Jimmy Carter jogging is sooo 1978.

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Van Halen, released 1978

In February of 1978, Van Halen took the country by storm with its self-titled, debut release: Van Halen. You have to remember that one. The cover featured a long-haired David Lee Roth, Alex and Eddie slightly blurred and Michael Anthony banging on the four-string. This album contained arguably one of the greatest, single guitar tracks of all time: Eruption. My God, man! Who is this guy? How did he play that? How many guitars are on that track? This instrumental, along with several other radio-friendly tracks like Jamie’s Cryin’ and Ain’t Talkin ‘bout Love, catapulted Van Halen into the national limelight. And the four original members would become rock icons before the decade was out. They went on to record five more albums; their last being 1984. I was lucky enough to see the original Van Halen in 1984 and I have to say, they kicked ass! The guitar solo, in and of itself, was worth the price of the ticket. David Lee Roth was a master showman and an unbelievable front man. They were so tight and well-rehearsed; I hated to see the show end. But, as we all know, egos got the best of the band and the original Van Halen was history…or so we thought.

5150, released 1986

Along came Sammy Hagar. The story I heard was that Eddie was getting his Maserati serviced and the mechanic told him that Sammy was available. Maybe the two of them should hook up. Now, I’m not sure if that story is true or not, but I am glad that Sammy found Eddie and they put together a landmark album (in my humble opinion): 5150. I was still a huge VH fan and I have been a fan of Sammy Hagar since the Montrose days. But when this album dropped in the spring of 1986, it was alike an atom bomb dropped. Heck, there may have even been a mushroom cloud over L.A. when this shell went off! The three remaining original members, plus the addition of Hagar created a rock monster. The 5150 album was damn near flawless; not a clunker on it. Eddie’s guitar work was as sharp as ever and his keyboards sounded great as well. And Hagar’s vocals were awesome. I saw the new Van Halen on the 5150 tour and I was not disappointed. Sammy didn’t have the same amazing stage presence that Roth did, but man, that dude had some serious energy. Non-stop, punch-you-in-the-face type of energy. He forced you to have a great time. Oh, but all good things must come to an end. After Balance was recorded and released, the band was teetering a bit. To try and regain some of the old fire, VH invited David Lee back to record a few tracks for the dreaded greatest hits compilation and Hagar cried foul. Another brutal blow to Van Halen. Would this be the end? Apparently not.

Another singer stepped in and another iteration of Van Halen was born. Another album was recorded and released in March of 1998, with the obligatory world tour to follow. I have to give Gary Cherone credit; he tried. The band tried. The promoters tried. But the fire just wasn’t there. Sure, Gary Cherone was fine when he fronted Extreme, but I missed Diamond Dave. I missed Sammy Hagar. Cherone just did not have the charisma of Dave or the sheer energy of Hagar. After all, a live Van Halen show is an event of legendary status and if you were singing for VH, you were expected to be the ringleader! Gary just couldn’t take the lead and command this behemoth. This version of Van Halen only lasted one album and the band broke up…seemingly for good this time.

The band took a long hiatus, with Sammy and Michael Anthony apparently becoming best buds and business partners. They spent their time partying in Cabo and getting on stage occasionally. Eddie bounced in and out of rehab. The last anyone heard, David Lee Roth was training to become an emergency technician. But strange things happen in the world of rock. After a substandard attempt at touring without Eddie, Alex and Michael on the Sans Halen tour (am I the only one who remembers that?), rumors started circulating about a Van Halen with Diamond Dave back as the front man and Eddie’s son, Wolfgang, playing bass.

We all know this finally came to pass and the ‘new-old’ Van Halen has been touring since early this year. Unfortunately, I missed the opportunity to see them this time around. That’s okay. I was fortunate enough to see all three prior composites of the band. I’m hoping they put out some new material and tour well into the future. Who knows, the way their lineup changes, maybe I’ll be the next singer for the next Vodes Halen!

Soon to feature Vodes on lead vocals!

Source

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope you enjoyed the great articles, interviews and memories we had to share this week. Stay tuned for Saturday’s first Arist of the Week, hopefully coming to you from beside the sea on the shores of South Carolina!

In high school, I listened to Fuel and the Foo Fighters and Live and Counting Crows.  In college, my freshman year, I would listen to A Perfect Circle and Tool.  Later on, I would listen to The Shins and Elliott Smith.

I’ve listened to R.E.M. for many years, and their songs have stuck by me through good and bad times, thoughtful and emotional times.  The first R.E.M. album I got was New Adventures in Hi-Fi.  Because of my age, I was joining them late in the game.  It has been a treasure trove of albums to discover.  I admire how unique R.E.M.’s career has been and how they seem to continually challenge themselves to keep being creative. Of course, besides the music and instrumentation, I am a huge lyrics person.  My ears always strain to make out the singer’s words when I’m listening to any music.  Michael Stipe’s lyrics and delivery never fail to be poetic.  One of my favorite songs is “Find the River,” the last song on Automatic for the People.  In high school, my favorite R.E.M. song was “Strange Currencies.”

R.E.M. does not seem to fit into any mold.  I am glad for my sake that they have had so much commercial success.  Of course, a favorite band is a very personal thing.  It’s nice to know that sometimes unique and eloquent music can be widely recognized.

I’ve been to two R.E.M. shows, at different amphitheaters.  I especially have fond memories of the first one, in the late 1990’s it must have been.  My friend and I stood in the crowd watching from the lawn.  It was the tour for the album Up, with a backdrop on the stage of a fun neon lights collage.  The place was packed with people and the crowd’s energy was amazing.  R.E.M. performed encore after encore, at least three encores if not more.  I remember they even performed “Sweetness Follows” because Michael Stipe mentioned on stage that it was one of Peter Buck’s favorites.  Partway through the performance a really drunk woman in the front row had to be removed at Michael Stipe’s request.

Peter Buck, live, with R.E.M.

I think I was completely mesmerized during the entire concert.  I must have been in high school, that age when you are still particularly prone to awe-inspiring experiences that you didn’t quite know existed.

What can I say?  Life is rich and wonderful.  I’m just so happy that a group of accomplished musicians has been sharing some of the beauty of life as they see it for so many years.

This is Belle’s 2nd post for meandthestereo! You can also check out an article she did on Pop Music, here. And check out her “duel” review with Renato, here! Look out for more of Belle every Wednesday where she discusses lifestyle and music!

I sat speechless in my friend’s car as NPR confirmed the news that he had died. And I was genuinely sad.

Then, NPR cut to a worker who had, somehow, already put together some sort of montage for us to listen to. You never expect these things, but the media is always ready for them. That kind of kills the mourning period for me.

Now everything I look at online, on newstands, or on TV has been flooded with images of him. I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to remember:

- As a young child, styling my hair to make the iconic curl with the tips of my bangs.

- During my youth, having the crap scared out of me every Halloween while watching the ‘Thriller’ music video.

- When I lived back home in Texas, with my bunk-beds, and had the ‘Bad’ album art hanging on my wall.

- Thinking I wanted to be like Macaulay Culkin because he was in the ‘Black or White’ music video.

- Learning to play the bass guitar, and using ‘Billie Jean’ as my warm-up tune before a show.

Having Mr. Jackson’s music in my life was wonderful and exciting. I’m a little happier knowing I’ll get to one day share it with my children.

Goodbye, Mr. Jackson. Thanks for the tunes.