I bought a Les Paul. It’s amazing. I blew my son's mind when I told him I remembered the first time I heard someone in person play an electric guitar. I was 4 years old and it was when we lived in Mississippi. The teenage son of my babysitter plugged his guitar into their stereo and played. I guess I’ve never been the same since. I have been playing guitars since the late 80's. I figured out that "Blitzkrieg Bop" started in A so I learned to tune to that song. I would play barre chords to the entire self titled Ramones debut. I've had a few guitars over the years, but none of this caliber. This is a guitar that I can leave to my children to fight over.
Sorry for the lack of postings, but I've been busy working. One must earn money to pay for the insane inflation that is reminding me of my youth in the Seventies. Thanksgiving is coming up which should provide some respite from the same old routine, but my birthday hits right afterwards and I'm at the age in which a birthday is just another reminder of mortality and the great beyond. Blah! If anyone wants to get me the Kiss 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe edition it might make for a happier birthday. Haha!
I will probably start working on my Martin Theatre and Cinema movie ads from their beginnings until they either changed names or closed permanently. I have so many ads to pull screenshots from so patience. I also figured out I missed many special midnight movies that played the Marbro so I need to update those posts. That's all for now.
Just before I finished these posts there's word that Diamond Dave is hanging up his performing career after his upcoming dates in Las Vegas around New Years. I hate to see him go, but he's a smart guy with lots of interests. His cartooning is really cool. I hope he writes a continuation of Crazy From the Heat as I loved that book.
As I was doing this I learned that one of my favorite writers, Chuck Klosterman, had done a countdown of every Van Halen song over at Vulture. It's paywalled since it's New York Times so I haven't been able to read the whole article, but I noticed we shared the same number one track. It's pure coincidence, but not surprising. His favorite Sammy era song was "5150" which is also my favorite one.
10. "Light Up the Sky" from Van Halen II. This one just cooks for me. Filled with wolves, crazy visions, and children lighting up the sky. This is one that might have been used if Van Halen had wrote all of the music for the Over The Edge film, but it was not to be.
9. "Jamie's Cryin'" from Van Halen. This is the only track from the debut that was written in the studio. I guess it's the closest to a pop song from the debut, but still, I think the tune has a ferocious edge underneath the keening background "oh whoa whoa's." When I first started going to the roller skating rink in 6th grade I met a couple of older girls. One was named Amy and the other one was named Jamie. It turned out that Amy wasn't really older. She was faking, but Jamie was indeed a freshman in high school. They were very similar looking and I used to get them mixed up all the time, but they would still sometimes be nice enough to skate with me during the couple's only songs. So, now all these years later I always think of that older girl Jamie. And, it was cool that Tone Lōc sampled the song for "Wild Thing, but uncool that Van Halen never saw a dime from it.
8. "Runnin' with the Devil" from Van Halen. A chorus of car horns, then the ominous thud of the bass, followed by Edward raking the strings between the bridge and stop tailpiece on his Ibanez Destroyer before launching into the main riff, then Dave lays down these immortal words "I live my life like there's no tomorrow, all I got I had to steal, least I don't need to beg or borrow, yes I'm living at a pace that kills."
Running with the Devil
7. "Little Guitars (Intro) / Little Guitars" from Diver Down. I just love this masterful piece of music from the intro down to the full song. Dave's tribute to a beautiful señorita comes off heartfelt and true while the slashing guitar notes spark with their own passion. I was thrilled when Eddie brought out the custom mini Les Paul in Nashville on the 1984 tune to perform the song.
6. "Mean Street" from Fair Warning. Eddie takes the bass guitar style of popping and slapping and brings it to his guitar for the introductory notes. It was yet another one of those revelatory jaw dropping moments of guitar genius from Eddie. Then Dave provides some dramatic tough neighborhood lyrics that hipped us all to the fact that Fair Warning was a darker and more dangerous Van Halen.
5. "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" from Van Halen. I know this is one of the easier songs to play on guitar as I had high school friends back in the day who could approximate it pretty well back then. Simple is sometimes the best though. Dave tells us we have to bleed for it if we want it. The opening riff still sends chills down my spine decades later. It's one of the songs that takes you on a journey until you stand on the precipice looking into the edge before kicking up its heels again during the almost manically gypsy or perhaps Russian sounding "Hey! Hey! Hey!" chants at the end. This song remained in the Van Halen setlist until the very end. The 4th and final single from the debut album was meant to be a punk parody, but like anything Eddie ever wrote it ended up sounding like Van Halen. The Van Halen News Desk has a good write-up on the song.
4. "Somebody Get Me a Doctor" from Van Halen II. Oh my! This song swaggers like a heavyweight champion after a first round knockout. The song dates from their club dates and centers on Eddie's funky riffing (parts of which remind me of ZZ Top) and Dave's stratospheric yelps. This song about being high just screams by on Van Halen II in a blink or you missed it time. When they played this one live they would extend the mid-section stop into a great bit of jamming that featured a Cream "I'm So Glad" interpolation like in this performance at Largo in 1982.
3. "Unchained" from Fair Warning. The side two opening salvo of Fair Warning is a statement of purpose. Eddie's guitar sounds massive with bite large enough to consume universes. Dave's lyrics are unabashed confidence "here's to your thin red line...I'm steppin' over" and he's not asking for permission as it's his chance to fly. We get to hear from Van Halen producer Ted Templeman as he asks Dave to give him a break and this bit was either spontaneous or pre-planned. Either way it works for me. It is the Van Halen anthem of anthems.
Unchained live in Oakland 6-12-81
2. "Dance the Night Away" from Van Halen II. Van Halen brings some harmonic Calypso style to their Latin swinging most perfect of pop songs. This was written in the studio and purportedly inspired by Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way." Vocal harmonies by Michael Anthony and Eddie sweeten the honey pot and Dave keeps his yelps to a minimum. It hit number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. It should have hit number 1. How can one resist the "Oooh baby baby" part? This song was meant to be blasted from your car with the top or windows down while your hair blows in the breeze. It is the full bloom of youth captured in just over 3 minutes.
Dance the Night Away on vinyl most likely the reissue
Dance the Night Away official video
This brings us the number 1 track cut during the original Dave era. The reason I even used the word "track" throughout this countdown is because the number 1 is an instrumental and not a song.
1. "Eruption" from Van Halen. How could it be anything but this track once simply marked "Guitar Solo" on the track sheet. Greg Renoff, author of the must have book Van Halen Rising, found the actual date this history changing burst of music was laid down: September 8, 1977. Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee were sitting in the control booth while Eddie was practicing a guitar solo for an upcoming gig. Templeman liked what he was hearing so the solo was recorded. It would slot in on the debut album between "Runnin' with the Devil" and "You Really Got Me." It begins with the heavy drums of Alex paired to a power chord from Eddie. Then Eddie proceeds to brutally attack his instrument in a display of picking and whammy bar noise thrown in too. Some frantic blues notes morph into almost classical sounding array of picked notes before getting whammy barred into submission again with an almost bass note sounding fading groan. So far this is pretty cool, but the world of guitar has yet to be changed. The landscape of guitar playing was soon to be transformed. Eddie once more starts attacking with speed until almost a minute in the notes transform into something that sounds alive as his double tapping harmonics keen and wail in a monstrous sound both beautiful and sorta terrifying. Sure, guitar players had used tapping before. Eddie himself has said he got the idea from seeing Jimmy Page doing it in concert, but Eddie took tapping into outer space. This is the moment when guitar players, both professional and amateur, heads metaphorically exploded and they had to pick their jaws off the floor. The instrumental rides these notes until collapsing into another whammy bar elephant noise before fading away through Eddie's Univox chamber. Eddie would go on to incorporate his tapping technique into many of his solos during songs and it became his trademark. "Eruption" itself was always a big highlight during Eddie's concert guitar solo spot. Whether you liked the band's music or not, "Eruption" was something that could not be ignored.
Now that you're all caught up lets look at the next ten tracks on my best of the first Dave era list.
20. "Secrets" from Diver Down. I know some of you are scratching your head and wondering how a little known song from Diver Down made it all the way up to 20 or perhaps, like me, you also really like this mellow romantic one. News Flash: This song was originally proposed to go on Fair Warning by Eddie. Which just blows my mind as I've always felt Fair Warning was just one more song away from being the best album in their catalog. I might have to make a playlist with the song added to Fair Warning.
19. "Everybody Wants Some!" from Women and Children First. Tribal drums. Dave improvising lyrics. Eddie making dinosaur sounds. This is a song that would have probably been in my Top Ten when I was in high school, but I've grown a little bit tired of it over the years. Yet....even though I've heard it so many times, it still hits the Top Twenty since it is such a badass weird tune.
18. "Panama" from 1984. This should have been the second single off of 1984 instead of "I'll Wait." Strategically placed right after "Jump" on 1984, this propulsive tune showed everyone that the old rocking Van Halen was alive and well with keyboards not taking the spotlight all the time. The music video is fantastic too. Eddie must really love the tune as he went on Letterman and played it as a straight instrumental. The Dave patter in the middle is perfect as was Eddie's miked up Lamborghini Miura S.
17. "Romeo Delight" from Women and Children First. "I'm takin' whiskey to the part tonight and I'm lookin' for somebody to squeeze." This song has it all. Heartbeat bass from Michael Anthony. Slam bang guitar stun work. Dave working the jive talk while Alex works the hi-hat. This one is sheer adrenalized mirth.
16. "Girl Gone Bad" from 1984. I have to admit. I didn't dig this song initially. Then I saw Van Halen on the 1984 Tour and my mind was opened. This song is just an instrumental marvel showcase of Eddie and his bag of virtuosity. Here's a live instrumental version for your pleasure.
15. "And the Cradle Will Rock..." from Women and Children First. Actually the first time keyboards show up on a Van Halen song as the main riff is actually a Wurlitzer played through a MX flanger into a 100-watt Marshall. Michael Anthony would play this part when played live. Dave delivers some teen rebellion lyrics worthy of Shakespeare. This song has adolescent appeal that should last forever.
14. "Outta Love Again" from Van Halen II. Drums and bass take center stage on this funky romp. Dave lets loose some of those patented high wire yells which were such a part of the first two records. Eddie almost does some chicken picking on the solo and I really dig his playing on the verses.
13. "Jump" from 1984. Why not follow the first keyboard appearance up with the most notable (or perhaps notorious) one in Van Halen's history a few songs down. We were treated to stories about this song well before the 1984 album was released. We knew it had caused an uproar within the group. We were also very curious to hear it. It was neat, but I didn't pay as much attention to it as I did "Panama", "Top Jimmy", "Drop Dead Legs", and "House of Pain." Then the video came out and, even though I didn't have cable TV at this time, I saw it often somehow. The song began to grow on me with its succinct breezy vibe. It wouldn't be the Eighties without it. It is the highest charting single in the band's history whether with Dave, Sammy, or Gary. I also have to confess, this one was in my Top Ten when I originally started these posts, but the more I thought about it a Top Fifteen spot is fine. It is my highest spot for a 1984 track.
12. "In a Simple Rhyme" from Women and Children First. It's my favorite song from Women and Children First! Eddie played a 12 string Rickenbacker electric on this song which dates back to their club days. I love Alex's percussive assault while Michael's bass percolates throughout. There is a very Led Zeppelin feel at times.
11. "Hear About it Later" from Fair Warning. Melodic opening and then Dave yowls while Eddie serves up some sort of flanged confection of stinging metal notes throughout. And man, when the song hits around the 2:25 minute mark and Dave says you can try him at home the song just hits the stratosphere for me. The guitar drops out completely until coming back in with a berserk solo that melds right back into the you can try me at home part.
Catchy title. Reel in those 10 or so readers and then pull a swerve. The old bait and switch. The real title would be more like "Trying To Remember the Best Day You Ever Had in School" which seems sort of lame. Because that is what I'm going to do with this post. My schooldays keep getting farther and farther past and my memories are corroding like an old D Cell battery left in some forgotten toy. You open the hinge where the batteries go (if the toy still has the hinge) and you see this goopy looking mess that must have been oozing out for years. You want to touch it, but you think again...maybe I better not. What the hell. I'm here. You're here. Let's do this. Here's a spontaneously composed look through 6 years of school. When I find some time I'll cover the next 6. Yes, I do have a college degree, but I'm not about to try and remember those years.
1st grade: I remember getting in trouble for talking. I'd have to sit right by my teacher's desk facing the rest of the class. So I would then make faces at them. And get in even more trouble. I missed almost 6 weeks of school due to chicken pox and mumps which I got just weeks apart. My teacher, Mrs. Wilson, drove a green AMC Gremlin. My best day ever was probably near the end of the school year when they brought in the movie projector to show a film. That was not unusual, but this film was very long. I'm almost certain it took up two spools. It was filmed in beautiful color and was contemporary. Yet, here's the thing: I recall it fleetingly in my mind and have no clue on the title. It was an educational film - I remember there was parts about danger signs, but it wasn't just about safety. I have searched for this movie ever since and may never find it, but if I do come across it and get to see it again, it will take me back to that day in 1st grade.
2nd grade: Once again I was a troublemaker. I would get slapped on my hand with a yardstick which was no fun. Mrs. Dunston would also make me sit by the chalkboard away from the other kids. My best memory was easy. I created a poster of the Jack and the Beanstalk story which won 2nd prize in a reading/art contest. They had the awards/show at night so it was super neat to be in Mitchell-Neilson Primary after hours. I dressed up in a Native American costume for some reason. My prize was a book called Sylvester, The Mouse with the Musical Ear. I still have that book all these years later.
3rd grade: There were so many great days in this year of school for me. I learned how to play chess. I learned how to play Dungeons & Dragons. I read The Hobbit. I made many friends. I dressed up as Ben Franklin for a class performance and ended up cracking up laughing in front of all the parents who came to our little program. I guess the best day was when I won the penmanship award for best cursive writing. My print writing had been atrocious. I would purposely make letters with squiggly lines and it drove my teacher Mrs. Jennings batty. So, she was astonished when I learned cursive perfectly. The award was a dollar bill and it has never been spent. My mother put it in one of the class photos of me and there it is still.
4th grade: Mrs. Vick reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was really cool. We also studied Ancient Greek mythology which led to a classroom battle between Trojans and Greeks. I led the Trojans and anytime the teacher left the room we got out our rulers and sword fights ensued. One of the craziest memories is when a classmate who sat one seat over from me puked up whatever she had for lunch and it covered her desk and the two next to her. Whew! She almost got me. The most traumatic memory was losing the class spelling bee on the word shriek. The best one was our field trip to the Parthenon in Nashville as part of the Greek mythology studies. My best friend Jaime took photos that day and decades later I would find a photo she took of me that day on her Facebook page.
4th grade at the Parthenon in Nashville
5th grade:I have written about 5th grade before. You can read that post if you like. It was called 5th Grade High Murks in honor of my wonderful teacher Ms. Murks. The highlight had to be our making a television news show. I wanted to do art as backdrops, but ended up being one of the news anchors. It was only broadcast to the school and to our parents one night, but it was a really interesting experience.
6th grade: The most fun I had in 6th grade was making comics with my friends Kent and Wolfhardt. They were superhero stories which ran a page or two. I wonder what became of them. While we didn't record a television show we did a similar thing in Mrs. Pittenger's class. Once again, I was a new anchor. Three Mile Island was the hot topic if memory serves me right.
30. "Feel Your Love Tonight" from Van Halen. Van Halen should not be considered a "hair metal" act as they pre-date this culmination of the Sunset Strip metal scene. Did they influence it? Hell yeah. Every guitar player wanted to incorporate some of Eddie's technique and style. Every frontman tried to cop some of Dave's style which was his own take on Jim Dandy. Whether a conscious nod to the metaphysical poetry of Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" or not, I dig the "use it up before it gets old" line. This particular song is a blueprint of it all right down to the isolated guitar and vocal bits near the end.
29. "Drop Dead Legs" from 1984. Lots of cool curlicue guitar lines on this AC/DC inspired languid paced stomper. Goofball lyrics from a leering Dave (love the mention of cartoon character Betty Boop) end about 2 and a half minutes in and a long squawking guitar interlude plays the song out with Alex sounding great on the drums too.
28. "D.O.A." from Van Halen II. "I'm a spark on the horizon." Love that line, plus the idea of being a "dirty faced kid in a garbage can" definitely appealed to my teenage sense of alienation in the early 80's. The guitar tone is mega crunchy too with a great dive bombing solo. This tune was on their Warner's demo, with different lyrics.
27. "Fools" from Women and Children First. This one dates back to their club days when it was titled "I Live With Fools" and is in the same vein as "D.O.A.". It's another dose of alienation set to a shuffling roar. Echoes of The Who, Hendrix, and Zeppelin abound, but it's not really derivative nor is it in a shiny new package. There's a grunginess with this song and "D.O.A." that makes them stand out.
26. "Dirty Movies" from Fair Warning. Dave's lyrics about a prom queen turned porn actress are a delight. "Daddy's little sweetie after some damn rainbow" is just genius. Then there is the music behind the lyrics. It's mysterious at the beginning then becomes this funky masterpiece with the guitar punctuating with horn like stabs along with some deft scratching deep in the mix (I believe Tom Morello was taking notes). Drum and bass are badass too. This is a song that may work its way into my personal top 10 one day. It just continues to sound better and better over the years.
25. "You Really Got Me" from Van Halen. Van Halen's first top 40 hit (making it to 36) was rushed out as the first single from their debut album because the band Angel was planning to put out their version of the Kinks classic. Eddie would have preferred to have Van Halen's first single to have been an original, but it wasn't to be. Still, the Van Halen version is kick ass with Eddie's tapping making a brief appearance and the weird interlude in the middle always reminded me of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." "You Really Got Me" was featured prominently in one of my favorite childhood films Over The Edge.
24. "Hang 'Em High" from Diver Down. This is an old tune originally titled "Last Night" on the Warners demo. Dave reworked the lyrics and it became a Wild West epic. Instead of being just another boring relationship tune the song became a bit enigmatic which I dig. It's a rather demented boogie with Eddie firing on all cylinders. If you use the web version of this site you can check out the original version.
22. "So This is Love?" from Fair Warning. Hey, it's another swinging tune. This was the fourth single from Fair Warning, but it didn't chart. I love the sunny verses followed up by the questioning chorus. It's a fun tune and the band shot a video for it in a dinosaur park somewhere in Europe.
So This is Love?
21. "Hot For Teacher" from 1984. It's another fourth single. This one did actually chart hitting 56. It was the last single released by the original band. The ending of the tune was from older song "Voodoo Queen." Note: "Voodoo Queen" became "Mean Street" except for the ending. This song is a drummer's delight with Alex's double kick introduction. It reminds me a lot of Billy Cobham's "Quadrant 4", and not just the drums, but the boogie fried guitar too. I would be the Van Halen brothers were familiar with it. I was a senior in high school by the time the video became popular and I can assure, the song was a hit with the younger teachers in my high school.
That's it for now. Tracks 20-11 will be coming along at some point in the future. Until then, happy trails.
I'm counting down my the first Dave era Van Halen tracks. Part one is here.Part two is here. If you're all caught up let's not waste anymore time.
40. "Dancing in the Street" from Diver Down. One of the many cracks in the camp of Van Halen. "Dancing in the Street" is a song that Dave wanted to cover, but Eddie won with "(Oh) Pretty Woman" instead. When "(Oh) Pretty Woman" became a hit and a whole album was needed "Dancing in the Street" reentered the picture. Which was fine, except that Ted Templeman took a Mini-Moog piece Eddie had been working on and it's this synth piece that percolates throughout the song which really makes it fresh and takes it to number 40 on my list.
39. "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" from Diver Down. It's the second time Van Halen plunders the Kinks back catalog (we'll get to "You Really Got Me" later) and I love it. It works well as a mid-tempo album opener and its placing at 39 is more a product of my own nostalgia for the song than musical quality.
38. "House of Pain" from 1984. "House of Pain" was an older track that had never made it on to a proper Van Halen album. A version of it had been recorded with Gene Simmons before Van Halen got their deal with Warner Bros. That version had the car horns that would later be used on "Runnin' with the Devil." It's one of those galloping stompers of a song that fades out leaving you wanting more.
37. "Bottoms Up!" from Van Halen II. This boogie, party anthem extolling the joy of alcohol is fun and the sort of track that showcased the humorous side of Van Halen which really set them apart from most hard rock and metal.
36. "Take Your Whiskey Home" from Women and Children First. This song was a leftover from Van Halen's club days. Eddie wasn't too keen on doing it, but everyone else wanted to do it. The mid-tempo tune fits in well on Women and Children First.
35. "Loss of Control" from Women and Children First. File this was in the bonkers section. The Van Halen News Desk says this one pokes fun at the punk rock scene.
34. "Atomic Punk" from Van Halen. A rarity in the Van Halen catalogue; this song has no backing vocals. It's just sheer adrenaline veering on white noise as Dave relates how he rules the streets in what appears to be either a dystopian sci-fi future world or perhaps some darker fantasy land. Eddie's palm scratching of the strings was yet one of the many interesting sounds he was to share with us over the years.
33. "Beautiful Girls" from Van Halen II. It was originally performed as "Bring on the Girls" during the band's club days as it made for a perfect accompaniment to the wet t-shirt contests that usually part of the night's festivities. The song's title was changed and toned down due to label pressure, but the gleeful decadence still shines through.
32. "Women in Love..." from Van Halen II. The double tracked harmonics at the beginning by Edward are genius. Then comes the slow burn. I really like Alex's understated thuds in this one. Just perfect. Then Dave provides the twist that his woman is leaving him for another woman. Dave is generally all about the braggadocio, so it's neat when he's almost vulnerable.
31. "On Fire" from Van Halen. Dave hangs ten on our sonic wave. Even though it's the last song on Van Halen's debut, it does not come off as an afterthought. The heavy metal clanger with Dave screaming his head off leaves one wanting more. More of whatever it was we just heard.
That's it for this post. I'll be come at some point counting down 30-21. Until then, happy trails.
I'm counting down my the first Dave era Van Halen tracks. The first part can be found here. If you're all caught up let's not waste anymore time.
50. "Spanish Fly" from Van Halen II. This little acoustic tapping showcase came about after Eddie picked up an old acoustic at producer Ted Templeman's home. Templeman was surprised at how well Eddie's technique applied to an acoustic. Eddie would incorporate the instrumental into his electric guitar solo spot when on tour.
49. "Sunday Afternoon in the Park" from Fair Warning. Wickedly mean sounding synth instrumental perfectly in line with the darker tone of Fair Warning.
48. "Could This Be Magic?" from Women and Children First. I probably should rate this higher, but we're already entering hallowed ground. Everything from this point on is so great. This tune is the result of Ted Templeman handing Eddie Van Halen a bottleneck and asking him to play slide guitar. Dave accompanied Eddie on acoustic guitar, Nicolette Larson provided harmony after the guitar break, and the sound of rain falling could be heard as the studio doors were opened. "I see lonely ships upon the water...better save the women and children first." It's funny and evocative, and, dare I say, almost poignant.
47. "You're No Good" from Van Halen II. The slow boil opener of Van Halen's second album was a cover suggested to them by Ted Templeman. They had done it live back in their club days, but Eddie had forgotten it. Templeman hummed the main riff and Eddie took it from there. Linda Ronstadt had a smash hit with her version in 1975, but the Van Halen version is its own little thing. I really enjoy Dave's screams on it.
46. "Little Dreamer" from Van Halen. Similar to "You're No Good", but a Van Halen original song. This mid-tempo tune shows off Dave's singing chops. Dude had swagger for days and even had pipes back then.
45. "(Oh) Pretty Woman" from Diver Down. This cover of the old Roy Orbison chestnut was supposed to buy them some time in 1982. When it turned into their biggest hit at the time peaking at number 12, they were asked to provide a full album and Diver Down was born. "Happy Trails" was the b-side of the single which was initially released without the (Oh) in the a-side's title. Dave had wanted to record "Dancing in the Street", but Eddie chose "(Oh) Pretty Woman" instead. The seeds of destruction of my favorite group were taking root. Can't fault the music though. Despite Dave forgetting whole lines this was so glorious to hear coming over the airwaves.
44. "Top Jimmy" from 1984. This ode to local Los Angeles cult band Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs rocks like a mofo. Eddie played a Ripley stereo guitar which allowed for all of the strings to be panned individually. Put your headphones and you can really pick up on the weirdness.
42. "Push Comes to Shove" from Fair Warning. Dave wanted to cash in on the reggae sound, but instead we get this very intriguing ballad. Eddie's guitar line in the verses does have that reggae saunter, but Michael Anthony's bass is more funk with Alex's insistent drumbeat matching that vibe. I absolutely love Eddie's hornlike solo bits. I've heard that those parts are very Allan Holdsworth like.
41. Sinner's Swing from Fair Warning. Overt F-bomb! Insistent chugging rhythm. An unhinged Eddie first take solo. This song is a blast. Amazing to think I can find 40 more tracks from the original Dave era of Van Halen I like more. They were just so amazing. Stay tuned for 40-31 up in a few days.
I am still compiling my list of movies that played the Martin and Cinema theatres in Murfreesboro, so I decided in the meantime to provide a few blog posts for you on the first David Lee Roth era Van Halen. If I count "Little Guitars (Intro)" with "Little Guitars" and also include the unlisted instrumental "Growth" I come up with 60 tracks total. So I'm going to do a countdown of all of them until we reach my favorite one. You're welcome to disagree as long as you're polite about it. Music is subjective after all. This list itself is not set in stone. I will probably change my mind as I am writing. Today we'll cover 60-51.
60. "Happy Trails" from Diver Down. It's a throwaway. It's fun, but it's one of the very few first Dave era Van Halen tunes that wouldn't have been missed if never recorded. It was the b-side of the "(Oh) Pretty Woman" single. If that single had flopped, it may never have made it on an album.
59. "I'll Wait" from 1984. This is probably the first controversial one on this list, but I can't stand this song. If not for the fact that the band made a real effort on it, I would have placed it at 60 instead. Michael McDonald of the Doobie Brothers was brought in to help with the lyrics, but then got left off the credits. If I was him I would have wanted it to stay that way. The lyrics were inspired by a Calvin Klein print ad of a woman wearing men's underwear and the lyrics are terrible (Dave should never be singing about "heartbreak in overdrive") and I don't enjoy the strident synth tones on this one. Eddie's guitar solo is the best part and I do like the chugging bass synth notes, but even those good points can't save it for me. It was the second single from 1984 and somehow made it up to number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Apparently Dave and producer Ted Templeman didn't like the song and wanted it dropped, but Eddie and engineer Donn Landee fought for its inclusion.
58. "1984" from 1984. The first of many instrumentals that are near the bottom of the 60 tracks. Just because it's 58 doesn't mean it's bad. In this case it just means it's boring noodling. It's just Eddie whetting the appetite letting you know there will be keyboards on the album.
57. "Growth" from Women and Children First. "Growth" is not listed, but it comes after the last song "In a Simple Rhyme" ends. It fades out on the vinyl and cassette versions, but the full 15 seconds are heard on the compact disc. The intent was to possibly begin the next album with this instrumental, but that didn't happen. It was played in concert and a full length version was done live with Sammy Hagar in 1986. It's not much, but it was a neat way to end a record and intrigued the hell out of my friends and I way back in our high school days.
56. "Cathedral" from Diver Down. This was a great lead in to the next song "Secrets" on Diver Down and was an interesting innovative instrumental from Edward. Manipulation of the volume control combined with tapping with some echo and chorus effects make for a nice slice of classical style sounds. I dig it, but there's better solo Eddie to come.
55. "Intruder" from Diver Down. This instrumental was one of necessity. The music video for "(Oh) Pretty Woman" turned out to be longer than the song so the band came up with "Intruder", or well Dave claims he sat down at the synthesizer and came up with it. It's cool. The little stutter step repeated riff right before "(Oh) Pretty Woman" begins is killer.
54. "Tora! Tora!" from Women and Children First. This ominous sounding lead in to "Loss of Control" evokes Black Sabbath and features some tape reversed whammy bar abuse from Eddie while Dave screams like a banshee.
53. "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now) from Diver Down. Dave said he heard this Big Bill Broonzy song on the radio one night and thought it would be a fun cover song. Eddie's and Alex's father Jan Van Halen was brought in to lay down some clarinet and a good time was had by all. It's in the vein of "Ice Cream Man" so it fits. Dave really hams it up on the vocals too.
52. "One Foot Out the Door" from Fair Warning. I probably should consider "Sunday Afternoon in the Park" and "One Foot Out the Door" as one track, but I'm not. The same synth line from "Sunday Afternoon..." picks up speed and runs through "One Foot...", but let's consider "One Foot..." a stand alone tune. Dave ranting about how he's got to leave quick because the woman's husband is coming home is funny. Eddie's guitar solo is a masterpiece of technical chops. My only real complaint is the brevity of the song, but, then again, that may be the point. Dave's got to get out quick. No time for sticking around.
51. "Ice Cream Man" from Van Halen. Yes, that is Diamond Dave playing the acoustic guitar on this cover of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man". Open E tuning I believe. It's a fun and goofy tune of double entendres which somehow just seems to fit perfectly on the debut album. Van Halen is often referred to as a party rock band and moments like "Ice Cream Man" illustrate this well.
That's all for today. Stay tuned for my rankings for 50-41 soon. If you can't wait a few days you can always visit the Van Halen News Desk which had been indispensable help in compiling my list with all of the extra factoids I might have forgotten or missed.
Bill Ward is a maniac on the drums. Geezer Butler rock solid. Tony Iommi laying down riffage worthy of the Gods. Ozzy Osbourne preaching truth. Timeless as ever.
I'm still compiling the ads for every movie that played the Martin Theatre in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and if that wasn't enough I decided to add the crosstown theater Cinema One. I'm up to 1978 which means 10 more years on the Martin until it became Carmike and quite a few more until the Cinema shut down for good. Hence, so few posts lately. As I go through the old newspapers I end up finding other oddball items or interesting things. For example: Burt Ward dressed as Robin appeared at the University Ford dealership for a whole week in the afternoons signing autographs. A domestic squabble spilled over into the local Big K store in Memorial Village and only ended after a lady shot a guy who died at the hospital later. She was shooting wildly and it was lucky that no others were injured.
So here's some random newspaper clippings. It's mainly ads. Enjoy.
Here's another installment of Monday Music for all of the cool cats out there who know you have to be viewing the web version of this blog to see embedded videos. Per usual it's just tunes I've been digging over the last few weeks or so. We'll start with some quintessential Generation X slacker vibes. I absolutely hated this tune when I first heard it. You'd think I would have been up for it since I had been reading about Beck's antics in Flipside magazine, but it took years for me to grasp it's meta mythic state. What kind I say, I was a loser.
I'm a loser baby so why don't you kill me.
I lived on the farm of country music star Jimmy C. Newman for most of my high school years and got to know him and the members of his band. Most of them were Cajuns and they never forget to tell you that often. They were so proud of their culture and I thought they were very cool and interesting. Eventually, by just being around them so much I found myself subconsciously imitating their accent when I spoke with them. I watched Jimmy C. Newman and his band Cajun Country perform many times and much of the appeal of the music was provided by his accordion player Bessyl Duhon who is a legendary musician. This music seeped me into me and I've found myself on a Cajun music kick just this past week. I wish I could find the entire documentary of this which aired on PBS way back in the 70's. This features Louisiana musical giant Nathan Abshire.
Nathan Abshire
Thinking about Jimmy C. Newman naturally leads me to the tune "Alligator Man" which he co-wrote with Floyd Chance. He performed that song at every concert I saw. It's an ace tune and the man who is perhaps my favorite American musician loved to perform it too.
Alex Chilton "Alligator Man" 1998
And now for an upside down question mark with hair. This may have been released in 1990, but it's absolutely perfect music for a montage in an Eighties film. And this video..it's bonkers in the best way.
Steve Vai - I Would Love To
I wish this video was for the full song, but it's the 45 version we get. That will have to do. I find myself singing this song often these days. Black Sabbath was a visionary band. Such a combination of light and heavy in "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."
They just tell you that you're on your own fill your head all full of lies.
I got The Who "Sell Out" box set and it's amazing. I had always rated the album highly, but immersing oneself in it like a bath of baked beans is truly the way to go. I am obsessing over it like a school kid really. This mono version of "Our Love Was" is just great. And then you've got to hear "I Can See For Miles" too. I hope everyone reading this has a great summer.
Our love was shining like a summer morning.
The Who lip syncing is still great cause they look hip
I couldn't resist any longer. I put my order in for this box set:
Then in July this baby will be coming out. I need to pre-order it soon:
The Who and The Beach Boys go together just fine. The Who are right up there with The Beach Boys on my favorite band of all time. Way ahead of the Beatles. The Beatles aren't even my favorite band from Liverpool. My current read is the Peter Stanfield book on The Who titled A Band with Built-In Hate: The Who from Pop Art to Punk. It's a really great book which is as much about pop culture as it is The Who. I highly recommend it.
My ever changing list of favorite bands may change from time to time, but The Who are always there. They're mod, they're pop, they're rhythm & blues, they're heavy metal, they're conceptualists, they're just this great combination. I've seen many people opine they are a band with a lead singer, lead bassist, lead drummer, and lead guitarist (although Pete is more aptly titled a rhythm guitarist), and it's not that far wrong. One of the grandest things about the group is their constant evolution. Pete Townshend's inability to ever be content is to our lasting benefit.
So about that list of favorites. I'm not numbering it since it's in no particular order, but I'll still keep it to 10. This is a list of bands as they pop into my head. Sorry solo artists. You can sit this one out.
The Who
The Beach Boys
Van Halen
Ramones
The Muffs
Cheap Trick
Jimi Hendrix Experience (they were a band! albeit one with a major dude leading the way)
I got a phone call this morning from a relative. I'm at the age when a phone call from a relative is a bad thing. My uncle had passed away. He was the last of the bunch on my mother's side of the family. 14 brothers and sisters in all with all but 1 of them reaching adulthood. My grandmother had her first child in the year 1922 when she was only 15. They were sharecroppers picking cotton in North Mississippi. My uncle was born in 1951. And now they are all gone. Enjoying the same status as kings and queens and other heads of state that have left this mortal coil. So, this morning is a bummer, innit.
I only got a Facebook account way back when for no real reason. My account just sat there for the longest with just one friend from my high school days. Then he got me into playing a game. Soon the only reason I added friends was to help play Mafia Wars. That particular game was fun for a few months, but it didn't take too long to see there would never be an end result. It was your typical donkey chasing a carrot on a stick game. So I quit playing it. Facebook, itself, blew up during this time circa 2009/10 and soon I was reconnecting with old friends which was fun. It was like Myspace, but where Myspace was an atom bomb, Facebook was a hydrogen bomb. I enjoyed it. I liked seeing photos of my peers and their lives. I liked people sharing their top ten musical lists or funny videos. But then 2016 came and went like a hurricane. Suddenly people started becoming political. You were soon either/or.
And this dismayed me. I remember talking with some friends...and I mean really talking with them face to face and they said they agreed with me that they didn't want to log into Facebook to see people spout off their opinions. Sure, you're welcome to do it, but I am free to either delete you or, more benignly perhaps, just hide your timeline. The friends I was talking to began sharing their political thoughts on Facebook shortly after our conversation. Guess what? I hid those people. It didn't matter if they were left wing, right wing, or just plain nuts. I hid them. I am an equal opportunity avoider of political nonsense on Facebook.
So, what are my political views then? Do you want to dox me perhaps? Facebook actually calculates your political views. I have forgotten how to find this data, but I know when I looked it up they thought I was a Democrat. Nope. So I must be a Republican then? Nope. I'm an actual independent thinker and voter which is perhaps a rare thing these days. But, I'm not really here today to talk about the legalized crime of politics. That is just one of many irritants to infect social media. I will add something here that everybody must know deep down in their hearts to be true: no matter how many political views you post, no matter how many memes you share; it's not going to change even one person's mind. If that method works, then the country as a whole is in far worse shape than any of us can imagine.
So politics as a whole came along and made Facebook a worse place. It wasn't as much fun to hangout there. Next you can add Facebook's constant tweaking of, admittedly their environment, which gets annoying. Once you've gotten rid of the political garbage and joined some cool groups devoted to your interests the garden gets tilled and you find debris and weeds abound. I belong to lots of groups on Facebook. Some of them are devoted to the era I spent my formative years, I belong to some movie groups, and some television show groups. These groups have this in common: unless they are policed by hardcore administrators they get overrun by spammers. Even worse than that though is people who can't be bothered to look things up so people just post the same damn stuff over and over and over and over again. It's tedious.
I was accused of being a spammer recently when I linked to my Electric Cowboy festival piece posted here. I protested this since: 1. it was a reply to a comment about the festival 2. this blog isn't for profit so what good does it do me to gain traffic here? There was a convoluted response about people spamming posts just for likes. I don't need the dopamine rush of likes at Facebook. Because here's my last bit about the social media giant and then I'll get back to my regularly scheduled lack of posting here in 2021 (although there is some Martin Theatre movie listings coming in the next few months).
Facebook can shove it because nobody really cares that much anymore anyways (never mind this screed which proves I might care just a little I suppose). Nobody under the age of 21 or so maintains anything much there. I know my own children rarely do anything there. Heck, my youngest doesn't have an account and I doubt he ever will get one. Nobody really cares that much about your vacation photos or about the fact that you have coffee every morning. That funny meme you just shared has been shared by 10 or more people today and it wasn't even all that funny when it first appeared 5 years ago. Another thing; have you ever noticed how much snark is on there? So many people try to be funny in their comments and it all gets so tiresome. Or even worse, they try to be the smartest person. I've had enough of smartest people. I've had enough of dumb people. I've even had enough of myself some days. I'm going to go back to the way it was before I joined that data collecting wretched hive of scum and villainy.
It's been quite a while since I dropped some Monday music so how about today. Here's some tunes I've been digging the most the last few weeks.
First up is some Cleveland power pop from 1980 by Wild Horses. Dig that "Oh yeah alright" in the chorus and then the great bridge. "You've got your finger on the trigger, but there's nothing in your gun." This comes from a superb YouTube channel called I Don't Wanna Cry. Like and subscribe and get lots of obscure power pop.
Wild Horses - Neighborhood Angel
Kim Shattuck is so missed. The Muffs are in my rock and roll hall of fame.
The Muffs - Really Really Happy
Here's another from the fabulous I Don't Wanna Cry YouTube channel with some power pop from Iowa. "Green Hearts" by Luxury is just an insanely great tune. I love how guitarist/singer Rick Swan stretches out syllables. It reminds of the way Liz Stokes of The Beths does the same thing. If you see this record in the wild for cheap pick it up. I would love to get a copy, but the median price right now is $75. Wow.
Luxury - Green Hearts
Since I mentioned The Beths let's listen to a tune which I've shared here before, "Jump Rope Gazers" which features some syllable stretching. The video is neat too. It's like E.T. with a much cooler alien.
The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers
I got a still sealed copy "Playin' Up A Storm" by The Gregg Allman Band from Wuxtry Records in Athens, GA this week. I didn't go there. I ordered it online. I have been to Wuxtry, both locations way back in 1986, so it was cool to get another record from them. I got The Pandoras way back in 1986 with Kim Shattuck on bass of course. This Allman tune is a slow burner. You know he spent lots of his youth living in Nashville so perhaps that's one of the reasons why I dig him so much.
The Gregg Allman Band - It Ain't No Use
RIP Paula and Kim. The Pandoras were great.
The Pandoras - Stop Pretending
I've been on a Cheap Trick bender the last few weeks. They are, along with Kiss, the band I discovered in elementary school and they have been with me ever since. Their latest album, In Another World, is good, but I still miss Bun E. Carlos behind the skins. Four of their songs were used in the classic teen exploitation film Over the Edge which was on constant rotation on my cable TV circa 8th grade and here's a cool unofficial video of "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" which should whet your appetite for a region free blu-ray coming at the end of this month from Arrow Films. I've preordered my copy.
Cheap Trick - Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace
In case you ever wondered what the original "Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace" by Terry Reid recorded in 1969 sounds like here you go. It's a killer tune.
So, I had a post deleted by big brother. It was the post titled 'I Was a Teenage Game Show Junkie." It had somehow violated the malware and viruses policy even though as far as I know the only links in it were to YouTube videos. It's not as if I can validate that since it's gone for good. I would never intentionally have links that lead to garbage, so I may end up doing away completely with them. We'll see how it goes. Carry on as your were.
Postscript: I got an email this morning saying the post had been re-evaluated and reinstated. I don't see it yet, but I presume it will show up again. It's good to be vindicated.
Forty years ago this monster slab of rock and roll arrived. I want to know what they were thinking at Warner Bros since "Hear About It Later" was not issued as a single from Fair Warning. I think that tune would have been a smash hit even with the 45 second instrumental beginning. The bridge (or is it considered the chorus) of the song is pure pop heaven. I love this record, but wish side two just had one more song on it.
Many years ago I lived in a 2 story farmhouse on Manson Pike and like most of the places my parents either rented or was buying it was short-lived. We had bought this home with 5 acres and lived there from 1977 into 1978. I have fond memories of it even though it's long gone. I'm pretty sure the new hospital sits on some of those 5 acres now. What does this have to do with "Cow Jam 1981?" Not much probably, but one of my memories of living in that farmhouse was that on one night a big rock concert was held on the property that was behind ours. I remember my father cussing about it the day of the show. I could see the glow of the lights and hear the music throughout the night. This "Cow Jam 1981" reminds me of that night. I've yet to find any definitive answer on the nature of that concert from 1977/8, but it was perhaps similar to this one. It's also curious to me to see that the DNJ says it's going to take place on the McFarlin farm which was next to the property we were living on in 1977/8, while the notice from the MTSU student paper Sidelines says the concert is going to take place on Primm's Farm. This would have placed the event also near our old place on Manson Pike. Sure, it's several years later, but I suspect the location saw concerts there often over the years. If you happened to attend this show let me know in the comments.
Acts noted to be playing April 23, 1981:
Billy Earl McClelland Band
Square Wave
The Piggys
The Winters Brothers
Cow Jam notice in the April 22, 1981 DNJ
Sidelines April 14, 1981
Sad Postscript: There was a second "Cow Jam" held later on September 24, 1981. After the show was over an attendee, a young 18 year old man Stacey Thatcher, was walking home on Highway 96 when he was sideswiped by a hit and run vehicle. Thatcher was alive at this point, but couldn't walk to get help. He passed away due to the injuries before being found several hours later. Sheriff Craig Snell was quoted in the DNJ that he would try to prevent any future "Cow Jams." The driver of the hit and run car would be found and sentenced to 5 years in prison for vehicular homicide. The parents of Stacey Thatcher filed wrongful death suits totaling $8.25 million against the driver and passengers in the car and the organizers of the event. I know they got a very small portion of this from the driver as part of his sentencing, but I don't know about the rest. Money, however large an amount, is no solace for the life of a child. I hope they found peace. The only references to "Cow Jam" I could find in 1982 and 1983 were all references to this tragedy. Some sage advice: don't drive drunk.
I don't know if those of us who lived in Murfreesboro in 1981 (I had just moved back after living in Smyrna for a year) realized that Big K was on its last legs, but that was the case which makes this 3 page ad from the April 22, 1981 Daily News Journal even more bittersweet than mere nostalgia would suggest. We had moved right into the S curve off Clark Boulevard by Mitchell-Neilson Elementary so Memorial Village was an easy bicycle ride away when I had a bicycle that didn't have a flat tire or broken chain otherwise I was hoofing it over there. I spent most of my time in Family Billiards playing pinball since I could often play for hours on just 1 or 2 quarters on the Playboy or Mata Hari pinball machines. It would be June of 1981 when Big K merged (more like they got consumed) with Wal-Mart.
Check out all of the awesome things you could purchase during the outdoor sale 40 years ago. I think I'll grab some of those over the calf tube socks.
Here's a photo of the front of the Murfreesboro Big K which I may have shared before. It was posted to Facebook by Danny Campbell who I believe was the photographer.
There was plenty more to choose from in a Columbia House ad from the March 29, 1981 Parade section of the Tennessean, but these will do nicely for a Monday Music post. It's a very mellow batch when Billy Joel is the hardest rocking of the bunch. Still, I have fond memories of hearing tunes from these artists when I was in junior high school. Make sure you're viewing the web version of this blog and enjoy some embedded videos.
