Led Zep Top 5

Gotta thank Nole for getting this started. I was having major writers block until i saw his post and i was going to leave this in his comments and then it just got carried away. Make sure you visit Nole's blog to see his thoughts and post on this topic yourselves too you lazy asses.

OK, top 5 zep songs of all time (with apologies to Good Times, Bad Times):
5. Since I've Been Loving You.
The blues riffs and solos in this song are just so smooth. And the vocals are sweet too. If Led Zeppelin had been Phish, this song would have lasted 28 minutes.

4. Kashmir - One of the coolest songs of all time. Hands down. Ever. It just is infectious. And never has a song been so simple yet sound so big and powerful. It's only this low because of P-Diddy (and Ron), who spent many many hours rhyming over exact same riff. And no, i don't care that he had Page and Plants permission and participation.

3. Nobody's Fault But Mine - Gotta love the guitar in this. And the vocals (No-no-no-no-no-no-no-noooooooobody's fault but mine). And the drums. And everything. But you have to stand and applaud at the damn harmonica. John Popper eat your cholesterol clogged heart out! (That joke doesn't work anymore because of this.) This song, in this top 5, is like that figure skater or gymnast in the Olympics who has to do their routine too early in the program and basically can't get 10s from the judges no matter how good they are because the judges are saving the 10s for later. It would be higher, but it can't be higher than Ramble On or Over the Hills and Far Away (or When the Levee Breaks for that matter, but Nole already used that one.) I used to put this song on repeat and walk from class to class at ASU just listening to this over and over and blatantly singing and air-guitaring on a crowded walkway and not giving the slightest shit how weird people thought i was. And that's how good this song is, it makes you rock out. You don't have any control over it. This song owns you. You're its bitch. You might as well lay back and enjoy it. It'll be over in about 6 minutes.

2. Ramble On - Flea and Les Claypool might, and i mean might, be able to play this bassline exactly. (Alright, i'm exaggerating, Flea could definitely rock this part, but that shouldn't take away that never, in my time playing bass, did my fingers even come close to moving that fast.) The part during the chorus is mind blowing. And the Lord of the Rings reference can't be beat: "In the darkest steps of Mordor, i met a girl so fair, but Gollum and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her." Now Eragon, Nate and I have to go track the Uruakai westward across the plain.

1. Over the Hills and Far Away - You never forget your first love. The guitar at the beginning almost sounds like a question being posed. And then when the drum kick comes in, that's the beginning of the answer. And i guess the lyrics fit that too. The guy says, Hey lady, you got the love i need. Are gonna give it to me? And then goes on to convince her why she should. (I'm not on drugs, but sometimes i think if i was, that would explain a whole lot.) I've mentioned before my passion for songs that start out slow or quiet and build up to some amazing crescendo (G&R - November Rain, Weezer - Only In Dreams, etc.) and this song gets there in a hurry but it feels like there is more wheeling, turning, tumbling fury as the song plays until about 40 seconds left and then it bottoms out into a quietness before coming back about half volume to end the song. It's like the guy paused to wait for the girls answer, she said yes, he grabbed her hand and walked off. I can see the scene in my head. And that my friends is MUSIC.

And i don't mean to put a damper on this post by ending it this way, but my garage and car were broken into last night and what do you think they stole that bothered me the most? It wasn't the golf clubs, the power tools, the skateboards or the feeling of peace and security that my neighborhood USED to give me. It was my fucking iPod (and 20 assorted CDs). And they took the tape adapter and the charger too so they probably drove away scrolling through my 4,000 songs, my belongings hastily thrown in the back of a truck. (I'm trying so hard not to assume their race right now but i'm guessing i didn't have anything they wanted to hear.) Anyway, i'm not looking for sympathy or anything but it's anecdotal evidence of how much i love music and i thought that was important to share.