Ok, ok, everybody calm down, not good where this is going. All popcorn bags munched in anticipation of schoolyard fights are herewith confiscated by the hippie teacher from Beavis & Butthead, jawohl!
You may like Led Zep or Metallica or not, but let's not turn this into a slagging match against Terr/RnB. We all know him, he's very - how shall I put this - "emotionally protective" over the bands or things in general he likes and his remark how the critics have nothing better to musically contribute is probably the age-oldest and lamest criticism of the criticized towards their critics. (There is a also German proverbial standard reply to it: "You don't need to be a baker to taste when the rolls are burnt.") But Terr assailing the critics as a collective isn't bettered by the critics assailing him as an individual. And with all due respect for those who loved underground Metallica, not knowing the brand of their original amps (I certainly don't and the way Hetfield plays he probably doesn't need a Rectifier or whatever so sound like he does) is as irrelevant for having an opinion on them as being able to show personal musical contributions to the world at large. To some people the latter might even be the disposal of Metallica and Led Zep CDs into the t(h)rash, who knows? ; - )
And Terr, sometimes, only sometimes giving a reason for liking something rather than repeating platitudes or declaring all those not in agreement incompetent goes a long way. Like when you wrote that you saw Led Zep in their early days up close a few times which must have been a physical experience in sheer intensity and which in my view perfectly validates your emotional attachment to them. I haven't forgotten my first Status Quo concert either. (For the avoidance of doubt I hastento add: I herewith irrevocably accept that both Led Zep's and Metallica's influence on rock music has been substantially greater than Status Quo's, ok?)
Uwe
