#john bingham

[fatgirlgetsfitatlast]

[zeps-tangerines]

I haven’t seen anyone do this yet, so.. Call Me If You Get Lost ID Cards but it’s Led Zeppelin:

It was SO difficult to write those “signatures” on my phone screen ＿|￣|○

[madcap-laughs]

1971 Sunset Strip billboard announcing an untitled album by an unnamed artist

[royaltyandpomp]

THE WEDDING

John Bingham, Lord Lucan, later Earl of Lucan; and Veronica Duncan, Wedding (1963)

[twopartyopera]

We The People – Birthright Citizenship

[thepuckwholived]

Album of the Day 11/13/17 "Houses of the Holy" by Led Zeppelin Rock 1973 Led. Zeppelin. Led. *Insert expletive*. Zeppelin. Arguably the most legendary rock band this side of The Beatles to ever exist, and, without a doubt, one of the most influential on music as a whole. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham not only left a mark on music history, they branded it with their symbols permanently. However, it can be hard to nail down what exactly makes Zeppelin so legendary. You can hear the music - those infamous "Stairway to Heaven"'s and "Immigrant Song"'s, and be in awe of them, but it is not uncommon for a Zeppelin listener to draw blank when it comes to articulate description. That is why albums like this one, 1973's "Houses of the Holy" are so important to understand Led Zeppelin. After the world-shaking success of their first four studio albums, all self-titled, Zeppelin had the money, renown, and experience to test out any experimental idea they had in full confidence, and "Houses", being the first studio album to follow the self-titled albums, shows a maturity not seen in any other Led Zeppelin album, and may just be their best. Thematically, "Houses of the Holy" is noticeably different from Zeppelin's previous works. In each of the self-titled albums, there was an obvious, easy idea behind each of the songs. "I" and "II" were barn-burners, crashing out of the gate with hard-hitting drums and screamed choruses. "III" was an approach steeped in Blues influence while still being ironically Zeppelin, and "IV"... well, it's more complex. "IV" was really the beginning of this new, more subtle Zeppelin. Cuts like "Black Dog" and "When the Levee Breaks" on that record are still exciting and fairly representative of Zeppelin, but they're more patient, more rhythmically complex. They bookend the record. In the middle, you have "Stairway to Heaven" and "Going to California", two cuts completely unlike anything Zeppelin had produced before then, bearing acoustic chords that feel so, so much different than anything presented before that point. Not to mention "The Battle of Evermore", which is a ballad about The Lord of the Rings. Yes, this is the same band. It is vitally important to point out these differences and developments in order to justly explain the awesomeness that is "Houses of the Holy". "IV" was more of a testing ground for these ideas than anything. That's obvious. It isn't a coherent mix so much as a incredible-sounding compilation of these ideas and more advanced but familiar rock cuts. The songs are all masterful, but the formation leaves something to be desired. It is to be expected - the band was taking a risk and a creative side-tour, much like on "III". "Houses of the Holy" is the result of this experiment. It is the perfect melding of folk and rock Zeppelin, in addition to even more genre exploration. The difference? A definitive feel. "Houses", firstly, is succinct. Forty-one minutes makes it the second shortest Zeppelin album, only topped by the outtake compilation of "Coda", Zeppelin's last album released after two years after the death of John Bonham. This makes "Houses of the Holy", in reality, the shortest Zeppelin album that was a cohesive studio effort. This shows. "Houses" blazes through its runtime. Dull moments just... don't exist on it. It doesn't feel bloated like "Physical Graffiti" (as good as that album is), or even slightly overstayed like "I". It has this perfection of flow that keeps me coming back again and again. I wonder, sincerely, if this mastery was a coincidence or a deliberate effort, and I lean on the prior as the more likely. Either or, the record's flow is astounding and mesmerizing. It should be obvious to you that a "perfect flow" is entirely dependent on the songs within it, and "Houses of the Holy" delivers. Massively. "The Song Remains the Same" is a kickass opener, but immediately distinct from other famous Zeppelin openers. It has this oceanside feel, as does the rest of the album, that gives it a relaxed feel, even though it is rock. Personally, "Houses" is an album I frequently play to relax, despite it being a Rock album. Deviating a bit, this strange feeling in the album, that "relaxed" feeling, is due more than likely to expert production. Everything is tuned perfectly. If you have the pleasure of listening to this record with even slightly above-average audio equipment, these touches become obvious, even moreso if you listen to the remaster, which I wholeheartedly recommend. The mixing of the drums (which take more of a backseat this album, although still essential), guitars, and, especially, the keyboards and vocals, all make for a comprehensive listening experience unlike anything in Zeppelin's catalog. This mixing is another reason why the album's flow is among the best of all time, of course. Apologies for the tangent - back to the track listing. Next, "The Rain Song", a love ballad that sounds like waves subtly crashing in (again, this album is one of the most relaxing pieces of music ever made, please try it in this context), is just... lovely. It's a song about devotion, and finding someone you can hold as a "torch", or praise as "sunlight". This sentimentality is beautifully represented in the acoustic chords here. After this, we have "Over the Hills and Far Away", one of the more well-known cuts. The chorus here is wondrous - wanderlust defined. In fact, that's a good description for this song lyrically as well - the search for fortune, and how fun it can be. "The Crunge" follows - a funk track. Yes, seriously. It's funk. The keyboard here grooves up and down as Plant arguably raps about a love interest, and it is infectious. I wonder if the track has influenced any funk artists? I imagine it could have - the keyboard usage and the rock stylizations may have truly inspired some funk artists to experiment, and they could have inspired modern hip-hop. Who is to know. Anyway, the track is exceptionally strong, and an excellent example of Zeppelin integrating their experimentation with their unique style in a seamless manner. Moving into the second half, we have "Dancing Days, another infectious tune. The driving chords give the song this sense of motion - a rock dance track. Again - experimentation seamlessly integrated. "D'yer Mak'er" is ANOTHER amazing example of seemless experimentation, this time with reggae. Yep. Reggae rock in the mainstream. Zeppelin obviously took influence from Ska artists, as the movement was in full swing, and reggae's massive popularity boost was just on the horizon (Bob Marley's "Exodus" was just 4 years off). This track is arguably the most famous from the album, but almost all of the tracks are "arguably the most famous". I would argue that only "The Crunge" and "The Ocean" didn't become massively popular and associated with Zeppelin, even the next track, my personal favorite from the album, gained infamy. "No Quarter". Jesus, how do I describe this song. It is... menacing. "Gimme Shelter" but darker in every way. "Paint It Black" but somber and not inspired by the Vietnam War. It's utterly mesmerizing, and, again, that epic flow returns, as "No Quarter" is strangely a perfect followup to "D'yer Mak'er". There really is NOTHING like this track anywhere until the rise of post-rock in the /late 90's/. MAYBE "Welcome to the Machine" by Pink Floyd hits a similar vein, but other than that? Nothing that I know of even thematically close to this track until Swans and Godspeed You! Black Emperor in the late 90's and beyond. Seriously. The track is ahead of its time to a mind-numbing degree (Two and half DECADES between this album and Soundtracks for the Blind by Swans), and I love it more than any track here, as amazing as they are. The apocalypse given bluesy form is the only brief description I can find for this track. Following that... still can't find the words for it, is "The Ocean", a somehow not alienating followup to "No Quarter". It's this great, bluesy, beach rock Zeppelin classic that sums everything up. It's catchy, enthralling, and the perfect length. Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy" is, obviously, really, /really/ good. The flow found here isn't replicated by any previous or later Zeppelin project, and the perfect mixing of Zeppelin's experimental ideas into a more standard rock framework is still staggering. Not to mention that all this occurs within a sharp forty-one minutes. Its contents are some of the most well-known rock songs of all time, and a notable portion of them were massively ahead of their time or expanded upon already existing genres to create entirely unique songs that have yet to be replicated. It will remain as my personal favorite Led Zeppelin album, and maybe yours too. Score: 10/10 (Honorary - nitpicks exist with almost every album, and the few I have with this one [a few tiny pacing issues on some songs] make it a 9.9, but it's an honorary 10. Real 10's /do/ exist, but they are based on personal preference, mind you. This /is/ just my opinion) Best Track: "No Quarter" Highlights: "The Song Remains the Same", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "The Crunge", "Dancing Days", "D'yer Mak'er", "The Ocean" Least Favorite Track: "The Rain Song" (It's just a /teeny/ bit too slow at times. I still LOVE IT but when you're dealing with near-perfect tracks even a minor nitpick can land you a tier below) Recommended Albums: 1.) If you loved the album as a whole, another good example of rock with amazing experimentation is The Rolling Stones' "Let It Bleed", another album I could discuss for ages. 2.) If "No Quarter" is as mesmerizing to you as it is for me, I'll recommend Godspeed You! Black Emperor's "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven" from 2000. Post-rock is as close to a label that "No Quarter" will ever receive, so a landmark album from said genre with similar apocalyptic themes may be a good place to start if you want to hear more songs like "No Quarter".

[allaboutparanormal]

Lord Lucan Spirit Connection

[symphonyoflovenet]

In the end, becoming a successful marathoner meant taking just one step. Success became a matter of stepping across the finish line. With that single step, I succeeded. With that single step, and all the other single steps that preceded it, I became successful. As important as that final step was, it was no more important than every step that came before it. It is easy to believe that it was the final step alone that made me successful, but my success was really the result of thousands of steps that had come before. It was hundreds of miles of preparation and training, days and weeks of planning that got me successfully to the finish line. Not just that last step.

John Bingham, The Courage to Start