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January 4 2012

austinkleon: No Stairway! Denied! Wikipedia: While in the music store, Wayne (Myers) tries out a guitar by starting to play “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, and is stopped by a salesman (often falsely credited as Dana Strum from the band Slaughter), who points to a sign on the wall of the sales floor, which says “No Stairway To Heaven”. The joke references the fact that in a number of guitar stores in the UK, the song is banned from being played due to the fact that so many people tried to play the guitar portions of the song after its release, employees became sick of hearing it. Something that has always bothered me in the guitar store scene: Wayne doesn’t actually play the first four notes from “Stairway To Heaven.” Turns out, for a reason: Wayne’s performance existed in original 35mm theatrical prints, but, due to the band’s licensing restrictions, the notes performed were changed for home video and television broadcasts and bear very little resemblance to the original, and the point of the joke is lost. See, the first time I saw Wayne’s World, I was in the 4th grade, laid up with chicken pox, watching it on VHS. I just scoured the internet to see if somebody’s YouTubed the original print, to no success. (Although, somebody did try dubbing them in.) Four notes! Insanity. Amazing. (And amazingly stupid.)

austinkleon:

No Stairway! Denied!

Wikipedia:

While in the music store, Wayne (Myers) tries out a guitar by starting to play “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, and is stopped by a salesman (often falsely credited as Dana Strum from the band Slaughter), who points to a sign on the wall of the sales floor, which says “No Stairway To Heaven”. The joke references the fact that in a number of guitar stores in the UK, the song is banned from being played due to the fact that so many people tried to play the guitar portions of the song after its release, employees became sick of hearing it.

Something that has always bothered me in the guitar store scene: Wayne doesn’t actually play the first four notes from “Stairway To Heaven.” Turns out, for a reason:

Wayne’s performance existed in original 35mm theatrical prints, but, due to the band’s licensing restrictions, the notes performed were changed for home video and television broadcasts and bear very little resemblance to the original, and the point of the joke is lost.

See, the first time I saw Wayne’s World, I was in the 4th grade, laid up with chicken pox, watching it on VHS.

I just scoured the internet to see if somebody’s YouTubed the original print, to no success. (Although, somebody did try dubbing them in.)

Four notes! Insanity.

Amazing. (And amazingly stupid.)

  1. shortcutss reblogged this from sisifo
  2. fried-chickenn reblogged this from austinkleon and added:
    stairway, denied!
  3. sayingshit reblogged this from austinkleon
  4. hippie1993 reblogged this from austinkleon
  5. ohyeahandbytheway said: I thought I remembered it actually being played in the theater! Solved at last…
  6. dionysus11 reblogged this from austinkleon
  7. chiyozi reblogged this from sisifo
  8. circlesoffire reblogged this from austinkleon and added:
    Amazing. (And amazingly stupid.)
  9. billyxransom said: that doesn’t even make sense. it amounts to a minor chord. one that has been played 50,000,000 times. wtf i hate industries
  10. sisifo reblogged this from austinkleon
  11. austinkleon posted this