Fleeting

So I stopped playing the Age of Conan beta rather quickly. I don't think it's because it's a bad game; I don't think it is. I just think that the MMORPG genre and I are completely done for a good while. After my WoW cold turkey it's just not the same anymore. The games take way too much time and are more like a job to me than they're actually fun. Age of Conan did have very gorgeous graphics though and is pioneering in several areas. But I honestly think its success will be a bit limited by the release of Wrath of the Lich King. Some people may leave the WoW account base, but new people start playing it every day, and the lumbering behemoth that is Activision Blizzard will keep making tons of money.

On another note I've started listening to some old music. Not really old as in 19th century, but more like music from the 70s and stuff. I had heard about Led Zeppelin but not really listened to much of their music. When I started listening to Stairway to Heaven I couldn't see the point at first. Then I listened to it a few times more... And now it is more or less stuck with me.
There is a lot of more modern music that I absolutely love, but it does not change the fact that Stairway to Heaven is one of the most soulful songs I've ever heard. The fact that it took a little while for me to really grasp its meaning and beauty makes it even more significant to me.
It's not all about the coolest guitar solos or most fast-paced lyrics. One might point out solos that are more technicically impressive and complex than the one in Stairway, but I think there will always be a trade-off if suddenly a song focusses too much on one aspect; whereas in Stairway, as far as I see it, the timing is just right. Jimmy Page's long solo comes after a huge build-up; the song takes its time to place itself in the minds and hearts of the ones listening to it. Pressure is slowly building up and once the guitar starts screaming it is released in a way that is just full of soul and power. It fits into what seems to me a pure whole, whereas in some other songs I know the guitar solo is just there for its own sake.

I may sound pretentious and purist as hell, but I'm just saying what I think, and if someone wants to disagree, that's fine... but I just can't get enough of that song.