Hot Tamales, Led Zeppelin

Yesterday at the Culture Shock thing, I had to fill out a WIUX survey in order to get some free Hot Tamales (thee boxes! It was worth it). There were only like seven questions on the survey, but the last one was "Who would you like to see play at Culture Shock next year?" and I couldn't think of any real band that they actually might be able to get, so I just wrote "Led Zeppelin" because, you know, they're a pretty good band, and in theory it would be cool if they came to play at IU, right? I turned the thing in, and then pretty much immediately felt like a jackass. There were probably tons of people who answered like that, and whoever reads those things is just going to roll their eyes and count my entry as another self-proclaimed jokester who has wasted their time. I got my Hot Tamales.

But here's the thing: Fast forward to 14 hours later, or ten minutes ago. I was listening to the radio in the bathroom while taking a shower, and the song "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin came on, and it just felt perfect. By this point, I was out of the shower and I was shaving, so I could really listen to this song. It sounded amazing to my ears. The low, rhythmic octaves, the effortless mandolin embellishments, the tolerable Robert Plant singing, it all sounded just right. Not that this was the first time I had heard this song, I used to listen to it when I was 14 over and over again because it just made me feel so peaceful and hopeful, and because it is actually a really pretty song. Forget about all the stories involving the members of Led Zeppelin, their groupies, and large tuna. in this song, at this moment, they are sensitive dudes with sensitive needs. Robert Plant is looking for a woman with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair. Awwwwww!

Point being, I really would like for LZ to come and play this song in Bloomington. I know it's not going to happen, but I guess that's what I meant when I filled out that survey (yeah, right). This, of all LZ songs, would seem the least ridiculous considering how old they are now. No need to rock out, just strum some mandolin, drink some wine, be old, it's cool. And guess what, it would not seem fake, because there aren't any drums and that works out well, because John Bonham is dead. It made me feel a little bit better about writing their name for the last question of the WIUX survey. Thanks for the Hot Tamales.