nostalgia and VH

[MAPRamone]

I was born in 1981 so was way too young to be even aware of the mighty VH in their prime yet i feel a nostalgia for that era that no other band makes me feel. I miss the days when the mightiest band ever roamed the earth. Everything that was later ripped off from them would have been new. I wouldn't have been even slightly numbed (as i am) to the awesome showmanship and charisma of DLR because i would not have been exposed to the horde of clones that emerged in his wake. Similarly i would have experienced the shock of hearing EVH for the first time with full force because the techniques and technology he invented would not have yet been copied by everyone and their grandma. In addition there would have been no Internet to expose every little detail of their private lives so any info on the band would have had to be gleaned from little snippets in magazines ,which would have added to the mystery and made the band seem even bigger. Even though i was never there i still fucking miss it! Anyone else feel the same way?

[Ice Cream Girl]

Not really.

It's just the word you used.

The phrase "I wish I could have been there" resonates a little better.

To me, a "nostalgic" feeling is stirred when you're thinking of a moment in your past where there was an obscure band's song playing, and although you liked them, you can't remember the name of the band or the song.

Van Halen is definitely not obscure, and thanks to David Lee Roth, very memorable.

I wasn't old enough to see Led Zeppelin's original lineup tour the world, but I never considered them irrelevant; they were classic rock, and that means to me not "ancient," but a classic example of what rock should be.

Today when other new bands have to lobby hard to get their material some airplay, Zep is in heavy rotation 24/7.

Same with Van Halen. In your face today and tomorrow. Part of daily life, whether the songs were made 25 years ago or not.


[P.S. I do like newer bands, i.e. Audioslave, mainly because of Chris Cornell; Soundgarden nailed it on "Superunknown." However, most of the bands out there today don't do anything for me.]

[P.P.S. I am a Roth Army Donor, although I don't know if I got my little icon for it yet.]

[Padre Atilio]

I feel exaclty the same way than you do - MAPRamone about Van Halen.... It has a kind of magic that todays bands didnt have :-( Thats why I want to explore this era and thats why its for me so interesting...

A lot people dont uderstand (classmates, friends...) why Im into this stuff. Im also like to listen to todays music a lot... I cant explain it to them, you have to find it for youself...

Because what could interesting about band from the 80s for young between 15 an 18 like I am... and especialy for a guy from eastern Europe where this era had completely no influence or just a little...

So thats the way how it is for them...

But Im not complaining... they have a lot understanding for my interest in VH.

Just wanted to explain how they see it.

[Terry]

You had to be there.

It's one thing to hear it from stories on the internet from those that were there, and another to have lived in that era.

1978-1982: Disco was dying out, the punk explosion in Britain was never anything more than an underground movement here. The NWOBHM hadn't quite made a huge impact yet. MTV was in its infancy. Ted Nugent, Aerosmith and the horde of sped-up blues pentatonic riffers were getting stale. KISS had peaked and were busy making a bad movie (meeting a phantom of the park). Led Zeppelin were gearing up for a tour that died along with Bonzo.

Timing being as important as talent, Van Halen zoomed onto the scene with one mothefucker of a guitar player and a lead singer who could work the press and the crowds like the Ringmaster of Barnum and Bailey's circus.

And the music they made has withstood any claims that Van Halen were just an early 1980s fad (play many of your Kajagoogoo and Quiet Riot albums these days? Me neither. Know anyone who wants to buy them? I could use the 3 bucks.)

[guwapo_rocker]

It was a great fucking time to be alive.

[Matt White]

Evry era has it's major band...ZEp in the 70's...CLASSIC VAN HALEN in the 80's....

It's like G'N'R were for that bright shinning moment....

CLASSIC VAN HALEN was like a super-nova...after an 8-ball...on yer way to the strip joint..............to pick up another 8-ball