Bob Lefsetz on the new Van Halen Stuff

[Nurk2]

Now if that doesn't make you want to log on to Ticketmaster and buy a ticket you probably don't have a tattoo and never contemplated getting one, you probably graduated from college and are a winner, you never drove a mini-truck, drank a case of beer and wished you were something more but decided that for now, who you are is enough.

Now this is not the unexpected sonic explosion of "Why Can't This Be Love", when Van Halen truly had something to prove with Dave off on a solo career and new singer Sammy Hager in place. Still, if you were ever a fan it satisfies.

Top Forty radio ain't gonna play it, doesn't matter what the reviewers say, they hated the band until everyone suddenly agreed Eddie was one of the greats, this is just for you. Who've waited, who've still believed, that despite your pot belly and thinning hair, despite the sand running through the hourglass, your prayers could still be answered, that deep inside you're still eighteen and it's so ****ing great to be alive.

You're sitting there hoping it doesn't suck. And the repetition of the lyric in the chorus is a bit disappointing, Dave never took the easy way out, but then suddenly your butt is squirming in your seat, your arms are in the air, you're dancing, you've wearing a shiteating grin and you're saying to yourself THIS IS ****ING GREAT!

Now you've got to start with the video, on the band's homepage:

http://www.van-halen.com/

Sure, you miss Michael Anthony, but you get over that pretty quick since Wolfie's aged, but what gets you is the swagger, the essence of what the band always was is still there. Dave knows we're watching and he's doing his best to be the coolest dude on the planet. Still, as always, it's about Eddie. This is what made us all want to pick up the guitar and play. He just looks so ****ing COOL! His axe is part of him, the way he bends his knee, how the **** does he do this?

Meanwhile, they appear to be having fun. You remember fun, right? Sure, the money and the chicks were good, but it meant nothing if that amplified sound didn't make you feel like the most powerful person on earth!

And just when you think it's Dave's monopolizing the track, two and a half minutes into it, Eddie starts to WAIL! His guitar is firing bullets and you're writhing in ecstasy with the pain of being shot.

And it's all so ****ing EFFORTLESS!

But it gets better, hang on until the end, just when you think the song is over.... At 4:20, when the track quiets down and Eddie wrings this writhing sound from his guitar, like in "Finish What Ya Started", but this is mellower and so simple yet so utterly perfect.

And the second time through you notice a bit more texture under the track, Eddie was always a keyboard wizard too, never forget "Jump", and you're contemplating whether the track is really that great and then you say, **** IT, I LOVE THIS!

I almost bought it, I couldn't take the time to steal it.

Then I wondered, how hip was this band, how of the moment. The Vimeo clip on the homepage stuttered a ton the first time through, could "Tattoo" be on Spotify? OF COURSE!

And I played "5150" until the grooves were gray. Even though I believe the Dave era was better. When they remastered the greatest hits the first time through, back in '96, I couldn't stop playing "And The Cradle Will Rock..."

And it positively will. Any young 'un who sees this video is gonna have to go to the show. This ain't nostalgia, this is as new as an iPhone, but it's positively ALIVE!

Nerds have inherited the world, with their software and gadgets. But in one fell swoop Van Halen has taken it back.

THAT'S THE POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL!

Spotify link: http://open.spotify.com/track/0ewrmw1irthnPNZN4pSJ7N


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

[tiktok]

If you take what he wrote, and change all the "you" to "I", it makes sense.

[pickaguitar]

Now if that doesn't make you want to log on to Ticketmaster and buy a ticket you probably don't have a tattoo and never contemplated getting one, you probably graduated from college and are a winner, you never drove a mini-truck, drank a case of beer and wished you were something more but decided that for now, who you are is enough.

Why would he alienate so many right off the bat? Poorly written imo

[Stike]

Nerds have inherited the world, with their software and gadgets. But in one fell swoop Van Halen has taken it back.

THAT'S THE POWER OF ROCK AND ROLL!


WTF?

[JamonGrande]

Someone recommended the Lefsetz letter to me, so I subscribed. I grew tired of it after awhile. He's done a good job of positioning himself as a "social hub," and it seems like that is really his goal, nothing more. In one sentence he'll condemn modern music making and practices, and then turn around in the next to criticize those who don't understand "how the world has changed."

Seems like more of the same here.

joe

[tiktok]

Someone recommended the Lefsetz letter to me, so I subscribed. I grew tired of it after awhile. He's done a good job of positioning himself as a "social hub," and it seems like that is really his goal, nothing more. In one sentence he'll condemn modern music making and practices, and then turn around in the next to criticize those who don't understand "how the world has changed."

Seems like more of the same here.

joe

Yeah, he's very prone to contradicting himself, sometimes in the same email. And, his insistence that artists that are "real" are what people want gets old.

Declarative sentences as stand alone paragraphs.

Also, no, Bob, most of us don't remember Woodstock.

[bigdaddy]

"His guitar is firing bullets..."??

Somehow, that is more trite than the cliche song he is writing about.

[Tiny Montgomery]

That's one of the most horribly written, presumptuous things I've ever read.

[Telefunky]

Watching the video, first thought was "glad they made it to this day alive".

Beyond that, my concern is for their legacy. Not their personal legacy; we all know it's hard to manage relationships in ANY band, much less one as big as Van Halen.

I'm concerned about their musical legacy. The hallmark of Van Halen was always more than the brothers' virtuosity and unparalleled feel for rhythm, groove and swing.

The songwriting aspect of Van Halen was consistently hooky, clever and filled with elements of surprise. Even the poppiest stuff with Hagar still held true to that standard. But those elements are completely absent from "Tattoo". If that song is indicative of what we can expect from Van Halen Mach IV, it will seriously jeopardize whatever fan base remains.

[cruisemates]

As someone who writes about a different topic, but my JOB is to write about the same topic day in and day out, I can tell you its all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking people read your column to read what you (make that "I") think.

This column reads like he was on deadline and didn't really have time to do any reaearch or think about something unique to say, so he just vented what he was thinking but should have kept to himself for the benefit of his readers.

I can tell a burnout when I read one (because I feel on the verge of it myself at times). But a 'pro" writer thinks about what his readers want to learn, not what he feels like spewing at any given moment.

Now, I thought the song was pretty weak - but mostly I didn't like DLR's moves in the video (maybe thats what he does, I dunno, I never really watched them that much).

But the writer is right that EVH is the main attraction. Seems to me the band sort of forgot that with this song.

[cruisemates]

The songwriting aspect of Van Halen was consistently hooky, clever and filled with elements of surprise. Even the poppiest stuff with Hagar still held true to that standard. But those elements are completely absent from "Tattoo". If that song is indicative of what we can expect from Van Halen Mach IV, it will seriously jeopardize whatever fan base remains.

While I agree the song is weak, I believe the legacy will remain in tact just fine. The Rolling Stones wrote a lot of stinkers over the years but they have remained on top.

There are not a lot of EVH songs to me where I wasn't just mostly waiting for the guitar solo anyway. They were sure better than Tattoo, but some were over the top commercial pap, too.

The main thing is EVH's playing, and if the purpose of this song is to get airplay to pretty much promote a concert tour, then I think its all good. I hope it gets airplay even if it is a stinker.

But the reviewers comments about beer-drinking, truck-driving "losers" was unnecessary.

[Telefunky]

My roommate just said:

"I'd rather hear 'Mas Tequila'... At least I could DRINK to that!!!"
:rotflmao. :rotflmao. :rotflmao

[macula56]

that was some funny stuff for sure. after reading it i went back to listen to the song for a second time and decided about halfway thru it that i really love Van Halen's first album a lot.

[Nurk2]

WTF?

Yeah. That's the thing about Lefsetz. He is absolutely unapologetic in his defense of the Awesome Power of Rock & Roll.

Meanwhile, they appear to be having fun. You remember fun, right? Sure, the money and the chicks were good, but it meant nothing if that amplified sound didn't make you feel like the most powerful person on earth!

And just when you think it's Dave's monopolizing the track, two and a half minutes into it, Eddie starts to WAIL! His guitar is firing bullets and you're writhing in ecstasy with the pain of being shot.
Come on guys. Lighten up! Bow to the Pick of Destiny! Now raise your Goblet of Rock as a Toast to Those Who Rock!

Personally, I love it. Not for the writing so much (he's aware he's not a writer) as for the unbridled energy. I mean. Do you like to ROCK or don't you?

[tiktok]

Yeah. That's the thing about Lefsetz. He is absolutely unapologetic in his defense of the Awesome Power of Rock & Roll.


That's probably why he spends so much time trying to convince everyone that electronic music is where it's at these days, and that we should all be listening to Deadmau5 and Adele.

[Nurk2]

That's probably why he spends so much time trying to convince everyone that electronic music is where it's at these days, and that we should all be listening to Deadmau5 and Adele.

I dare say that for Lefsetz, Rock & Roll is not a style of music, but an ethos, a philosophy for life and work.

[tiktok]

I dare say that for Lefsetz, Rock & Roll is not a style of music, but an ethos, a philosophy for life and work.

Then I'd suggest he re-read a letter to himself he published a few weeks ago concerning the "Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame" and it's inclusion of many acts which don't seem to be "rock" in anyone's definition, other than the nominating committee of the RNRHOF:

While I'm sure Toure means well with his statement that "rock n roll is meant to be defined by the Hall as the broadest possible definition of that term so all the genres considered pop music are in our purview," therein lies the committee's biggest problem - the committee is trying to define rock in its own image rather than reflect what history actually defines as rock.

[cruisemates]

Top Forty radio ain't gonna play it, doesn't matter what the reviewers say, they hated the band until everyone suddenly agreed Eddie was one of the greats, this is just for you.

Do any of you agree that Top 40 radio hated Van Halen?

I know a lot of guitar layers my age, who had just mastered most of Clapton's licks, were pi**ed as he** that Eddie came along and did things with a guitar they never thought of...

Is this is what Lefsetz is referring to with Van Halen?, because in my mind, even though I came from that earlier generation, I thought his talent was undeniable (and yeah, it did piss me off) but I still knew they deserved to be on the radio - big time.

I was living in LA at the time, running a recording studio, and their record company dropped off a pre-release tape of their second album for us to run dupes onto cassette for radio station previews, and I remember just being floored by it. The best playing, excellent production. Why wouldn't radio want to play it?

[Nurk2]

Do any of you agree that Top 40 radio hated Van Halen?

I know a lot of guitar layers my age, who had just mastered most of Clapton's licks, were pi**ed as he** that Eddie came along and did things with a guitar they never thought of...

Is this is what Lefsetz is referring to with Van Halen?

I'm not sure what he's referring to. VH I was released when I was in my early teens. By the time I hit high school, VH was ubiquitous. I can't remember a time when anyone refused to play a VH song for any reason. Sometimes you just gotta go with Lefsetz. Let him say it, and take it or leave it. I posted it because I got a kick out of it!

I do, however, recall the same as you, that there was time when Eddie's playing was derided by more traditional rock and rollers. I remember having some of those feelings myself. It took awhile for a lot of people to realize how important his playing was to the evolution of rock guitar (whether you like the style or not).