This sped-up reworking of Van Halen’s AOR staple “I’ll Wait” was dubbed “I’ll Wait (Devo Speed)” by a commenter ’round these parts, and it sounded so herky-jerky and good to these ears, I just had to pay tribute via Photoshop. (The Misfits-y hijacking of Danzig’s “Mother” linked from the message-board thread responsible for these shenanigans is worth your time, too.) [Boxstr via ILX; HT Jess/Paul] More »
Van Halen’s attempts to erase former bassist Michael Anthony from its history and swap in any trace of him with images of Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, have been as well–documented as they’ve been awkward. So it probably shouldn’t surprise anyone that the forthcoming release of a VH-themed edition of Guitar Hero—which only uses songs from the band’s David Lee Roth-era catalogue—has digitially added the 18-year-old bassist to performances that would have taken place some seven years before his birth. More »
The much-ballyhooed video featuring a soon-to-be-married couple and their wedding party dancing down the aisle to Chris Brown’s “Forever” has just passed the 10-million-view mark, leaving some chart success for the song (which is still in the iTunes Store’s top 10 as of this writing) in its wake. Perhaps more important than Brown’s career being revived by two people who are not on his payroll, though, is the effect that this clip will have on soon-to-be-married people who want their weddings to be just as special and media-frenzy-like as the blessed union of Kevin Heinz and Jill Peterson. To that end, Idolator presents six songs that could help you, soon-to-be-wedded person, turn your Big Day into a Viral Event. (NB: If you do use one of these suggestions, I accept invitations via e-mail!) More »
This video of Dillinger Escape Plan covering Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” is from last year’s Warped Tour, and its attendant comment section is littered with a bunch of Internet pedants bitching about the minor flubs of the lyrics, but oh man did stumbling across this YouTube clip make my day. Of course, no one with a knowledge of the DEP’s ability to shred should be surprised by the note-perfect replicas of Eddie Van Halen, but you have to give whoever’s on backing vocals extra credit for performing his Michael Anthony duties more than ably. [YouTube via shorterexcerpts] More »
Are people really clamoring for the album by the Joe Satriani/Sammy Hagar/Michael Anthony/Chad Smith collaboration known as Chickenfoot? People seem to think so; the release of their debut album has been pushed up to next Friday, June 5, and the band will be on the now-Conan-hosted Tonight that same day. One wonders why a release date is important at all, since in the above clip the always-in-the-know Sammy Hagar mutters something about all the fans in attendance “steal[ing] that shit anyway,” but I guess I shouldn’t question the business acumen of a notorious beverage mogul. [Blabbermouth] More »
The auction that was hawking the original artwork for the first Van Halen album ended with a high bid of $1,750–$750 less than the seller’s “Buy It Now” price. [eBay / Previously] More »
An eBay user is selling off his copy of the original artwork for Van Halen’s first album, which not only has the band’s original, name-written-out-in-full logo, it has a picture of the band where David Lee Roth is relegated to the background–and sorta-mimicking Johnny Rotten: More »
I still love this morning’s story about the product-placement deal that was struck between Autograph and Paper-Mate 25 years ago, mainly because it took so long for the obvious-in-hindsight synergy to be noticed by this observer. “With the name Autograph, it’s logical for us to be advertising a pen,” lead singer Steve Plunkett told the Los Angeles Times when the deal was dissected. “It would only be weird and out of place if we were advertising something like a vacuum cleaner or a roach spray.” But what if other videos of the era did work with less, um, glamorous products? Six vintage clips that we can now look at as perfect except for their insufficient monetization, after the jump. Feel free to add your own suggestions–and hey, given the impending doom that car companies are seeing, perhaps some current musicians might want to think about getting “creative” with their own endorsements? More »
