I was helping VG and Snippy move today when someone made the comment that they were waiting for a posting about Van Halen's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I ended up writing a longer post on my blog, which I wasn't sure you'd all want to have taking up valuable space we could be using to make fun of Courtney Love, but I will include one little part, because it seems that it is all I want anymore from Van Halen.
I’m not going to get into the vocalist changes or which era of the band produced better music, because it is all subject to taste, but in the end what I really want is for the band to show up (and I mean all of them: Dave, Ed, Alex, Mike, and Sam), accept the recognition with grace and dignity, and then go quietly off into that good night. I don’t need to be reminded about how Roth has turned into a parody of himself, unable to perform without the witticisms of 25 years ago; or about how EVH cannot play at a level anywhere near professional, let alone the elite level of musicianship he used to have; or have the junior high drama of their catfights or infights or whatever the hell their social inadequacies are displayed for all to see. If I sound bitter or disillusioned about this band, it is because that is what they have done to their fanbase with all of the crap. Over the last 8-11 years they have destroyed the goodwill that they had built up so completely that I just want them to do one thing from here on out. I want them to make me not embarrassed to have been a Van Halen fan.
Thanks for reading.
Homer
5 comments:
I was almost moved to tears. You don't need to be embarrassed around us, Homer. We know how cool you are.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if The Beatles hadn't broken up. Would they too have become a revolving door band? They had already started to bring in "guests" like Billy Preston and Eric Clapton...whose to say John and Paul wouldn't have kicked out the easygoing George and replaced him someone more Interesting and Lively like David Bowie or the guitarist from Badfinger.
Really, I fear they would have gone the way of Disco - John had way too much creative control. Paul would have been a baby and got his lawyer father-in-law involved so that at least 50% of the songs included tambourine by Linda. Ringo would have made more money off of Back Off Boogaloo because The Beatles Name had been attached. We would have never known where Bangladesh was on the map (wait, I still don't...)...
Yes, it's all for the best that they ended with The End. I'm grateful that I don't have to watch a washed up Paul attempt a highkick as he received his Hall of Fame honors. I'm grateful they didn't replace John with a 17-year-old Julian, and later Sean, when Julian got kicked out for nurturing his cocaine and prostitute addiction. And I'm grateful we never had a Legends Fest where the Beatles shared a headline billing with The Rolling Stones and Van Halen.
My condolences.
Yes, I wrote a novel. Deal with it, sucka.
Yeah, it is really a double-edged sword being a fan of a musical act. You want them to continue to produce the music that you love, but you want to avoid the narcissism that seems to drive these people. Really, most musicians are flawed in serious ways, then when you give them the wealth and adulation it is bound to feed their unstable nature.
Be grateful the Beatles ended when they did, you missed out on either insanity of the order of Van Halen or that slide into mediocrity that the Rolling Stones have endured since the Mick Taylor era.
Like I said, I'm not asking for much, just basic human dignity at this point.
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