The absolute joy that is Van Halen

**eden** · 01.28.07, 12:05 PM

VH makes me so damned happy, it's stupid! I am seriously addicted, and I con't care. Since I only recently became a diehard fan, I feel the need to get that outta my system - and this is the place to unleash it all, is it not? And not to overstate the obvious, Ed is too much!!! He's pure rippin'- it- up excitement. (yes, yes, I'm an overly eager newbie.)

Because this 2007 tour will be my one and only (probably) chance to see the band, I'll just have to take what I can get. While I can understand the lamenting about Mike being dissed, and predicting this tour is going to suck, I find it all rather depressing.

So, I want to talk about VH and their music. I want to hear what people love about the band, and why. Maybe this thread is more appropriate for The Past forum - but that would be kinda sad...

ps- who plays the harmonica in Full Bug?

**vhrocker** · 01.28.07, 12:07 PM

Dave plays harmonica on "The Full Bug".

**eden** · 01.28.07, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by vhrocker

Dave plays harmonica on "The Full Bug".

excuse me - "The Full Bug." thank you!

**Lodewijk5150** · 01.28.07, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by eden

VH makes me so damned happy, it's stupid! I am seriously addicted, and I con't care. Since I only recently became a diehard fan, I feel the need to get that outta my system - and this is the place to unleash it all, is it not? And not to overstate the obvious, Ed is too much!!! He's pure rippin'- it- up excitement. (yes, yes, I'm an overly eager newbie.)

Because this 2007 tour will be my one and only (probably) chance to see the band, I'll just have to take what I can get. While I can understand the lamenting about Mike being dissed, and predicting this tour is going to suck, I find it all rather depressing.

So, I want to talk about VH and their music. I want to hear what people love about the band, and why. Maybe this thread is more appropriate for The Past forum - but that would be kinda sad...

ps- who plays the harmonica in Full Bug?

I agree, check my dream thread

Great post

**eden** · 01.28.07, 12:19 PM

Originally Posted by Lodewijk5150

I agree, check my dream thread

Great post

ha, ha! (that's old school for "LOL") Yes, Lod5150, I just saw your dream thread, and I grinned a great big grin. I certainly have had dreams about VH; in fact I had this one recently about Ed.... Better stop, some of these guys around here get pissy when I start that kind of talk. I'll have to let the gals in on it.

I seriously did have one not too long about the band. Nothing too exciting; it was Ed talking to me before a show - he was one happy guy. Funny thing, he looked to me like he looked in the early 90's. (yes, my denial continues.)

**Raldo** · 01.29.07, 04:32 AM

Why do I love VH?

Music.

AT · 01.29.07, 05:02 AM

I recall being 13, sitting in the giant marshmallow that is the Metrodome in Minneapolis, and feeling like my (short) life had reached fruition when Van Halen took the stage around 9:00 PM. Van Halen concerts from then on always made me feel like a kid again, including both shows I went to in '04.

I think we all know and understand the power of VH music!

**mewise5150** · 01.29.07, 09:33 AM

A few years back i remember having a horrible day. The kind of day where all seems lost and you feel as if you cant take anymore. As i drove home i was listeneing to the radio and beutiful girls came on. Being a big fan of the band i was suprised to here such an obscure selection, not the usual jump or panama, so naturally i cranked it and sang, rather screamed, along with the song. when it ended i turned off the radio took a deep breath and felt 1000% better. wound up having a great rest of the day. To me that is the power of van halen, sunshine in a rainstorm

**jimmy812** · 01.29.07, 10:21 AM

I'm not sure if I can put my finger on exactly what it is about VH that I'm addicted to. Obviously any VH addiction should begin with Eddie's guitar playing.
By the way, eden, I admire your enthusiasm. Don't get too discouraged by the 'attacks' on the current state of VH (last 10 years, actually) by many of us. It's just that Van Halen has become a very frustrating institution for us. I kind of feel a little envious of you. I sort of wish I could become a fan all over again. You know what I mean? listen to some obscure songs for the first time, learn all those little side-notes (like who played harmonica on The Full Bug). I feel as though, like just about everyone on the Links, I know just about all there is to know about Van Halen. But the beauty of it is that, for us, it never gets old. The music is timeless for us. And as bad as the current state of Van Halen may be, there will always be the great music in our collections and the memories in our minds of the great and Mighty Van Halen to put a smile on our face.
And who knows, maybe this '07 tour won't be as bad as I think it probably will be.

**wingnut** · 01.29.07, 10:31 AM

I consider myself a huge fan but I haven't felt joy about VH in 20 years. So the not-a-true-fan moniker is now mine.

The organizational bullshit and politics and shouting in the media has been the most embarassing thing I've had to endure. I swear the power players in VH all stopped maturing at 12 years old.

Maybe I'm hating, I'll admit it. My VH glow has been powered by the monentum of the CVH era, but it has faded almost into nothingness. When I listen to CVH, it rocks but it always is bitter-sweet when I think about what could have been after 1985 but was destroyed by children.

I want to go to the new tour if it happens. But if the tickets are more than $75, I ain't goin. Anything more is not worth it if there's a good chance Ed will be drunk and or bringing the tour-fights on to the stage.

**eden** · 01.29.07, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by mewise5150

To me that is the power of van halen, sunshine in a rainstorm

Yes! THAT.....IS.....IT! I listen to VH in my car almost everyday. Sometimes I put in Dave Matthews, or Pink Floyd, or Zep, I think just to see if I can go without VH for awhile. But after a couple of days - I start jonesin' again...

What I love about them is the speed, the intensity, and the fact that they are never dark or depressing. Zeppelin is great, no doubt, but I find them too heavy and bluesy to listen to them all the time.

Ed makes my hair stand on end. All that screamin' and roarin', and wailin'; making the guitar talk back to ya. He plays sassy and sexy. (And yes, of course, it is in the context of the whole ensemble.)

See why I gotta let all this out here? While my friends and family can appreciate my being a fan (I mean, who doesn't like VH?) I can't go on and on about them. That is just too weird.

**eden** · 01.29.07, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by jimmy812

I'm not sure if I can put my finger on exactly what it is about VH that I'm addicted to. Obviously any VH addiction should begin with Eddie's guitar playing.
By the way, eden, I admire your enthusiasm. Don't get too discouraged by the 'attacks' on the current state of VH (last 10 years, actually) by many of us. It's just that Van Halen has become a very frustrating institution for us. I kind of feel a little envious of you. I sort of wish I could become a fan all over again. You know what I mean? listen to some obscure songs for the first time, learn all those little side-notes (like who played harmonica on The Full Bug). I feel as though, like just about everyone on the Links, I know just about all there is to know about Van Halen. But the beauty of it is that, for us, it never gets old. The music is timeless for us. And as bad as the current state of Van Halen may be, there will always be the great music in our collections and the memories in our minds of the great and Mighty Van Halen to put a smile on our face.
And who knows, maybe this '07 tour won't be as bad as I think it probably will be.

But ya see, Jimmy, all's fair - you can imagine my envy of all of you who have seen VH in concert mutiple times.

When I was a teenybop, me and my friends used to hang out with these guys who were huge VH fans. I still remember the covers of VH I and VH II - because they were so big - you know - LPs. The pic of Ed holdin' up his guitar and roarin' - that caught my eye. But I still didn't get it. I thought Dave was it because he was out front. I even assumed he wrote all the songs (I know, duh-umb.) I remember telling one of the guys in our group how cool I thought Dave was, and he replied, with a look of utter disbelief - "no, man, it's the GUITAR PLAYER!" LOL, that still makes me laugh when I think about it.

Well, I still didn't get it - I just knew I really liked their hits - like "Jamie's Cryin'", (what girl doesn't like that song?) and RWTD, etc, etc. But I didn't buy any of their records, and I didn't see them live. If I had seen them just once, I probably would have seen them a dozen times. For some sad reason, I didn't appreciate electric guitar, or the magic that is Van Halen until well into adulthood.

I still have questions about the band and their songs, but yeah, so many of you know every story and all the answers. Maybe you'll get some of that enthusiasm back by educating those of us with questions - like, can Dave play any other instruments? The harmonica part on Full Bug doesn't sound like an easy task. I don't know though, I ain't a musician.

Perhaps there should be a newbie forum on here, so all of us can just BUST OUT with our enthusiasm!

**Wolfgang_'99** · 01.29.07, 11:32 AM

LOL I am so young compared to some of you, AT recalls being my age!

**jimmy812** · 01.30.07, 05:02 AM

eden, in response to your inquiry regarding Dave playing other instruments: yes, I know he can play the guitar: Ice Cream Man (acoustic beginning), Could This Be Magic, and I'm pretty sure he plays the acoustic intro on The Full Bug.
As for that harmonica part in The Full Bug, I always thought it was great for the song, but I've wondered how long it took to get right, especially since he's sloppy as hell playing it live, but then again this is the same man who claims he "forgot the fuckin' words" to songs on stage.

So, eden, you don't own any VH CD's?

**eden** · 01.30.07, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by jimmy812

So, eden, you don't own any VH CD's?

oh, I do now, jimmy. My son bought me BOBW for Xmas 2004; I asked for it because I had heard vaguely they were on tour that summer (I know, waah!) and that they had put out this greatest hits CD. Well I tell ya, when I first heard all those great songs - songs I hadn't heard in years, I was outta my skin! I started buyin' 'em all (I mean Dave era). What was really fun was discovering all those songs that weren't hits, like: The Full Bug, Romeo Delight, Little Guitars, TYWH, Ice Cream Man, Outta Love, Light up the Sky, and on and on and on. I was deep into "fanage" when I realized there's maybe 1 or 2 songs at the most on every CD that I'm not crazy about.

I also bought 5150 because I liked the songs BOBW and 5150. The problem with the Sammy era (not to start a fight or anything) is those ballads. And the songs where Sammy talks in detail about gettin' himself off - some of it is downright gross, like "let's do it till we're black and blue" - yuuck. Too bad, because besides the lyrics, the song is HOT. Dave is actually much more subtle with the sexual innuendo - alot of times he's makin' fun of himself, i.e. he's such a dog, and usually the chick ends up walkin' away. Or, his love is "rotten to the core" - that's funny, no?