ATTENTION ALL "FAST TIMES" FANS IN THE LA AREA! Tonight(Friday July 8) at 7:30pm, director Amy Heckerling will be at the American Cinematheque's Aero Theatre in Santa Monica for a screening of two of her films, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless". There will be a Q & A between the films and who knows...maybe some "special guests"? Read about it here...Fast Times/Clueless at the Cinematheque

Definitely NO WOLFGANG in this clip! One of the GREATEST concert intros EVER!

I see kids today with the Swan Song shirt and the runes drawn on their notebooks, and go "Yep...that was me in the 70's when I was in school." By highschool, I had all the different logos and fonts Led Zeppelin used up to then memorized by heart and could draw them perfectly from memory. My Peechee folders were emblazoned with Led Zeppelin. I even had a special bic lighter that I painted Zoso on...I would take that to Zeppelin concerts to flick. When Bonham died and the band ceased to exist, I moved on...I was into punk, metal, no-wave, new-wave, anything current. Of course, I also kept tabs on what Plant, Page and Jones were doing, but for the most part I rarely pulled out my Zeppelin records in the 80's. The fact that the Led Zeppelin reunions of Live Aid and the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary were so lackluster to me also helped keep my focus musically on the present-day. There were plenty of bands to keep me occupied. Then, my Zeppelin geekiness was rekindled when the remastered cd's finally came out in 1993, followed by the Page/Plant Un-ledded special and tour. By this point, Jane's Addiction(which, musically and mystically, was the closest to Zeppelin any band ever got IMO) was kaput, Kurt had blown his brains out, and I never cared much for the whole grunge thing anyway, save for some Soundgarden and a few others. Radiohead and Beck were just starting out, but there was a kind of vacuum for a while there in the early-90's, and when I heard those Zeppelin cd's, I remembered how much I LOVED their music and how no band had ever come around since to fill the void they left. Then, when I saw 4 shows on that initial Page/Plant tour of 94-95, and saw how Jimmy was playing with some of the old fire, that cinched the deal and I dug out my old Zeppelin vinyl(studio and bootlegs) and magazines and immersed myself again in all things Zep. It's been that way ever since...even as I keep an ear to the current scene, Zeppelin is never far from my stereo or my mind. I've returned to my "Zeppelin-phase" for good.

AGREED! No Chickenfoot or Van Hagar clips in a Van Halen thread.

I am a big fan of Chuck Klosterman's writings, and over the years he has written some funny, yet perceptive stuff on Led Zeppelin. Jahfin posted his latest riff on Zeppelin in the News section, but I thought I would create a stand-alone thread for Klosterman's Zeppelin writings, so fans could post their own reactions. This first bit I just discovered from his book "Killing Yourself to Live", and it is an interesting, if male-centric take on why Led Zeppelin remains so timeless...why there will always be Led Zeppelin fans. I have to admit I'm a little jealous, as I've been developing an essay along similar lines that I intended to post on my birthday, and now I realize Klosterman beat me to the punch. ...I'm playing How the West Was Won by Led Zeppelin, a recently released collection of live Led Zep recordings from the year of my birth. I've been saving this CD for rural Montana, since Montana seems like the only state where a 23-minute version of "Whole Lotta Love" would feel completely necessary. Whenever I find myself in an argument about the greatest rock bands of all time, I always place Zeppelin third, behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. This sentiment is incredibly common; if we polled everyone in North America who likes rock music, those three bands would almost certainly be the consensus selections (and in that order). But Zeppelin is far and away the most popular rock band of all time, and they're popular in a way the Beatles and Stones cannot possibly compete with; this is because every straight man born after the year 1958 has at least one transitory period in his life when he believes Led Zeppelin is the only good band that ever existed. And there is no other rock group that generates that experience. A few years ago, I was an on-air guest for a morning radio show in Akron. I was on the air with the librarian from the Akron public library, and we were discussing either John Cheever or Guided by Voices, or possibly both. Talk radio in Akron is fucking crazy. While we were walking out of the studio, the librarian noticed the show's 19-year-old producer; the producer had a blond mullet, his blank eyes were beyond bloodshot, and he was wearing ripped jeans and a black Swan Song T-shirt with all the runes from the Zoso album. The librarian turned to me and said, "You know, I went to high school with that guy." This librarian was 42. But he was right. He did go to high school with that guy. So did I. Everyone in America went to high school with that guy. Right now, there are boys in fourth grade who do not even realize that they will become "that guy" as soon as finish reading The Hobbit in eighth grade. There are people having unprotected sex at this very moment, and the fetus spawned from that union will become "that guy" in two decades. Led Zeppelin is the most legitimately timeless musical entity of the past half century; they are the only group in the history of rock 'n' roll that every male rock fan seems to experience in exactly the same way. You are probably wondering why that happens; I'm not sure, either. I've put a lot of thought into this subject (certainly more than any human should), but it never becomes totally clear; it only seems more and more true. For a time, I thought it was Robert Plant's overt misogyny fused with Jimmy Page's obsession with the occult, since that combination allows adolescent males to reconcile the alienation of unhinged teenage sexuality with their own inescapable geekiness. However, this theory strikes me as "probably stupid." It would be easy to argue that Zeppelin simply out-rocks all other bands, but that's not really true; AC/DC completely out-rocks Led Zeppelin, and AC/DC is mostly ridiculous. Whatever quality makes Led Zep so eternally archetypal must be "intangible," but even that argument seems weak; here in Big Sky Country, I'm listening to "Heartbreaker" at rib-crushing volume, and everything that's perfect about Led Zeppelin seems completely palpable. There is nothing intangible about the invisible nitroglycerin pouring out of the Tauntaun's woofers. Everything is real. And what that everything is - maybe - is this: Led Zeppelin sounds like who the are, but they also sound like who they are not. They sound like an English blues band. They sound like a warm-blooded brachiosaur. They sound like Hannibal's assault across the Alps. They sound sexy and sexist and sexless. The sound dark but stoned; they sound smart but dumb; they seem older than you, but just barely. Led Zeppelin sounds like the way a cool guy acts. Or - more specifically - Led Zeppelin sounds like a certain kind of cool guy; they sound like the kind of cool guy every man vaguely thinks he has the potential to be, if just a few things about the world were somehow different. And the experience this creates is unique to Led Zeppelin because its manifestation is entirely sonic: There is a point in your life when you hear songs like "The Ocean" and "Out on the Tiles" and "Kashmir," and you suddenly find yourself feeling like these songs are actively making you into the person you want to be. It does not matter if you've heard those songs 100 times and felt nothing in the past, and it does not matter if you don't normally like rock 'n' roll and just happened to overhear it in somebody else's dorm room. We all still meet at the same vortex: For whatever the reason, there is a point in the male maturation process when the music of Led Zeppelin sounds like the perfect actualization of the perfectly cool you. You will hear the intro to "When the Levee Breaks," and it will feel like your brain is stuffed inside the kick drum. You will hear the opening howl of "Immigrant Song" and you will imagine standing on the bow of a Viking ship and screaming about Valhalla. But when these things happen, you don't think about Physical Graffiti or Houses of the Holy in those abstract, metaphysical terms; you simply think, "Wow. I just realized something: This shit is perfect. In fact, this record is vastly superior to all other forms of music on the entire planet, so this is all I will ever listen to, all the time." And you do this for six days or six weeks or six years. This is your Zeppelin Phase, and it has as much to do with your own personal psychology as it does with the way John Paul Jones played the organ on "Trampled Under Foot." It has to do with sociobiology, and with Aleister Crowley, and possibly with mastodons. And you will grow out of it, probably. But this is why Led Zeppelin is the most beloved rock band of all time, even though most people (including myself) think the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are better. Those two bands are appreciated in myriad ways and for myriad reasons, and the criteria for doing so changes with every generation. But Led Zeppelin is only loved one way, and that will never evolve. They are the one thing all young men share, and we shall share it forever. Led Zeppelin is unkillable, even if John Bonham was not. Relevant to the above, I found this interview with Chuck, where the interviewer addresses the above piece.... Chuck Klosterman: Articulating the Unintelligible By T. Virgil Parker October 18, 2006 Q: I think that a lot of your most important work revolves around that. Most people who think about culture believe that there's some social engineer out there trying to mass produce contemporary consciousness. It's more likely that a good deal of contemporary mass consciousness is a byproduct of selling soda. A: The hardest thing about cultural criticism is dealing with the element of chance. I was working on this column about Snakes on a Plane, Esquire wanted it. They went back and shot scenes based on what people wanted on the internet. They changed the name of the movie and changed it back based on what they thought people wanted. I think this is a bad direction for filmmaking to go for two reasons. One: If you look at the entire blogisphere as a focus group the movies are going to become less personal and more idiotic. The other problem -and I wonder if the movie studios even realize- is not only will it make the movies worse, but even if they do their research perfectly it will only work half the time. It's the same as having one guy pick. If you asked 100,000,000 people everything they wanted from a film, and made that movie, it might be popular and it might not. There's still that element that people don't know what they want until they get it. Whenever you're writing about culture you always face that mystery, like why is Led Zeppelin huge? I can give a whole bunch of reasons why Led Zeppelin is great. I can use musical reasons, reasons about their iconography, timing, the world-view of youth in the 70's- all those things, but there's still the question of why it was them. Why not Blue Cheer? Was it because the music was inherently better? I would argue that it is, but I don't really know. There are tons of examples where the opposite is true. Q: My wife read the passage in Killing Yourself to Live about Led Zeppelin and she said that you hit the nail on the head except for one thing: Why are there generations of female fans obsessing over Zep? A: Some people have brought that up, that it was a somewhat sexist point. I wasn't saying that only guys like Led Zeppelin, I'm just saying it's a really formative part of being a guy. Every guy will, for whatever reason, find the music of Led Zeppelin to be, at least briefly, the only good music in the world. Whether it's for eight days, or eight weeks, or their whole lives. I'd guess women would like Led Zeppelin for less gender-specific reasons. Maybe they just think it's good. Especially for guys who were totally into Zeppelin for like six weeks in tenth grade, in all likelihood it wasn't their most successful romantic era. I don't know if any guys have ever gotten laid because they like Led Zeppelin. You can read the whole interview HERE! I've been trying to find his essay on Led Zeppelin IV or his interview with Robert Plant online, but so far have been unsuccessful. I hope I don't have to resort to typing it by hand.

Nope...way out of line...it's not even close to being the same thing. Here's a theory about Caylee's killing I read today, boiled down to the bare essentials: Casey's dad abused her as a child. The dad then tries to do the same with Casey's daughter Caylee, accidentally killing her with the chloroform he was using to render her unconcious. Hence, the reason why gramps tried to kill himself. The article goes into some psychological reasons why Casey would try to help her dad cover it up, etc...okay, I found the article for you all to read... Why Casey Anthony's Verdict Makes Sense By Dr. Keith Ablow Published July 05, 2011 Casey Anthony was found not guilty of murder, which makes good sense. Much of the state’s case rested on the fact that Casey didn’t seem grief-stricken at all after her daughter went missing. She actually went out dancing, had sex and got a tattoo. Yet, for those who cannot fathom how Casey Anthony could have gone out partying with men and spending money on clothes after the death of Caylee Anthony—unless she killed her daughter—there is another potential explanation. Some emotionally vulnerable people can experience mania—the “high” phase of bipolar disorder, essentially the opposite of depression—in the setting of unthinkable trauma or loss. Even if you despise Casey Anthony, you have to admit that the death of her daughter (if she did not kill her) would qualify as such a trauma or loss. Symptoms of mania could then ensue, including: overspending, hypersexual behavior, sleeplessness and a sense of euphoria (which would be seen in photographs as seeming joy). Indeed, one could imagine that a human being’s mind might well “snap” into mania if, for example, she were the victim of rape as a child (something Casey accuses her father of perpetrating), then learned that the man responsible for her rape had tried to sexually assault her daughter while using chloroform to drug her, only to cause her death “accidentally.” And, believe it or not, a young woman in denial of her assailant’s depravity, preferring to think she was actually “chosen” as a little girl over her mother, might even cover up for her assailant and the killer of her daughter, because she has been trained to hide his assaultiveness her whole life. She might even sit still for a long, long time, despite that man making the death of her daughter look like murder by a third individual. I’m not saying that anything really happened this way, but it could have. Really. And if it did, it would certainly explain why George Anthony would contemplate suicide in the middle of this case (Grandparents don’t routinely try to kill themselves when their grandchildren go missing or are found dead; in fact, I have never, ever heard of it happening). And it would also explain why George Anthony would have an affair while his granddaughter was missing (which he denies)—because in this scenario he would be unable to control his sexual impulses in a variety of venues. Again, I am not saying that this is what happened. I am saying that it is plausible from the standpoint of a forensic psychiatrist. And I just don’t know how you send a woman to jail for life, or for decades, or to her death for killing her daughter, when there’s an alternate storyline that holds water just as well. Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatrist and member of the Fox News Medical A-Team. Dr. Ablow can be reached at info@keithablow.com. Deb, I think the phrase you're thinking of is "beyond the pale"..."beyond reproach" suggests she has nothing to apologize for, that her actions were perfect.

Bless you Jahfin! I was looking for a little light reading for my lunch-break and THAT hit the spot...hilarious! Anyone who takes offense to that article or thinks Chuck is slagging Zeppelin is missing the funny gene...and missing the point. Chuck is saying that even at their worst, and August 11, 79 was certainly a low point, Led Zeppelin was still above everyone else. He said Jimmy was the only guy who could wear a sweater vest and NOT seem gay. He said there was nobody, dead or alive, who could compete with John Bonham. And the imaginary phone call between Gibby Haynes and John Paul Jones was CLASSIC! I've been wondering about that darn telephone ever since the photos from Knebworth first started appearing in Creem magazine in 79. My favourite line might have been this: "I'm still waiting for Page to comment on this random bozo's unfulfilled prowess as a retail employee." Chuck Klosterman has written some other perceptive and hilarious essays on Led Zeppelin before...check out his collection of essays Chuck Klosterman IV. There's a piece on Led Zeppelin IV, as well as an interview with Robert Plant. Then, in Killing Yourself to Live, there's a brilliant part about the eternal popularity of Led Zeppelin. I can't access it right now but will cut and paste it when I can.

Ha! OJ is as black as I am. And a jury in LA is different than a jury in Florida or rural Texas. I don't think a month goes by when DNA hasn't exonerated some poor black dude on the way to the electric chair or gas chamber in the nick of time. And the cases usually are from Texas or Florida, states that are gleefully pro-death penalty.

Thanks zep head for all that info! I just don't have the time to scour the web. I do know and used to frequent the Underground Uprising site, but haven't been there as much recently as it seemed out of date. There would be no mention of the latest upgrades and the most recent review would be from 2003. I have stumbled upon this other site that reviews not just Zep, but Pink Floyd, the Stones, Dylan, Springsteen and newer acts. It's called Collectors Music Reviews...or something like that.

The longest, though not the best Stairway to Heaven ever. And no, I don't think vodka is the appropriate drink to honour John...go with Ballantine's beer instead. Rather than dwell on the end, though, I prefer to celebrate July 7, 1968...the BEGINNING of Led Zeppelin. And perhaps also listen to the July 7, 1973 Chicago show.

Not if they are black. If Casey Anthony was black that jury would have come back with a guilty verdict, and they would have no problem with giving her the death penalty. Bank on it.

Wait til you see them live! I don't know where you're from, but if they tour near you, do yourself a favour and go! They are one of the top 5 current bands live.

I'm sure this will come across as naive to some of you and have you spewing over your keyboard, but much as there are laws that prohibit criminals from profiting from their crimes, maybe we need a similar one for jurors. Then this charade of jurors demanding money before going on talk shows or selling their story to the highest bidder would cease. I didn't pay much attention to the case, either before or during the trial, but after reading various articles detailing the case and the evidence as presented at trial, I'd say every member of the jury is guilty of dereliction of duty. As for trying to figure out what line of reasoning the jurors used, that's impossible, as it appears they didn't use ANY REASONING at all. They FAILED that little girl. They FAILED the American justice system. For any one of those idiots to see one penny of profit from this debacle is a sham of a mockery of a sham. Watching Nancy Grace and other news outlets tonight, everyone is excited about tomorrow when Casey is set to be released. You get the feeling that Nancy and everybody is hoping for a Jack Ruby moment...that someone takes Casey out. There no winners in this case...everybody loses.

The only thing "silly" is your silly 80's-paranoid-phobia. By the way, Hall & Oates KILLED IT at the Hollywood Bowl Sunday night! Yeah, I "SPONTANEOUSLY" switched my plans for the 4th, so I went to the show on the 3rd instead. Great setlist...great band...great fireworks! Considering some of the people who ARE in, tell me again why Hall & Oates are NOT in the R n R Hall of Fame?

Yes, errr, NO.

And there was rejoicing across the land... Back to topic...yeah, I'd say I'm a pretty spontaneous guy. Sure, I've planned for certain things...Led Zeppelin concerts, for instance, took planning of military precision. And I will plan a special Valentine's date or a birthday. But for the most part I am a come what may kind of guy. I don't worry too much about the future...I'll deal with it when it gets here. I'm not superstitious nor religious, but I love this quote: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."

In the classic words of Doonesbury's Mark Slackmeyer: GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY!

Excellent redrum! Had no idea you were handy with a blowtorch!

I don't know if "Blue" is her best album, but it's pretty darn close, Missy. Of course I am a big Joni Mitchell fan...and not just because of the "Going to California" connection. My dad had all the early albums and I remember hearing them all the time in the late-60's thru early-70's. Besides, I am Californian, and I think there's just something in a Californian's DNA that makes you like certain acts: The Byrds, Beach Boys, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan for instance. Seen Joni many times in concert, including both nights in 1998 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, where she was sandwiched between Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, who traded headlining slots every other night. And yes, she did her Bob Dylan-voice on one song...but it was more in good fun and jest, than in anger. Anyway, here's a few of my favourite Joni clips...mainly because it's just Joni with her guitar. "California" Live on BBC 1970 "Just Like This Train" Live Joni Mitchell & Johnny Cash "The Long Black Veil"

Well first of all, let's agree that there's a difference between the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times and similar respected newspapers and the tabloids such as The Sun, Weekly World News and National Inquirer. You get what you pay for. As Jahfin said, consider the source...and internet sites are just as susceptible to hacking, if not more so. Second, I am getting sick-and-tired of hearing that print news is dead and that everyone can get their news from the internet. Despite what the internet cheerleaders would have you believe, the majority of news on the internet is still based on stories originally reported and sourced and written by PRINT MEDIA. It is still the reporters from the newspapers, radio stations and wire services like AP and Reuters, that go out and do the leg work and hard work involved in reporting. Then some blowhard sitting in his underwear in his mother's basement can bloviate about it and link the story from the paper's website. Big whoop. Even now, I will find tons of stories reported in the papers that I won't find on the internet, at least not reported in the depth of the newspaper reports. So YES, I will still buy my L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, Economist, Wall St. Journal, and my other print sources for news. For one thing, I like relaxing in the morning with my coffee and paper. You can't relax over a computer screen glowing in your eyes. I suggest Dan that you start buying a better quality paper. Rule of thumb, if there's a Page 3 bird, it's probably not a reputable news organization.

Nancy Grace did it. She's the guilty party. Nancy also was the one who killed Nicole Simpson and Natalee Holloway.

Wow, 7 sources! That's a lot for one show. I know the 9-4-70 Forum show is rumoured to have somewhere up to 9 sources, and certainly the 71 Japan tour had many tapers out in force. Does anyone know the record for most different sources from one Zeppelin concert? I've gotta think, with over 200,00 in attendance, it's got to be the August 4, 1979 Knebworth. As for Badgeholders, I've got two sources then: the first source used for my Dragonfly vinyls; and Millard's tape, which I have on EVSD's For Badgeholders Only and on Genuine Masters DVD-audio of For Badgeholders Only. If only Millard had been at the Bath Festival in 1970.

Awwww, I'm sorry about your heart. I can't speak for Brad, but here's what I meant by what I said. Yes, I know, and applaud, the history of In n Out...the family aspect, the great colour scheme and cleanliness of the place, the fresh ingredients, the cheap prices, how it's been around as long as McDonald's. All that and more. And considering how many other family-run joints have disappeared or been swallowed up by some big corporate conglomeration, I salute In n Out's ability to survive and thrive. And there is nothing wrong with a Double-double "animal style" (but their fries are pretty weak...reswati would laugh and scoff at such pitiful things). In n Out blows McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Hardees, White Castle, and just about any other fast-food burger joint out of the water. But what I don't get, and this is what I mean when I say it is overrated, is why In n Out keeps winning these polls in the LA Weekly, LA Times, Yelp, Foodie mags and websites, for Best Burger in L.A. Or when I hear people say they'd die for an In n Out...it's a nice burger, but one to die for? That's a little extreme. I think there are a couple of factors that play into In n Outs popularity. One is that it's a great value...a double-double with fries and coke is $5. In these economic times, cheap is good, and cheap with quality is even better. Second is the look of the place...it's always clean and shiny and graphically speaking, the design is striking. Third...it's open 24-hours. That's a major plus when you're on a drug and/or drunken burger run, and don't want to subject your tummy to a Tommy's chili-burger. Fourth...it's got a great theme song. Never underestimate the effect of a great jingle. So don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people liking In n Out burgers...I just don't like it when it's presented as the be-all and end-all of burgers in L.A. Cassell's, Father's Office, Juicy Burgers, Pie and Burger, Original Pantry, Umami's, Hole in the Wall Burgers, Original Texas BBQ King, The Griddle, Fatburgers, Farmer Brothers, Jake's, The Hat...these are some of the best burgers in L.A. And with good fries to match.