Thursday, August 28, 2008

Press plays 'whisper down the lane' with Jason Bonham interview

It is so funny to track stories like Jason Bonham's interview and see how his statements are taken further and further out of context as each new media outlet gets a hold of it.
  • True: Jason said nothing about Robert Plant. Wrong interpretation: Jason said Robert wasn't involved in the rehearsals. Further wrong interpretation: Jason said Robert turned down offers to reunite Led Zeppelin.
  • True: Jason said Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and he were jamming on new material for an unknown project. Wrong interpretation: Jason said the three were writing for a new Led Zeppelin album. Further wrong interpretation: Jason said the three were rehearsing for a Led Zeppelin world tour. Even further wrong interpretation: Jimmy Plant says he's rehearsing a new version of "Smoke on the Water" for a Deep Purple tour of China with Leona Lewis.
But seriously, folks, here's what the popular press said in the last few days ever since Jason Bonham broke the news of his jam sessions with Page and Jones:
  • NME was altogether too eager to pounce on Bonham's words and insert some reference to an album -- I guess to push interest. NME's Aug. 26 story about Led Zeppelin bears the subheadline "A new album could be on the way." It quotes heavily from Bonham's radio interview but interjects its own words in brackets to support the imaginary storyline of a forthcoming Led Zeppelin album. Look at all the words in brackets in the following excerpt from the NME story:
"When I get there [in the studio] I never ask any questions. If I get a phone call to go and play, I enjoy every moment of it. Whatever it ends up as, to ever get a chance to jam with two people like that, it is a phenomenal thing for me. It's my life. It's what I've dreamed about doing.
"[The] possibility of doing something [like an album] is on the cards. I really felt it was on the cards from the moment we walked offstage at the O2 [Arena].
"Lots of politics [would need to] get ironed out [before an album could be made]."
Drummer Bonham told a radio station in Detroit that the songs could be destined for a new Led Zeppelin album.
...
But lead singer Robert Plant has not been involved in any of the sessions, he added.
Really, Jason Bonham never mentioned Robert Plant's name, just as he never mentioned an album.

If you hear either mentioned by him when you listen to the actual radio interview, it's time to get your head examined.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated prior to publication. Comments will not be published if they are deemed vulgar, defamatory or otherwise objectionable.