Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin was an English rock group that formed in 1968 and featured the members Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham and John Paul Jones. They were considered to be the first true heavy metal bands because of their heavy guitar driven sound. This sound shaped the new face of rock and roll, adding a new genera of music to an era desperate for a new sound. They were also very big in producing album orientated rock and not simply releasing singles like many other bands of the era.
The early days of Led Zeppelin was actually not Led Zeppelin at all, Jimmy Page played bass in “The Yardbirds” in 1966 with Paul Samwell Smith, McCarty, Relf and Jeff Beck until Smith left the band and Page took over second lead guitar with Beck. The Yardbirds began to break up over the next year or so and Page decided he wanted to start a “supergroup” with himself and Beck on guitar. After touring and playing shows for some time, Page and Chris Dreja got permission from the rest of the group to use the name “Yardbirds”; and to fulfill the bands previous obligations of a Scandinavian tour. From this point they began to build a new band and found Robert Plant, a singer from Birmingham and John Bonham from near by Redditch. After a short time Dreja left the group to become a photographer leaving an open space which was filled by the final piece of the band, John Paul Jones.
The band completed the Scandinavian tour as "The New Yardbirds" before changing their name to "Led Zeppelin" which was chosen as their new name after a newspaper review predicted they would go down like a lead zeppelin, a term used to describe a bad gig. After some discussion, the band decided to stick with it thinking that it fit their newly found style of music, but decided to drop the “a” to keep from “dumb Americans” calling them leed. Their manager Grant secured an advanced deal of $200,000 from Atlantic Records in November 1968, which at that time was the biggest deal of its kind for a new band, especially when they had never seen them. With their first album not yet released, Zeppelin made their live debut at the University of Surrey in Guildford on October 15, 1968. This was followed by a U.S. concert debut on December 26, 1968 before moving on to the west coast for dates in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.
The success of Led Zeppelin's early years would be categorized by a five year period in which the band would release their best selling albums and ascend to musical success in the 1970s. The band's image also changed as members began to wear elaborate, colorful clothing and jewelry similar to other popular performers of the era. If the band's popularity on stage was impressive, so too was its reputation for off-stage wildness and excess partying. Led Zeppelin began traveling in a private jet airliner, rented out entire sections of hotels, and became the subject of many of rock's most famous stories of unrestrained, self indulgent behavior.
By 1976, Led Zeppelin was becoming increasingly popular, having outsold most bands of the time, including the Rolling Stones. Their live shows increased even further theatricality, featuring larger stage areas and complex lights shows. While there were still massive musical and commercial successes for the band during this period, problems such as the 1977 death of Robert Plant's son, Jimmy Page's heroin use, changing musical tastes, and John Bonham's 1980 death would finally bring an end to Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin changed the face of rock as we know it and they continue to be one of the most influential and known bands of all time. They currently have three songs on the top ten rock and roll list of all time, including “Stairway to Heaven” which sits at number one. Zeppelin changed the face of music and gave a new name to rock and roll, their talented guitar and incredible vocals alongside their notorious partying will forever hold a place in the world of rock and roll and bands in the future will have a hard time matching the social influence that Led Zeppelin gave not only the United States but the rest of the world as well.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
The Legend of the Band
The Legend of the Band
Music has always brought people together for celebration, and in Denver Colorado there is no exception. Music is a way of life for many people in Denver and is a way of meeting new people of all kinds. One night The Mad Caddies, a local rock band, were playing at the Lodo bar and dance club on Colfax Avenue; this was their favorite small venue to play because the audience was always stoked to have them there and packed the place with good energy. Because of this energy from the audience they played an incredible show that left the entire place screaming for more every time. During the second set, Tyler, the lead guitarist and vocalist locked eyes with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long blond hair, light blue eyes and was jamming her heart out loving every riff, Tyler was instantly in love.
During a quick intermission between the second and third set Tyler searched the entire club trying to find this gorgeous girl, but he was unable to find her. He spent the next couple hours on stage trying to find her in the crowd but she was not to be found. He even asked around after the show in an attempt to get any information about her but no one had anything to tell him, it was like she didn’t even exist. He left that night wondering if he would ever be able to find her again, not believing he could let her get away without meeting her.
A few weeks later there was a battle of the bands at the Denver convention center and The Mad Caddies secured a spot in the competition. This was a huge competition for amateur bands because the winner was given free studio recording time with Virgin Records, the biggest recorder in the nation; if they could get a record with them then they could make it in the business. Mad Caddies was set to be the last band to perform that night so they watched the rest of the bands in the competition very intently.
The first two bands were pretty good but didn’t pose too much threat to Tyler and The Mad Caddies, but then Janie and the Monsters, a new band to the Denver area, took the stage and started to rock the entire event. Tyler was getting a drink at the bar at the time when they first began to play and he instantly made his way to the front of the stage as soon as he heard Janie and the Monsters start to play. Once he pushed his way to the front of the stage he made a discovery that left him absolutely speechless, Janie, the lead guitarist and vocalist was the girl he had tried so hard to find weeks ago at Lotto during his own show! He couldn’t believe it, she was incredible, she could make the most incredible riffs he had ever heard and had a voice of an angle. After her set he made his way backstage to try and find her, he was able to push through the crowds trying to talk to her and introduced himself at which point she pretty much dismissed him like he was just one of the crowd, since she obviously had no idea who he was. Tyler knew exactly what he had to do; he had to play the best show he had ever played to win her over.
He immediately went to his dressing room and started to practice before his time on stage. In this short time he was able to come up with what he thought was the perfect solo for one of their songs. After a short practice session he was told he was on in five minutes and to get backstage immediately. Right before he went onto stage Janie was standing next to the stage door, as he walked through she wished him good luck on his set, it was all the confidence he needed to put on an incredible show. Tyler and the rest of The Mad Caddies took the stage and played what they felt was their best few songs. During the third song Tyler let loose and started really jamming, the whole venue erupted in cheers and it appeared they just might win the battle. They continued to play their set and when they finished everyone was cheering, it was incredible.
After a short deliberation from the judges, all of the bands were called back onto stage where they named the top three bands in no particular order.
“Janie and the Monsters” one of the judges called out.
“The Exiled” another judge said.
And finally, “Mad Caddies” a third judge proclaimed. The three bands stood on three corners of the stage, all anxiously awaiting the judges’ decision.
“And now for the winner” the first judge says. After a long pause, “Janie and the Monsters are your 2007 battle of the bands champions!”
Tyler and the Mad Caddies hearts instantly sunk but they managed to keep a good smile and shook the winner’s hands. Tyler couldn’t believe he had lost the competition, now he was never going to be able to win over Janie or get the record deal he had worked so hard for over the past few years.
An hour or so after the competition all of the bands and their friends had a big after party at the Bluebird, a club a few blocks away from the convention center and wouldn’t you know it, Janie showed up. She made her rounds talking to people all around the club until she eventually made her way to the bar where Tyler was standing talking to some people from other bands about the night when he was tapped on the shoulder; he turned around slowly and once again locked eyes with the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Before he could say anything Janie said;
“You were incredible tonight, that solo you had blew me off of my feet”
Tyler, stunned managed to work out “thank you, you were incredible yourself, congratulations!”
“Well thanks” she said “but I need a new guitarist, would you be interested in playing with me next weekend at the Ogden? I think the two of us could really tear it up”.
“Are you serious? I would love too!” Tyler exclaimed.
“Well how about we go get a table and talk for awhile, I would love to get to know you and talk about what we need to do”.
“Sounds great, let me grab us a drink and we will find a table”
Tyler and Janie talked all night that night and started practicing the next day; they played the Ogden the following Saturday night and made Denver history. It was the first truly successful band with two lead guitarist and vocalist. Neither of them played backup, they were able to play with each other very naturally and knew exactly where the other was going all the time. They soon became the most sought after band in Denver and everyone kept talking about their shows. They even ended up recording an album together which is now on the top 100 in Rolling Stones. They have also been dating since that night and travel the country playing sold out shows at some of the largest venues in the country.
Music has always brought people together for celebration, and in Denver Colorado there is no exception. Music is a way of life for many people in Denver and is a way of meeting new people of all kinds. One night The Mad Caddies, a local rock band, were playing at the Lodo bar and dance club on Colfax Avenue; this was their favorite small venue to play because the audience was always stoked to have them there and packed the place with good energy. Because of this energy from the audience they played an incredible show that left the entire place screaming for more every time. During the second set, Tyler, the lead guitarist and vocalist locked eyes with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long blond hair, light blue eyes and was jamming her heart out loving every riff, Tyler was instantly in love.
During a quick intermission between the second and third set Tyler searched the entire club trying to find this gorgeous girl, but he was unable to find her. He spent the next couple hours on stage trying to find her in the crowd but she was not to be found. He even asked around after the show in an attempt to get any information about her but no one had anything to tell him, it was like she didn’t even exist. He left that night wondering if he would ever be able to find her again, not believing he could let her get away without meeting her.
A few weeks later there was a battle of the bands at the Denver convention center and The Mad Caddies secured a spot in the competition. This was a huge competition for amateur bands because the winner was given free studio recording time with Virgin Records, the biggest recorder in the nation; if they could get a record with them then they could make it in the business. Mad Caddies was set to be the last band to perform that night so they watched the rest of the bands in the competition very intently.
The first two bands were pretty good but didn’t pose too much threat to Tyler and The Mad Caddies, but then Janie and the Monsters, a new band to the Denver area, took the stage and started to rock the entire event. Tyler was getting a drink at the bar at the time when they first began to play and he instantly made his way to the front of the stage as soon as he heard Janie and the Monsters start to play. Once he pushed his way to the front of the stage he made a discovery that left him absolutely speechless, Janie, the lead guitarist and vocalist was the girl he had tried so hard to find weeks ago at Lotto during his own show! He couldn’t believe it, she was incredible, she could make the most incredible riffs he had ever heard and had a voice of an angle. After her set he made his way backstage to try and find her, he was able to push through the crowds trying to talk to her and introduced himself at which point she pretty much dismissed him like he was just one of the crowd, since she obviously had no idea who he was. Tyler knew exactly what he had to do; he had to play the best show he had ever played to win her over.
He immediately went to his dressing room and started to practice before his time on stage. In this short time he was able to come up with what he thought was the perfect solo for one of their songs. After a short practice session he was told he was on in five minutes and to get backstage immediately. Right before he went onto stage Janie was standing next to the stage door, as he walked through she wished him good luck on his set, it was all the confidence he needed to put on an incredible show. Tyler and the rest of The Mad Caddies took the stage and played what they felt was their best few songs. During the third song Tyler let loose and started really jamming, the whole venue erupted in cheers and it appeared they just might win the battle. They continued to play their set and when they finished everyone was cheering, it was incredible.
After a short deliberation from the judges, all of the bands were called back onto stage where they named the top three bands in no particular order.
“Janie and the Monsters” one of the judges called out.
“The Exiled” another judge said.
And finally, “Mad Caddies” a third judge proclaimed. The three bands stood on three corners of the stage, all anxiously awaiting the judges’ decision.
“And now for the winner” the first judge says. After a long pause, “Janie and the Monsters are your 2007 battle of the bands champions!”
Tyler and the Mad Caddies hearts instantly sunk but they managed to keep a good smile and shook the winner’s hands. Tyler couldn’t believe he had lost the competition, now he was never going to be able to win over Janie or get the record deal he had worked so hard for over the past few years.
An hour or so after the competition all of the bands and their friends had a big after party at the Bluebird, a club a few blocks away from the convention center and wouldn’t you know it, Janie showed up. She made her rounds talking to people all around the club until she eventually made her way to the bar where Tyler was standing talking to some people from other bands about the night when he was tapped on the shoulder; he turned around slowly and once again locked eyes with the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Before he could say anything Janie said;
“You were incredible tonight, that solo you had blew me off of my feet”
Tyler, stunned managed to work out “thank you, you were incredible yourself, congratulations!”
“Well thanks” she said “but I need a new guitarist, would you be interested in playing with me next weekend at the Ogden? I think the two of us could really tear it up”.
“Are you serious? I would love too!” Tyler exclaimed.
“Well how about we go get a table and talk for awhile, I would love to get to know you and talk about what we need to do”.
“Sounds great, let me grab us a drink and we will find a table”
Tyler and Janie talked all night that night and started practicing the next day; they played the Ogden the following Saturday night and made Denver history. It was the first truly successful band with two lead guitarist and vocalist. Neither of them played backup, they were able to play with each other very naturally and knew exactly where the other was going all the time. They soon became the most sought after band in Denver and everyone kept talking about their shows. They even ended up recording an album together which is now on the top 100 in Rolling Stones. They have also been dating since that night and travel the country playing sold out shows at some of the largest venues in the country.
Epictetus
Epictetus’s The Handbook discusses the stoic belief about how you should live your life. According to the stoic view, you are responsible for your own life and your own actions. A stoic believes you should detach yourself from distracting emotions which in turn allows you to become a clear and level headed thinker. The Handbook explains how some things are up to us and others are not. We control our opinions, impulses and desires. Anything that is not our own doing is not up to us and should not be sweat over. You cannot let other people or other things dictate the way that you live your life, when something bad happens the only person you can blame is yourself. It is not the fault of others when something happens to you. You also cannot let things outside of your control get to you and control how you live. If someone dies it is important to remember them, but you should not let it change your life. When something or someone has left you, according to Epictetus, you should not say that you have lost it, but that you have given it back. This to me is an interesting point of view because stoics seem to believe that they are in control of their own lives but still believe in some type of higher power. The stoic belief to me seems to be putting your life into your own hands. If you want to be happy you must make that happiness yourself and the only way to do that is to not let anything get to you.
I enjoyed reading this book and talking about different schools of thought. It is interesting to me, especially listening during class discussions, how everyone’s views are so different on how you should live your life. There are such contrasting views between individuals about what is right and wrong and the way that they see the world. I think that I fit into the stoic school of thought in a few ways. I don’t let things get to me very easy, I almost always let things roll off of my back, which is good and bad in different situations. I think this is a good way to live life because you can’t change things that you’re not in control of so why make a big deal about them. I can however see that this would be a difficult way to live life everyday for many people because they are unable to let things go. If you can completely detach yourself from the world you would not do very well in today’s society because it is not possible to find a significant other or make money when you are detached from anything that might hurt you so I believe that although it is a good idea and good way to attempt to live your life, it is not possible in today’s society.
Epictetus’s The Handbook discusses the stoic belief about how you should live your life. According to the stoic view, you are responsible for your own life and your own actions. A stoic believes you should detach yourself from distracting emotions which in turn allows you to become a clear and level headed thinker. The Handbook explains how some things are up to us and others are not. We control our opinions, impulses and desires. Anything that is not our own doing is not up to us and should not be sweat over. You cannot let other people or other things dictate the way that you live your life, when something bad happens the only person you can blame is yourself. It is not the fault of others when something happens to you. You also cannot let things outside of your control get to you and control how you live. If someone dies it is important to remember them, but you should not let it change your life. When something or someone has left you, according to Epictetus, you should not say that you have lost it, but that you have given it back. This to me is an interesting point of view because stoics seem to believe that they are in control of their own lives but still believe in some type of higher power. The stoic belief to me seems to be putting your life into your own hands. If you want to be happy you must make that happiness yourself and the only way to do that is to not let anything get to you.
I enjoyed reading this book and talking about different schools of thought. It is interesting to me, especially listening during class discussions, how everyone’s views are so different on how you should live your life. There are such contrasting views between individuals about what is right and wrong and the way that they see the world. I think that I fit into the stoic school of thought in a few ways. I don’t let things get to me very easy, I almost always let things roll off of my back, which is good and bad in different situations. I think this is a good way to live life because you can’t change things that you’re not in control of so why make a big deal about them. I can however see that this would be a difficult way to live life everyday for many people because they are unable to let things go. If you can completely detach yourself from the world you would not do very well in today’s society because it is not possible to find a significant other or make money when you are detached from anything that might hurt you so I believe that although it is a good idea and good way to attempt to live your life, it is not possible in today’s society.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Metaphors
A metaphor is defined as a direct comparision between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects that typically uses "is a" to join the first subjects. A metaphor is commonly confused with a simile which compares two subjects using "like" or "as".
the world is a mental activity, a dream of souls..." -Break of Day
"He was as sly as a rabbit"
the world is a mental activity, a dream of souls..." -Break of Day
"He was as sly as a rabbit"
The Break of Day
I enjoyed this piece because it gives a very interesting and true outlook on life. Each day is a new one with countless opportunities and chances. With this outlook, you should never let things sit on your shoulders for too long because there is always a new experience awaiting you the next day and you will be able to right any of the wrongs that you have made.
The meaning of life has always been unknown and something that people spend a lot of time trying to figure out, many have dedicated their lives to this search. In each of the four readings that we have examined so far there is a connection in the general themes of the stories, this connection is a need to escape the everyday world and find a place of peace where they can examine the meaning of life in close detail. In each story the author is attempting to find this meaning by telling their story, where can a soul flight or escape from reality be found in each of the stories?
Each one of the readings have some very big similarities between one another, the author or character in each story is attempting to find themselves by escaping their everyday routine and searching for meaning in there lives. This seems to be very apparent in “Into the Wild” when Chris McCandless leaves his comfort zone and ventures out alone into the Alaskan wilderness with very few supplies. This adventure is a soul flight that was very needed in his life because he had always been sheltered growing up. Even though he lost his life on this adventure he needed to experience what it was like to live with nature and has made quite possibly the most famous soul flight story in history.
In Wallace Stevens “The poem that took the place of a mountain” he leaves the business world where everything is relatively straight forward and escapes into his writing by going to the top of a mountain. He decides to go to the top of the mountain because it is so far away from everything else and he is able to be by himself and ponder the meaning of life. At the top of the mountain nothing else matters, he can escape all his other problems and simply be alone with his thoughts. This is indeed his soul fight because he is able to leave everything else behind, if only for a short time, and figure out what really matters to him.
In Jorge Luis Borges “The Circular Ruins” and “Break of Day” he is trying to explain what it means to him to escape reality, or really what reality actually is. It seems apparent in these two writings that reality is nothing more then dreaming, we cover up reality with our dreams in an attempt to escape what reality truly is. We carry on with our lives in almost a daze not truly knowing what life actually is and have no idea how to escape it. This idea of life is an interesting but somewhat depressing way of looking at life. If we don’t know reality from dreams then there is no way of escaping reality and will therefore be stuck until death.
Everyone attempts to find out the true meaning of life and what it is they are actually meant to do while still here on earth, this search is carried out differently by everyone but has the same general goal in mind. Some escape from reality completely and go venturing off by themselves, some write about where they would like to be and others simply daze off, trying to forget about the everyday hassles of life. It is important to find out which soul flight works best for you and how you can clear your mind, even if only for a short time.
Each one of the readings have some very big similarities between one another, the author or character in each story is attempting to find themselves by escaping their everyday routine and searching for meaning in there lives. This seems to be very apparent in “Into the Wild” when Chris McCandless leaves his comfort zone and ventures out alone into the Alaskan wilderness with very few supplies. This adventure is a soul flight that was very needed in his life because he had always been sheltered growing up. Even though he lost his life on this adventure he needed to experience what it was like to live with nature and has made quite possibly the most famous soul flight story in history.
In Wallace Stevens “The poem that took the place of a mountain” he leaves the business world where everything is relatively straight forward and escapes into his writing by going to the top of a mountain. He decides to go to the top of the mountain because it is so far away from everything else and he is able to be by himself and ponder the meaning of life. At the top of the mountain nothing else matters, he can escape all his other problems and simply be alone with his thoughts. This is indeed his soul fight because he is able to leave everything else behind, if only for a short time, and figure out what really matters to him.
In Jorge Luis Borges “The Circular Ruins” and “Break of Day” he is trying to explain what it means to him to escape reality, or really what reality actually is. It seems apparent in these two writings that reality is nothing more then dreaming, we cover up reality with our dreams in an attempt to escape what reality truly is. We carry on with our lives in almost a daze not truly knowing what life actually is and have no idea how to escape it. This idea of life is an interesting but somewhat depressing way of looking at life. If we don’t know reality from dreams then there is no way of escaping reality and will therefore be stuck until death.
Everyone attempts to find out the true meaning of life and what it is they are actually meant to do while still here on earth, this search is carried out differently by everyone but has the same general goal in mind. Some escape from reality completely and go venturing off by themselves, some write about where they would like to be and others simply daze off, trying to forget about the everyday hassles of life. It is important to find out which soul flight works best for you and how you can clear your mind, even if only for a short time.
Into the Wild
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must leave their comfort zone and venture out not only to explore the world, but test themselves to see who they really are. This “soul flight” or journey to find your inner intelligence and wisdom is experienced by everyone, but is it possible that people with what is considered to be the “good life’ growing up must test these boundaries more then those who have supported themselves during adolescence?
There are a lot of people in this world, myself included, that have been raised in a relatively normal, loving home in a safe part of town. They have been given many tools to succeed in the world whether it is money, schooling or positive role models. In these situations it can be asked if these people are in more need to venture out on their own and truly find out for themselves who they are and what the world has to offer.
This theory seems to be considerably apparent in Chris McCandless when he ventures out into the Alaskan wilderness by himself almost immediately after graduation. He hitchhiked his way through Canada and into Alaska completely by himself carrying very little supplies. This expedition is looked at by many as a suicide mission, but Chris must have had a different view, he must have wanted to push himself to the extreme in an environment he had never encountered.
McCandless graduated with honors from Emory University after growing up in an upscale D.C. suburb with a loving family. It seems that he was a relatively normal person with very little outdoor experience, so what would make him choose to venture out by himself into the Alaskan wilderness with very little supplies directly after graduation? Was he just curious and stupid or did he have something to prove to himself? It is very possible that he was in desperate need of a soul flight, an adventure where he could see what he was truly capable of outside or suburbia and the classroom. Traveling and living in an old bus by himself gave him plenty of time of reflect upon himself and truly find who he was even though he would never have the chance to use this new found knowledge. This adventure is very common in almost everyone, even if it is not done to quite the extreme as McCandless’s.
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they must leave their comfort zone and venture out not only to explore the world, but test themselves to see who they really are. This “soul flight” or journey to find your inner intelligence and wisdom is experienced by everyone, but is it possible that people with what is considered to be the “good life’ growing up must test these boundaries more then those who have supported themselves during adolescence?
There are a lot of people in this world, myself included, that have been raised in a relatively normal, loving home in a safe part of town. They have been given many tools to succeed in the world whether it is money, schooling or positive role models. In these situations it can be asked if these people are in more need to venture out on their own and truly find out for themselves who they are and what the world has to offer.
This theory seems to be considerably apparent in Chris McCandless when he ventures out into the Alaskan wilderness by himself almost immediately after graduation. He hitchhiked his way through Canada and into Alaska completely by himself carrying very little supplies. This expedition is looked at by many as a suicide mission, but Chris must have had a different view, he must have wanted to push himself to the extreme in an environment he had never encountered.
McCandless graduated with honors from Emory University after growing up in an upscale D.C. suburb with a loving family. It seems that he was a relatively normal person with very little outdoor experience, so what would make him choose to venture out by himself into the Alaskan wilderness with very little supplies directly after graduation? Was he just curious and stupid or did he have something to prove to himself? It is very possible that he was in desperate need of a soul flight, an adventure where he could see what he was truly capable of outside or suburbia and the classroom. Traveling and living in an old bus by himself gave him plenty of time of reflect upon himself and truly find who he was even though he would never have the chance to use this new found knowledge. This adventure is very common in almost everyone, even if it is not done to quite the extreme as McCandless’s.
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