One AU Led Zeppelin line-up, desert island CDs, the Seige of Leningrad in WWII, coffee, fav book
Long overdue: the personal questions meme, from Jen.
Warning: some parts may be too bleak and creepy to read. There's nothing pretty about a war. Proceed at your own risk.
1. In your ideal world, who would make up the Terry Reid-Led Zeppelin line-up?
Oh no. I don't think any such thing exists in my ideal world, though like so many others I couldn't help wondering what it would have been like... if Keith Richards and Mickie Most both let go of Terry so Jimmy could have him. In reality, Terry wanted to take the offer but he already had two US tours booked... I think the main reason it didn't happen was because at the same time Jimmy had the Scandinavian tour obligations within just a couple of months and no band to fulfill them with, so waiting around for anybody wasn't an option.
Of course if we disregard the real world then it would have been very interesting indeed. An AU LZ line-up...
I wouldn't imagine anyone but Jonesey on bass. He already had agreement with Jimmy, but also was a session musician and friends with Terry. It's a bit harder with the drummer... Originally Jimmy wanted Procol Harum's drummer B.J. Wilson who was unavailable... But Terry knew Bonzo and would have suggested him anyway. Now, Bonzo was notoriously hard to get. It took joint efforts and a pile of telegrams. Would he have joined the AU line-up? Surprisingly, I think the odds would have been pretty good. The reason? Superlungs, the irresistible draw. No, it's not my imagination. For someone so mellow he possessed a remarkable power to attract people which is hard to explain yet just as hard to ignore. I wouldn't say the fact that Jimmy, Ritchie Blackmore, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, David Lindley and Alan White all wanted him impress me the most... nor even personal (and very helpful) interest of Ahmet Ertegun. For me, the most striking example is a relatively unknown session musician Peter Solley. A very pretty boy with curly hair and incredible musical talents whose wife died when he was in early 20s leaving him with a newborn baby... he later joined Procol Harum. Pete was almost impossibly picky, turning down offers to join The Kinks, The Moody Blues and Rainbow - and not because of any contracts, just "not his cup of tea". "There were very few bands that I would've joined." Yet, ahem, accepted Terry's invitation in a heartbeat, with just days to learn their material before a major US tour. WTF?!
Terry is nowhere near as tall as Robert - looks like about 5'7" (judging by the pic with the two of them in semi-hug, arms around each other's shoulders... a 2005 pic, mind you) though still taller than Steve Marriott. How tall is Jimmy? I tried to imagine the two of them on stage together. Both with guitars, so unfortunately they couldn't get too close. Both dark haired, though Jimmy's hair is darker and a lot curlier. Would have been quite a sight.... and an earful.
2. On a dessert island, with a cd player/record player, which five cds/records would you take with you?
1) Pink Floyd - The Wall (counts as one, right? LOL I'm sneaky!)
2) Hot Hot Heat - Knock Knock Knock (EP)
3) Three Mile Pilot - The Chief Assassin to the Sinister (Geffen's version)
4) Terry Reid - Superlungs (2004 reissue)
5) Queen - Queen II
3. If you could spend a whole day with any celebrity, who would it be and what would you do together?
Okay, so then all reality would have to be really suspended.
My ideal choice would be Terry (somewhat obviously I guess) We have one interest in common I know of: WWII. I only have 2 WWII films at home (though one in several parts, many hours long), therefore ideally I'd take him to my city of birth, Saint Petersburg, Russia. You could fill more than one day just walking the streets there in the old town. It's a proper city, one of the most beautiful in the world. Its role in Russia is somewhat comparable to San Francisco in the US: cultural, spiritual and cosmopolitan capital without being the largest in size.
Most specifically I'd take him to a very eerie place: State Museum of Defense and the Siege of Leningrad
(information about the Siege)
One item on the display was unforgettable: the lowest daily bread ration of 125 grams. It was all a person had available to eat, for the whole day: a tiny black cube which looked like anything but bread. It was partially sawdust and some other stuff just as inedible. Another thing was the diary of a little girl Tatyana (Tanya) whose entire family died out one by one, and the entries are simply the dates of their deaths; the last two were: Everybody died. Only Tanya is left.
My mom lived in the city the whole time; she was 4 when the Siege began. She remembers the starvation well, and it's a miracle she survived. One of her most vivid memories was finding a whole onion somewhere - it was such a treasure... the building she lived in was destroyed by a bomb when she was in the bomb shelter. To think of it, I remember all our schools had bomb shelters, and we perceived this fact as very normal.
4. Upon entering a coffee/tea shop, what do you order?
Usually a hot mocha drink. But I'll have to see if they have any unusual flavors first.
5. What is your favourite book that you have ever read?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey... almost tie with Telegram by Putu Wijaya (now finally being translated into
English).
The Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You WILL update your LJ with the answers.
4. You will include this explanation.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.
Warning: some parts may be too bleak and creepy to read. There's nothing pretty about a war. Proceed at your own risk.
1. In your ideal world, who would make up the Terry Reid-Led Zeppelin line-up?
Oh no. I don't think any such thing exists in my ideal world, though like so many others I couldn't help wondering what it would have been like... if Keith Richards and Mickie Most both let go of Terry so Jimmy could have him. In reality, Terry wanted to take the offer but he already had two US tours booked... I think the main reason it didn't happen was because at the same time Jimmy had the Scandinavian tour obligations within just a couple of months and no band to fulfill them with, so waiting around for anybody wasn't an option.
Of course if we disregard the real world then it would have been very interesting indeed. An AU LZ line-up...
I wouldn't imagine anyone but Jonesey on bass. He already had agreement with Jimmy, but also was a session musician and friends with Terry. It's a bit harder with the drummer... Originally Jimmy wanted Procol Harum's drummer B.J. Wilson who was unavailable... But Terry knew Bonzo and would have suggested him anyway. Now, Bonzo was notoriously hard to get. It took joint efforts and a pile of telegrams. Would he have joined the AU line-up? Surprisingly, I think the odds would have been pretty good. The reason? Superlungs, the irresistible draw. No, it's not my imagination. For someone so mellow he possessed a remarkable power to attract people which is hard to explain yet just as hard to ignore. I wouldn't say the fact that Jimmy, Ritchie Blackmore, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, David Lindley and Alan White all wanted him impress me the most... nor even personal (and very helpful) interest of Ahmet Ertegun. For me, the most striking example is a relatively unknown session musician Peter Solley. A very pretty boy with curly hair and incredible musical talents whose wife died when he was in early 20s leaving him with a newborn baby... he later joined Procol Harum. Pete was almost impossibly picky, turning down offers to join The Kinks, The Moody Blues and Rainbow - and not because of any contracts, just "not his cup of tea". "There were very few bands that I would've joined." Yet, ahem, accepted Terry's invitation in a heartbeat, with just days to learn their material before a major US tour. WTF?!
Terry is nowhere near as tall as Robert - looks like about 5'7" (judging by the pic with the two of them in semi-hug, arms around each other's shoulders... a 2005 pic, mind you) though still taller than Steve Marriott. How tall is Jimmy? I tried to imagine the two of them on stage together. Both with guitars, so unfortunately they couldn't get too close. Both dark haired, though Jimmy's hair is darker and a lot curlier. Would have been quite a sight.... and an earful.
2. On a dessert island, with a cd player/record player, which five cds/records would you take with you?
1) Pink Floyd - The Wall (counts as one, right? LOL I'm sneaky!)
2) Hot Hot Heat - Knock Knock Knock (EP)
3) Three Mile Pilot - The Chief Assassin to the Sinister (Geffen's version)
4) Terry Reid - Superlungs (2004 reissue)
5) Queen - Queen II
3. If you could spend a whole day with any celebrity, who would it be and what would you do together?
Okay, so then all reality would have to be really suspended.
My ideal choice would be Terry (somewhat obviously I guess) We have one interest in common I know of: WWII. I only have 2 WWII films at home (though one in several parts, many hours long), therefore ideally I'd take him to my city of birth, Saint Petersburg, Russia. You could fill more than one day just walking the streets there in the old town. It's a proper city, one of the most beautiful in the world. Its role in Russia is somewhat comparable to San Francisco in the US: cultural, spiritual and cosmopolitan capital without being the largest in size.
Most specifically I'd take him to a very eerie place: State Museum of Defense and the Siege of Leningrad
(information about the Siege)
One item on the display was unforgettable: the lowest daily bread ration of 125 grams. It was all a person had available to eat, for the whole day: a tiny black cube which looked like anything but bread. It was partially sawdust and some other stuff just as inedible. Another thing was the diary of a little girl Tatyana (Tanya) whose entire family died out one by one, and the entries are simply the dates of their deaths; the last two were: Everybody died. Only Tanya is left.
My mom lived in the city the whole time; she was 4 when the Siege began. She remembers the starvation well, and it's a miracle she survived. One of her most vivid memories was finding a whole onion somewhere - it was such a treasure... the building she lived in was destroyed by a bomb when she was in the bomb shelter. To think of it, I remember all our schools had bomb shelters, and we perceived this fact as very normal.
4. Upon entering a coffee/tea shop, what do you order?
Usually a hot mocha drink. But I'll have to see if they have any unusual flavors first.
5. What is your favourite book that you have ever read?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey... almost tie with Telegram by Putu Wijaya (now finally being translated into
English).
The Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying anything random, like your favorite lyric to your current favorite song. Or your favorite kind of sandwich. Something random. Whatever you like.
2. I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better.
3. You WILL update your LJ with the answers.
4. You will include this explanation.
5. When others comment asking to be asked, you will ask them five questions.