The Race

He challenged me.

There was nothing I could do.

Landon was the type of kid that would always try to one-up you. No matter what day of the year it was, he feels it was always “Landon’s Day”. For instance; one Christmas I was hoping to get a brand new bike. This was a major step up from the childish tricycle that I was currently riding. I was so happy on Christmas morning after receiving it that I felt somewhat invincible. As I started pedaling down my driveway, the melody of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” started to flow through my mind. To my disappointment, it was immediately interrupted by something gleaming in the distance. To no surprise, it was Landon; frantically pedaling his luxurious bike down the street in hope of ruining my Christmas. I thought everything was festive, until I noticed that I was operating plastic training wheels, while he was riding on rubber. Did he have to one-up me again?

Of course, he didn’t even have the decency to say, “Hey”or “Merry Christmas”.

Just a mere, “Wanna Race?”

I am more stubborn and competitive than most people. Plastic wheels or not; I was about to wax Landon Johnson off the road. The race was simple; we were racing from the first speed bump in our neighborhood to the last. We lined up at the starting point and gave each other the most hateful glares that adolescents could give.

As we stared, Jimmy Page’s guitar riff at the beginning of “Whole Lotta Love” proceeded to strum through my ears.

Da na na na na.

There was a streetlight visible from the starting point, so we were going to burn rubber (or melt plastic) when it turned green.

We were off.

There was no looking back, or backing down.

It was all on the table.

We started off neck and neck, but as the melody of “Whole Lotta Love” sped up, so did the pedals on my bike. I started to take a meager lead, but that was not enough.

I could still see him in my peripheral, but I wanted to embarrass him. I constantly continued to push those pedals with all my might. As soon as I considered slowing down, I saw the finish line.

I kept pedaling as hard as I could until I reached our destination.

All I could hear as I was flying over my handlebars was Robert Plant chanting, “Loooooovvvveee”. After landing, I got up and dusted off. Without any hesitation I hopped right up, looking around frantically. I was ready to rub my victory in Landon’s face.

As I my eyes locked with his, he looked puzzled.

The tune continued to play as I smiled and said, “Still wanna race?” He replied with, “No, you’re face is bleeding.”

He always had to ruin everything. Did he have to take away my glory as well?

I guess you could say I won that race. I’m sure that he feels that he won as well considering he walked away with no stitches. I will never forget the glorious feeling I felt as I glided across that finish line listening to my favorite tune.

That brief victorious moment compensated for any pain that I suffered on that Christmas morning.

No Defense Necessary

In my last post, I portrayed the astounding musical experience I had at Hard Rock Park, during the fall of last year. I confessed my love for Led Zeppelin, and their musical masterpiece – “Whole Lotta Love”. I gave an in-depth recollection of my “encounter” with one of the best bands to ever do it.

How could anyone disagree?

As the intro to “Whole Lotta Love” starts to play, I feel instantly captured by its melody. The blues rock that Zeppelin plays makes me feel as if I can relate, even when I cannot decipher what Robert Plant is screaming.

I cannot even start to consider how anyone could argue otherwise.

In 1979, Lenny Kaye of Rolling Stone declared his love for Zeppelin; referring to “Whole Lotta Love” as “a pumping adrenaline drive” led by “the incredibly sharp and precise vocal dynamism of Robert Plant”, and the “tightest arranging and producing Jimmy Page has yet seen his way toward doing”. Hayes ultimately concludes that Zeppelin took all the great aspects of their past albums, to create this work of art.

Ultimately, Lenny affirms that this song is a classic. I agree with him, but for different reasons. I think that this song is a classic not only because I love it, but because it has proven to be one.(On Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, it comes in at at number 75.) Mr. Hayes gave his critical opinion of this song shortly after it was released, so he had no idea what fans reactions could have been. This is why I find it interesting that our opinions are so closely related. In my blog I state that “The rhythm of Jimmy Page’s guitar and the drums of John Bonham meshed perfectly with Robert Plant’s voice”. Mr. Hayes took the more analytical approach, but in the end we both valued the same parts of the tune.

John Mendelsohn referred to “Whole Lotta love” as “the heaviest thing I've run across (or, more accurately, that's run across me) since "Parchmant Farm" on Vincebus Eruptum.” Mr. Mendelsohn goes on to brag about the “Vietnamese weed”, “mescaline” and other numerous drugs that influenced his admiration for this song. I feel that his failure to never listen to this song sober resulted in us having different opinions on this melodies purpose.

I concur with Mr. Mendelsohn that “Whole Lotta Love” is a great song, but I feel that he did not get the chance to truly value the immensity of this tune. His perception was distorted, so his reasons for enjoying this song were different than mine. John was listening purely to get off, while I listen because of my unadulterated love for this song.

It doesn’t matter if you listen to Zeppelin for psychedelic orgies, or for the pure pleasure it brings to just listen. All that matters is that a song can make you feel like nothing else can. Music is great and is something that I will always appreciate.

“Whole Lotta Love” is just the song that to me, will always remain the utmost supreme.

_

Work Cited

Kaye, Lenny. Rev. of "Led Zeppelin IV". Rolling Stone 23 Dec. 1971. RollingStone.com.
22 Feb. 2009 (http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/236870/review/5946018).

Mendelsohn, John. Rev. of "Led Zeppelin II". Rolling Stone 13 Dec. 1969 RollingStone.com. 22 Feb. 2009

(http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/204696/review/6068144?utm_source=Rhapsody&utm_medium=CDreview).

Richardson, Robert. "Myrtle Beach in the Fall." Weblog entry. The Best Blog?. 22. Jan 2009.
22 Feb 2009 (http://robert-thebestblog.blogspot.com/).

"500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. Rolling Stone. 09 DEC 2004. 23 Feb 2009 (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs).

 

Myrtle Beach in the Fall

As my head bobbed out of the ocean after arriving at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in November with my girlfriend Bethany…

The face I made was one of pain and discomfort. As I started to painstakingly stumble out of the ocean, I found myself getting colder and colder. My vision was blurred by not only the freezing temperatures, but from the salt water dripping from my hair, into my eyes. I could hear nothing but the cold wind piercing my face and Bethany chuckling in a manner that screamed, “I told you so.”

After learning my lesson on fall ocean temperatures; I had to think of something entertaining for us to do. I recalled that the first Hard Rock Amusement Park had recently opened. I assumed that it would be just as enjoyable as the music themed Hard Rock Cafe that my girlfriend adores. We both figured that there was nothing better to do considering that I had already made a fool of myself.

After entering the park, my amazement wiped away my shame. As we walked through the gates, I saw a massive 12 story Gibson Les Paul (Guitar). This alone would have satisfied me, but as we continued walking I saw something that I knew my girlfriend would love. Led Zeppelin The Ride!

Usually when approaching a line for a roller coaster I immediately become annoyed and impatient.

This roller coaster was different though…

When walking up to the ride, there was no visible line due to the astounding Zeppelin (blimp) towering over the entrance of the roller coaster. When we finally did make it to the line, it was not a line at all. It was actually a 3D virtual concert that we watched in a room while anticipating what was to come next…

Fiber optics light up the walls projecting people standing in a stadium lighting lighters and drinking beers. As the intro to “Whole Lotta Love” started to play, I felt as if I was 30 feet away from one of the best bands of all time. While standing there with fellow fans, we were lucky enough to watch exclusive interviews and concerts that could persuade anyone into becoming a fan of Led Zeppelin.

When the concert ended, doors opened and I saw "The Ride". We sat down, buckled up and “Whole Lotta Love” continued from where it left off during the concert. The rhythm of Jimmy Page’s guitar and the drums of John Bonham meshed perfectly with Robert Plant’s voice as we all set there in suspense. All of a sudden, the roller coaster started to creep as the the music stopped. We started to climb up to the pinnacle of the roller coaster as the music continued…

Mr. Plant screams “Way down inside, Woman you need”.

As we reached the climax of the roller coaster he chants, “Looooovvvvvvvveee” and whoosh we went down loops and flips while listening to this musical masterpiece.

Every time I hear the intro of this incredible song, my mind instantly goes back to that mind blowing musical experience. The smooth melody brings vivid flashbacks of my girlfriend and I zipping uncontrollably through that thick ocean air, with out a care in the world. If ever in Myrtle Beach in the fall, take a trip down to Hard Rock Park. Instead of jumping into the frigid ocean, jump on Led Zeppelin The Ride and see if “Whole Lotta Love” doesn’t make it on the list of songs you like.