I used to work with a guy that grew up in the 70’s when Led Zeppelin were the reigning kings of rock. (One could argue that they still are…has anyone really ever surpassed them?).
He said when Zeppelin was coming out with a new record he and his buddies would be giddy with excitement, counting down the days until the release. One of the neighborhood kids would be the first to get the cash, buy the record, and then have everyone over to crack open the egg the Gods of Rock had laid for the groveling masses.
He told me their initial reaction was usually, “What the hell is this !?!?”
At first they wouldn’t get it. Or at least get all of it.
I can picture the clan getting “Houses of the Holy” dying with anticipation at what they would offer after the masterpiece of IV with the bone crushing powerhouses of “Black Dog” and “Four Sticks” and even “Stairway…” before it became a ‘Wayne’s World’ joke.
They’d put it on, turn it up and just get pummeled at the 500 guitar track steamroller of “The Song Remains the Same”.
“Duuuuuuuuude!!!!!!!!!” they yell as they’re high fiving each other into a pubescent Zep fest frenzy, “The song tooootaaaallly remains the same!!!!” “No waaaaaaay!!!!!!!!” “Oh my Gooooooood!!!!”
And then the “Rain Song” comes on.
And they chill.
And they wait.
And wait.
And wait.
And it kiiiiinda picks up….but not really.
“Not so sure about that one dude….”
But like he said, they wouldn’t get it at first, but then after awhile, after some time…then they would start to get it.
I just got the new U2 record. Or downloaded actually. I believe it is the first full length record I actually downloaded. I mean…paid to download. At 4 bucks on Amazon I couldn’t be bothered firing up my file sharer and…um…ya know…borrowing it.
So I listened to it with headphones last night. The whole thing.
And ahh…I’m kinda still…digesting it to be honest. Which I like. Because the funny thing is, when it takes a little longer to ‘get’ it, it tends to want to stick around a little longer. Like homemade Tamales.
There’s definitely a couple songs that make me want to high-five my neighbor but a lot of it is…still digesting. Which is good.
Because, good art will have an element of challenge to it. Great art will strike the perfect balance between challenging and rewarding. Like life.
Nice blog dude. You’ve got me hooked. I know what you mean about not getting the album right away. Those ARE the ones that usually stick around. I’ve got to get that U2 album now. Have you heard the Jimmy Eat World “Clarity” album? Check out the track called “For Me This Is Heaven” (again if you have already). So cool. They are actually playing a “Clarity Show” tomorrow night at San Diego House of Blues where they are just playing all of the songs from that album…that I would love to go to even though it’s sold out! I’m pretty sneaky though so you might see me down there trying to sneak in. :-)w
I love when bands do shows like that. Like when Phish would do their halloween shows and play an entire album like ‘dark side of the moon’ or zep II or something. awesome… hope you make it in.
“Because, good art will have an element of challenge to it. Great art will strike the perfect balance between challenging and rewarding. Like life.”
Great Quote, I had a similar experience with the New U2. I liked it but was not expecting much. There are many albums that I initially disliked then they grew on me. We tend to listen to music in a vacuum, meaning we expect a new album to take us back to that place that we so loved with the previous album. We do not want time to move on. We want to experience being transformed, taken away. Only a touring band can understand the monotony of playing the same songs night after night for 2 years.
Great point about the vacuum Tony. I think people don’t realize they oftentimes will like or dislike music based upon how it makes them feel in comparison to another record. Bands have to evolve and if they don’t they become the Stones -a pure nostalgia trip. Peripheral fans don’t get that.