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Why I prefer Van Halen to Radiohead
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IanB
IanB
6761 posts

Edited May 06, 2008, 14:54
Re: Why I prefer Van Halen to Radiohead
May 06, 2008, 12:58
That's a fair question but I think the point about the extent to which VH inspired people to play is a good one.

In that respect VH were as important in the mid to late 70s as say The Ramones. Both went against the hard rock status quo of the time and should not suffer just because the imitators that both bands spawned were, by and large, utterly awful.

Eddie himself is as important as a guitar player as Larry Graham or Bootsy were for bass players. Not that he was completely original but he took a bundle of possibilities from the likes of Billy Gibbons and made them all his own. Like the way Hendrix took the Townshend / Beck thing and built an identitiy out of it.

What Eddie could do on the guitar was a testement to thousands of hours of hard work but the band's dedication to short songs and high energy performances masked a lot of great technique from all three players.
Mars Volta are kind of doing the same thing today by playing complex music with wild abandon.

Funny how all that technique stuff is less intimidating when the band in question don't pull it down as veil between them and the audience. Which brings us to Radiohead ...

I really can't see Radiohead inspiring anyone to pick up an instrument for the first time as they make it seem such a joyless and purely technical / intellectual exercise - the exact same accusations that used to be laid at the door of the likes of Yes and ELP in fact. I like some of their records but it's a very rarified and ungiving musical area that they occupy. Kind of like Fripp / Crimson. Which brings us all the way back to VH and The Ramones.

It's not technical ability that is the issue but the attitude with which you make use of it.
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Re: Why I prefer Van Halen to Radiohead (keith a)		 Replies:
Re: Why I prefer Van Halen to Radiohead (keith a)
Re: Why I prefer Van Halen to Radiohead (rojo)
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