This week’s selected media, November 30, 2025: Led Zeppelin, Greenwashed, Fugazi: Instrument, Hamilton
This week I finished:
Led Zeppelin: The Biography, by Bob Spitz: I saw a different biography of Led Zeppelin by chance at the library. After reading memoirs of Keith Richards and Bruce Springsteen, plus for a diversion from all the studying of constitutional and corruption stuff, I felt like reading it. I looked up reviews and opted for this one.
I loved it. I couldn’t stop. I grew up loving classic rock. I knew their music but not much of their history. Most of all, I loved the vision and resolve of Jimmy Page to start a band based on music he wanted to play, knew the world would love, and that no one was doing. Then I loved hearing of them playing together, hitting it off.
I found that part inspirational and motivational for my work. I have a vision. I need to express myself with less reserve, more personally, persistently, and to reach a global audience so they clamor for more. I know people want the message I’ve developed.
I recommend this book.
Greenwashed, by Chris Packham and Sofia Pineda Ochoa: Podcast guest David Gardner recommended this documentary. I liked it for Ochoa sharing her personal journey, learning at each stage of living more sustainably that she hadn’t reached the root.
Still, the movie mostly presented facts, numbers, and instruction. It didn’t delve into why people feel helpless and hopeless. It didn’t reach leadership. I’m not sure how many people it will reach who don’t already agree, or of those who don’t agree, how many it will persuade.
But I give her great praise and admiration for taking on a challenging topic that we as a species must relearn to be able to talk about without thinking it means eugenics etc.
I recommend it.
Fugazi Instrument, directed by Jem Cohen: Sophomore year in college was 1989 and my roommate was from Washington DC. He listened to Fugazi, Minor Threat, and I forget the others, but I remember him valuing Fugazi’s practices of including the audience, not overcharging, and creating their own label to combat music industry practices.
Recently, a friend who is making a documentary about a punk band recommended this movie. She said it stood apart from many documentaries for its style.
I’ve never considered myself a fan of punk, hardcore, or whatever Fugazi’s style was called, but I liked their message and practices so I watched. I liked it, especially how it showed them on stage. I still doubt I’d go to one of their concerts, though now that I think of it, I think I did see them play at Columbia, but I was impressed with the tightness of their playing. They dance and contort weird but uninhibited in expressing something personal.
I couldn’t help thinking how disconnected their scene seemed from nature. Even when they were outdoors, they seemed far from appreciating and enjoying time walking among trees, camping, or just relaxing outdoors. I think that disconnect, if I didn’t misread, made them more withdrawn. However freely they expressed whatever motivated their dancing, that emotion seemed to come from something trapped.
The Led Zeppelin book talked about how important their stays at the rustic Bron-Yr-Aur cottage were. Jimmy Page said:
Robert [Plant] and I went to Bron-Yr-Aur in 1970. We’d been working solidly right up to that point. Even recordings were done on the road. We had this time off and Robert suggested the cottage. I certainly hadn’t been to that area of Wales. So we took our guitars down there and played a few bits and pieces. This wonderful countryside, panoramic views and having the guitars … it was just an automatic thing to be playing. And we started writing.
Later he added:
…was the first time I really came to know Robert [Plant]. Actually living together at Bron-Yr-Aur, as opposed to occupying nearby hotel rooms. The songs took us into areas that changed the band, and it established a standard of travelling for inspiration… which is the best thing a musician can do.
Hamilton (2020 film), directed by Thomas Kail, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda: While reading Gordon Wood stuff online after reading a couple of his books, I saw he reviewed this musical at the New York Review of Books.
As I’m reading so much about the Constitution, Declaration, Revolution, and Founders, and having heard so much fanfare about the musical, how could I not watch it.
Sadly, when it started, I didn’t like it. Something about big Broadway productions turns me off. It started with exposition, then was mostly exposition for the whole show.
It made the historical characters more accessible, which I appreciated, but I don’t think I liked any of the acting. I felt like making the bad guys—the king and Tories—all white clowns made it feel like a minstrel show. Maybe they should have had nonwhite actors play them in whiteface.
If you’re into big productions, you’ll enjoy it, but I was disappointed. Also, I’m spoiled from Yi Yi, Brighter Summer Day, Tokyo Story, and Grande Illusion. I like subtlety and meaning more than big production.
Retry later