It Might Get Streamed

So, as I mentioned earlier, while Ms. Spenser was out re-watching a chick flick, I Watched Instantly the guitar documentary It Might Get Loud. It features Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge, and Jack White, talking separately and together about guitars, rock and loudness.

The conceit is something like this: Brash young Mr. White likes a raw sound - he can play on a guitar made out of a piece of scrap wood, some wire, nails and a coke bottle. Mr. Edge is a sound technician - he layers effects so that a single power chord sounds like a symphony. Mr. Page is just an ordinary rock god.

That worked pretty much. Unfortunately, Jack White dresses like a Johnny Depp-from-Benny-and-Joon impersonator and spouts pretentious trash talk that he can't back up. The Edge (can I call you "The"?) is articulate, but I'm not all that interested in his style of playing. Jimmy Page's sections were the most interesting to me, talking about his days as a teenage session player before he joined Zep. There just wasn't enough of it.

These three jam together a bit, which can be quite nice or a little funny. The Edge has a little trouble joining in on some slide blues, and Jimmy Page protests that he can't sing when they are doing "The Weight". All in all, I would have rather heard a lot more playing and a lot less talking.