RE: Fighting Words (and simplistic)

["Steve Thomson" <Steve.Thomson@xxxxxx>]

Actually I've read interviews with both Page and Plant (separately) in which
they both said basically the same thing, that they were strongly influenced
by American music and were just giving it back.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-zeppelin@xxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-zeppelin@xxxxxxxx]On Behalf
Of Carol Page
Sent: March 17, 2005 7:08 PM
To: Zeppelin List
Subject: Fighting Words (and simplistic)


The sun never sets on the British Empire... 'cause
they stole it.
By John Zwick
Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Article Tools: Page 1 of 1

As long as the money behind the defining figures in
our cultural establishment comes from our parents'
generation or young people blindly cling to tradition,
our definition of indispensable rock is going to seem
about as American as tea and crumpets.

What bands end up getting the most cred in lists of
supposedly indisposable rock? The Beatles. The Rolling
Stones. Led Zeppelin. The Who. Pink Floyd. Queen. By
the time we get to any American performers, we're
looking all the way back at the 50s.

And what do the vast majority of these Brits have in
common besides their iconic rock status? They owe it
all to us. The unusual cultural relationship that
allowed American rock and r&b to be retooled into the
rock of the 60s and 70s is responsible for the fame of
just about every British rock god. A quick check on
Google shows about one and a half times as many
references to American rock classic "Long Tall Sally"
as a Beatles song than as a Little Richard one. Beatle
George Harrison also scored a hit with his song "My
Sweet Lord," before it was revealed that the melody
and song progression were taken entirely from American
girl group the Chiffons and their song "He's So Fine."
Not to be outdone, Led Zeppelin's catalog has taken
very liberally from American bluesmen, most notably
Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

It doesn't get any better moving from guitar-god rock
to stripped-down punk, either. In the broader culture,
oldschool punk rock seems to carry something
especially British. But if we're splitting hairs, the
groundwork was laid by American bands, and by the time
we get to the 70s when "punk" became its own genre and
subculture, New York's Ramones still formed a year
before punk hit the British shores.

Fast-forward to the present. Because we lack the same
kind of iconic rock gods our parents' generation had,
the examples aren't as clear, but the practice still
continues. Andrew WK, for example, didn't get picked
up by Island Records until his cult success in
Britain, owing to their love of his American simpleton
image.

Perhaps it's an overdramatic way to put it, but the
whole thing seems awfully reminiscent of colonialism.
We provide Britain with the raw materials, and they
get filthy rich off it. The kind of money Jimmy Page
pulled in could easily have fed twenty bluesmen he
might have stolen from. The answer, of course, is
simple: We dress up like natives, storm Virgin
Megastore, and leave with stacks of Led Zeppelin
albums to throw into the ocean! Originality or death!

This is apparently from the Advocate at University of
California - Davis.

http://www.ucdadvocate.com/news/2005/03/16/Music/Aural.Sects.With.John-89554
0.shtml

You will need to be strong, for you will be called cowards and traitors.
But it is an act of courage to choose sanity and peace when others are
choosing hate and war.
San Ildefonso Pueblo, Native American elder



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