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Unsung Forum » Why I prefer Van Halen to Radiohead |
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redbarchetta 335 posts |
May 05, 2008, 12:07
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My wife, bless her heart, has booked two tix to see Van Halen at Madison Square Garden for my 40th. Aside from the massive hole this is blowing in our savings, I am absolutely beside myself with excitement as I have never been to America before and the last time I saw VH was at Donington in '84. Van Halen were, with Dave, the wittiest, sharpest, funkiest, most knowing rock band to have ever come out of Southern California. Any band which can go from a Motown cover, to flamenco guitar, via bruising heavy metal, Dixieland Jazz and Country in the space of one LP side gets my vote every time (Diver Down, side 2). David Lee Roth's book is one of the more self-aware rock-bio's I've read, a man blessed with huge intelligence and an extremely well developed sense of the absurd. Radiohead, on the other hand, are a rather serious bunch of chaps who have a very well developed social conscience and seek to challenge boundaries with their music. Which is interesting, because Van Halen inspired millions of young guys to pick up the guitar and in doing so redefined the vocabulary of the instrument, without being so damn earnest about it. How much fun can you have at a Radiohead gig?
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hedlite 375 posts |
Edited May 05, 2008, 12:32
May 05, 2008, 12:31
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the act of sitting comfortably with a favourite tipple or two and luxuriating in the sensory luxury what is hi-fi (albeit low budget), is something i enjoy immensely from time to time. that little world of mine without radiohead i feel would be dreadfully depleted. there may be no fun without enjoyment but there can certainly be enjoyment without fun...right, where's me pipe and slippers... have a blast geezer, sounds great.
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Mrs Ahab 1138 posts |
May 05, 2008, 12:32
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i'd rather know a van halen fan any day of the week than a radiohead one, VH fans have fun, you can not like that band if you have no sense of humour, and i'm not insinuationg they are a joke in any way they just blow the cobwebs away with their music and energy. rh fans take life faaaar to seriously and are usually boring little twerps. That aside we do have both in our record collection, for these type of people i would make an exeption ;).
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Deepinder Cheema 1972 posts |
Edited May 05, 2008, 13:31
May 05, 2008, 13:05
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I liked van halen, I believe they may have supported BS on their last proper tour. However, I found the antics of the lead singer a little too much to bear, it must have been like living with a small child. I understand that Eddie Van Halen has lost part of his pelvis, perhaps too much cocaine?
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shanshee_allures 2563 posts |
May 05, 2008, 13:45
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I like 'Jump' coz it reminds me of my youth and The Pointer Sisters had a tune with the same title in the charts at the same time. Do Van Halen get better than that? Curious, Radiohead-liker (to a degree);-) x
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redbarchetta 335 posts |
May 05, 2008, 13:46
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I have an excellent bootleg of Van Halen's performance supporting Sabbath at Victoria Hall in Hanley. I wouldn't criticise Radiohead fans, cos I have a few 'Head cd's in my collection and OK Computer has some terrific moments. It's just that big bands who don't readily acknowledge that they're as much a part of the entertainment industry as, say, Keith Harris and Orville, are deluding themselves. Van Halen's whole schtick was to embrace showbiz and in doing so, gently make fun of it.
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IanB 6761 posts |
Edited May 05, 2008, 14:28
May 05, 2008, 13:52
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shanshee_allures wrote: I like 'Jump' coz it reminds me of my youth and The Pointer Sisters had a tune with the same title in the charts at the same time. Do Van Halen get better than that? Curious, Radiohead-liker (to a degree);-) x They had lost it by Jump. That "1984" album was their "Who Are You?" or their "Black n Blue". Not all terrible but a mess of musical and personal miscommunication. A reocrd that's drowning in cocaine. I can understand why peopel who saw them around that time think they were worthless tripe of Poison / Winger / Warrant / Nelson dimensions. First three records and the Gene Simmons produced demos / bootlegs are all you need.
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singingringingtree 964 posts |
May 05, 2008, 13:53
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shit, i prefer almost anyone to radiohead... not a fan of VH, but if i had to go see one of those bands, i wd have no hesitation
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vince 1628 posts |
May 05, 2008, 13:59
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redbarchetta wrote: How much fun can you have at a Radiohead gig? Well, I'm off to see 'em in Tampa tomorrow so I'll let you know ;-)
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IanB 6761 posts |
Edited May 05, 2008, 14:30
May 05, 2008, 14:02
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I love VH. Nothing more to be said on that subject that I haven't said on here many times before. As for Radiohead I liked the second album a lot and it is one of the better records about being in a band (as second records often tend to be). Was one of the classic slowburn / sleeper albums. Then we had OK Computer being talked up by the press beyond all rhyme and reason though personally I loved their tunes in "Romeo + Juliet" (Talk Show Host? Lucky?). They had a truly cinematic quality that they haven't revisited since. Overall OK Computer is pretty ok. If you've never owned a copy of Low it might even sound like an important record. I play it once a year and enjoy the space guitars. No, what turned me right off them was their on-the-road documentary. If you can't get off on being in one of the biggest and most celebrated bands in the world while having sympathetic management and total musical control / freedom then there is something seriously wrong with you. They just seem to be utterly determined to out-glum each other in terms of focusing on the tedium of touring and none of the considerable upside. They didn't even seem to enjoy the music making part let alone the promo. Oh dear. Someone wants you to do an interview and talk about your music? Boo fucking hoo. What an imposition! The nasty writers didn't overlook to compare you with Kierkegaard and Unamuno again did they? Poor poor loves. Manager kiss it better etc etc When you compare it to the Bends era Astoria video it's almost like a different band altogether. Middle class guilt can be a terrible thing as anyone unfortunate enough to have bought Thom Yorke's solo album can hear. His brother's band were loads better than that. And you can bet that Dave Lee Roth never made the mistake of thinking that not having a middle eight or a chorus would suddenly make his music more artistic. Otherwise I quite like them ;-)
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