The farce of "Uncle" Ted

The childrens television show Bobby's World was a huge hit in the early to mid 90's. I can remember many a Saturday morning spent watching the Generic family, with Howie Mandel providing most of the voices. One of my favorite characters was the self proclaimed "Uncle" Ted who always seemed to be lurking around somewhere. Many of my favorite episodes featured Bobby and "Uncle" Ted taking a vacation together and ultimately leaving the "universe" entirely, although not under the circumstances that I had blindly accepted as a kid. The truth is that most of the "daydream" sequences by Bobby, were actually drug fueled hallucinations...supported by "Uncle" Ted, and his wide array of opiates.

Howie Mandel was obviously using Uncle Ted to demonstrate his own drug powered hallucinations that had plagued him in much of his earlier comedic career. Even musical classics like "Underwater the fish don't stink" were all formed as a reaction to the heavy doses of heroin and LSD that Uncle Ted had slipped to Bobby. Knowing these facts it's impossible to keep idolizing "Uncle" Ted, who should be sent to animated rehab.

Discovering Led Zeppelin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4v-_p5dU34 listen to this while you read :)....

It may seem strange but up until a few weeks ago the only Zeppelin song I'd ever heard was "Stairway to Heaven," a song I'd always enjoyed but never been motivated to download, or explore any of the bands other hits. Unknowingly I was missing out on one of the best, most influential rock bands of all-time.

A few weeks ago I was listening to the "Metallica" Pandora radio station on my phone while working out and as any pandora user knows, the service plays music that is closely related to your pre-set band or artist. In this case " The Rain Song" by LZ started playing and after the first two minutes I was hitting the purchase button. The song itself is a masterpiece with the lengthy opening solo by Jimmy Page showcasing the unique sounds produced by his two-handled guitar. It provides a range that was at time was evolutionary, and still sounds fresh and original. Throughout the song there is a pairing of both "high" and "low" cords that blend together and provide a perfect back drop to the vocal talents of Robert Plant. (Sorry if my description sounds overly simplistic, I have no experience playing or studying music so it's hard to describe what technically is happening in the song) Given that one of my favorite albums is "Unplugged," by Eric Clapton, I'm not surprised that the acoustic style of "The Rain Song" is one of the aspects that I enjoyed most.

After the initial listening session with "The Rain Song" I logged onto youtube and continued listening to LZ for about oh, the next two hours. The thing that immediately jumped out at me was the tremendous range and multitude of styles that the band showcased. Vocally Robert Plant is able to adjust the pitch and tempo of his voice in such a way that it fits perfectly given the "mood" of that particular song or even the specific VERSE within a song. This is apparent in "Ten Years Gone," Plant opens with a couple slow, smooth, lilting lyrics that suddenly change to rough and loud to accompany the change in baseline.

Jimmy Page may very well be the greatest guitarist in the history of Rock. His prodigious talent is evident in every single track. Many of the riffs were ones that I'd heard other bands play or in movies unaware that they came from the lead guitarist of LZ. It's hard to describe his technical brilliance in words, but with possibly the exception of Hendrix, a more versatile sound has probably never been heard out of a guitar. My favorite songs (so far) from a strictly instrumental view: "Kasmir," "Stairway to Heaven," "Dazed and Confused."

It's been fun discovering a band that so many have and continue to love, and I look forward to hearing the rest of what they've produced. Although that may take me years as I have been hooked on the same 8 or 9 for weeks now.

Three favorite songs so far:
1. "The Rain Song"
2. "Kashmir"
3. "Dazed and Confused"