KIDS GATHER ROUND nah but that said, the pop machine used to demand albums every few months from bands, which isn’t that different from the pressure put on pop and rap acts now, though they only need to cough up songs, not full albums. (They also have a whole world of video/social media requirements, so let’s not pretend it was harder back then.) Led Zeppelin hit the planet in January of 1969 and Atlantic was horny for more, right away. Amidst touring, they had to cobble together their second album, which is one reason this is so good. All the excitement and pressure and stress and happiness is audible on Led Zeppelin II. They rip off Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf and other heroes and Jimmy Page will likely go to hell for not breaking off a bigger chunk for the pioneers but also—they were Led Zeppelin. If there’s an argument to be made in favor of cultural appropriation, the supporting documents are probably somewhere in here. A drummer could be such a big part of a pop act? A singer could be both manly and strange? Loud and soft can live in harmony? Where the fuck do these songs take place? In what century?