The Runny Pen

I remember an agent in LA named Chris Ridenhour turned me onto The White Stripes. I didn’t get them at first, didn’t know if I liked them or hated them. It was pretty raw, not always in tune. But I found myself listening to the CD over and over. He also passed me a disc of The Strokes and I listened to that once and found it whole-heartedly annoying. And so it was more of The Stripes. Eventually, I firmed upon the decision that I liked them. The lack of bass guitar somehow worked as did their peppermint candy, red and white aesthetic. On my birthday in 2002, my cousin Kate in Philadelphia gave me their ‘Elephant’ disc with that classic opening riff for ‘Seven Nation Army’ which I listened to every day in the shower. At that point I was beyond liking them, I was a full-blown fan.

But when I read that the documentary “It Might Get Loud” was basically a guitar conversation between Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, U2’s The Edge and Jack White, well, I wasn’t sure that White had quite earned his stripes yet to be in the same room with these masters. And now having watched this documentary more than once, I am convinced otherwise.

I don’t like reviews that are just film summaries but I will tell you that Page has inexplicably transcended his age and stature. His white mane of hair frame a face still giddy about the guitar. Of the three musicians, Page seems the most youthful and White the cranky old bluesman. The Edge is teaching the two of them to play U2’s “I Will Follow” and Page is the last to get the riff. But when he does the Edge looks at Jimmy and says: “There’s a punk rocker in this man!”

The Edge emits that famous Irish, self-deprecating charm while explaining his techniques at his riverside studio in Dublin. You don’t have to be a musician to enjoy this documentary. You just have to have turned on the radio at some point in the last forty years to enjoy these three men sharing their slant on the music that has shaped modern culture. They are beyond passionate about guitar playing; the guitar is their religion. And the biographies detailing their individual journeys are both baffling and inspiring. These three international guitar heroes pinpoint moments of breakthrough when they moved beyond guitarist to songwriter. And yet, they each struggle to articulate a reason for their endless compulsion to become more competent.

Okay, here’s my spoiler. Zeppelin’s “In My Time Of Dying” led by Jimmy Page with Jack White and The Edge accenting the riff is the most exciting sound these ears have heard in years.