Sunday, January 24, 2010

Led Zeppelin-a-Day: "Kashmir"

    So I mentioned some time ago that I would like a daily musical/journalistic challenge. My options: Led Zeppelin song a day, or a random song plucked out by my iPod a day. I'm opting for Led Zeppelin. A song a day is easy. A song a day is a pleasure. It will also help me along during these semi-dry times for the blog -- when I'm slaving over other things, and am slightly tortured by the thought, "Your blog is what keeps you believing that you're doing something to achieve your dreams, REMEMBER?" I track my live feed and I see that the viewers decrease when there is nothing new to read. So here it is, a kick in the ass.

    Oh, but don't worry. This definitely won't become my only outlet. I'll continue with the usual banter. Speaking of! By the way! The other day, I was lapping up those delicious moments right before you fall asleep. I hope everyone knows just what I mean. You're not yet asleep, but your mind has switched into this delirious, yet brilliant stand-by mode. Its, bar none, when I get my best thinking done. The most wondrous ideas, plans for world domination, or at least a superbly fulfilling life... I was thinking, thinking, thinking. It dawned on me, "I have a voice! The jittery, passionate, frequently capitalized, exclamation laden prose which simply come to me -- its my VOICE." It was a miraculous discovery. I was thinking, "Am I influenced by any particular writers?" There are so many authors whom I love to read, but I thought, "My writing doesn't particularly resemble theirs... I don't see myself particularly influenced by any. Maybe ALL, but not any specifically." The next thought: "What an accomplishment!" So la di da, I'll just continue nurturing and developing said voice.

    Anyway, here's your Led Zep:


    Kashmir, Physical Graffiti
    I think I've made it quite clear that Physical Graffiti is my favorite album of all time. I prefer disc two (again, no secret). Disc two is made up of mostly rarities. You probably won't hear anyone proclaim, "'Down by the Seaside'? A classic!" It IS a classic, in the fact that its Led Zeppelin at their best (Mmm, 1975. Delectable), just not in the obvious sense of the word. "Black Dog" is a 'classic', but if I was stranded on an island, I'd request to keep it off the island. "Kashmir" is another song that is a 'classic'. It is one of my least favorite Led Zeppelin songs. I RARELY play this song. I might even play "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper" more often, and "Hats Off" is my all time least favorite Led Zeppelin ever released on an official studio album. I find Roy Harper himself strangely alluring, but the song... A bore. "Kashmir", in contrast, isn't boring. It's an "epic". But here is my sad and sorry confession: I am a child of the nineties. The dramatic and instantly recognizable main riff in "Kashmir" reminds me of... P. Diddy, but I think he was Puff Daddy at the time. It makes me think of Godzilla. Didn't Jimmy Page and perhaps he was actually "Puffy", do an SNL appearance? Am I dreaming? That is what I think of. I don't think of whimsical hills in foreign Middle Eastern countries. I think of a weird, fictitious monster. I don't even think of a lanky, young JP slinging his Les Paul. I think of Jimmy Page with frizzy, dyed black hair. I know... That has absolutely nothing to do with music. Precisely! But my nearly baby-esque self could not anticipate that one day I'd be writing this. I didn't realize "Diddy" would wreck my view of "Kashmir" forever. I wish my dad had schooled me, and not let Diddy be more destructive than Godzilla. Alas, that hip-hop mogul got to me before anyone could intervene. "Kashmir" = "Come with Me" (I think that's what it was called, and I determined to not check it!) In other words, "Kashmir" is wrecked for me. Maybe one day it will equate to mystical adventures through new lands (which they hadn't even visited when it was written...), but for now, its me and the name-changing chameleon.Source URL: https://jimhensons.blogspot.com/2010/01/led-zeppelin-day.html
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