Abbey Road, Royal Albert Hall, the Marquee, Earls Court are a must. Arcade Fire are playing Earls Court in June, so it hasn't been demolished yet. Hammersmith Odeon is another legendary music venue. You should also try to find the room where they first rehearsed in 1968...John Paul Jones mentions it in one of his interviews. At any rate, you should have a blast. Avail yourself to all the great pubs and sample the many fine ales and beers brewed in the UK. Don't you dare waste time ordering a Budweiser. Blech. Lots of fantastic Indian restaurants in London, too. England isn't just fish n chips and shepherd's pie.

^^^ No, watching CD three times in two weeks doesn't make you sound like a nut. Calling it the "best Zeppelin show ever" on the other hand...hehehe. It's definitely the best of the reunion shows and it's definitely the best live performance of "For Your Life". I still enjoy watching CD from start to finish but I still get annoyed by Dick Carruther's dicking around with the visuals. It's useless clutter and he misses so much of what's going on. The best part of the visual aspect for me is that camera at the base of Jason's kick drum...that was a genius decision to plant a camera there. The shots of the three guys huddled together are priceless. I also liked the dolly shots from the audience where you could see the whole stage and backdrop and the fans with their fists in the air...or their cellphones, haha. Apart from the crying girl at the end of "Kashmir", most of the crowd shots were annoying. Instead of focusing on hard-core Zeppelin fans like Front Row Dave, we got shots of random corporate women who looked like they could have been at a Robbie Williams or Sting concert. Three times platinum is three million usually. Does this mean they sold three million in just the DVD format? Or is this three million sold in all the formats combined...CD/DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.?

Ok, I know all of those Led Zeppelin boots in Ross Halfin's photo EXCEPT one...the Japanese one with the panties (a la Alice Cooper's "School's Out")! Can anyone provide information about that one? That Black Sabbath box is OLD NEWS. It was released ages ago. I got the UK edition nearly a decade ago and the US box followed shortly afterwards. It contains only the original albums, no bonus material, so it really isn't germane to this discussion.

Correctomundo!

That's good to hear. I'm a little worried about one thing, Rick, and that is your meds. I hope you don't get addicted to the pain meds as so many people seem to do and end up abusing them.

You're correct, ebk. Woody and McConaughey won't be back next season. Different cast and there will also be a different director for each episode, instead of one director doing the whole season.

93 pages compared to 26 pages on Steve Hoffman's thread. All I have to say is I hope they release vinyl editions. I don't care when they are released or if they do it all at once or in bunches...I'll get them all either way. Just be patient, people.

I'll put you in my will...but my Zeppelin collection is already spoken for.

I know I am in the minority but I have no use for any of those three vocalists you mention...Myles, Paul Rodgers, David Coverdale...all get a big yawn from me and I have no interest in seeing Jimmy with any of them. Personally, I would rather he hook up with someone like PJ Harvey or Beck(no, not that Beck, the other one) or Mark Kozelek. That would be far more interesting to me. The others would just be tired classic rock rehash.

Exactly my line of thinking, too. Given the hands-on quality control Jimmy Page exerted on Led Zeppelin, it doesn't follow that he would not be involved in something as important as the sound of Led Zeppelin's concerts and let underlings handle without his supervision. Maybe in 1977 when the Zeppelin camp was in drugged-out disarray, but I can't believe during the period from 1968-1975 that they would leave it to chance. And there is no way anyone is going to convince me that Led Zeppelin didn't soundcheck Knebworth. A gig of that stature and importance and you're going to try and tell me the band didn't soundcheck? No fucking way!

Why do you think I said it was a matter of contention? Just as there are people who say they didn't, there are those who say they did, and both groups include people connected with the band so it's impossible to know which side has more validity. However, we have photos of the band doing a soundcheck from Minneapolis, 1975. I think I have also seen soundcheck photos from 1971 Japan and either 1971 or 1972 LA Forum. Then there's the tape that was released as "Tribute to Johnny Kidd & the Pirates", where the band runs through a bunch of oldies and "Night Flight", "Rover" and "Wanton Song" during a 1973 soundcheck. I want to hear it from Jimmy, Robert or Jones themselves before I believe that they didn't do regular soundchecks.

^^^ Only 5 of the test pressings but according to my source at Classic Records, 200 Led Zeppelin "Road Case" Trunks were made. These have 48 12" 45rpm one-sided 200g super vinyl discs...8 discs each for the double albums(Physical Graffiti and TSRTS) and 4 per single album. The sound is the best you will ever hear Led Zeppelin. Don't let this out of your sight! You've got a keeper here...treat it like it was gold. How on earth did you score one of these? Was it an eBay bid? You didn't just find one in a record store, did you? Lucky sod.

I've always had at least one pair of checkered Vans slip-ons in my closet since the 1970s. Most comfortable shoe ever.

Yes, my December '72 boots "Riot House" and "Disturbance House" sound like the Ally Pally was pretty horrible...boomy and echoey. Can we also throw in the Empire Pool at Wembley as another London venue that sucked acoustically? This seems to a matter of some contention and my request to Dave Lewis, Sam Rapello, Luis Rey, or anyone who writes the next book on Led Zeppelin is to get to the bottom of the soundcheck question. Personally I find it hard to believe they wouldn't soundcheck. Jimmy Page doesn't strike me as someone who would leave the matter of sound quality and control up to chance like that. Nor John Bonham. I know some people have claimed Led Zeppelin didn't do soundchecks but Danny Goldberg says in his book that the band, and John Bonham in particular, were keen on getting the sound just right for their shows. Perhaps on multi-date stands in one venue they might only soundcheck the first show and once they got the levels set, it was left up to the road crew the other nights to check. Since we have photos and tape of the band soundchecking, it's obvious that they did do soundchecks at some shows. But it is a subject that has yet to be thoroughly investigated in any discussion of Led Zeppelin's concert history. Go to any show today and if you get there early enough, you will usually hear the band soundchecking around 3 or 4pm. Most Led Zep books and even their own movie TSRTS gives fans the impression that they just flew into town right before a concert and took limos from the airport to the arena. Which is an exaggeration, I think. It's surprising in all these years nobody has ever asked Jimmy, Robert or JPJ about their soundcheck schedule. Richard Cole is another person who would have that information...if his memory is reliable at this point.

Speak for yourself. This American has no trouble at all finding Mojo and Classic Rock and other UK magazines. +1

Playing hooky down at the marina.

That is beautiful. Touching. Couldn't get into the preview of Wes Anderson's new film "The Grand Hotel Budapest" tonight.

Leftover Oscar party cake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLr4rEQ4LMU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Jiminy Cricket, that was quick! They don't waste any time, that's for sure.

I'm curious to know if anyone went to the 2007 O2 show that also attended one of the 1975 Earls Court concerts? Both venues are criticized for their poor acoustics but I would like to hear from someone who saw them in both venues, which one was worse, sound-wise?

Not only the size, but you should also list the fabric material, origin of jacket, company and country and date it was made. Best of luck.

Yeah, that was a shame. "American Hustle" got zilch, too. Would have been nice to see them get at least one tip of the hat...Best Supporting or Screenplay or something. At least Bruce Dern got one last time in the limelight. To be honest, you've had more important and pressing concerns on your mind. Good luck Thursday. Here are the winners: http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Ack, you're right! What am I smoking? Haha.