So Here's a Question...

**broken9500** · 07.03.06, 01:56 PM

We hear and say a lot of things along the lines of "that's not Van Halen" or "THAT is Van Halen" etc...but it begs a question: What is Van Halen?

You can answer along the lines of what the band is to you in terms of "this is the band I play when I'm happy/sad/drinking/cruising/whatever" or you can answer in terms of "Van Halen is the one band that captures the essense of rock and roll better than anyone else" or WHATEVER. What is Van Halen to you? What comes to mind first?

I'll go first since I can:

As a band they were one the things that brought my sister and I closer together. We're about 6 years apart and in 1984 we were at complete odds because of the age difference and what that meant in terms of where we were in life. Van Halen was one of the bands we began building a bridge to one another and its something we'll always have in common.

As a musician, I've always felt Ed was one of the most underappreciated and misunderstood players. Yes he gets all the acollades for his technical prowess and such but I've always felt he didn't get enough credit for certain things...his rhythm playing is perhaps as good as anyone ever and I think he's actually a BETTER rhythm player than he is lead player. That's not bringing his lead work down a notch, it's putting his rhythm work UP a few. His phrasing and ability to craft a song is as good as ANYONE...rock, jazz, classical whatever. I've always felt he had more depth and more dimensions than what most fans notice, and more importantly, cared to hear.

I also think his legacy will be one of "what if?" for me personally. That is to say, the way I look at him, and may always look at him, is "what if" he'd not had to compromise with singers and his audience. What would it have been like? I feel he will always be trapped and limited by the IMMENSE influence his music had with musicians and the way they and music enthusiasts alike "connected" to the music they created. Now, for all I know, I'm completely wrong on this one point. He may, at the end of his day, lay down and think "it's ALL out there. Every note of me. There's NOTHING i've wanted to write/play/sing that I didn't." If that's the case....that is awesome. Not too many people can say that.

That's it. There's gobs more I'm sure but I'm through typing and would like to genuinely hear what you people have to say.

**Turbo** · 07.03.06, 02:13 PM

To me...

One of, if not THE, greatest American rock bands of all time filled with rock-solid musicianship and massive creativity. Who, if weren't for egos, substance abuse, outside interests, etc., could have kept rockin' along without skipping a beat, creating new music that would still be relevant right up to today.

A band that I hope I haven't heard the last from.

**silverklyph** · 07.03.06, 02:17 PM

That's a really good question, and one that get asked as often as it is answered.

As stupid as it sounds, I think I have to go with the "Soundtrack to our lives" theory. Van Halen has played songs about so many things: youth, drinking, cars, love, being a badass, hanging out, having fun. Anyone can relate to most, if not all of these things. Then you put a killer guitar behind the lyrics, a steady bassline and Alex's drumming, it just gives you timeless music. Then as you get older, you start to mature, and you start thinking about things. As VH aged, they put out songs like Mine All Mine, Don't Tell Me, Feelin'... more serious, heavy songs. I think VHIII was just too serious for most people, which is why it wasn't well recieved. There is a broad spectrum of "Van Halen" and sure not everyone loves every single song, but it's hard to dislike the entire catalog.

**Lance** · 07.03.06, 03:19 PM

For me, it's simple. Van Halen is ENERGY!!!! No matter what mood I am in, where I am at, what's going on in my life, I can always throw in ANY Van Halen CD and get FIRED UP!!! It gets the blood going, and instantly puts me in a good mood. It's my party music, my driving down the highway music, my workout music, my last bastion of sanity in this fuckind desert wasteland called Iraq. Just an interesting note for you all. I've been working on a slideshow movie for my unit, depicting our entire deployment to Iraq, and Van Halen is part of my soundtrack. I've already used Dance The Night Away, for one short video, and I'm putting both Cathedral and Dreams into the main feature.

**MikeL** · 07.03.06, 03:50 PM

Given the interchangeable parts in the writing, the studio, and the live shows... you know it when you hear it.

**Judgement Day** · 07.03.06, 04:13 PM

Van Halen to me is summertime in you CD player, you know that feeling you get when the weather warms up and your hangin out with you pals and your girl and you just know these are the times you're always going to look back on and say, " I wish that's where I was at right now." That the feeling I get every time I throw VH in the CD player and thats what Van Halen is to me, straight up fun, with a little contemplation thrown in every now and then.

**Rovus** · 07.03.06, 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by Lance

It's my party music, my driving down the highway music, my workout music, my last bastion of sanity in this fuckind desert wasteland called Iraq. Just an interesting note for you all. I've been working on a slideshow movie for my unit, depicting our entire deployment to Iraq, and Van Halen is part of my soundtrack. I've already used Dance The Night Away, for one short video, and I'm putting both Cathedral and Dreams into the main feature.

Many American fighter-pilots during Desert Storm would crank out 'Dreams' when flying high before going into combat. God speed, man.

Van Halen to me is good times, good music...made by purists.

**edwardv** · 07.05.06, 03:59 PM

Van Halen is...Ed,Alex,Mikey and Dave. Its 1978 and my youth. Its a band with a sound that transforms the scene from rocknroll to rock. Its talent. Its the back seat of my 1974 Firebird with the gal I should have married. Its the Led Zepplin of the USA. Its
a man who changes how rock guitar is defined. Its a lead singer who is the essence of a rock frontman as he vaults over the drums and doesnt miss a beat. Its a bass player who has class and great harmony. And a drummer who is a combination of Buddy Rich and John Bonham.

**TOM_5150** · 07.05.06, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by edwardv

Van Halen is...Ed,Alex,Mikey and Dave. Its 1978 and my youth. Its a band with a sound that transforms the scene from rocknroll to rock. Its talent. Its the back seat of my 1974 Firebird with the gal I should have married. Its the Led Zepplin of the USA. Its
a man who changes how rock guitar is defined. Its a lead singer who is the essence of a rock frontman as he vaults over the drums and doesnt miss a beat. Its a bass player who has class and great harmony. And a drummer who is a combination of Buddy Rich and John Bonham.

Well said!

**The J Man** · 07.05.06, 09:28 PM

Van Halen Is:

Michael Anthony
David Lee Roth
Alex Van Halen
Edward Van Halen

they come together and make rock AND roll.

**Raldo** · 07.06.06, 04:48 AM

I like what someone said about VH being energy. That is what you get when you listen to their music.

For me, Van Halen is a feeling that can be many things. Getting pumped up after listening to "Unchained". Being happy listening to "Jump". But even deeper is the feeling of a connection to the music...to the band. When I go to a show, there is no other place I'd rather be. Because I know that I will be entertained by the greatest rock band ever. The musicianship is second to none.

As you can see, it's hard to describe but when you are there or listening to it, you can feel it.

**pickslide** · 07.06.06, 05:41 AM

All of these things are true, of course. But the thing that always stands out to me is the sonic quality of their music. Within an instant, without hearing a word or a single hammer-on, you KNOW a Van Halen song. Even people who don't care for it can hear the first few bars of, say, Humans Being, and go, "Oh, that's definitely Van Halen." There is just a richness - a strange kind of carmelization to their sound - that sets them above almost anyone else to me. Each record sounds different. Yet each record is unmistakably Van Halen.

TK

**AVH5150** · 07.06.06, 09:38 AM

For me, Van Halen is kind of a lifestyle. Cruisin´down to Malibu Beach in the sunset with a hottie. Hangin´ out with your buddies at some grill or DriveInn on Santa Monica Blvd. on saturday night. Just havin`the party of your life. That means Van Halen to me. Not just in good times, but also for the bad. And especially than. When I´m really down, I throw in some Summer Nights or Panama or whatever, and this music is lifting me up. And that´s it, why I am so grateful for the music, this band gave me.
BTW, I´d never been to California so far......not even in the states.

**ziggysmalls** · 07.06.06, 10:13 AM

Well when I hear early VH, I think back to the day when the music was created. High inflation, oil embargo, high unemployment along with a weakening of the American spirit. However instead of wallowing around in sorrow, these four guys decided to have a good time. Why be miserable with life? They were the anti-grunge. They wanted to party and screw your girlfriends. However you would not care if that happened because you thought they were so cool.

I think it still carried on throughout the Hagar years as well however with a more mature attitude. Well until Up For Breakfast.

That is another story.

**Lance** · 07.06.06, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by Rovus

Many American fighter-pilots during Desert Storm would crank out 'Dreams' when flying high before going into combat. God speed, man.

Van Halen to me is good times, good music...made by purists.

Hey Thanks, bro. Van Halen is one of the few things keeping me sane around here. The daily soap opera is quite entertaining, although a bit annoying at times.