The Golden Oldies: Led Zeppelin

words by Kyra Bruce

Sorry guys but it’s true, your parents are usually right. For example, my parents used to always play Led Zeppelin in the car when they were still my personal taxi drivers in my under 16 days. I never really paid much attention to the music because I was too busy listening to Paramore and reading Tiger Beat. When I was in high school I started getting into Led Zeppelin on my own and I realized my parents were onto something with this whole classic rock thing.

Listening to Led Zeppelin was the first time music ever really meant anything to me, it was an entirely new experience. If you have never really gotten hooked on Zeppelin, I highly suggest watching their live performance film, The Song Remains The Same. This film shows live footage of the band mixed with short films that illustrate what the songs mean to the individual band members. The first time I watched it I was crying like a baby during most of it, honestly. How could I watch Jimmy Page play his guitar with a violin bow and not cry?

Zeppelin is one of the most influential bands of all time. Each band member was the best at what they did. Jimmy Page was a session guitarist who was dying to have a little fun with his art, John Bonham was the most incredible drummer of his time, John Paul Jones could play any instrument he held, and Robert Plant was the lyrical mastermind and flowy performer that completed the band. Zeppelin was more than a pebble thrown into a pond that created ripples. Zeppelin was a meteor that crashed into the ocean, and created a tsunami that astronomically changed music forever.

I have said before that I could write a 10 page essay on my love for Led Zeppelin, their origin and their diverse discography. Don’t worry, I’ll spare you the double-spaced-MLA-full-citations hooplah and leave you with a playlist that can explain this life-changing band better than I ever could.