Robert Plant has never been someone who needed too much time to think before answering. His sense of humor and willingness to laugh at himself were once again on display during a television interview with Canadian host George Stroumboulopoulos.

When asked the simple question, The Beatles or The Rolling Stones? — Plant answered without hesitation: “Stones.” When the host jokingly told him that this was, in fact, “the right answer,” Plant simply went along with the joke without needing to elaborate.

Even more interesting was his answer when asked about his favorite concert. Instead of naming a legendary Led Zeppelin performance in front of tens of thousands of people, Plant simply answered: “Timbuktu.” The answer carries a special meaning. Plant’s fascination with African music, particularly North Africa and the Sahara region, has been an important part of his artistic journey for decades. His 2003 compilation album Sixty Six to Timbuktu brought together different periods of his career, from his early recordings to his solo work.

Then the conversation took a completely different turn. The host told Plant that a Led Zeppelin tribute band was performing somewhere in the country that very night and asked whether he had any advice for the singer attempting to imitate him. Plant’s answer was short and completely in his style: “Try and dress to the right.” In other words, he was joking about his famous stage appearance and physical image during the Led Zeppelin years. The remark has since been remembered by many fans of the band.

Finally, Plant was asked whether he ever looks at some of his old photographs and thinks: “Lord have mercy.” Once again, he responded with humor: he didn’t, but he knew people who did. And perhaps that is the essence of this short interview, Plant does not try to escape his past, but he refuses to take it too seriously.

Although he will forever be recognized as the voice of Led Zeppelin, Plant has spent decades making it clear that his story did not end with the band. His solo work has embraced blues, folk, world music and numerous musical experiments, while his openness to different cultures and musical traditions has become one of the defining characteristics of his later career.

Perhaps that is why his answer “Timbuktu”, rather than one of Led Zeppelin’s legendary concerts — is so significant. For Plant, the best concert is not necessarily the biggest one. Sometimes it is about the place, the atmosphere and the music that can take him as far away as possible from the expectations that come with being regarded as one of the greatest rock singers of all time.