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narcotic-induced ramble

it's legal!  i swear!!!  it even has Zep content!  LOL
okay---'bout Zep at the movies....did anyone mention "The Rock" yet? (if so, apologies) Sean Connery has just been released from a reaaaaaaally long prison sentence, and is meeting his daughter for (i think) the first time. she asks why he walked out on her mom, he replies something to the effect of, "You were conceived at a Led Zeppelin concert.....ah, whatta night that was!" she asks, "Who's Led Zeppelin?" end of tender bonding moment. LOL then i think Nic Cage informs him that the group broke up when Bonzo died in the early 80s.......begin deep depression.
now, 'bout the whole P/P/J dealie.........after reading through a lot of the posts, it occurred to me that there are certain folks who evidently feel about Plant's voice the way i do about Howlin Wolf. me, i LIKE Plant's voice---like it most when he sings in his lower range, baritone---it's so unexpected, and sooooo rich---yet he does it so rarely. however, i simply CANNOT listen to Howlin Wolf. i acknowledge the fact that he is one of the "biggies" in the blues movement, and can appreciate the great contributions he has made to the musical world, but DAMN! the man's voice gives me an almost instantaneous, crashing headache whenever i hear him. so i figure maybe it's the same situation with the folks who hate Plant's voice. or maybe not. ; )
so far as the post-Zeppelin careers go, the one thing i simply don't get is why Jones and Page receive TONS of support for their various musical forays, experiments, and endeavors, BUT Plant gets nothing but grumbles, slams, and insults from those same people. me, i think it's great that all 3 of the guys have gone on their merry musical ways over the past 24 years....."ever onward", and all that. so they rarely collaborate with each other. so what? as long as each of them are doing what they want to do as artists and musicians, IMO, we should be giving ALL of them all the support we can---whether we personally actually like what they're doing, or not.
i realize i'm probably going to cause some folks to go into fits now, but apropos to what i just said----
i have none of JPJs post-Zep stuff, have never (as far as i know) heard any of his post-Zep music, and doubt i will. with the exception of jazz, ragtime, and certain classical composers, i don't much care for instrumental-only, or primarily instrumental albums. nothing against Jonesy, it just isn't my thing. however, i am all for him comtinuing to walk his own musical path--regardless of whether i understand what he's doing, or where he's going musically. as long he is happy and satisfied with his work, i will continue to be enthusiastic about it.
i also have no post-Zeppelin Page music in my home (except for HoneyDrippers and the P/P stuff). i _did_ buy "Outrider", but after the first listen, i gave it to my daughter to use as a spare tape. didn't like or understand it, and figured that someone should get the use of it. ; ) wasn't impressed with any of The Firm stuff, and don't particularly care for either Coverdale or the Crows, so haven't gotten any of those, either. but again, the fact that he is still composing, recording, and performing is great!!!
as for Plant---i have all his post-Zep releases up to (and including) "Fate of Nations". i don't always understand what he's doing, either, but i do usually enjoy it. haven't had the spare moolah to pick up the last couple of Plant releases, or the the Zep compilations, but i reckon i will once i pull the scratch together. again--whether i "get" what he's doing, or not, i'm still very, very happy that he's still out there getting his groove on. 

regarding the Zeppelin non-reunion biz......
1) it was Jonesy who tried to quit the group back in the 70s, over Christmas during a tour. he has obviously had some issues with either the whole Zeppelin thing, or particular band members for decades. Grant managed to talk him into sticking it out, and the Zep continued. however, if he was wanting to walk away from the group at the height of its popularity, he must've had some pretty deeply-felt reasons......could be they are still affecting his relationships with Page & Plant. (just something to think about)
2) at Plant's instigation, a reunion attempt was made right after the Live Aid concert. the 3 guys went back to the UK, tapped Tony Thompson for drums, and tried to make a go of it. Plant & Jones, by all accounts, were extremely excited about making music together again. unfortunately, Jimmy just couldn't get it together---came late to rehearsals, if he showed up at all; fiddled with his equiptment instead of actually playing or attempting to compose any music; refused to have anything to do with the other 3 guys outside of the studio; and just generally pissed all over the attempts of the others to get anything going at all. IMO, it's amazing that Plant even agreed to do the NQ project with Page, considering how bad things went back then.
3) as has been stated before, no artist "owes" anyone--except himself--anything. Page, Plant and Jones are all evidently enjoying...and thriving....on their musical independence. each has gone a completely different musical route, and each seems to be quite happy and satisfied with the way their careers are going. i sincerely doubt that any of them actually need to continue working to pay the bills. they are doing what they want, when they want, the way they want. as long as they're pleased with their bodies of work, we should be, too. maybe we don't like everything they do, but at least they are still putting out vital musical works. regardless of what you might think of their projects---current or past---at least none of them have become caricatures of themselves....and i think we can all name a LOT of "stars" who have done just that. they aren't capable of creating anything new anymore, so they become their own best impersonators (Elton John, Cher, Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, etc.........and that's just off the top of my head in the musical world). whatever you may think of Page, Plant, or Jones---or their music---you have got to admit that they are still very much alive, vibrant, and creative musically.
4) IMO, as long as the guys ARE still busy creating their own sounds, the odds of a Zeppelin-type reunion are slim-to-none. why should they? at this point, it would just be another nostalgia band...maybe the best one in the world, but still.... unless the 3 of them can figure out a reason to get together again and keep each one's artistic voice, it just isn't going to happen. and if that's the case, there really isn't anyone to "blame"........or else you're gonna have to "blame" all 3 of them. again, IMO, expecting Page, Plant, and Jones to go into a room and create something that not only works musically, but also preserves each person's artistic style and integrity, AND makes both their "solo" fans, and Zeppelin fans happy, would be like putting Gaugin, Dali', and Van Gogh into a room, and telling them they can't come out till they've made a priceless, classic work of art which will satisfy and meet the approval of ALL the "fans" of all three of them. not bloody likely in this reality (although that does remind me of a dream i had last night......narcotics are...yeah).
things i learned from CourtTV----Hal David lyrics sound just as dorky when spoken, as when Diana Ross sings 'em. ......which reminds me---Von's comment about "Immigration Day" struck a sympathetic chord with me. having read a LOT of excellent poetry, i have to say that i alternately cringe and laugh every time i listen to the lyrics of "Thank You". unfortunately, due to my occasionally obssesive-compulsive personality, i CAN'T skip the song, because i have this _thing_ about having to listen to an entire album once it's gotten going. i have, however, been able to conquer my need to stack all the spoons according to bowl size in the siverware drawer, so maybe there's hope for me yet............ 

love ya-------

fireclown