Hello Everyone, In the wakes of the story of Robert "ripping up" the $800 contract offered by Richard Branson, the following is a letter written by myself and a few other "hopefuls" characterizing our still undying hope for a reunion tour. It asks Mr. Plant to reconsider his decision from another perspective. By using the power of social media (and armed with the knowledge that these forums are occasionally monitored by people directly related to the organization), we are hoping to circulate it, in the hopes that he or one of his people might see it and ponder the idea, for what it's worth. If you feel the same way, please feel free to share or post this, wherever you see fit. I know this has been rehashed to death, and thoughts on it are greatly appreciated, but true love knows no defeat, right? Thank you, Millennial ZepHead An Open Letter to Robert Plant: By now all of us Led Zeppelin fans have read the various accounts by the Huffington Post, The Daily Globe and others about how you put the last, and final rumors of a reunion to rest by “ripping up” an $800 million dollar contract in front of your band mates and the world. Regardless of whether or not this story is true, suffice it to say that the finality of the news that a reunion after the 2007 show at the O2 arena will never be possible is a tough pill for Zeppelin fans to swallow¾especially for those of us that will gladly admit that we still live and die daily by the music you made, 34 years after the death of your good mate and band. And although I know that your decision is clear -- and your conviction is indeed noble, and quite understandable-- there are a few things that I, and a few other diehard “Zep Heads” would like you to know: Although it’s clearly not about the potential money to be made (even though $800 million is a sum admittedly beyond that which me, or any other mere mortal could ever even fathom or comprehend), your concerns that a tour would “…be an absolute menagerie of vested interests and the very essence of everything that's shitty about big-time stadium rock,” or that reformation would be nothing but the result of boredom or having nothing to do other than “being a part of a jukebox,” I believe, are misguided. As I respectively have to disagree with you on this for several different reasons, which, incidentally, have absolutely nothing to do with money, but have everything to do with love, passion, human connection, and an amalgam of other reasons which made yours the greatest band in the world in the first place. Led Zeppelin was about innovation. It was a band that took from those before it and created music that transcended generations, cultures, spiritual mediums and musical boundaries to become a textbook example of the pure magic created by incredible chemistry -- a phenomenon still belonging only to the experience of your fans, new and old, every time they hear a Led Zeppelin song. As Jimmy Page so eloquently put it last month, Led Zeppelin was “an affair of the heart.” Few bands have been privileged to know it before you and few have known it since. It was never really about money as much as it was about preserving and staying true to your sound. This is why your legacy has been so closely guarded, and why I understand (but do not condone) your decision not to tour again. However, keeping that legacy in mind, I implore you to see the opportunity from a different angle -- one perhaps not so focused on the scant, lucrativeness of the whole thing, but instead from the same place of innovation and inner desire to stay true to the music you have protected for so long. Let me be clear: nobody is asking you to be a jukebox. There are some fans that are just as ambivalent about “Stairway to Heaven” as you are. However, the chance to bring Zeppelin back is the opportunity of a lifetime to recreate the magic in your own way, not to revisit or emulate the past. This is your chance to positively complete the legacy that was so unfairly snatched from the band at the expense and terrible tragedy of your friend -- a chance to have a happy ending predicated on a predetermined path. You don’t want to play music from the past? That’s fine. Feel free to innovate and create new experiences to your heart’s content. The fans will come. You’ve been doing it on your own for over twenty years now, and you’ve been doing it with The Sensational Space Shifters as late as last week. But please, finish what you started, only this time on your terms and executed however you see fit -- with the distinct wisdom and perspective forty years of reflection on the original experience can give. How many of us would rewrite the past Robert if given the chance? What other band or musician would give up the opportunity to change the trajectory of music (again)? Nobody is expecting you to disturb the legend, or exhume the corpses of the dead. All we are asking for is a chance to see the magic of the four of you on stage together, while you take advantage of the fact that you would have the entire world’s attention to play or do whatever it is you wanted to do as a new iteration of the band. This is especially relevant with Jason stepping in for his dad. We don’t want to see you simply for the Song to Remain the Same, we want to see you because, for most of us, it would be the holy grail of musical experiences to walk amongst The Hammer of the Gods, regardless of what you play, or how you play it again. So please Mr. Plant, consider this modest, heartfelt plea to reconsider your choice. Do it for those of us who weren’t lucky enough to be born yet at a time when Led Zeppelin was going strong. Do it for every singer or guitar player you have inspired to pick up an instrument, or fall in love with music because of the legacy of your great band. The history books are calling you, and so are the next two generations of fans who have been waiting for this their entire lives. But most importantly Robert, do it for the music, new and old. And do it for your friend, who surely would prefer you to honor his legacy by definitively closing the chapter of Zeppelin with empowered positivity, and love for all the things and experiences it has brought to your life and others’ for so long. You honor music by playing it. Led Zeppelin’s music should be embraced so that it may be sufficiently honored and cherished for many generations to come, not apotheosized and avoided as if some mystical, endangered species incapable of roaming the Earth again. So please Robert, I implore you, take the time to view this from an alternate perspective, as we all know that this opportunity will probably never come again. Sincerely, Dayan Hochman Millennial Positivist and Tri-decadal Led Zeppelin fan