Saturday, December 29, 2012

WORTH WATCHING

I wasn't initially a big fan of Led Zeppelin, they seemed a little overblown to me back when they were first on the scene. But that was just my own prejudices in music and eventually I grew to appreciate and even dig their unique musical gifts and contributions to the unfolding history of seminal rock'n'roll bands.

But if you'd asked me to put aside twenty two minutes of my time to watch a tribute to them from the Kennedy Center and introduced by Jack Black, a sometimes overblown production himself, I'd have passed. Especially since most live music performances on TV are miked (that how you spell that? miced doesn't seem right) terribly and shot even worse.

But an old friend on Facebook whose taste I appreciate, George Mattingly, posted this video and the intro by Richard Friedman said you needed to ignore the clunkers in Black's introduction and stick it out to the end and you'd be rewarded.

I did and I was, to the point of actual tears of gratitude that these guys exist and created the music they did. And that it was captured pretty damn well for TV. As Friedman said in his intro to the video, turn the volume way up. And enjoy (but you gotta watch to the end).

6 comments:

AlamedaTom said...

All good stuff, but the closing "Stairway to Heaven" was epic. That tune has been so over-played and thrashed that I was skeptical until about 2 bars in!

Nice to see the President and First Lady obviously understanding and digging it, without doing the Watusi or something beneath the dignity of the office.

I'm sure you know about the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration of late. If not, you should check it out -- I haven't heard such sweet matching voices since the Everly Brothers.

~ Willy

Lally said...

Exactly the way I felt Willy. And yes I do know about those duets, a lot of friends, I think including you, expressed their enthusiasm for them. The thing about this clip that got me the most was these old duffers in their formal wear with their honoree sashes or ribbons or whatever slowly beginning to loosen up and start head bobbing to their own creations as reinterpreted by the younguns. And then seeing their eyes glow with tears. Moving for this old dude to see these other old dudes feel so overwhelmed by the homage.

Anonymous said...

Man that was cool. Yoyo Ma groovin' was awesome! President Obama strumming the first ladies' shoulder during a guitar riff also sweet! Worth it and always knew they were tops but that was a sweet tribute w/some cool choices.
Your only female heir, Caitlin

Lally said...

Glad you dug it honey, especially all those audience shots, the first couple and yoyo and Colbert and Bonnie Raitt et.al. Righteous appreciation in their old age as we all should be entitled to (except for those who contribute nothing and only take from the rest of us, like some rightwing hedge fund billionaires, etc.)

Miles said...

Thanks for sharing dad. Great version of "Stairway", a song I haven't felt the need to listen to for decades, literally, though it once felt powerfully moving and here it did again! The choir did it for me, though Heart showed their formidable talent too; those women are bad ass! Cait, I loved seeing Yo-Yo Ma grooving too! And of course, it was cool to see a Berkshire native, Kenny Aranoff, rocking the drums behind a couple performers. And one last thing, the Foo Fighters performance was notable because their world class drummer was singing and their world class singer was playing drums. Awesome way for me to start the new year!

Lally said...

So cool Miles. Glad you dug it.