Is Van Halen a hair band?

Vic2010 said:

I guess it depends on how you define "good."

I think Eddie Van Halen R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-I-Z-E-D rock guitar in the late 70s. AC/DC and VH kept ROCK honest when a lot of other bands were wearing skinny ties and Ray-Bans.

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I agree with Vic with LG's sentiments

Vic2010 said:

I think Eddie Van Halen R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-I-Z-E-D rock guitar in the late 70s. AC/DC and VH kept ROCK honest when a lot of other bands were wearing skinny ties and Ray-Bans.

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I rather they'd stayed with the skinny ties. I like the skinny tie look myself. So sorry you don't agree....

Lord Grendel said:

^^Give that man an ice cold beer.

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Of course! That may be the key to appreciating Van Halen. Beer - it does so much more than make ugly girls look pretty!

^^I can agree to with that...beer is perfect for relaxing and playing some good old fashioned rock music, like VH's debut one of the best hard rock albums ever recorded.

To your health my supercilious friend.

Vic2010 said:

I think Eddie Van Halen R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-I-Z-E-D rock guitar in the late 70s. AC/DC and VH kept ROCK honest when a lot of other bands were wearing skinny ties and Ray-Bans.

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You say they "revolutionized" rock. I agree, insofar as they lead the charge back to the arena rock excess against which punk rock had rebelled. It was as if punk rock never happened. Now admittedly punk rock very soon spawned excesses of its own, e.g. Mohawks and razor blades, but that was much more the case for punk rock fans than for the bands themselves.

With all their excess can you honestly blame me for poking fun at Van Halen? I mean how can I not? Freddie Mercury himself would have been proud of their outfits.



And I really do prefer the skinny tie Ray-Ban wearing look to that sported by arena rockers:



Come on! How could I not?

And the music of both Van Halen and AC/DC? To me both bands just sounded like Led Zeppelin imitators who didn't know the first thing about the blues.

Foxhound said:

And the music of both Van Halen and AC/DC? To me both bands sounded like Led Zeppelin imitators who didn't know the first thing about the blues.

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And Blondie sounded like The Pretenders.. who sounded like Pat Benatar who sounded like The Motels.. who sounded like....the other 80's groups opposite to the 80's rock glam bands..
Fox.. really.. your excepting what you like MORE... and not thinking that some like what they like (80's glam bands) just as much as the stuff you like..
To me your point is affirmative.. There is no argument here about who likes what..
Why must you insist and comparing your taste to what others have posted??
To me.. I just don't get why your keeping all this up..
Your pissing in the pool my friend..

Thumper said:

And Blondie sounded like The Pretenders.. who sounded like Pat Benatar who sounded like The Motels.. who sounded like....the other 80's groups opposite to the 80's rock glam bands..

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I'll have to check out the Motels then because I really like all those other artists!

and not thinking that some like what they like (80's glam bands) just as much as the stuff you like....

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I really like T.Rex, David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, Roxy Music and Prince. Some of those are glam, are they not? How about the Scorpions, Loverboy, Trooper, Harlequin and Honeymoon Suite? Are they glam?

But you're right. Unfortunately somehow I've gotten on edge here. People can certainly pick and choose whichever bands they like. It's no big deal. It's all just rock 'n roll music.

Foxhound said:

You say they "revolutionized" rock.


And the music of both Van Halen and AC/DC? To me both bands just sounded like Led Zeppelin imitators who didn't know the first thing about the blues.

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No, I think I said that Eddie revolutionized rock guitar. No one played like that in the 70s. I'm not saying was "the best" but what he did in basic, boogie rock with his guitar solo was unheard of at the time. He spawned millions of imitators of course. I don't hear any similarity in AC/DC and VH to Led Zeppelin. Both VH and AC/DC were just hard/rock bands (who had a boogie/blues foundation) but celebtrated pure, rock & roll guitar. I think that's what separated them from all those English Metal Bands (NWOBHM) and the thrash bands.

Foxhound said:

Well there's no disputing the "raw, furious, guitar-driven" part. Whether they were any good though is another question entirely.

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right on brotha!

Vic2010 said:

I guess it depends on how you define "good."

I think Eddie Van Halen R-E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N-I-Z-E-D rock guitar in the late 70s. AC/DC and VH kept ROCK honest when a lot of other bands were wearing skinny ties and Ray-Bans.

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and what's so bad about these bands? personally bands like Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, Joy Division, R.E.M., the Patti Smith Band, and Blondie were doing much more interesting things than the same old rehashed rock that Van Halen and AC/DC were throwing out there. i think foxhound summed it up best, Led Zep imitators without any blues. did they make good music? yeah sure, it wasn't bad. but it certainly wasn't as ground breaking or innovative as you make it out to be