"THE OCEAN" LED ZEPPELIN (1973)

The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.

Year: 1973

Start strong. End strong. This simple concept worked wonders for Houses Of The Holy – an album that kicked off with one banger, “The Song Remains The Same”, and then closed out with another in “The Ocean”. A bit of nostalgia, this is one of the Zeppelin anthems that made me a fan for life. It was like a loaded shot of testosterone for me as a teen. I remember hearing it for the first time in my friend Scott’s pickup truck. And, boy, was it a pick-me-up. I’ll go as far as to say I think it’s a bit underrated and underappreciated among the band’s heavy hitters.

“The Ocean” takes the rulebook on time signatures and throws it out the window with its iconic two-bar guitar riff from the riffmaster Jimmy Page. It’s also a track of excess – a strength in this case. The lack of restraint serves the song well with a key turning point in the song: a baptism by doo-wop at the 3:17 mark where everything – the drums, guitar and bass – suddenly goes rollicky and the wheels come off. A powerful statement of a closer if I ever heard one.

“SINGING ABOUT GOOD THINGS AND THE SUN THAT LIGHTS THE DAY. I USED TO SING ON THE MOUNTAINS, HAS THE OCEAN LOST ITS WAY?”

"GOING TO CALIFORNIA" LED ZEPPELIN (1971)

For the next 30 days, I’ll be taking the #AprilAcrossAmerica challenge, picking one song a day as I make my way across the country and across genres at the same time.

Day 30: The mountain of dreams, CA

My roadtrip across America took me down the Atlantic, across the south, back up, and down the Pacific. It ends where many roadtrips end: California. When I got my copy of Led Zeppelin IV back in ninth grade, it felt like I had discovered the full span of rock & roll in one cassette. The hard and heavy stuff with “When the Levee Breaks” and “Black Dog”. The accessible power of “Misty Mountain Hop” and “Rock and Roll”. The epic statements of “Stairway to Heaven” and “The Battle of Evermore”. And then there was “Going to California”.

“Going to California” showcased a beautiful acoustic side to Jimmy Page’s guitar playing and gave way to one of Robert Plant’s most impressive and versatile vocal deliveries. What makes the song incredible to me is that even as a ballad, there’s enormous power and force at times in the track’s melody and vocals. The song isn’t the same without Plant. Ultimately, the song is like fantasy. A dream. A vision of California he hopes will transcend that and become reality. It’s a treasure.

“MADE UP MY MIND, MAKE A NEW START. GOIN' TO CALIFORNIA WITH AN ACHIN' IN MY HEART.”

"IMMIGRANT SONG" LED ZEPPELIN (1970)

This month, I’m looking back at movies and tv shows to rediscover songs that graced the screen. The scenes and the music are inseparable. They’re engrained in our heads and our hearts. And they’re proof that the best music we have doesn’t exist in isolation. It attaches itself to a moment or an experience. #SceneSongs

Movie: School Of Rock

Jack Black’s love of rock & roll is well-documented. His obsession with rock is felt every time he talks about it — from Rush documentaries to his Kennedy Center honorary speech for Led Zeppelin to the movie School of Rock. It’s like he was just being himself throughout the movie, not simply acting. Jack’s passion is its clearest when he belts Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” in the van scene like every fan wants to — if it weren’t for the fear of permanently damaging our vocal cords.

“Immigrant Song” is Zeppelin in a nutshell. I think that’s why I love this song so much. Mythic-inspired lyrics. Plant’s larger-than-life howl. Page’s epic guitar riff. Bonzo and Jonesy driving the rhythm forward like a wrecking ball. Who else can make Nordic mythology this appealing and infectious? The answer is nobody. Anything else would just feel and sound like a musical parody.

“WE COME FROM THE LAND OF THE ICE AND SNOW FROM THE MIDNIGHT SUN WHERE THE HOT SPRINGS FLOW.”

"THE OCEAN" LED ZEPPELIN (1973)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

Start strong. End strong. This simple concept worked wonders for Houses Of The Holy – an album that kicked off with one banger, “The Song Remains The Same”, and then closed out with another in “The Ocean”. A bit of nostalgia, this is one of the Zeppelin anthems that made me a fan for life. It was like a loaded shot of testosterone for me as a teen. I remember hearing it for the first time in my friend Scott’s pickup truck. And, boy, was it a pick-me-up. I’ll go as far as to say I think it’s a bit underrated and underappreciated among the band’s heavy hitters.

“The Ocean” takes the rulebook on time signatures and throws it out the window with its iconic two-bar guitar riff from the riffmaster Jimmy Page. It’s also a track of excess – but I consider that a strength in this case. The lack of restraint serves the song well with a key turning point in the song: a baptism by doo-wop at the 3:17 mark where everything – the drums, guitar and bass – suddenly go rollicky and the wheels come off. A powerful statement of a closer if I ever heard one.

“Singing about good things and the sun that lights the day. I used to sing on the mountains, has the ocean lost its way?”

"BLACK DOG" LED ZEPPELIN (1971)

Great album openers get the listeners to keep on listening. They can do this in any number of ways. Some openers set the tone by easing us in. Others jump right in and blow our minds from the very beginning. A great album opener isn’t an easy thing to create. More than a great song, it’s all about the sequence. Track 1 has to be the perfect starter. This month, I’m highlighting my favorites. #AlbumOpeningSongs

Zeppelin is such a massive part of my journey as a music fan. I remember listening incessantly to the album simply named after the Roman numerals IV in my early high school years. My mind was blown instantly. I couldn’t believe lead guitar could be so vicious and audacious. And I couldn’t believe someone could sing like that – practically howling like an animal at times. “Black Dog”, as most true music fans already know, is Track 1, and Plant, Page, Bonzo and Jonesy opened things up with a giant-sized can of whupass.

Not sure exactly how blues and hard rock can be so easily intertwined to the point where you can’t tell which element is which? Just listen to “Black Dog”. The song uses space and pregnant pauses as good as any other to make the guitar riff explosions that much more explosive. I really like the fact that Page’s guitar almost feels like it’s lagging because the riff is so friggin’ fast. On to Robert Plant. His vocals on this song, in particular, really brought me into the fold. It didn’t just usher me into IV, it brought me into the entire Zeppelin catalog.

“I gotta roll, can't stand still. Got a flaming heart, can't get my fill. Eyes that shine burning red. Dreams of you all through my head.”

"THE ROVER" LED ZEPPELIN (1975)

For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 26

There are so many things to respect about Led Zeppelin’s artistry and musicianship. But the one thing that was always the most appealing aspect to me is Jimmy Page’s seemingly infinite well of guitar lines. This is the strength of the album Physical Graffiti which, in my opinion, contains the greatest collection of guitar riffs in one album, including quite a few on “The Rover” alone.

“The Rover” is one of Zeppelin’s most underrated songs. It’s never mentioned in the same breath as “Kashmir”, “Immigrant Song” or “Black Dog”, but it’s not far behind that upper echelon of the Zeppelin catalog. There are four memorable riffs that define “The Rover”: the intro, the chorus, the bridge and the epilogue, making it one of Page’s single greatest masterpieces. Bonzo’s percussion attack was nothing to sneeze at either, not to mention a sound that seemed to inform and inspire the hard rock Aussie outfit AC/DC.

“And our time is flying, see the candle burning low. Is the new world rising, from the shambles of the old.”

"WHAT IS AND WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE" LED ZEPPELIN (1969)

I generally gravitate to the music first before the lyrics. But as a writer, I still marvel at well-spun verses and choruses. This month, I’m joining the music Twitter community in #31DaySongLyricChallenge

Day 25

That magical blend of blues and hard rock, as if the two genres are slowly making love. That’s what I love most about Led Zeppelin. Plant’s presence is powerful in every song in their extensive catalog – from the ballads to the bangers. I also tend to lean toward the tracks where Page was ripping mind-blowing guitar riffs while Bonzo pounded away on the drums like lightning. But “What Is And What Should Never Be” roped me in with Jonesy’s melodic bass line, paired with such magnificent words.

“And if I say to you tomorrow, ‘Take my hand, child come with me. It's to a castle I will take you. Where what's to be, they say will be.’”

"WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS" LED ZEPPELIN (1971)

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

My Led Zeppelin IV cassette in 9th grade was a defining album for my budding interest in classic rock. I assumed I was in for just the hard stuff and would be comfortably flanked by Robert Plant’s howl and Jimmy Page’s hard-edged riffs. But IV took me my ears on a bender from the opening verse to “Black Dog” to the final guitar riff in “When The Levee Breaks”. The album fuses folk elements, straight ahead rock, early heavy metal elements and a heavy dose of blues. And it’s the blues that makes “When The Levee Breaks” one of the greatest tracks on the album.

Plant’s harmonica and Page’s guitar riff seemed attached at the hip, playing along the same octave. “When The Levee Breaks”, by name, was overshadowed by monster Zeppelin hits like “Stairway to Heaven”, “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll” and “Going to California”. But I think it surpassed all the aforementioned classics. Those songs mastered epic riffs. They really relied on Page and Plant mostly. But “When The Levee Breaks” mastered hard rock blues more than any other Zeppelin song I can think of. It took the whole band to give it their all – and I count the song as one of Bonzo’s best and biggest barrages on the drum set.

“Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan.”

"RAMBLE ON" LED ZEPPELIN (1969)

For the month of January, I’m selecting some of the most memorable and influential songs of the 60’s. While they all hail from the same decade, these are some of my favorite songs of any era. They remind me that the 60’s were so much more than just Woodstock and psychedelic rock. It was a flourishing period for blues, folk, progressive and straight-ahead rock. #31DaysOf60sSongs

By the time I reached the exciting, yet incredibly awkward ninth grade, I was knee deep into Zeppelin. Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy were on heavy rotation on my Sony cassette player. In my mind, no other band had figured out such a natural and powerful way of bringing together hard rock and blues as well as Zeppelin. Killer vocals. Killer riffs. Killer lyrics. It wasn’t unusual to be a Zeppelin fan in my high school. In fact, “Ramble On” went on to become our graduation song.

John Paul Jones has always been the least talked about and the least celebrated member of the band. He was an exceptional bass player surrounded by rock giants: Plant, Page and Bonzo. But his bass line on “Ramble On” is truly iconic. Some call it the best bass line ever written. It’s both highly melodic and rhythmic — and in a rare moment Jonesy steals the spotlight from Jimmy Page. But the most irresistible thing about “Ramble On” is Plant’s soulful cry. It quite possibly doesn’t get any more rock ‘n roll than his monster vocals in the chorus.

“I ain't tellin' no lie. Mine's a tale that can't be told.”

"THE ROVER" LED ZEPPELIN (1975)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

There are so many things to respect about Led Zeppelin’s artistry and musicianship. But the one thing that was always the most appealing aspect to me is Jimmy Page’s seemingly infinite well of guitar lines. This is the strength of the album Physical Graffiti which, in my opinion, contains the greatest collection of guitar riffs in one album, including quite a few on “The Rover” alone.

“The Rover” is one of Zeppelin’s most underrated songs. It’s never mentioned in the same breath as “Kashmir”, “Immigrant Song” or “Black Dog”, but it’s not far behind that upper echelon of the Zeppelin catalog. There are four memorable riffs that define “The Rover”: the intro, the chorus, the bridge and the epilogue, making it one of Page’s single greatest masterpieces. Bonzo’s percussion attack was nothing to sneeze at either, not to mention a sound that seemed to inform and inspire the hard rock Aussie outfit AC/DC.

“And our time is flying, see the candle burning low. Is the new world rising, from the shambles of the old.”

"DANCING DAYS" LED ZEPPELIN (1973)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

Back in high school, a friend of mine and fellow track runner introduced me to Houses of the Holy. He told me it was better than all the other Zeppelin albums. Better than II, IV and Physical Graffiti. I approached the album with some trepidation. The album cover made me feel like if I gave in to it, I would perhaps be swayed into some kind of evil cult. But there’s nothing evil about Houses of the Holy. It really is one of the band’s strongest albums, and “Dancing Days” created a bright, euphoric middle for the album.

Houses of the Holy was bookended by two tour de forces: “The Song Remains the Same” and “The Ocean”. But right smack in the middle, “Dancing Days” — together with “D’yer Mak’er” — formed a bit of an odd anomaly. As the lesser known song of the duo, “Dancing Days” is that underappreciated, feel-good rocker where Zeppelin entered a rare moment of nostalgia, both thematically and musically. It proved that no matter what genre the band explored, Page’s muscular riffs would always find a way to drive the song forward.

“Crazy ways are evident by the way you wearin' your clothes. Sippin' booze is precedent as the evening starts to glow.”

"WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS" LED ZEPPELIN (1971)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

The blues can bring you down. Rock can bring you up. That’s the wild dynamic at play throughout a good portion of Led Zeppelin’s storied catalog. Their songs take your soul in both directions. It can feel like your innards are being torn apart. But it can feel so good. Zeppelin is far more than hard, headbangin’ rock. It’s why they’re still one of my all-time favorite bands. Led Zeppelin IV was an epic recording with an epic ending: “When the Levee Breaks”.

Not as celebrated as the monster tracks on Side 1, “When the Levee Breaks” is largely remembered because it came out in an era of album oriented rock. Back in 1971, the majority of people listened to albums from beginning to end. In this format, “When the Levee Breaks” was a powerful, mind-numbing finale. It was one of the most bluesy songs ever recorded by the band, but it also brought immense power thanks to Bonzo’s thunderous beats and Page’s electric interpretation of the blues.

“When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay.”

"RAMBLE ON" LED ZEPPELIN (1969)

Pick four songs from any band and you can tell a lot about their sound. This summer, I’m featuring #RockBlocks, four picks from bands across various genres. They might be wildly different from each other, but what binds them together is the fact that they’re all a part of my life soundtrack.

By the time I reached the exciting, yet incredibly awkward ninth grade, I was knee deep into Led Zeppelin. Physical Graffiti, Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy were on heavy rotation on my Sony cassette player. No other band had figured out such a natural and powerful way of bringing together hard rock and blues as well as Zeppelin. I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, I just really liked the music. Killer vocals. Killer riffs. Killer lyrics. It wasn’t unusual to be a Zeppelin fan in my high school. In fact, “Ramble On” went on to become our graduation song.

John Paul Jones has always been the least talked about and the least celebrated member of the band. But his bass line on “Ramble On” is truly iconic. Some even call it the best bass line ever written. It’s both melodic and rhythmic — and in a rare moment Jonesy steals the spotlight from Jimmy Page. The other irresistible thing about “Ramble On” is Robert Plant’s soulful cry. It just doesn’t get any more rock ‘n roll than those monster vocals in the chorus.

“Got no time for spreadin' roots. The time has come to be gone.”

"IMMIGRANT SONG" LED ZEPPELIN (1970)

Exceptional soundtracks can make good movies great. They can also take on a life of their own, becoming a greater highlight than their respective films. In this series, I’m selecting some of my favorite soundtrack songs. While quite a few are well-known recordings, I’m also including a few that have flown under the radar over the years.

Jack Black’s love of rock & roll is well-documented. His obsession with rock is felt every time he talks about it — from Rush documentaries to his Kennedy Center honorary speech for Led Zeppelin to the movie School of Rock. It’s like he was just being himself throughout the movie, not simply acting. Jack’s passion is its clearest when he belts Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” like every fan wants to — if it weren’t for the fear of permanently damaging our vocal cords.

“Immigrant Song” is Zeppelin in a nutshell. I think that’s why I love this song so much. Mythic-inspired lyrics. Plant’s larger-than-life howl. Page’s epic guitar riff. Bonzo and Jonesy driving the rhythm forward like a wrecking ball. Who else can make Nordic mythology this appealing and infectious? Nobody. Anything else would just feel and sound like a musical parody.

“We come from the land of the ice and snow from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.”

"GOING TO CALIFORNIA" LED ZEPPELIN (1971)

Inspired by Jeep’s “Reunited States of America” Super Bowl ad, this is my peek into America through a handful of songs. Each track is dedicated to one of the states. Here’s Part 2.

When I got my copy of Led Zeppelin IV back in ninth grade, it felt like I had discovered the full span of rock & roll in one cassette. The hard and heavy stuff with “When the Levee Breaks” and “Black Dog”. The accessible power of “Misty Mountain Hop” and “Rock and Roll”. The epic statements of “Stairway to Heaven” and “The Battle of Evermore”. And then there was “Going to California”, which showcased a beautiful acoustic side to Jimmy Page and gave way to one of Robert Plant’s most impressive and versatile vocal deliveries.

“Made up my mind, make a new start. Goin' to California with an achin' in my heart.”

"KASHMIR" LED ZEPPELIN (1975)

A band like Zeppelin only comes around once a decade if that. A band loaded with musical chops, sonic power, endless creativity and the confidence to pull off something as epic and unusual as “Kashmir”. This 8-minute song took a different approach for the band, sidestepping hard rock and blues, and exploring sounds they discovered on a trip to Mumbai. Plant, Page, Bonzo and Jones didn’t just write a great song, they took us on a journey.

“Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face. And stars fill my dream. I'm a traveler of both time and space to be where I have been.”

"THE BATTLE OF EVERMORE" LED ZEPPELIN (1971)

It’s the hard, fast stuff from Zeppelin that I love the most. But I always admired how the band slowed it down with craft for this third track on IV, sandwiched between the monster hits. “The Battle of Evermore” proved that they could excel without Page’s riffs. Without Bonzo’s thunderous beats. Without Plant’s signature howl. It’s like they took away their best elements to see what they could still come up with. “Evermore” would easily be the best song for many other bands. Even on an album packed with epic hard rock anthems, “The Battle of Evermore” was still too hard to overlook. Too hard to skip—on cassette, LP, CD, or however your ears took it in.

“Waiting for the eastern glow. The apples of the valley hold. The seas of happiness. The ground is rich from tender care. Repay, do not forget, no, no. Oh, dance in the dark of night. Sing to the morning light.”