Darkest Depths of Mordor -- Led Zeppelin

[Felon]

It may just be me but I never had a problem understanding the lyrics to that song...

The "Motor Law" and weekly crime hinted at it, but the gleaming alloy aircars that were 2 lanes wide getting caught at the one-lane bridge sold it for me.

So from a reference to a "motor law" and a really big car, your mind went straight to "hey, man, this song takes place in the future"? You're better at divining lyrics than I am. I always wondered why the other cars are chasing him. To me the lyrics were up for grabs until I eventually looked them up...Was that "motor law" or "motor locked"? Was that "alloy aircar" or "loader car"? Too many years of listenting to beat up cassete tapes because I wouldn't move on to CD's may be a contributing factor.

 

[Remus Lupin]

Yeah, being able to understand the lyrics helps a great deal in picking out the sci-fi and fantasy tropes, and i agree that's not always possible with either Geddy Lee's screech or Robert Plant's screech.

But I too picked right up on the science fiction aspects of "Red Barchetta."

 

[Felon]

Despite giving Bullgrit and his (pretend?) brother a hard time about "Ramble On", it is a well-known phenomenon that people tune out lyrics and conjure up their own stories. In fact, a couple of songs spring to mind about that: Missing Person' "Words" and Blue's Travellers' "The Hook".

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

So from a reference to a "motor law" and a really big car, your mind went straight to "hey, man, this song takes place in the future"? You're better at divining lyrics than I am. I always wondered why the other cars are chasing him. To me the lyrics were up for grabs until I eventually looked them up...Was that "motor law" or "motor locked"? Was that "alloy aircar" or "loader car"? Too many years of listenting to beat up cassete tapes because I wouldn't move on to CD's may be a contributing factor.

Its a combo of reading a LOT of sci-fi/fantasy, listening to a LOT of music (my CD collection alone is over 5000- no, that's not a typo- and I play guitar, bass, cello and sing), and the fact that, on this song at least, I had no problem deciphering Geddy's lyrics as sung.

 

[Bullgrit]

Bullgrit and his (pretend?) brother

LOL! It would annoy him greatly to have someone think he's just a figment of my imagination. :-D It's bad enough for him that I "force" him to use a pseudonym on my site rather than his real name.

Brogrit is really my brother -- he has been a regular commenter on my blog for as long as I've been writing it, even if it's just to call me a nerd.

And I think it's hilarious that he seems to take umbrage at the idea that Led Zeppelin referenced LotR in some of their songs.

Bullgrit

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just remind him that the works of Tolkien and CS Lewis would have been circulating around the England of Plant's, Page's, Jones' and Bonham's youth...

And that European schools tend to teach a broader range of subjects and writers than do American ones.