[Why DOESN'T Pagey Do Something?]

I think the reason JP doesnt play live anymore is obvious...... Obvious from the performance at the reunion gig.... obvious from the latest vid of him playing kashmir on acoustic.....

Not obvious to me I guess. He played well, sometimes great, at O2. And he's flawless on the latest video of him playing Kashmir acoustically.

[Who is..]

Not sure which painting you mean. Can you describe it? And thanks! Telling a painter you really like her work is like telling a mother her baby is beautiful.

I'm represented by Mason Murer Fine Art (Atlanta, GA) and Gail Pierson Gallery (Cape May, NJ). On my website, if a painting is not marked sold, it's available though the gallery. Thanks for asking.

Wow, my wife and I have bought stuff from the Pierson Gallery in Cape May (one of our favorite towns)! We'll look for your stuff.

Thanks for posting, very cool!

[Background vocals by Jimmy]

He occasionally offered backing on the live versions of That's the Way, you can see this on the DVD...

[What The Famous Say About Led Zeppelin]

Nicole Scherzinger said she played some Zeppelin to get her in the mood for a role of a bad girl

in the new Men in Black 3 movie.

Also Ringo Star said that Bonzo never knocked him out with his drumming.

He must be pissed of how only few people consider him a great drummer.He said that with the remastered Beatles albums

you can finally hear the drumms,and that people can appreciate his talent.

He then felt he should attack the greatest (?!) to make him self feel great.Pathetic.

Thought Ringo liked Bonham, do you have a direct quote?

[Why DOESN'T Pagey Do Something?]

Lots of people bitched about LZ when they were big, and Pagey never quit the game. I would bet money that almost no artist bases their decisions on what people on a forum say. Just saying, is all. Again, I love the guy, but when RS did their new guitar lists, I honestly thought JP belonged much lower than 3, given his almost complete absence of work this decade.

I don't view it that way. If it was a list of guitarists who are playing RIGHT NOW you'd have no Hendrix, Duana Allman, etc. Page earned top three in my opinion.

[Why DOESN'T Pagey Do Something?]

Here's some more speculation..

There are 25 OTD's left to complete one full year from it's inception. Do you think it's just going to continue on the way it has for the past year, or do you think it'll will stop? And if you think it'll continue, do you believe it'll just be a rehash of old entries from last year??

I think it will continue, Page's career arc is so long I'd bet they had little problem documenting numerous events for each date. The only way it stops is if Jimmy gets sick of the a$$pipes on this forum constantly bitching about it and says, "f**k this"!

[Why DOESN'T Pagey Do Something?]

I'm a guitarist. All I have to do is look at him to know something is wrong. All I have to do is listen to know he is rusty. He himself says he picks up a guitar maybe every other day or so. Not the way to keep your chops up let me tell you.

There is something physiologically wrong with Jimmy's hands/wrists/fingers. They just don't move like they used to. It's a fact. He physically can not play like he used to. Clapton can, Beck can, Santana can, but Jimmy can't. Why? You tell me.

There was nothing wrong with his playing on the 98 tour, and he was in great form as a lead guitarist on the summer 2000 tour with the Crowes, I saw three of those shows. As for the O2, he didn't have the benefit of any warmup gigs, and I can't imagine a more pressure packed gig for him. And frankly he sounded great on the faster parts of GTBT, the outro of Black Dog, the 12 string picking of TSRTS, and others. He definitely played it safe on SIBLY. I also thought he sounded great on all three of his guest gigs last year, especially with Roy Harper.

Is he as dexterous as he was in 73? I'm sure he's not. To be fair, I don't think the other guitarists you mentioned were ever as "rubber fingered" as Jimmy in his prime. But he can still play. I think we're all looking for a logical reason he's NOT out there playing, and it's a head scratcher.

It's interesting to me that him finally cleaning up has coincided with this lack of activity. Makes me wonder if he feels he can't be creative without substances, or if touring would present too many temptations.

[Why DOESN'T Pagey Do Something?]

Actually Jimmy has done "new" stuff.

1. the Death Wish 2 soundtrack re-release

2. the Lucifer Rising soundtrack

I would say no the Robert Plant inquiry

The touring question is debatable upon several categories, the first being why.

The well is not dry

These are new days for Senor Page, ahem, website material

James Patrick Page has never taken a chance. His entire career has been carefully thought out and wisely constructed to benefit himself first, then others. There is nothing wrong with that. That is called good business. That is not debatable for him, it might be debatable for the fans.

You make some good points. Many of us think of a new album as being the only thing that would "count" as doing something. But after years of doing very little publicly, he's actually done quite a bit in the last year and a half going back to the book, the website launch, remastering and rereleasing DW2 and LR, etc. Hopefully new music is something he'll get to.

Unfortunately (for us) I think we've seen that last of him on the road playing. He's closer to 70 than he is to 60, I can't believe he's dying to hit the road at this point, if he was he could have done it at any point in the last 12(!) years. Never thought when I saw him at Jones Beach with the Crowes in July 2000 that would be my last chance to see the man play live!

[Jimmy and Crowley]

This is not to say that one should deny one's vices, (indeed, we Thelemites believe our vices should be celebrated) but one should not allow them to interfere with the performance of one's True Will, or at least only allow them to interfere minimally.

This is an interesting, and illuminating, statement in the context of Jimmy's well-publicized addiction. From time to time interviewers have asked him about it and he has never gone the repentant, Eric Clapton route when addressing the topic. For sure he seems happy to have kicked it, but he also seems to be unapologetic about his use of drugs back in the day.

[What The Famous Say About Led Zeppelin]

There was a great YouTube clip of Townshend talking about attending the ARMS concert in NY and seeing the kid next to him point to the stage and yell, "IT'S JIMMY...F***ING...PAGE!!!", as the building literally shook. It was a great anecdote and I wish I could find it, it was from an interview around the time of the O2.

Pete has had plenty of nice things to say about the guys in Zeppelin, even if he's not overly fond of their music...

[Hot pics of Jimmy]

1980

Great pic, am I the only one who's never seen a picture of Jimmy wearing a cross? Also, is that a young Dave Lewis with him?

[Available at Newstands (Nearly) Everywhere]

Just to let everyone know that today is the official release date of my Led Zeppelin FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Greatest Hard Rock Band of All Time (readers in the UK will have to wait another month). The book has a nice Foreword by Danny Goldberg; in-depth analyses of the plagiarism, back-masking, and Satanism rumors; detailed overviews of the album covers; recollections from Joe Petagno (who illustrated the Swan Song logo); lots of other insights and even a few (I hope) exclusives. I've also acknowledged the info and discussions to be found here at lz.com. LZ FAQ should be in stores this week. Hope readers can get a chance to check it out. Comments and critiques will be welcomed.

Anyway, enjoy.

I enjoyed your book on Page and I look forward to this one too. Best of luck, George!

And nice score getting Danny Goldberg to write the forward!...

[Grateful Dead]

Vintage Grateful Dead from Playboy After Dark. I believe the story goes that everyone was dosed, save ol' Hugh himself.

Boy, that is just classic, what an era. Love the contrast between Hef's swingin' sixties cocktail party and these dirty hippies from California!

[The Firm Thread]

I regret that I never saw The Firm, I'd buy a ticket in a heartbeat if they ever toured. I think some of their stuff aged very well, and Satisfaction Guaranteed was an instant classic as far as I'm concerned...

[Coverdale/Page]

I really enjoy David's singing and early Whitesnake was terrific, especially Saints and Sinners and Slide it in. IMHO he turned into a total Robert Plant wannabe by 1987. The comments made by Robert in '88 '89 were totally on the mark. How in the world does he think RP was jealous of him in the late 80's? I say more like DC was jealous of RP. He was the ultimate Rock frontman in the 70's and DC wanted to be the 80's version for mtv. Robert could have had huge commercial success if he had gone the hard rock hair band route (alright in '88 he did). He chose the harder path instead with albums like Shaken and Stirred which took incredible courage with it's direction. Granted, Robert probably didn't need the money at this point of his career and David needed a payday so he did what he had to do. I wish DC would just take his medicine, he knew full well what he and the '87 version of Whitesnake were aiming at.

Robert did the music he wanted to do in the 80's, and I'm sure David did too. Does anyone think for a second that David really wanted to do Shaken N Stirred but settled on Whitesnake?

Personally I prefer Robert's music but that's besides the point. I thought Robert diminished himself by going after Coverdale the way he did. Robert's a legend and that was beneath him IMO.

[Hot pics of Jimmy]

Tom Jones opened the shows on one of his 80's tours with The Firm's "Closer". It actually worked quite well!

Oh and - didn't Jimmy play on at least one of his early songs?

Jimmy played on "It's Not Unusual", not sure if he played on any other Tom Jones songs...

[Hot pics of Jimmy]

Jaco Pastorius & Jimmy Page, May 1985. Lone Star Cafe, NYC

What a cool picture! I've had that jam on CD for a few years, it's fantastic...

[The Entourage]

I always thought from the photos I've seen of him, that Magnet closely resembled Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night.

Good call! There's also a dash of Derek Smalls in there IMO!

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

I know you want to deliberately keep avoiding my point, but NONE of that actually proves how many WOULD have been killed had the actions not been stopped and therefore how many HAVE been saved.

But back to the fact that thousands HAVE been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001 - howcome no-one seems to give a sh*t about this?

I'm surprised you're including Afghanistan in this, Kneb. The Taliban made it possible for Al Queda to do what they did. And being a woman in Afghanistan under the Taliban is quite literally a hell on earth. Do you really think we had no business being there?

It appears to me that Afghanistan may be beyond helping but I have no question that the US was trying to do the right thing for the right reasons. Iraq is certainly much more complicated.

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

.. "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

I hear you Kneb, but Hitler didn't quit because the allies sent him flowers.

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

From the reports I've seen and heard the Pakistan government were aware of the impending attack and helped gain the intel on where he was and permitted use of their air space.

If it weren't for the government allowing the US into the country the attack would have been a tad more difficult to launch.

Regardless, it's a win for the good guys and makes for a nice change!

I've seen numerous reports from varied media sources today. All reported that the US did not tip off the Pakistanis until it would have been too late for them to do anything about it.

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

They certainly did kick arse and it shows that with cooperation, patience and planning anything is achievable.

To be fair on the Pakistanis they have had their share of troubles with political assassinations, radicals and al quaeda suicide bombings going on and they have aided the west maybe not as much as some expect but they helped kill him, so take it easy on them.

There are a lot of decent and innocent people living under difficult circustances every day in Pakistan.

Unlike the freedom we have and hold dear and sometimes take for granted.

Be ever vigilant!

I'm not knocking the Pakistani people at all, just their government. There's a good reason we didn't tip them off about this operation until it was over.

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

It only took nearly 10 years. In any event, killing Bin Laden isn't the end of radical Islamic terrorism. He was just one head of the hydra, and when you cut it off, another grows back in its place. I echo Lake of Shadows sentiments about being worried about reprisals. They will happen. We need to be prepared. All this did was make him a martyr to that cause, no matter how much he deserved to be fish food.

I hear you but they are out to attack us anyway. Every day since well before 9/11, that has been their focus. We can't worry about so-called "martyrs". We need to be smarter about securing our nation at home and take the fight to Bin Laden's followers wherever they are.

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

This column by Leonard Pitts Jr. was published in The Miami Herald on Sept. 12, 2001, and received an extraordinary response from readers worldwide. I thought it would be appropriate to post it here today.

We'll go forward

from this moment

By LEONARD PITTS JR.

It's my job to have something to say.

They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.

You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.

What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed.

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.

Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.

Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.

Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae - a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse.

We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though - peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.

Some people - you, perhaps - think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.

Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning, and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel.

Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.

But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.

I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.

In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure al- lowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.

You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold.

As Americans, we will weep; as Americans, we will mourn; and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.

So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of.

You don't know what you just started.

But you're about to learn.

Thanks Steve, hats off to the writer.

[Osama bin Laden DEAD]

Navy Seal Team 6! Kick ass,then take names!

Pakistan has a lot to answer for,...

KB

well said on both counts. The Seals are the badasses' badasses. And Pakistan is the worst "ally" one could imagine.