I may have pulled a little sleight-of-hand trick with that headline, but here's what it means:
We went to Rockford this weekend to see our precious daughter Lisa who celebrated her birthday today (Happy Birthday, Darling!). We had a great time, the whole family was there for part of the weekend.
Rockford, where Lisa is on staff at Rockford First church, is the hometown of Cheap Trick. When we got back home to Sylvania tonight, I decided to skip the Grammys and watch "It Might Get Loud." That guitar-centric documentary features three musicians including the Edge -- hence the headline -- along with Jack White and Jimmy Page.
It's sort of an odd, but interesting, trio of guitarists from three different eras each with his own distinctive style and voice.
The documentary is interesting especially for a guitar fan with an interest in rock and blues history like myself. I thought the film would feature more interplay among the three musicians but it basically consists of three separate stories woven together with a few brief moments of the three together. Still worthwhile for serious music fans.
(As a side note, I've never had the pleasure of interviewing Jimmy Page or Dave Evans aka the Edge, but I did get to ask Jack White a few questions by e-mail).
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Here are two great quotes I scribbled down while watching the film:
"'Spinal Tap,' that's a movie that I watched. I didn't laugh, I wept. It was so close to the truth."-- The Edge
"Wanna figure out how you want to play guitar, what your niche would be, you just start digging deeper. When you're digging deeper into rock and roll, you're on a freight train headed straight for the blues."-- Jack White
I didn't write this one down but Page said music critics just never understood Led Zeppelin, and when Led Zep IV came out they (Rolling Stone? he didn't say) wrote a mere one paragraph review.
The album "had a lot on it," Page commented, citing "When the Levee Breaks," "Black Dog," and "Stairway to Heaven." That really IS quite a lot, deserving of some serious musical criticism.
He stopped reading reviews after that.
Page had a reputation as a real wildman when he was in Zeppelin, living life to the max and beyond. He rarely gave interviews and had this mysterious aura about him. There were all kinds of rumors about him and the occult, living in Alistair Crowley's house and writing "Stairway" through "automatic writing," which some would say is demonic possession.
I have no idea if there was any truth to any of those rumors, but Jimmy Page seems very normal and very sober in "It Might Get Loud."
And the former London session guitarist is an awesome musician. His sound and fury on "Whole Lotta Love" is one of the most primal and powerful guitar riffs in rock and roll history.
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While in Schaumburg we went to a movie, which some say is a cute chick flick but as far as I'm concerned it was one of the worst movies I've ever seen: "When in Rome."
It ranged from predictable to ridiculous to pathetic. I think I almost laughed once and was constantly fighting the urge to get out my blackberry and surf the net.
Danny DeVito's role as "the sausage king" is destined for the Hall of Shame.
Don't be a fool with your hard-earned money and don't encourage Hollywood to make more drivel... Do your part and stay far away from "When In Rome."