A Whole Lotta Love
Moving forward in my timeline of influential music, I present to you another band that has had an impact on my life. The artistry of Jimmy Page combined with Robert Plant’s chilling vocals, John Paul Jones’ creative talents, and John Bonham’s outrageous drum solos make up, you guessed it, Led Zeppelin.
A couple of months ago, I was riding in the car with my dad and my 9-year-old younger sister, McKala. Out of nowhere she says, “This is Led Zeppelin, right, Dad?” I was amazed and proud to call her my little sis.
Ever since I could remember, Zeppelin has always been played in my house. Seeing McKala’s excitement about a band that she knew my dad and I took a common interest in made my day. Listening to Led Zeppelin is about the only thing we have in common. With the 13-year gap in age, and her obsession with horses (I have a huge fear of them), it is hard to relate to her. However, through music, we are able to relate to one another.
Another artist that we both completely obsess over is Taylor Swift. I know, a 22 year old listening to the country-pop songs of TSwift is probably something I shouldn’t admit, but McKala and I have seriously bonded while performing our own concert inspired by Taylor Swift.
Just for kicks, in case you do not know who Taylor Swift is:
But enough of TSwift, although, as much as I do love her and her ability to bring my sister and I together, let’s get back to Zeppelin.
I read Hammer of the Gods a couple of summers ago, and developed a greater understanding and appreciation of Led Zeppelin. They struggled in the beginning (as most bands do) and created a style of music unknown to the world. They broke the mold creating a new kind of rock and roll, and established a precedent for future bands (in my opinion) such as Queen and Wolfmother just to name two.
Zeppelin experimented with their music using synthesizers and melotrons. Their music evolved through experimenting and often times stumbling across some of their most famous chords and riffs. They strayed from the bluesy sound of their early days and started focusing on a more “heavy metal” aspect (not metal by today’s standards, though, but an intial precedent, remember).
I believe that Zeppelin’s stage presence also broke the mold of their time period and influenced others to do the same. Here’s a video of Zeppelin performing a popular song “The Ocean.” Pay close attention to Robert Plant and the way he moves and becomes one with the music. Also, notice his attire. I do believe the clothing speaks for itself (I’m not sure if he was the first to rock out the super tight pants, but I know he has started a trend here).
I would have loved to have been the publicist for Zeppelin back in the day. Traveling with them on concert tours and having to constantly defend their actions would have been an interesting and challenging job to say the least. However, I probably would quit after they continued to trash hotels and wreak havoc everywhere they went. Again, mixing pleasure with work doesn’t seem to work out for me.
“Lend me your ear
and I’ll sing you a song.”
I’ve decided to begin my journey through music with the icon that started it all for me: The Beatles.
At the ripe age of 12, I made my journey across England with my grandmother and aunt to explore a world unknown to me. As we traveled through England we eventually made our way to Liverpool, where I discovered a band I had never known before. I had heard of The Beatles and knew a few of their songs, but being in the same place where they got their start had the biggest impact on me.
The Beatles made music unlike anything ever before and took the world by surprise. The original ‘boy band’ (I like to think with more class and talent by far), George, Ringo, Paul, and John, embarked on a journey that would forever change their lives as well as impact so many others.
Their music spoke to a new audience and evolved throughout time adapting to the changes around them.
The periods of their music (think of the transition from Please Please Me to Sgt. Peppers and Yellow Submarine to Let It Be) are distinct among one another and mold to sound like their respective environment. As much as I hate to reference a sing-along, chick flick, Across the Universe is an amazing tale of their music’s journey told through the lives of a group of young people.
This is my favorite clip from the movie:
Now away from this movie and more on inspiration. The Beatles inspired so many by breaking the mold of society at that time. They went beyond anything that had been created and produced a type of music that was not expected throughout their career.
The evolution of their music is why they are one of my favorite bands of all time. I like that their songs are different and each album has its own identity. I believe that is what is wrong (well, not necessarily wrong, but uninspiring) with today’s artists. I hate it when I get all excited for so-and-so’s new album to come out only to be disappointed that it sounded just like his/her last one. A great example of a modern band that constantly intrigues me is Radiohead (more to come on them).
Back to breaking the mold and remaining relevant to society. The lyrics of some of The Beatles songs directly relate to what was going on in the world. For example, “Revolution” was written in direct response to the Vietnam War which inspired so many American youth.
To this day, I could listen to every Beatles album back to back and never get tired of the songs. They are still as popular as they were back in their beginning (at least in my opinion). With the release of Beatles Rock Band, I believe my previous statement stands. There is a Cirque du Soleil program in Vegas called “The Beatles — Love” that is inspired by their hit song, All You Need Is Love.
Obviously, The Beatles have been very successful, and essentially, they need no PR team. I’m sure they did along their way to superstardom and definitely during their career, but now they are so influential and established that my expertise would not be needed. I know a large part of this is because they are no longer an active band, but the PR help they did have back in the day definitely brought them to where they are today.
I could go on and on about The Beatles and their impact and how they have inspired so many current bands. They are a classic example of what music is to and depending on the mood I’m in and what day of the week it is, there is always a Beatles album I can put on that will directly relate to how I am feeling.
Hit Me With Music
For this section of my blog, I am choosing to write about what inspires me the most: music. I constantly have music on in the background of my every day life. If I could, I would hire someone to walk around behind me all day strumming on a guitar, so that I could have my very own theme music. Yes, I am that much into music.
As a public relations major, I would love to incorporate music into my career. However, I interned with a radio station last summer and soon realized I had trouble mixing work with pleasure. The work aspect took away from my enjoying music the way I once did. I prefer to have clear distinctions between work and play. I am a very structured, career driven person, but the music industry is too laid back and unprofessional for my taste.
So, from here on out, I plan on using this blog to explore the very nature of music beyond the suraface area.
Music is constantly bringing people together and that is what I love about it.
Music is a unique form of expression without words.
Whether it brings you together to rock out and mosh, or relax and sway side to side with the sounds, music of all genres inspires; yet another aspect why I find solace in music. The different genres allow me to explore who I am at different stages in my life. In fact, each day I learn something new about myself through music.
For example, just the other day, as I was perusing through my iTunes, I found an old Senses Fail album that took me by surprise. Way back when in High School, I was the epitome of a wannabe punk goddess. I wore the studded belt, pleated skirt, tights, and band t-shirts hopelessly attempting to pull of “the Look.” I went to the Masquerade and Swayzes with friends on the weekends in efforts to act the part.
Looking back through the music that defined my High School experience, I see a young girl who wasn’t yet sure of herself and who didn’t have a true identity. I used music to try and find myself, but rather got lost in the scene and tagged along with the preferences of her friends.
Now, I couldn’t imagine myself listening to Saosin, Fallout Boy, Taking Back Sunday, and Senses Fail. I will admit, hearing a song does bring me back to those days, but that was not the person that I truly am. Yes, I suppose it did help in the evolution of me, but I could never imagine who I would be now had I actually fit that mold. I love how music can define someone and can continue to do by evolving to our changes of taste.
A first glance at Ulmer
It only took me two hours to read chapter one of Ulmer’s “Internet Invention.” Only two. One might think that 26 pages should take less time to read, but for the anelectrate individual such as myself, I had a hard time understanding and absorbing Ulmer’s words. I found the Einstein example to be very helpful as he explained themata, but still am wary to come up with my own definition. Holton says that themata are ‘gut assumptions’ and relates those assumptions to scientists and their thoughts on the universe. My gut assumptions, which do not seem nearly as profound as those of scientists, stem from childhood as Holton says that these presuppositions remained stable over the years. One thing from my childhood that I will forever carry with me is my disbelief in marriage. I have been the product of a failed marriage and witnessed two others between my mother and father (that doesn’t take into account relatives and family friends divorcing). I’m not sure if this is an equivalent to Einstein’s compass, but this is what sticks out most in my mind. I’ve always had a passion for animals, though. I have routinely volunteered with animal shelters and now work with a local rescue group. As a matter of fact, community service is my driving force. I am a firm believer in giving back to the community you live in. I suppose I need to find the driving force that has molded me throughout my lifetime, which is where mystory comes into place, I believe.
I continued reading the chapter, slowly but surely, and ventured into the popcycle concept. Again, I thought back to my stable disbelief in marriage and my passion to serve others. Sounds like a huge contradiction, but believe me, you can be passionate about helping others and not about stable relationships (who knows, maybe this exercise will help to dissolve my negativity of marriage).
Ulmer also went to discuss the culture of one’s career field. As a public relations major, the culture in this industry is building relationships. Similar to tending crops as he suggests, performing good public relations is a vigilant process. You must take care of your client and constantly communicate to effectively please him/her. Such is the process of gardening. The plants must constantly be watered and cared for. If either the plant or client is neglected, what you have once invested time in disappears. A client will leave his/her PR practitioner if he/she is not completely satisfied and doesn’t feel like the practitioner is devoting enough time to him.
After reading, I was determined to get a solid grasp on electracy. Ulmer makes a great analogy of how literacy is to print what elecracy is to digital and new media. Our society is constantly changing trying to keep up with who tweeted what and where Sally went out last night. Social networking sites such as facebook, myspace, and twitter allow friends to remain constantly up to date with one another. As a child of early technology (I never knew life without the internet — or at least until my teenage years when it became prevalent and necessary for my social life), it does not surprise me of the new ways people are communicating, learning, and most importantly living. We rely so heavily on the devices that allow us to easily access the internet. We have also become dependent on the search engine and computers. Think when was the last time you looked up reference material at the library from a real book using the card catalog system. Now, it is so easy for us to access that material from our living room. A click away and you are hooked up to a library’s database scrolling across the monitor as you research. So much of our lifestyle has evolved via technology and it has only just begun.
