Somewhere in the mid-'70s, a stoner classmate of mine did his English 101 speech on Led Zep, and claimed Plant’s symbol indicated his voice was as soft as a feather. Umm, sure…
(Personal aside: I was probably the only guy in my high school who didn’t like Zeppelin. I recently joined one of those mail-order-CD clubs, and Zep’s Greatest Hits was one of the offerings. I figured, I’d never pay good money for this stuff, but as one of my free selections, why not? Well, I can honestly say, it was worth what I paid. What WERE all my friends smoking?)
Am I dense or is this a trick? I have no idea what the “certain US soap company” referred to at the end of this article might be and came here hoping to find the answer.
Then…when I got here and read the first message, the one regarding what people who like Led Zep may have been smoking I was moved to reply. I, for one, was smoking some sort of herbal substance back then but have long since given up that and other childish behaviors (IMHO) in favor of a successful adult life. I do, though, continue to enjoy Led Zep and think they are one of the best, if not the best, rock and roll/blues bands ever to come down the pike. I would suggest that the writer of the earlier post remove his prejudiced ear plugs and give a listen to that “free” CD he received without prejudging all who may enjoy good music as “stoners”.
BTW…nothing is free. The only way that CD from the club was free was if you do not intend to fulfill the membership obligation which you agreed to. Then it wouldn’t be free…it would be stolen.
Hey, no offense intended! (I guess I shouldn’t disable smilies in my posts.) Just joking. Even though I never liked Zeppelin, they are the soundtrack to my high school days.
I don’t know about your high school, but at mine, everyone who liked Zeppelin was smoking something. Of course, pretty much everyone who liked oxygen was smokinbg something…
At the risk of sending my own thread hurtling into The Pit or IMHO, let me just say “different strokes” – but for my money, there were one or two good slow blues-ish numbers; as for the rest, the lyrics were by turns misogynistic or incoherent; and the music was a muddled mess – though I grant that may just be a bad digital remix. Really bad. No. I mean REALLY bad!
And, at the risk of hijacking my own thread, let me say that I am aware there is no free lunch, let a lone a free CD. However, I have found that if you shop the sales you can keep your per-unit price well under list (which is what CDs generally sell for in stores, anyway), and the shipping and handling are usually worth the savings in time. Although there is no pleasure on this Earth greater than a good used CD store…
Sorry, no offense taken and none meant in return, although, after re-reading my post I can see why you thought that was the case. I was merely blathering along there, thinking that if you would give them more of a listen, well…you would HAVE to agree with me. No, just kidding.
But then: as for this “but for my money, there were one or two good slow blues-ish numbers; as for the rest, the lyrics were by turns misogynistic or incoherent; and the music was a muddled mess” I am not sure what you are listening to. As for the lyrics, well, welcome to 1970’s rock and roll. Many of those old lyrics are, when listened to from our more enlightened perspectives a tad mysogynistic (try some Doors or Eric Burden or Billy Idol or even the Kinks on for size), although more of them seem to celebrate the joys of sex. As for incoherent, well if coherent lyrics were a criteria for good rock and roll an awful lot of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, The Dead, just to name a few, would be out the door. And the muddled part, well, I would suggest you look into some better stereo equipment, you are missing some of the best and cleanest guitar licks to ever be played and recorded as well as some truly amazing vocal gymnastics. I have seen their music called a “powerful brand of guitar rock constructed around simple, memorable riffs and lumbering rhythms…shaded and textured, filled with alternating dynamics and tempos.” (Stephen Erlewine of AMG)but not often characterized as “muddled”…As you say “different strokes”.
As far as the free CD’s go, I have found that the mail order CD clubs get it from me in the shipping and handling dept. Every time I fall for one of their sales pitches I end up amazed at how I can pay twice as much for shipping and handling as I paid for the CDs themselves…amazing really, since Amazon.com frequently ships for free and rarely for over seven bucks, even when I buy a box full. Every business has to make a buck, I suppose (except apparently Amazon.com but maybe this will be the year they too turn a profit) and the CD clubs are a convenient way of having lots of new music arrive at your door.
Way more important things going on in the world these days, anyway. God bless us all.
Just in case anyone hasn’t ever seen them, or need to look at them again, here’s a page with them all over the place (one of many). Scroll down a bit and there’s a picture of each band member with his symbol beneath him.
I have seen the “three ovals with a circle” design described as a triquetra.
I’m not sure of it’s origin, but it is commonly thought to be of Celtic origin. (this is to say that most web sites I’ve seen say it is Celtic without offering any cites or references)
Wiccans have adopted the symbol to symbolize the Maiden - Mother - Crone trinity, as the symbol can be seen as three yoni symbols combined.
Most recently it can be seen in the popular tv series “Charmed”
<sigh> One of these days, people will wake up and realize that Jimmy Page’s “Zoso” symbol is nothing more than a silly little visual joke. It’s a guy with glasses smoking a pipe. Really. Pipe is the underline, Z is the smoke, the eyes are the o’s, and the nose is the s.
I’ll let y’all figure out my feelings about the mighty Zep. I’ve heard of the fourth album referred to by a number of names. The shortest, that I recall, is “Runes”. For those that don’t enjoy the music, to each his own.
When pressed to pick my favorite Zep song, it happens to be on that album: Misty Mountain Hop.
Pb, wondering how long it took everyone else to figure out that the s in Zoso wasn’t an f.
As usual, Cecil puts to bed another urban legend – this time the one about the Satanistic soap (why exactly DOES it float then? Cecil covers that one, too, in a later column).
Hope this helped. We on the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board live to serve … just as long as it doesn’t involve cleaning up Cecil’s office.
SDStaff Songbird, still sitting in a brook by the tree
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board
Never said he was. We said he was an “occultist,” which is what interested Page in him. Crowley did, however, have some Satanic interest, which is why some may have thought Page did, too. Here is one of Crowley’s poems entitled “Hymn to Lucifer:”
"Ware, nor of good nor ill, what aim hath act?
Without its climax, death, what savour hath
Life? an impeccable machine, exact
He paces an inane and pointless path
To glut brute appetites, his sole content
How tedious were he fit to comprehend
Himself! More, this our noble element
Of fire in nature, love in spirit, unkenned
Life hath no spring, no axle, and no end.
His body a bloody-ruby radiant
With noble passion, sun-souled Lucifer
Swept through the dawn colossal, swift aslant
On Eden’s imbecile perimeter.
He blessed nonentity with every curse
And spiced with sorrow the dull soul of sense,
Breathed life into the sterile universe,
With Love and Knowledge drove out innocence
The Key of Joy is disobedience."
