Song of the Week (Led Zeppelin - Ramble On)

Below is a submission from a music luminary, and close friend of mine: Spence-Dawg

Led Zeppelin is one my favorite bands. Lately I have neglected to lavish upon them the appropriate attention that a group of such stature deserves. I blame this on my multi-year infatuation with the following musicians:

· Wilco

· The Band

· Shakira

But no more will I forsake thee, Led Zeppelin! For I declare this: THE SUMMER OF LED ZEPPELIN!!!

“Why”, might you ask, “Are you devoting an entire summer to Led Zeppelin?” Because they are that damn good…Need proof? Led Zeppelin has sold 200 million albums to date. They also dominated the 1970’s from start to finish. Reputable academic research performed at TABC and the Loon has proven that the top five most important influences in the U.S. during the 1970’s were:

· Led Zeppelin

· Tom Landry

· Warren Beatty

· Richard Nixon

· Harvey and Stephanie Zimmermann

Led Zeppelin members’ roles within the band also became the template for all aspiring rawkers. A quick breakdown:

· Robert Plant: lead singer who’s provocative dance poses, anguished banshee vocals and golden tresses caused women’s clothing to spontaneously disintegrate

· Jimmy Page: mysterious guitar virtuoso who dabbled in sorcery (no joke). Jimmy also developed innovative musical techniques that still provoke impassioned monologues from drunken guitar nerds…

· John Bonham (“Bonzo”): animalistic, alcoholic drummer. In full musical fury, Bonzo hammered the drums so fast that he appeared to grow extra arms and thus resembled a hairy octopus.

· John Paul Jones: played bass. And all bassists are boring – except for that new gun slinger in Parachute Addams!

Led Zeppelin’s catalogue of music is vast, thus choosing just one “Song of the Week” is daunting. At gunpoint, I’m going to select “Ramble On”. Admittedly, “Ramble On” is not Led Zeppelin’s best song, but it is their most stereotypical song, and thus a good starting point for any Led Zeppelin neophyte. Allow me to explain:

· The melody consists of Led Zeppelin’s patented blend of chillin’ & rawkin’. The song begins with a mellow, acoustic tone similar to a hipster Renaissance Fair band. But then, “Boom goes the dynamite!” and the electric guitar and drums kick in.

· The lyrics are also classic Zeppelin’ian: the song is about a protagonist who “rambles on” from girl to girl, absolutely crushing it with ladies all over the globe. But secretly he feels melancholy because he hasn’t found “the queen of all his dreams”. Single tear drop…

· Plot twist! At the end of the song, Led Zeppelin transports the narrative to the “Lord of the Rings” universe. (Whhaaaatttt?!) Turns out that long ago the protagonist was hanging around the darkest depth of Mordor, “when he met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the evil warg crept up and slipped away with her”. Translation: Robert Plant’s true-love ditched him for a handicapped hobbit and a werewolf creature. Harsh! Guess that explains his fear of commitment…

Here’s the link. Hope you Dig©.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUlmZ2PdxiE

Spencer

PS: Shout out to my boy Turner who will be rambling through the GMAT tomorrow.