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Sounds Like the '80s College Rock, Alternative Music, and More |
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Tuesday, October 6, 2020 "Everybody Wants Some!!" by Van HalenThere were three music-related rumors I remember hearing on the playground in Jacksonville, IL: 1. Rod Stewart had to be rushed to the ER to have his stomach pumped. 2. There were multiple versions of KISS on the road at the same time. 3. Van Halen was actually KISS, performing without the makeup. I won't dignify the first rumor with any comments (if you don't know that one already, don't Google it), though the second wasn't entirely implausible. The Harlem Globetrotters generally kept two teams on the road (though they didn't hide the fact) and given Gene Simmons's zest for marketing the band and making money, it's almost surprising that he didn't try to double or triple the band's touring income via some ringer bands. But the third one was downright insane. No offense to Ace Frehley, but the Spaceman's guitar playing wasn't that spectacular. Yet Eddie Van Halen's was unworldly, and that was apparent from any random 30 seconds of a Van Halen song. His two-handed tapping technique got all the attention back in the day, but it was the riffs, along with the weird noises he made on his guitar, that were far more appealing to me. "Everybody Wants Some!!" has some of the best examples: Van Halen remains something of an anomaly in my music collection -- there's not a lot of the hard rock that inspired the band, nor any of the '80s hair metal bands that were the more slavish VH imitators. But I never thought of Van Halen as a hard rock or metal act, they always seemed like a pop band to me, one that didn't sound like anyone else. Given the tributes I've seen from friends on Facebook today, I'm guessing there are whole lot of folks who feel the same. R.I.P. Eddie Van Halen. link 0 comments |
Looking for some 1980s music? Search by year: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 Or search by artist: Aztec Camera, David Bowie, Cactus World News, The Church, The Cure, A Flock of Seagulls, Billy Idol, INXS, Katrina and the Waves, Modern English, The Proclaimers, R.E.M., The Smiths, U2, The Vulgar Boatmen, Wire Train Listen to every song posted on this blog in a Spotify playlist. Links Electronic 80s Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 80s Slicing Up Eyeballs Recent Posts "I Believe In You" by Talk Talk "End of the Day" by the Reivers "Radio Free Europe" by R.E.M. "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure "Ashes to Ashes" by David Bowie "Oblivious" by Aztec Camera "Chamber of Hellos" by Wire Train "Space Age Love Song" by A Flock of Seagulls "What Difference Does It Make?" by the Smiths "Catch My Fall" by Billy Idol |