Page, Plant & Jones On Letterman Monday 12/3

[progeezer]

It looks like they are just talking rather than performing (not sure but there IS a different musical guest). Hmmm...what are they talking about?

[Jerjo]

well, I am certainly intrigued. And if even if turns out to be just a promo for the Celebration Day package, Plant and Letterman are usually good for repartee when they're together.

[Rael]

If LZ ever reformed, they could charge $750 a ticket for stadiums around the world and still not meet fan demand. I don't see it ever happening, but one never knows.

[enpdllp]

In addition to the recent release of Celebration Day, Led Zeppelin and Letterman will be recipients of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honor the night before, so I am quite sure they will have plenty to talk about their experience. The 2012 Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcasted by Letterman's network the day after Christmas, so it is very smart from CBS to start the promotion campaign for that show by bringing the surviving members of Led Zeppelin to Letterman's show.

[progeezer]

Aha! Thanks for the logical answer.:)

[JKL2000]

Thanks for the heads up, Steve. Will record this tonight.

[jlneudorf]

Going to be tuning in as well. Thanks.

Regards,
Jon

[Brave73]

A preview to tonight's interview...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xedjs1R4yg

[progeezer]

JPJ could do stand up!:lol

[ViolinCyndee]

JPJ could do stand up!:lol

He is hillarious!!!!

[-=RTFR666=-]

He is hillarious!!!!

...unlike Dave, who should give up interviewing and stick with the Top 10 Lists... :roll

[enpdllp]

...unlike Dave, who should give up interviewing and stick with the Top 10 Lists... :roll

Letterman is usually a pretty good interviewer, but last night was definitely not one of his best moments.

Still, I prefer to watch Letterman on a bad night than Leno on a good one.

[Duncan Glenday]

Letterman is usually a pretty good interviewer, but last night was definitely not one of his best moments.


That's what I came into the thread to say.

I'm not sure that I'd agree that he's a good interviewer ... but I definitely agree that Lettermanwas beyond lame on the LZ interview. Pathetic.

[enpdllp]

but I definitely agree that Lettermanwas beyond lame on the LZ interview. Pathetic.

Not to defend Letterman's poor performance last night, but I got the impression that the guys from LZ did not appear to be that comfortable being interviewed and showed up just to please the record company releasing their latest offering. Plant's jockeying for the outside chair to let Jones take most of the questioning during the interview appeared to be his way to create a buffer between him and Letterman.

[GuitarGeek]

Not to defend Letterman's poor performance last night, but I got the impression that the guys from LZ did not appear to be that comfortable being interviewed and showed up just to please the record company releasing their latest offering. Plant's jockeying for the outside chair to let Jones take most of the questioning during the interview appeared to be his way to create a buffer between him and Letterman.

I have to say, I think Dave is pretty inconsistent as an interviewer. He's good when he's talking to someone about their new movie or TV show, or when he has someone like Teri Garr on (that should tell you how old I am! Maybe not as old as Progeezer, but I remember when it seemed like she was on the show once ever other month back in the 80's). I also remember him getting Mark Wahlberg fairly recently to explain how the reason he wasn't in New Kids On His Block (his brother was in the group) was because he was in prison for grand theft auto or whatever. Actually, I'd already heard him tell that story on Top Gear, but ya know, not everyone gets BBC America, so I thought it was cool that Dave got him to tell that story.

But when it comes to interviewing news people like Rachel Maddow or Brian Williams, or when he interviews anyone even remotely connected with music, the air escapes from the balloon. He'll bring something up, but then it only gets half way talked about. It seems like Dave is totally clueless about asking good followup questions. Without getting into a political discussion, one of the times Rachel Maddow was on, she was promoting a book she had written about the military, and the insinuation she seemed to be making was that it might be a good idea to reinstate the draft. Now does it occur to Dave to actually address this? Apparently no. So this topic was just sort of left hanging there, and I'm thinking "Dammit, Dave! Learn how to ask the right questions!".

Then a few months ago, he has Sharon Osbourne. Like the first thing he asks her is, "Is true your husband likes to bite the heads of bats?!". OK, Dave, this happened once (ok, twice if count the damn dove), but it happened THIRTY YEARS AGO!!!!! Everyone already knows about it, and everyone who cares has heard Ozzy's explanation. So Sharon says, "Well, there was the one time, but it was an accident, you see. It was a misunderstanding". Dave chuckles and facetiously repeats, "Oh, it was just an accident", and instead of actually asking her to explain it further, he moves on to some other topic.

Then a few weeks he had Pete Townshend on to talk about his book. First thing Dave brings up is tinnitus. Pete then repeats the story about the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour appearance, where Keith detonated the explosive device inside his bass drum. Then at the end of the discussion, the topic of the equipment demolition comes up, and Pete explains "It was an artistic thing". Now, I don't know if they ran out of time or what, but again, that's where the topic was left hanging. No explanation of what artistic statement was being made by breaking the neck of a Rickenbacker or a pre-CBS Stratocaster in half onstage. Yeah, I guess it had nothing to do with doing something that generated instant publicity and was something that would make parents hate them instantly (which of course meant the kids would love them, just as has happened with "controversial artists" before and after The Who who similarly used ridiculous gimmicks).

Even more recently, he had Willie Nelson on. Three quarters of the way through the interview, Dave asks Willie about that old guitar that he's been playing for the last 50 years. Willie gets into explaining how the guitar he had been playing before got smashed by a drunk during a show, so he had to buy a guitar really quick to replace, and that's how he ended up with this Martin that's he now associated with. Now, instead of asking how the damn guitar ended up with an extra hole in it (which I would have thought would have been the whole point of bringing it up), Dave then says "Oh, are Martin guitars THE best guitars" or something stupid like that, as if such a thing as "the best" exists when you're talking about guitars. Willie then mentions Django Reinhardt, and that gets us sidetracked into talking about Django, and we never hear another word about the damn guitar. The thing is Dave says something like "Oh, I love that guitar of yours", so surely he knows about the hole I'm talking about, I would have liked to have heard Willie explain the story behind that, but we never got it. We also didn't get to hear about how he rescued the guitar from a fire at his ranch once.

It's like the guy periodically forgets how to get people to tell interesting stories. Compound that with his recent habit of making fun of fat people, and it at times makes me wonder why I even bother tuning in some nights.

[JIF]

Yeah, Dave is really showing his age. Conan O'Brien should get his job.

[mogrooves]

Like his hero Johnny Carson, Letterman has been "phoning it in" for years. Time to go. But Conan? Oh, puh-leez....

[Nearfest2]

Craig Feruguson!!

[Yanks2014]

Anyone want to actually discuss the interview, and not your views on Dave? I thought it was pretty cool to see, and they defintiely have a sense of humor about themsleves these days. They appeared more down to earth than I've ever seen. I guess old age has mellowed them and they are more comfirtible with who they are and what their legacy is. I didn't think they looked unconfortible at all, they seemed to enjoy themselves.

[BravadoNJ]

it's not the hosts...... talk shows have to go!

[GuitarGeek]

Like his hero Johnny Carson, Letterman has been "phoning it in" for years. Time to go. But Conan? Oh, puh-leez....

Not only is Dave "phoning it in", he even admits it, using it to generate cheap laughs. I'm sorry but deliberately getting people to "laugh at you" rather than "laugh with you" is pathetic. It's the reason why I never liked the likes of Andy Kaufman, Chris Farley, etc.

And turning bad material around so that it was funny was something Johnny was great at. I remember one show where a joke during the monologue flopped, so he reaches up to the boom mic pulls it down, and goes "testing, one, two...clean up in aisle 9!". That was funny.

But Dave, half the time, can't even tell the jokes right. He either screws up the setup, says the wrong name, or messes up the punchline. And he carries on likes it's a live show, like he couldn't just do another take and edit out the clam. Last night, he had a guy who is in a new movie called The Promised Land (did anyone notice the band played the Chuck Berry that song of that name when the guest came out?), and Dave refers to the movie title as "Graceland". It was funny when back in the NBC days, because he only did it occasionally. But now he does it nearly every night.

And then there's long endless stories like he's tell before, or sometimes in place of, the top 10 list. I have the understanding they do a top 10 list every night, but Dave gets so wrapped up in telling his occasionally funny, but more often completely boring, there's no time to air the top 10 list. One night, he had Michelle Obama read a top ten list. Since the top ten list had a gardening theme (I think tying into a book the First Lady had just written or something like that), Dave launches into this stupid story about how his family had a garden when he was growing up. He goes on and on about the vegetables his parents grew, yada yada yada. Well, he went on so long (and he even noted this later) that they didn't have time to air all of Mrs. Obama's piece (which was pre-recorded) during the segment. At the end of the bit, Dave was supposed to thank her, and she was supposed to say goodnight. Well, they had to save that bit for after the commercial break.

Now, if Dave had been smart, he'd have ditched the stupid story, and if he was really smart, he'd have not drawn attention to the fact that Mrs. Obama's part of the show was pre-recorded. He'd have just played it as if he was actually speaking to her live via satellite.

The thing is, when the writers are delivering funny material, and Dave behaves like he actually showed up for rehearsal, the show is still funny. But it's like he's realized that CBS isn't going to drop the hammer on him, so he's under no pressure to do a consistent program.

[GuitarGeek]

Craig Feruguson!!

I still can't believe he had Archbishop Desmond Tutu on. And actually did a good job of interviewing him!

[GuitarGeek]

Anyone want to actually discuss the interview, and not your views on Dave? I thought it was pretty cool to see, and they defintiely have a sense of humor about themsleves these days. They appeared more down to earth than I've ever seen. I guess old age has mellowed them and they are more comfirtible with who they are and what their legacy is. I didn't think they looked unconfortible at all, they seemed to enjoy themselves.

The interview was just awright, but it would have been much better if Dave wasn't such a boob, or if he had done some research beforehand. About the only part that actually was any good was when he asked why they decided to stop after Bonzo died, rather than carrying on with a replacement, and I thought Page's response was actually pretty insightful into the inner workings of the band. And while they talked about the blues influence, Zep obviously had lots of influences from what might be loosely termed "world music" or "folk music", but you'd have never known it from that interview.

I thought Plant, Page, and JPJ did well, but you can only do so much when the idiot conducting the interview doesn't know how to ask the right questions. I especially liked JPJ's "How many nos do you want?" response to Dave's run on question about other musicians (Dave does that a lot, where he'll ask about five questions in the space of one sentence. I'm waiting for someone to sit there and say "Are you done asking the question yet?").

[malterb]

First thing I learned in journalism class was that the audience want to hear the person being interviewed talk, not the interviewer. Ask good shoort questions, Letterman rambled on.

Portnoy tweeted yesterday that he believes there is more to come from Zeppelin...

[enpdllp]

I still can't believe he had Archbishop Desmond Tutu on. And actually did a good job of interviewing him!

That was a great interview that lasted the whole show, but it felt way shorter. It got Ferguson a Peabody Award.

[mogrooves]

..... talk shows have to go!

Agreed. They're so 70s....

[Duncan Glenday]

Not only is Dave "phoning it in", he even admits it, using it to generate cheap laughs. I'm sorry but deliberately getting people to "laugh at you" rather than "laugh with you" is pathetic. It's the reason why I never liked the likes of Andy Kaufman, Chris Farley, etc.

And turning bad material around so that it was funny was something Johnny was great at. I remember one show where a joke during the monologue flopped, so he reaches up to the boom mic pulls it down, and goes "testing, one, two...clean up in aisle 9!". That was funny.

But Dave, half the time, can't even tell the jokes right. He either screws up the setup, says the wrong name, or messes up the punchline. And he carries on likes it's a live show, like he couldn't just do another take and edit out the clam. Last night, he had a guy who is in a new movie called The Promised Land (did anyone notice the band played the Chuck Berry that song of that name when the guest came out?), and Dave refers to the movie title as "Graceland". It was funny when back in the NBC days, because he only did it occasionally. But now he does it nearly every night.

And then there's long endless stories like he's tell before, or sometimes in place of, the top 10 list. I have the understanding they do a top 10 list every night, but Dave gets so wrapped up in telling his occasionally funny, but more often completely boring, there's no time to air the top 10 list. One night, he had Michelle Obama read a top ten list. Since the top ten list had a gardening theme (I think tying into a book the First Lady had just written or something like that), Dave launches into this stupid story about how his family had a garden when he was growing up. He goes on and on about the vegetables his parents grew, yada yada yada. Well, he went on so long (and he even noted this later) that they didn't have time to air all of Mrs. Obama's piece (which was pre-recorded) during the segment. At the end of the bit, Dave was supposed to thank her, and she was supposed to say goodnight. Well, they had to save that bit for after the commercial break.

Now, if Dave had been smart, he'd have ditched the stupid story, and if he was really smart, he'd have not drawn attention to the fact that Mrs. Obama's part of the show was pre-recorded. He'd have just played it as if he was actually speaking to her live via satellite.

The thing is, when the writers are delivering funny material, and Dave behaves like he actually showed up for rehearsal, the show is still funny. But it's like he's realized that CBS isn't going to drop the hammer on him, so he's under no pressure to do a consistent program.

Couldn't have said it better.

And when the interviewer fucks up the interview, the replies from the interviewee are usually about as lame. Hence - we could have learned a LOT more about LZ, but didn't because of a pathetically weak interview.


First thing I learned in journalism class was that the audience want to hear the person being interviewed talk, not the interviewer. Ask good shoort questions, Letterman rambled on.


This is why I desperately hate watching interviews by people like Katie Couric (and many others, but she's the worst). They'll make a position statement for 5 minutes, then ask the interviewee if they agree.

I want to hear the guest, not an overpaid, self-opinionated interviewer!

[Jerjo]

Not to defend Letterman's poor performance last night, but I got the impression that the guys from LZ did not appear to be that comfortable being interviewed and showed up just to please the record company releasing their latest offering. Plant's jockeying for the outside chair to let Jones take most of the questioning during the interview appeared to be his way to create a buffer between him and Letterman.

I wondered about that. Plant has appeared on Letterman many times and they've always appeared to get along. In interviews he gets the most questions because he's the most gregarious of the three. I suspect he was just giving Jonesy and Page a chance to get their 3 cents in other than seeing their lead singer blather on as usual.

[GuitarGeek]

First thing I learned in journalism class was that the audience want to hear the person being interviewed talk, not the interviewer. Ask good shoort questions, Letterman rambled on.



Yeah, good point. The run on question that got the "How many nos do you want" response was a good example of Dave just not knowing how to do the job right. Plant kinda touched on it, but it would have been nice if either Page or JPJ had talked a bit about their days as session musicians, which kinda did fit the "Did you play with any of your contemporaries" clause of the question.

But the worst musician interview I've ever seen is still the Regis and Kathie Lee appearance back around 93 or 94 of Bill Bruford and Steve Howe. A lot of people talk about the miserable version of Roundabout they played, but the interview was equally unbearable. First of all they introduce Howe as an "original member of Yes", then we have to get a dissertation on what "original member" means, as if nobody in the audience understands the concept of musicians leaving bands and the being replaced. Then we get the bit where they start showing the album covers, which looked to have been bought the afternoon before at a used record store. At one point, Regis says "You guys had a really dark image". No they didn't, Regis, and you would know that if you'd actually done some research on your guests beforehand!

Of course, my personal favorite interview is the Kiss appearance on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, back in 79. That could have also been a dull interview, but thankfully, Ace downed an entire case of Peppermint Schnapps before the show, and saved the day (even if he did piss Gene off in the process).

[Yanks2014]

it's not the hosts...... talk shows have to go!

Then don't watch them. Not sure why they have to go, I quite like seeing interviews like these.

[Yanks2014]

This is why I desperately hate watching interviews by people like Katie Couric (and many others, but she's the worst). They'll make a position statement for 5 minutes, then ask the interviewee if they agree.


I have to totally agree with you on Couric. What's her talent exactly? And she makes millions. Great gig if you can get it, and the only ability needed is to read a telepromter or ask dopey questions. She's apparently great at the latter.

[JSS]

Anyone want to actually discuss the interview, and not your views on Dave? I thought it was pretty cool to see, and they defintiely have a sense of humor about themsleves these days. They appeared more down to earth than I've ever seen. I guess old age has mellowed them and they are more comfirtible with who they are and what their legacy is. I didn't think they looked unconfortible at all, they seemed to enjoy themselves.

^what he said

[Jerjo]

The boys certainly seemed relaxed. Jones was more talkative than we've seen before. Page has gotten more reflective with age but still passionate about the music. His scenes in It Might Get Loud were great, especially in that music room of his.