I have found something online that has put a big smile on my face, and that is people unfamiliar with Led Zeppelin filming their reactions of hearing them for the first time. It seems that https://cash.app/$ShanaOQuinn Youtube has discovered Led Zeppelin and it's truly a fun and wholesome thing to see. Bringing people together, one Zep song at a time. In this era of global pandemic, I think cute things like this is what we need. So, for those of you who are not familiar with the mighty Zeppelin, be prepared to hear the first song I chose for this entry, When the Levee Breaks, over and over and over. It's totally worth it, though lol.
Shout out to all these lovely folks for being willing to try something different and listening with open ears, heart and mind.
After the videos there's some information and discussion of the song itself.
Shout out to all these lovely folks for being willing to try something different and listening with open ears, heart and mind.
After the videos there's some information and discussion of the song itself.
In this one, Robert Plant is wailing on the harmonica so hard he thinks it's an electric guitar. And yes, my friend, that long instrumental intro is indeed sick. Just watching you enjoy this made me happy in my face. You're an amazing human being, sir.
This is someone who you can tell loves music, just music of any kind, and he has one hell of a radio voice to boot lol. He is right if he detects that beat in hip hop music, as the drums in this song have been sampled probably more than any other in the history of music. And yes, that is a harmonica.
This dude was blown away hahaha. He's now a disciple of Led Zeppelin. Welcome to the club, buddy. There's so much material to work with, you're gonna be at it a while. This song is such a dirty, filthy, bluesy song you kinda wanna take a shower afterwards, but it's SO SO GOOD, AIN'T IT? Like you said, they don't even know how to do a bad song.
behiBy far the funniest and most entertaining reaction is this one. This little feller was hilarious and you can tell genuinely enjoying himself. He said they were 'singing this song around the campfire telling scary stories and shit' and it cracked me up. For real I've had the biggest smile on my face watching him. Thanks, bro. Ol' boy John B. was bringing the drum game hard, for real.
The basic song When the Levee Breaks is almost 100 years old, performed by Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie to talk about the Mississippi Flood in the 1920's which killed and displaced a lot of people, mostly poor black people, who then had to pick up and leave for other places to find work. Chicago was a popular destination, hence the phrase "going to Chicago." Unlike some of the speculation on some of the other reaction videos I watched (and I watched quite a lot. You're welcome, viewers, lol) this was not a symbolic or metaphorical song. It was literally about a traumatic, economically devastating event that happened in the Deep South and displaced a lot of folks.
I think a lot of these people of color are reacting so positively to this song is because it first and foremost a blues song, and African Americans created the blues and were a driving force in the birth of rock and roll music. Essentially, this is electrified American blues and soul, reinterpreted by white British dudes, but packaged so well and with such passion and feeling that it's hard for anyone to not respond to it.
Everything comes together so perfectly: the monumental drum sound, the driving bass line, the dirty guitar, and the pained, powerful vocal delivery. That this happened at the beginning of the 1970's still blows my mind; the mix is both clear and muddy, the famous echo on the drums just one part of the awesomeness of the whole song. There were a few ingredients to this envied drum beat: the first was the insane drumming of John Bonham himself. The ambience was partly due to having the drums set up in the lobby of an old Victorian house known as Headley Grange. Another factor was the microphone placement, which allowed the earth-shattering drums to breathe. The other secret ingredient was the usage of an echo/delay machine called the Binson Echorec. They cranked up the delay and that's where the ghostly sound and what sounds like (but actually isn't) another bass drum beat behind the main kick beat comes from. It's FAT. The drums are absolutely beastly, and so recognizable to this day.
Information sources: https://www.wired.com/2008/08/a-short-history/
https://genius.com/Led-zeppelin-when-the-levee-breaks-lyrics
https://www.stereogum.com/2028283/led-zeppelin-when-the-levee-breaks-samples/franchises/breaks-with-tradition/
And special thanks to Rick Beato digging deep:
The basic song When the Levee Breaks is almost 100 years old, performed by Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie to talk about the Mississippi Flood in the 1920's which killed and displaced a lot of people, mostly poor black people, who then had to pick up and leave for other places to find work. Chicago was a popular destination, hence the phrase "going to Chicago." Unlike some of the speculation on some of the other reaction videos I watched (and I watched quite a lot. You're welcome, viewers, lol) this was not a symbolic or metaphorical song. It was literally about a traumatic, economically devastating event that happened in the Deep South and displaced a lot of folks.
I think a lot of these people of color are reacting so positively to this song is because it first and foremost a blues song, and African Americans created the blues and were a driving force in the birth of rock and roll music. Essentially, this is electrified American blues and soul, reinterpreted by white British dudes, but packaged so well and with such passion and feeling that it's hard for anyone to not respond to it.
Everything comes together so perfectly: the monumental drum sound, the driving bass line, the dirty guitar, and the pained, powerful vocal delivery. That this happened at the beginning of the 1970's still blows my mind; the mix is both clear and muddy, the famous echo on the drums just one part of the awesomeness of the whole song. There were a few ingredients to this envied drum beat: the first was the insane drumming of John Bonham himself. The ambience was partly due to having the drums set up in the lobby of an old Victorian house known as Headley Grange. Another factor was the microphone placement, which allowed the earth-shattering drums to breathe. The other secret ingredient was the usage of an echo/delay machine called the Binson Echorec. They cranked up the delay and that's where the ghostly sound and what sounds like (but actually isn't) another bass drum beat behind the main kick beat comes from. It's FAT. The drums are absolutely beastly, and so recognizable to this day.
Information sources: https://www.wired.com/2008/08/a-short-history/
https://genius.com/Led-zeppelin-when-the-levee-breaks-lyrics
https://www.stereogum.com/2028283/led-zeppelin-when-the-levee-breaks-samples/franchises/breaks-with-tradition/
And special thanks to Rick Beato digging deep:
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