I woke up. Hungover. Tired. Drunk shame overwhelming any other thoughts. The sun was struggling to break free of the clouds outside of my window, and my room was stuffy and uncomfortable. I thought about getting up to make myself a coffee. No. Too tired to have to talk to anyone I run into in the kitchen. I decided to stay put. There was a sensibly placed bottle of water next to my bed, so that had my hydration needs covered for the next hour or so.
It was a soft, slow farewell, and the episode's gentle tone perfectly mirrored my mood. And as they stood on the runway, about to go their separate ways, the most beautiful song I'd ever heard began to play (Entourage - Last Scene). I didn't recognise it, the song or the singer, but the sounds, the words and the feeling of the song pierced through my haze that morning and struck something inside of me. I listened for a few lyrics and found the song on google.
And that was the start of my complete and overwhelming submersion into the music of Led Zeppelin.
The song was Going to California, and it hit me like no music had before. The sound of the mandolin and the achingly longing lyrics. "Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair". It made me think of Joni Mitchell. Joni who I had truly discovered on my trip to New York a few years back. Joni who I'd fallen in love with because of her honesty and ability to capture it in such beautiful chords and guitar tunings (Joni - Little Green). Joni who was beautiful and full of love.
I spent the next three hours watching videos and absorbing as much of the band as I could. I thought I'd lost that passion for music, didn't think I'd ever be able to discover something new again with such excitement. It was such a relief to know that soulful, fulfilling and exciting music could still be discovered. Led fucking Zeppelin.
Eventually dragging myself out of bed, I managed to get up and out of the house, having downloaded a few key Led Zeppelin tracks to accompany me on my journey. I bought three albums (I, II and IV) and the "When Giants Walked the Earth' biography by Mick Wall. Over the next two weeks, I listened to NOTHING but Led Zeppelin. That's not an exaggeration. Every waking moment, I was listening to Led Zeppelin. Whole Lotta Love was my gym track. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp was my tube-ride track, and Going to California accompanied me as I closed my eyes at night.
The biography brought them alive. Every album was put in context, every story behind every song was revealed. The band were described honestly, and somewhat brutally. But every aspect of the band drew me in. Jimmy Page's black magic explorations. Aleister Crowley. Liquid drug diets. The violent and menacing entourage. The blatant theft of music. John Bonham punching a woman in the face for looking at him. John Bonham punching anyone. Peter Grant and the beating of Jim Matzorkis in a trailer. The groupies! Oh the groupies. I don't think I can view sex the same again after reading some of the exploits of the band. The red snapper incident. The Great Dane Act. God knows what else. The dynamic, multi-instrumental talents of John-Paul Jones. Sex on legs but simple-black-country-lad Robert Plant and his renowned trouser snake. The fact that Going to California actually had been written with Joni Mitchell in mind. I defy anyone not to fall in love with the dark, intense and disturbing yet brilliant story of Led Zeppelin.
Eventually I started listening to other music again. Reluctantly. Not quite wanting to end what had been a sort of life-affirming journey back into music. But Going to California continues to be one of my favourite tracks of all time. In the space of three and a half minutes, it can remind you of longing and hope, heartache and can open up the beauty of the folk movement in the 60s and 70s in the US. Nothing before or since has had such an effect on me.
