Hots on for Nowhere - 1993 Remaster

Robert Plant wrote the lyrics in Malibu while recovering from a car accident. The band wrote the rest of the song in a German studio in about an hour. They had to finish the album quickly because the Rolling Stones needed to use the studio.

In an audio documentary on the band, Plant said that the lyrics reflected not only his physically trapped situation at the time, but his general frustrations with Jimmy Page and their manager Peter Grant, whom Plant was convinced weren't sensitive to his point of view. Hence the line, "I've got friends who would give me f--k all." However, he slurred the pronunciation of the F-bomb, hoping to dodge it onto the radio. Didn't work.

This song was used in the Dogtown and Z-Boys skateboarding documentary during Tony Alva's segments in the first highlight reel. The film was directed by Stacy Peralta and funded by the shoe company Vans, who were a strong brand in the 1970s/1980s - especially in skater and surfer culture. Peralta also wrote the screenplay to the 2005 film Lords of Dogtown and directed the "Whopper virgin" commercials for Burger King. Dogtown and Z-Boys is worth tracking down just for the soundtrack, which packs in songs by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Devo, Jan and Dean, Peter Frampton, Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, and ZZ Top.