately, their isn't much to catch from my not liking Led Zeppelin. I think we all have those seminal type of bands that we are supposed to like but for some unexplainable reason just don't. Maybe it is being 27 and growing up affiliating Led Zeppelin with cock rock, jocks and other riff-heavy bully music while I was listening to wussy pop-punk or something. I understand their influence, and every point you made is super valid, Kiki, but they just never clicked with me while other bands and artists of their time seemed to be doing a lot more and still to this day getting less credit for it because Led Zeppelin was, well, Led "Fucking" Zeppelin. But I would be a liar if I said I had any hardcore, serious, music critic-esque reason why I do not like them. I just don't. And it's fucked up that people will give someone so much shit (not you) for not liking a certain band as if it effects the band or that person. Like how everyone hates on me for not liking Thai food. I don't like Thai food; it doesn't mean you still can't love it? But what I would really hate would be decades old Thai leftovers.
Monica. You are right but your original point was about a reunion and not the band's recorded back catalog. Of course everyone discovers bands not of their generation every day but I think it is through the influence they have had on new bands who cite older bands as reference points and other ways and NOT reunions that turn younger generations on. If anything, I would argue that reunions probably tend to turn younger people off more than on to older bands. So yeah, I don't know. It's a free world. Let people waste their hard earned money going to see "Led Zeppelin"—I don't really care all that much and am probably just bored before Rhys Chatham and Co. are set to rock my world but it is just a shame that people, specifically music critics, continue to lend credence to what will ultimately probably be a gigantic let down. I mean, even Television's second record was a let down compared to their debut so Led Zeppelin coming back — OK, OK. Enough.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Will it be a letdown? Depends on what your expectations are, I think. But you can yell at me over this tonight if our ears aren't ringing too hard after Mr. Chatham gets done skullfucking us. I ate century eggs when I was in Thailand last year, by the way. Loved 'em. (Despite the name, they're really only a few months old)
I'd never yell at you or anyone else. I don't much care for imposing my usually misinformed views on anyone unless I believe their lives to be in grave danger. Plus my interactions with you and Kiki seem to be strictly digital and I'd like to keep it that way. (kidding) So we are in for a skull fucking are we? It's been a while and lord knows I need good one.
I hate to rain on anyone's love fest here, but the story linked at the beginning of this post is from 2002. Y'all know that, right?
Dude. Of course we knew that. (slowly turning away . . .) (creeping out of room towards door . . .) (running!)
Thanks Dude - this story got a fresh round of rumoring this past weekend. It cannot die.
It cropped up on a board I frequent about a month or so ago. That Sun site is a good place to resurrect any old news story, if you're so inclined. The only date you'll find on the page - unless its in the body of the article - is the current day's. Makes all the old news fresh once more! The ages given are what tipped me off the first time I read it. I knew Mr. Page is getting on toward 65, and that Mr. Plant is perilously close to entering his seventh decade as well (and not the chipper 58 and 54 stated in the article). Funny, I clicked that link again anyway...just to be sure. The reality of the situation seems to be that we'll never see Jimmy do any serious touring ever again. You can still hold out hope for a few one-off gigs here or there, I suppose...
At first thought this sounds like a great idea, but in reality I think it would kill some of the magic. Led Zeppelin, to me, is so legendary that unless their reunion show was competely mind blowing, it would be a huge letdown. It could make them seem human to me, and I don't really want that.
heh. as of this AM the Sun story has been taken offline and replaced by a big note that says "LEGAL REMOVAL".
