Tweet
Some thoughts on the whole 3/4 reunion thing...
Since 1996, when I began posting on Mailing Lists and eventually Van Halen and DLR forums, I've noticed a giant amount of hatred (a lot of it from me) towards the band we all grew up with. It's an interesting phenomenon.
From '85 to '96, most of us lived with a sense of sadness concerning Van Halen. It was Roth's stupid decision to leave (though it also sounds like he didn't have much choice considering the attitude of the idiots with which he was working). His decision robbed us of a follow-up to 1984 and robbed us of an all-around feeling of greatness surrounding the band that previous year. It felt like John Lennon leaving The Beatles right after SGT. PEPPER'S or Robert Plant leaving Zeppelin right after PHYSICAL GRAFFITI...or something to that effect.
But the very anger towards the situation that fans now feel could not be fully pronounced because Roth had, essentially, dug his own grave. He didn't stick with a losing situation, true, but he also believed his own hype that he could do greater things without the band. His solo career produced some amazing songs (from GOIN' CRAZY to SENSIBLE SHOES, etc.), but it was also more inconsistent. And while the band played with Hagar, some of us were almost looking for tidbits of greatness to come through the separated tenures of both artists...I found only a few in the band (all in playing...none with singing), while there were many in the solo career but not enough.
All that changed in 1996. Van Halen stopped making certain mockeries of their career, stopped pleasing dumb Bon Jovi fans pleading for power ballads and moronic lyrics and a very stupid frontman.
Van Halen got back (briefly) with Roth. Contrary to what some people say here, I think the two new songs from 1996 are unbelievable. ME WISE MAGIC remains my favorite Van Halen song of all time. It's a steamroller of great riffage and very unique, goosebump-inducing vocal melodies. And yes, Michael Anthony's backup vocals provide some of the greatness here.
Van Halen destroyed this and allowed themselves to be blamed 100% for what went wrong with their band when they decided to again attack Dave and pick Gary Cherone: a very pathetic, religion-spewing symbol of all that went wrong with glam rock.
I remember taking to the Van Halen Mailing List in 1996 to attack the band in a three-page diatribe, listing all the reasons the firing of Dave and hiring of Cherone was a mistake for all involved. I stated that even keeping Hagar would have been a smarter financial decision. Pissing all fans off by denying them what they'd been begging for since 1985 and then bringing in a third-rate "rock star" as Dave's immediate replacement is one of the dumbest business moves a rock band has ever made. I was proud of my three-page, point-by-point call to arms. I immediately received an e-mail from none other than Van Halen's tour manager, Scotty Ross (a subscriber of the Mailing List), who dismissed my essay as "zeal" and basically called me an asshole. I told him to go kindly fuck himself and also told Eddie's wife to fuck herself too when she also eventually responded to my podium-moment. I laughed at them both that Eddie was destroying his band but didn't even know it yet.
But I soon realized I was no angry single rock fan. I was surrounded by an army of angry Van Halen fans who let Eddie know just how they felt in the years to come. And Eddie eventually surrendered into his studio cave and decided that his only way of keeping power was to abandon making music and ignore everybody. He now had power again, but in a miserable way that seemingly ended almost every business relationship he had (and, arguably, even his marriage). He became a miserable human being with open disdain towards his fans. He let us know just what Dave meant when he said, "Eddie Van Halen without a guitar in his hands is a shitty human being."
Well, a lot has changed. Van Halen proved to the world in 2004 that the dumb Bon Jovi crowd was fickle and all their late 80's/early 90's media attention was partly a result of awe towards past glories. Their "reunion" with Sammy was basically a money-losing proposition, with 2 for 1 ticket deals and half-filled arenas. People still wanted to hear Eddie play (even though he wasn't playing that well), but people missed Dave. (Anyone who wants to doubt this should look at set-lists: Van Halen had to crank out some classic VH songs on their Hagar reunion tour, but didn't have to play one solitary Shambo tune on Dave's reunion tour.)
Dave and his fans got their revenge. Either Van Halen was a losing proposition as a whole at this point, or people would only accept them fully with Dave at this point...hindsight is 20/20. Either situation would be a vindication of hatred fans felt towards Eddie.
Then Mike started proving that he and Sammy were really the kinda gay item everyone thought they were in the first place. He became Sam's lovelight, and this infuriated the brothers and gave them an excuse to finally get Wolfgang in the band.
When the reunion with Dave finally happened in 2007 (after a quick hiccup at the Hall of Fame and Eddie's rehab stint), the majority cheered. A small minority, still clamoring for a Van Halen reunion of the original four, jeered. And that's why I've written this long-winded diatribe of 2010. I guess, after all is said and done, I respectfully understand those fans who say the moment has passed or they still want the original four...but I really don't get it.
Yes, I like the idea of the original band more...a little. But at the moment, I kind of think Michael Anthony is both a victim and a shithead. He's out of the band because Eddie is selfish, but also because he loves Sammy. And I never forget the fact that he openly admitted many times that he was the one who most resisted Dave returning in 1996. Any loyalty I have for that fat, mullet-wearing buffoon leaves with that fact. His negativity possibly contributed to Eddie's final power trip at the MTV Awards. Instead of being loyal to what fans wanted, he was loyal to his own ego over what the band was. He probably thought he was more important than Dave. Eddie has thought so too, and he's wrong, but at least his case is stronger than the bass player's. Fuck Michael Anthony. I'll miss his vocals (a la ME WISE MAGIC), but not enough to refuse supporting David Lee Roth making another album with Eddie and Alex Van Halen.
I loved the 2007-2008 tour. I saw it twice, went home well-satisfied, thought Wolfgang was a competent bass player, Dave was great (actually sang most of the words, partly because he doesn't have the energy to be the dynamic stage-dancer he was 25 years ago), and Eddie generally played amazingly. Those were two of the best nights of my life...not up there with my wedding or other such important events, but still wonderful times. I was almost in tears listening to Dave's monologue before ICE CREAM MAN that night at the United Center in October 2007.
Listen. This guy is my frontman idol. He's back with Eddie. The band has sucked out so much of my joy for being a fan of theirs, but now that they pretty much did it right (not perfect, but right), I support 'em. I'm dying for the new album. I'm dying for another tour.
I don't criticize the naysayers. I applaud them. They're probably more loyal to their convictions that I am. But dammit...Eddie and Dave are in a studio at this very moment making a full-length album. I never thought I'd live to know that.
Thoughts?
From '85 to '96, most of us lived with a sense of sadness concerning Van Halen. It was Roth's stupid decision to leave (though it also sounds like he didn't have much choice considering the attitude of the idiots with which he was working). His decision robbed us of a follow-up to 1984 and robbed us of an all-around feeling of greatness surrounding the band that previous year. It felt like John Lennon leaving The Beatles right after SGT. PEPPER'S or Robert Plant leaving Zeppelin right after PHYSICAL GRAFFITI...or something to that effect.
But the very anger towards the situation that fans now feel could not be fully pronounced because Roth had, essentially, dug his own grave. He didn't stick with a losing situation, true, but he also believed his own hype that he could do greater things without the band. His solo career produced some amazing songs (from GOIN' CRAZY to SENSIBLE SHOES, etc.), but it was also more inconsistent. And while the band played with Hagar, some of us were almost looking for tidbits of greatness to come through the separated tenures of both artists...I found only a few in the band (all in playing...none with singing), while there were many in the solo career but not enough.
All that changed in 1996. Van Halen stopped making certain mockeries of their career, stopped pleasing dumb Bon Jovi fans pleading for power ballads and moronic lyrics and a very stupid frontman.
Van Halen got back (briefly) with Roth. Contrary to what some people say here, I think the two new songs from 1996 are unbelievable. ME WISE MAGIC remains my favorite Van Halen song of all time. It's a steamroller of great riffage and very unique, goosebump-inducing vocal melodies. And yes, Michael Anthony's backup vocals provide some of the greatness here.
Van Halen destroyed this and allowed themselves to be blamed 100% for what went wrong with their band when they decided to again attack Dave and pick Gary Cherone: a very pathetic, religion-spewing symbol of all that went wrong with glam rock.
I remember taking to the Van Halen Mailing List in 1996 to attack the band in a three-page diatribe, listing all the reasons the firing of Dave and hiring of Cherone was a mistake for all involved. I stated that even keeping Hagar would have been a smarter financial decision. Pissing all fans off by denying them what they'd been begging for since 1985 and then bringing in a third-rate "rock star" as Dave's immediate replacement is one of the dumbest business moves a rock band has ever made. I was proud of my three-page, point-by-point call to arms. I immediately received an e-mail from none other than Van Halen's tour manager, Scotty Ross (a subscriber of the Mailing List), who dismissed my essay as "zeal" and basically called me an asshole. I told him to go kindly fuck himself and also told Eddie's wife to fuck herself too when she also eventually responded to my podium-moment. I laughed at them both that Eddie was destroying his band but didn't even know it yet.
But I soon realized I was no angry single rock fan. I was surrounded by an army of angry Van Halen fans who let Eddie know just how they felt in the years to come. And Eddie eventually surrendered into his studio cave and decided that his only way of keeping power was to abandon making music and ignore everybody. He now had power again, but in a miserable way that seemingly ended almost every business relationship he had (and, arguably, even his marriage). He became a miserable human being with open disdain towards his fans. He let us know just what Dave meant when he said, "Eddie Van Halen without a guitar in his hands is a shitty human being."
Well, a lot has changed. Van Halen proved to the world in 2004 that the dumb Bon Jovi crowd was fickle and all their late 80's/early 90's media attention was partly a result of awe towards past glories. Their "reunion" with Sammy was basically a money-losing proposition, with 2 for 1 ticket deals and half-filled arenas. People still wanted to hear Eddie play (even though he wasn't playing that well), but people missed Dave. (Anyone who wants to doubt this should look at set-lists: Van Halen had to crank out some classic VH songs on their Hagar reunion tour, but didn't have to play one solitary Shambo tune on Dave's reunion tour.)
Dave and his fans got their revenge. Either Van Halen was a losing proposition as a whole at this point, or people would only accept them fully with Dave at this point...hindsight is 20/20. Either situation would be a vindication of hatred fans felt towards Eddie.
Then Mike started proving that he and Sammy were really the kinda gay item everyone thought they were in the first place. He became Sam's lovelight, and this infuriated the brothers and gave them an excuse to finally get Wolfgang in the band.
When the reunion with Dave finally happened in 2007 (after a quick hiccup at the Hall of Fame and Eddie's rehab stint), the majority cheered. A small minority, still clamoring for a Van Halen reunion of the original four, jeered. And that's why I've written this long-winded diatribe of 2010. I guess, after all is said and done, I respectfully understand those fans who say the moment has passed or they still want the original four...but I really don't get it.
Yes, I like the idea of the original band more...a little. But at the moment, I kind of think Michael Anthony is both a victim and a shithead. He's out of the band because Eddie is selfish, but also because he loves Sammy. And I never forget the fact that he openly admitted many times that he was the one who most resisted Dave returning in 1996. Any loyalty I have for that fat, mullet-wearing buffoon leaves with that fact. His negativity possibly contributed to Eddie's final power trip at the MTV Awards. Instead of being loyal to what fans wanted, he was loyal to his own ego over what the band was. He probably thought he was more important than Dave. Eddie has thought so too, and he's wrong, but at least his case is stronger than the bass player's. Fuck Michael Anthony. I'll miss his vocals (a la ME WISE MAGIC), but not enough to refuse supporting David Lee Roth making another album with Eddie and Alex Van Halen.
I loved the 2007-2008 tour. I saw it twice, went home well-satisfied, thought Wolfgang was a competent bass player, Dave was great (actually sang most of the words, partly because he doesn't have the energy to be the dynamic stage-dancer he was 25 years ago), and Eddie generally played amazingly. Those were two of the best nights of my life...not up there with my wedding or other such important events, but still wonderful times. I was almost in tears listening to Dave's monologue before ICE CREAM MAN that night at the United Center in October 2007.
Listen. This guy is my frontman idol. He's back with Eddie. The band has sucked out so much of my joy for being a fan of theirs, but now that they pretty much did it right (not perfect, but right), I support 'em. I'm dying for the new album. I'm dying for another tour.
I don't criticize the naysayers. I applaud them. They're probably more loyal to their convictions that I am. But dammit...Eddie and Dave are in a studio at this very moment making a full-length album. I never thought I'd live to know that.
Thoughts?
Comment