Oh, all right, I'm just a child of my times. But check this out: the Led Zeppelin Box Set, all six-plus hours of the apex of folk metal, half off [link removed; sale's over], just for today. Although I probably only listen to it once every five years, Physical Grafitti is in my all-time top ten. Can't be dislodged, as I'll never be young again. I can't begin to guess how many trips in my youth this stuff was the soundtrack to. (Road trips, I mean, of course.) If this resonates for you, you might also like to read about It Might Get Loud, a quirky tribute to the electric guitar in the form of profiles of three very different electric guitarists. In theaters now, as they say.
About the film, Hugh Crawford writes, "It's really about the way artists relate to their tools. Jimmy Page is sort of the medium format, maybe-try-an-M9 guy, even though he has more guitars and records than god. The Edge is more DSLR of the week. Jack White is off using Russian leica copies, old folding cameras, Argus C3s, and maybe a wet plate camera. Diana cameras only if they are vintage.
"Best quote in the film, by Jack White: 'The instrument should get in the way. You have to pick a fight with the guitar.'"
(Thanks to Hugh Crawford. "Bron-Yr-Aur" is a track from Physical Grafitti. Picture is Jimmy Page.)
Featured Comment by Chad Thompson: "Heck, Jack even has his own Holga model. [NLA —Ed.] It's not so vintage though."
Featured Comment by Ade: "Bron-Yr-Aur was, of course, named after the remote cottage near Machynlleth in Wales where it was written."
Featured Comment by Trevor Mitchell: "Hi there, just a quick update on the cottage. It is now fully kitted out with solar PV [photovoltaic —Ed.] and thermal, a wind turbine and a wood pellet boiler. The chap who owns it is apparently a vicar from South Wales. We had access to the cottage when undertaking a renewable energy course at the nearby Alternative Technology Centre last year."
