Why E-S-G?

One of my favorite lyrics from one of my favorite bands, in context from “Achilles Last Stand”, Presence 1976

Days went by when you and I, bathed in eternal summers glow 
As far away and distant, Our mutual child did grow

That lyric has always stood out for me the way Plant sings that line, in retrospect, and now knowing what the song is about and the pain he was going through it makes sense. I’m not going to blog about Zeppelin, there are much more talented and informed people out there blogging about music and Zeppelin in general. I’m a huge fan, I can honestly say not a day goes by that I don’t hear at least one track; I do not listen to music on the radio. (More on that to come.) I have an IPod I plug it into the radio in my girl’s car or still pull CDs when in the Foci.  I don’t like to get caught up in who is the greatest band ever talk for every Zeppelin song in my mental rolodex there is a Black Sabbath song, so point is mute, I love music mostly heavy, mostly from the sound track of my life, my sister, a huge influence on my musical taste (I like to call it “musicalization”) told me that we listen to the music that we associate with the best or happiest times in our lives, I tend to agree with this.

I’m fairly sentimental and covet the days of my youth but I’m not going to listen to Meat Beat Manifesto just because I had a hot girlfriend who was into it in 1989! Nope, it always comes back to the usual suspects, Sabbath, Priest, Maiden, AC/DC, Scorpions (pre-Blackout), Aerosmith (pre-1980) and of course Zeppelin.  Why these bands, why not, oh I don’t know Springsteen or The Clash?  I think the obvious answer is that what was around you has an impression on a kid, what was deemed cool, good, shit or faggy has something to do with it, if no one is listening to it around you it cannot influence you. I was literally surrounded by music from birth, it you’ve ever seen my old man’s “cardboard vault” you know what I mean, 78s,33s, 8tracks, cassettes, even reel to reel…unreal the amount of recordings that still to this day adorned every nook and cranny of my boyhood home. I won’t go into the earliest stuff, but will mention that the earliest memory that I can dig up in my mind is of me swinging outside while my mother was gardening or hanging clothes and “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head” playing on the radio so that was 1970..i was 3.

For the uninitiated,,,,

It was an April morning when they told us we should go 
As I turn to you, you smiled at me 
How could we say no? 

With all the fun to have, to live the dreams we always had 
Oh, the songs to sing, when we at last return again 

Sending off a glancing kiss, to those who claim they know 
Below the streets that steam and hiss, 
The devil's in his hole 

Oh to sail away, To sandy lands and other days 
Oh to touch the dream, Hides inside and never seen. 

Into the sun the south the north, at last the birds have flown 
The shackles of commitment fell, In pieces on the ground 

Oh to ride the wind, To tread the air above the din 
Oh to laugh aloud, Dancing as we fought the crowd 

To seek the man whose pointing hand, The giant step unfolds 
With guidance from the curving path, That churns up into stone 

If one bell should ring, in celebration for a king 
So fast the heart should beat, As proud the head with heavy feet. 

Days went by when you and I, bathed in eternal summers glow 
As far away and distant, Our mutual child did grow 

Oh the sweet refrain, Soothes the soul and calms the pain 
Oh Albion remains, sleeping now to rise again 

Wandering & wandering, What place to rest the search 
The mighty arms of Atlas, Hold the heavens from the earth