Nothing quite seals a holiday shindig like a blast of Led Zeppelin (you have your traditions, I have mine). Considering the band has been defunct for 25 years, 2003 was a banner year for Led Zeppelin, with the release of a two-disc DVD as well as a new live album. For the true fanatic, the sight of Zeppelin still pulsing with youthful vigor, tearing it up in 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall, is nothing short of sheer hesher bliss. Before "Led Zeppelin, DVD," the only widely seen live footage of the band was from the concert film "The Song Remains the Same," which, as everyone knows, sucks rope. This new DVD package represents a major upgrade. (Atlantic, $29.99)
• • •
Speaking of DVDs, why not take a trip back and discover where Zeppelin pilfered a lot of its ideas? "The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1966, Volumes I and II," are a pair of Grammy-nominated DVDs that capture amazing footage from a series of blues festivals staged in England back in the day when the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds were still getting their licks together. Blues aficionados will foam over performances by John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and other icons of the genre, in their prime. No less a cultural figure than Martin Scorsese has dubbed this the year of the blues, so get with it. (Hip-O Recordings, $19.98 each)