Jimmy Page's & His Self-Indulgent Memoir

This infuriates me to no end. Jimmy Page is an aging rock n' roll icon that used to play guitar for a band called Led Zeppelin. I never really liked Zeppelin. I'm an avid rock n' roll fan, but I can never help but think how would have the landscape of music been if they had never existed and someone Jimi Hendrix had got the dance floor to himself. I'm aware they influenced a lot of lives, and that they are still worshipped by many. They have awakened consciences to the power of rock n' roll...and that makes the follow a bigger...scratch that...and UNBEARABLE crime.

So Jimmy got a phone call on his diamond incrusted Blackberry that conveyed a proposition to write his memoir. It's a good idea, I mean, I have talked about memoirs in the past and I figure out Jimmy Jim might have a thing or two to say. But saying things for Page is the least attractive way of doing a book.

Instead, he's going to publish a 500 pages "visual documentary" of his career. The idea of having a photo book for autobiography sounds a little lazy and petulant already, I know. Fundamentally I still don't have a problem with this. Other people did it before. Music has became something visual over the years. What drives me mad with anger is that Page is going to change 445 Euros for his tome.

445 Euros

Stay it.

Aloud.

Doesn't it sound obscene?

As of today (September 18th, 2010), it's 581$ in American dollars and 596$ in my own Canadian currency. I can hear you from here. Why is it so expensive? It's a 2 500 copies limited edition handbound book, rendered with Moroccan leather...and written with...this is the funniest part..."a unique perspex front". I don't even know what that means. What an un-Rock N' Roll thing to do. Rock is about masses coming together and being all one in the crowd. No matter how rich or poor you are, in a venue, you're just another fan. What a stupid idea to turn his "life story" into an overpriced object of collection. Maybe Jimmy isn't aware of his, but not all his fans are Bono. Neither they live in a villa near Madrid.

I thought we had democratized the access to books with Gutenberg's press in the 1400's. A popular icon, out of all people, pulls his work away from those who made him filthy rich like he is? It's the most disgusting, disconnected and egostical move I have seen from the celebrity culture in a while and it's touching the book industry, which I love so much.

But I have faith in the internet. This unforgiving monster of anonymity. I have good hope that a buyer will scan the whole thing and put it on the net for free. In that case, I will download it and keep it on my hard drive to share with people.

Jimmy Page, you will not get away with this.