IRS follies

Overnight rain discouraged me and then wind made it clear that bicycling was out for today.

I probably could have, and maybe even should have but here comes the tax man. I am by temperament a last minute filer so today I spent the prime bicycling hours working on my taxes. I am not done yet but I have established the basics, only details need to be completed. I am on track for completion on the 14th of April, my personal favorite day to be done with this annual chore.

I was winding down from a hard day with my calculator and decided to check the inter-tubes. I found this on my Yahoo start page:

Mary J. Blige Says U2 Cover Inspired Led Zeppelin Remake

And became just a little irate. The video is not the video of the whole song but it provides lots and lots of snippets of what the final version of the song will sound like. It isn't very good. The modern remake musicians are not up to the standards of Page, Bonham and Jones. Blige brings in a bleeping symphony to try to provide the wall of music background that Zeppelin does with three guys (plus recorders on the opening and a keyboard later on). Finding someone, anyone to try to compete with Jimmy Page is a daunting task to be sure but most damning of all is that Blige can't carry a single pail of Plant's vocal waters.

Young people may want to stand aside here, this looks like it is going to turn into a rant.

IT SUCKS!

I like this live version, give it a try if you even think you might like Zeppelin. Here's something to watch for. Jimmy Page plays a double necked guitar, one neck 6 string, one neck 12. It seems likely that Page had this instrument specially made for live performance of Stairway to Heaven. Page is on the 6 string for the guitar intro then goes to the 12 string neck when the guitar is backing for Plant's vocals, but, watch for it, he goes to the 6 string neck for the guitar solo before coming back to the 12 string for the finale.

This is a great, great song by Zeppelin. Mary T. Blige should hope and pray that she might one time, just one time in her life, do something one-tenth as good.

To paraphrase what Willie and the Bees once said in a downstairs bar in Brainerd, if she does something even one-tenth that good then people might consider listening to it.