Before I tell this story, a little context:
I recently moved to Pemberton, and I also work a lot of evenings. Often, I’m driving home after 1am. So I decided to put an album on every drive back - partly to keep my music knowledge alive, partly to keep me motivated on the drive home. I don’t get through the entire album, but I’ll sometimes sit in my car once I’m parked and finish the song I’m listening to, or pop the headphones in. Recent entries have been: Smash by the Offspring, Outkast’s ATLiens, Bryan Adams’ Waking up the Neighbours (shut up), and for obvious reasons, Ozzy’s Blizzard of Oz (RIP).
The other night, I listened to Led Zeppelin IV - an undeniable classic. The first three tracks are as follows (it doesn’t matter if you don’t know the names, but you will know the songs if you look them up): Black Dog, Rock and Roll, The Battle of Evermore. Now, …Evermore is a good song, but when I’m trying to keep my wits about me while operating heavy machinery, it’s not ideal. So I skipped it to move to the 4th track: Stairway to Heaven.
I have to describe the drive from Whistler to Pemberton for a lot of you at this point: it’s a long, mostly downhill drive north, with some uneventful turning and only a couple of 2 lane passing opportunities. Then there is Suicide Hill (hey, I didn’t name it): an aggressive uphill double-S-turn, about 3/4 of the way home. The first corner has you drop down to 40kph just so you don’t careen into a logging truck coming downhill with glowing red brakes.
Little did I know, when I skipped …Evermore, that I would be staring into the face of glory. A few seconds before or after and I would have nothing to write about. Stairway… is 8 minutes long, the first 6 of which is a slow, noodling story we’ve all heard in a guitar store somewhere. At 6 minutes - just as I’m coming into the first corner - the solo kicks in, and it lasts my entire drive up this hill right until the vocals come back, shrieking “And as we wind on down the road/Our shadows taller than our souls” as I round the final corner into a long straightaway.
Reader, as I pushed the gas I wound the window down, and held my fist in the air, alone on a Monday night, laughing in incredulity as if I had been spoken to by something ethereal, bigger than any of us.
Anyway, for more updates on what I’m listening to late at night, I post them on Instagram. Taking suggestions.
Keep rocking.