Led Zeppelin, after many years of keeping their song catalog close to the vest when it comes to Hollywood film and TV scores, recently allowed their music to grace screens big and small as background fodder. Open to the idea of giving.
Former Zepp frontman Robert Plant says the approach is built on a vision of wanting to introduce his music to new generations of children. But eligible Hollywood projects, Plant said, are few and far between.
“Music is dynamic,” said Plant. an in-depth interview with vulture, “It is there, sitting there, and happily waiting for romance or nuance or substance to add to that film. But they are hard to come by.
Plant said in an apparently rare discussion with the website that the choices to license his songs were made between him, former lead guitarist Jimmy Page, and former bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones.
Plant said, “I’m not responsible for making all the decisions about where we allow our music.” “It’s a group decision. There are two Capricorns and a Leo. We have to go through the whole thing together. Not to generalize, but often we are presented with a scene that’s in the script or cut of a movie. When something is uncomfortable, unpleasant, or frankly not the right place for our music, we say no.
Led Zeppelin, at their 1970s peak and then for years following the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, were tight-lipped with their musical license when they decided they would not carry on as a band. Scenes backed by a familiar album riff or plant well were not unseen or unheard of, and some even made their way into the pop culture consciousness – 1982’s “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” or the car-dating scene in Low Hanging’s “Kashmir”. Think of the fruition of the universally banned “Stairway to Heaven” guitar-store riff in 1992’s “Wayne’s World.” But for many years they were not fertile in any way.
By the turn of the century, Plant and his bandmates appear to have changed their tune. Thanks to a continued individual effort by Jack Black, “The Immigrant Song” in “School of Rock” was made a memorable, if not a memorable Zepp-driven scene.
Plant stated that his decision to use the song in the 2003 comedy was non-interference.
“My response is: Why not? Our songs didn’t come from Valhalla,” said Plant. “It’s not even a favorite destination. I like the idea of taking the hammer another time. Jack Black made a great meal of it. That’s a killer guitar riff. Isn’t that shameful ‘immigrant song’ easy to play for kids, By the way. Young and old everyone gets it. It’s a great song. Not just a little funny but funny. Considering we left Iceland and wrote it in mid-air – a fantastically inspiring gig and an adventure Work, beyond which no book will be written.
“It’s important to pass it on to the kids,” he said. “Send it up, send it down, and just keep sending it. Just dig it because there’s no hierarchy. There are bigger risks. There are risks that are immediately lucrative.”
The Zeppelin catalog has continued to be used by Hollywood in recent years as Plant, Page and Jones adopted it. For example, “Immigrant Song” also drove the score — and energy — for 2017’s “Thor: Ragnarok.”
And Zeppelin has also produced several other major Hollywood productions of note including “The Big Short” (2015), “American Hustle” (2013) “Silver Linings Playbook” (2012), “Argo” (2012) “The Fighter” (2010) Shaken and kept. and the HBO series “Sharp Objects.”
Plant said that the “immigrant song” went full circle from its inception on 1970’s Led Zeppelin III until “School of Rock” helped it “blow our myth skyward”.
Plant said, “Jimmy Page’s got that thing down.” “I thought ‘The Immigrant Song’ was great because it goes back to the dark ages influence on me. I’m sitting here looking in the dark at a building that was built in the 15th century. It’s not a fancy building Well, it’s just a building that has been brought back from a thousand different deaths. I know before the Civil War, before Cromwell came through here, and before everybody went into hiding. Before, before, before, before , first, first, first. That Viking side of stuff is a lot of fun. They used a big f-off drum to select the speed of the oars. Everyone’s seen Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas in ‘The Vikings’ This is very thought provoking.
“So to give it to the kids, it’s great. I mean, Jack Black’s got it right. That’s the risk. All my grandchildren are going to be able to play Jack Black’s riffs. I think ‘ It was the perfect thing to do with ‘School of Rock’ blowing our myth to the skies for a while. Because it’s all myth. It doesn’t matter. I’ve seen the movie and I found it funny.”
