One Hell of a Meeting of the Minds

Hello my lovelies. I know I haven't written for a while, and for that I do apologize. At the start of 2010, I made a few promises to myself, one of which was that I would write more. I figured I would promise to do things, instead of resolving, in the hopes that I was better able to do what I had said I was going to do. One of these is to write more. It is my hope that you are all the beneficiaries of this promise I've made myself. So, with a little assist from the "Quiet Beatle" playing in the background ("Marwa Blues" to be exact), I offer you the following. Enjoy.

As some of may, or may not know, a few months back, I had mentioned a movie called It Might Get Loud in the blog (and here is a link to my original post.) It's a documentary featuring Jack White, The Edge and the legendary Jimmy Page.

I actually got this film from Santa (and by Santa Claus, I mean me) for Christmas. If you're a fan of any of these three guitarists, or at the very least, enjoy music, do yourselves a favor and watch, rent or buy this movie.

The movie covers the lives of the three virtuosos, discussing their backgrounds, influences, and recording careers. It also features a meeting of the three that took place on a sound stage in early 2008.

Additionally, the film delves into the process of creating a song. In the case of The Edge, the film offers a view into the song "Get on Your Boots," from U2's most recent effort No Line on the Horizon, moving from a very rough take of the song to near it's completion. In the case of Jack White, he literally wrote a song on the fly during the filming and debuts it during the movie. Don't be surprised to see "Fly Farm Blues" be nominated for an Oscar in the near future.

White also provides some of the better looks of the movie. I know this statement may sound a bit odd, but it must be remembered that Page was playing in and heading towards the finish of his run with Led Zeppelin when White was born in 1975. White just mostly sits, guitar on leg, listening to Edge and Page talk about their playing styles and creative process. It's like he's a little kid listening to his grandfather and father tell stories. In this case, though, the people telling stories are arguably among the better guitarists of all time.

The highlight of the film occurs near the end with the three playing part of the Zeppelin classic "In My Time of Dying" (Here is a version of the song from the recent Zeppelin one off reunion in London.) Edge and White each put their own spin on the song, all the while being respectful to the writer of the song playing it next to them.

Why should you see this movie? I would say because it offers a great look into the creative process of a musician and a fellow artist (I see myself as artist--except I use words). Also, it's just a great way to spend 90 or so minutes.