Is Eddie Van Halen an evil person... or just stupid alcoholic???

[dave_is_vh]

With all of the damage Eddie Van Halen has done to:

himself
his health
the fans
the music
Van Halen's legacy
his family
Dave
etc.
etc.
etc.

What is to blame? Is it simply that Eddie is a selfish jerk? Or is he a victim of the bottle? Or is a combination of the two?

What do you think?

[Bill Lumbergh]

I really think Ed has some serious issues, all stemming from his insecurity(see David Lee Roth). I'm not gonna go so far as to say he's evil...............his brother would qualify for that more than Ed would.

[Warham]

Al is definately the evil one. Ed's just the dumb drunk.

[lms2]

I am not even going to give you my honest opinon. Ed sucks, Al sucks, and Mickey sucks Ed and Al. Spam cant even fucking suck decently.

But you must all admit that Eddie, Alex and Michael all stuck with David for longer than anyone before or since.

Let me give you a few scenarios. But I have to break this post up, or no one will read it. And anytime you get mad at me while you are reading it, refer back to the above comments. okay

[lms2]

Ed suffers from dependency. I am not making excuses for him so dont start. Even when a true addict is not using, they can have all the same symptoms. For an alcoholic, its called a dry drunk. At least with a real drunk they eventually pass out... on a dry drunk, they are sober and have to deal with what fuck ups they are every day. So the easy answer is to go back to using right. Wrong, they try that, and then hate themselves for being back on the substance. Never ending cycle. Some people find ways to work around it. Some cant. But true addiction is something you are born with...Ed has dealt with it for years. Maybe its just gotten to be too much.

[lms2]

Depression. The most overrated illness in America. But a very real and devestating illness in some instances. You get the blues, out of the blue and they dont go away.

For normal people, when you are having a bad, and you tell yourself to just get over it, or you turn on the TV and get your mind off your troubles, or you get laid, kick the dog, beat the wife, or whatever it is you do-but it goes away.

Depression doesn't work that way. You start hating yourself for being depressed and not being able to snap out of it. You hate yourself because you want to be like everyone else. You hate yourself cause everyone else you know starts hating you. Then you start hating life. Some people commit suicide, but some people don't, can't or wont. You have a hope for tomorrow. But tomorrow always lets you down.

Now add bi-polar or manic forms into the equasion. You have a problem. Bi-polar is like getting high for no reason, then crashing and burning. Bi-polar is cool, cause the highs are worth the lows, and you always know a high is just around the corner. But what happens when your bi-polar disorder turns into manic depression. Your just a junky needing a fix, that is nowhere to be found. And your withdraw symptoms dont go away over time.

Now just for giggles and grins, add a slight, or not so slight case of
social anxiety into the mix. Try being under the glass for 30 years or when cant even stand to be in a room with a few people you dont know. With social anxiety, you always feel people are judging you...In Eds case they are. Very harshly too I might add.

[lms2]

sorry, that one got long.

[lms2]

Other mitigating factors.

Can anyone say mid-life crisis. Its not just for women.

Divorce. They were married for a long time, and its still not final... it aint over till its over. The freaking roller coaster ride. I dont think they ever will finalize it either.

Eddie only has one child. He is pretty close to that child. That child is 13 now, and suddenly Daddy isn't god anymore. Daddy cant keep his little boy safe forever. Daddy's little boy is going to go through all the same shit Daddy went through. Normal people can deal with it. Depedent/Manic people cant.

Survivor syndrome, Ever heard of it. Sure we all know people that have beat cancer, or survived some other kind of odds- and they reach out and embrace life. They look and feel better than they have in years. Other people are not like that. People who suffer from survivor syndrom feel guilty for being alive and well when so many other aren't. Suddenly they wish they were not alright. In Eddies case, he wishes he could take the place of every sick child he sees with cancer, who will not beat it. He would take the place of any man woman or child, if only he could. You wonder why god spared you-then you start wishing he hadn't. Life is so unfair.

Self pity isnt just for the poor and down trodden. Try having millions at your disposal and not being able to ease the suffering of the world. You could give every cent to help people and not even make a dent.

As much as we miss Classic Van Halen, don't you think he does too?

Don't you think that all of these guys look in the mirror now and then and wish they had that youth and vitality again. The babes... the fans... the fun... the excitement... the reward of simply creating the music they were putting out back then. Damn, guys, all we lost was a band...that was his life. Then you have to factor in the regrets.

[lms2]

as did that one.

WTF is wrong with Eddie Van Halen?

Whats not?

Some people can hang, others can't. Thats just the way the cookie crumbles.

[lms2]

or for a shorter version...

Evil Person or Stupid Alcoholic?

neither, victim of circumstance.

[DeadOrAlive]

Ed doesn't get along with people... Bastard!

[lms2]

I think you missed my point.

Ed just cares too much. Can you grasp it if I put it that way.

[kennyboy]

Ed is pissed at the world for rejecting VH3. He thought it to be his masterpiece.

He was in tip-top shape for that tour too. Too bad. Like Dave said "Eddie doesn't suck. He just made a big mistake."

[MUSICMANN]

How does anyone know that Ed's depressed. Let's stroll down memory lane shall we. We all know that Ed is a very shy guy, We all can pretty much say that his alcohol problem started with his shyness of getting out in front of people and performing. He even said that he still throws up before each gig, I think he said that in a 1986 interview. The guy has probably played fucked up 98% of the time in his what 30 yr. career. That being said, let's, roll the video to the present. The guy can't go anywhere without a halo over his head that says, ROCK GOD. VH has been inactive for the last what 6 yrs. So they put out three songs and rush into a tour. Now through the layoff i bet say 3 of those yrs. he never really picked up a guitar. So he has alot to prove on this tour to himself. At the start of this tour he went back to what made him the most calm and at peace on stage, having a few drinks. That alone has probably caused him to play a liitle out of sorts sometimes. But i think the main factor of his lack of or his mood on stage lately is that he's trying to damn hard to please everyone. He is no better than tiger woods right now. I just read a long article on his golfing struggles. Myself being a guitar player can just think of when i'm trying to learn a run or a complicated piece that i try so hard for hours and then start sounding worse at the end than when i first started. That's what i think Ed is doing, just trying way to hard to please everyone and uphold that guitar pedistal that we all put him on. I read that the last few shows he hasn't been moving to much because of a back injury, but he's playing better now than in the beggining . I read that in sacramento he played every song note for note, but didn't run and jump all crazy like he's done before, and he's playing alot with his back to the crowd. People, that's not being depressed, that's being not able to get a few drinks in, Because he is probably on some kind of pain medicine, to lossen up and he is going out on stage without that crutch and his shyness and just probably scared to shit to face the crowd. My main point is that, I think to many people blow alot of what's going on way out of proportion.

[turboblues]

Originally posted by lms2
I think you missed my point.

Ed just cares too much. Can you grasp it if I put it that way.

Everybody missed your point, your posts are too long! Takes too much time to read!!