New Van Halen: Or How I Learned To Stop Whining And Love The Fact They're Still Aorund.

I'm torn about how I feel about Van Halen  announcing not only a tour (With David Lee Roth no less), but also a new album. The tour sounds incredible and anyone who think Van Halen isn't a great touring band anymore is...well they probably have a point. fact is, we all get old kids. And you can't expect ol'd Diamond Dave to do the splits like he use to. But they're a damn sight better live now and days then pretty much ever single other hack hair metal band to try to stage a 'comeback'. Van Halen at the very least knows how to keep it real. They're not deluding themselves. None of them thought they would be alive to see 2012 with the decisions in life they made and they live for the moment. With the exception of Wolfgang "Eddie Van Halen's my dad so shut up" Van Halen, who if he didn't expect to see 2012 speaks volumes about how much Eddie fails as a father.

But my meandering aside, they are doing this not because they think for a second Van Halen's gonna "come back" and the world can pretend hair metal is suddenly okay along side Lady Gaga and Adele. But because they genuinely want too. It's callous and easy to think "Oh looks like Eddie needs another home" or "Dave, really? Coke at your age?" But think about it. 1984 was a commercial hit. Everyone in the band is pretty much set for life. And they are getting old. If you new that all you had to do was stay home and you'd be well off why would you ever risk personal injury trying to recapture the past? Only if you truly loved what you did, love your fans, or are just plain crazy.

Of course in Dave's case it might be all three

Van Halen are going on a monster tour because they WANT to go on a monster tour. And me, I'm glad I get to live to see it. Ant d that it's not Sammy Hagar. But what about new Van Halen? Can they possible write new material? Does anyone want new Van Halen? The answer to those questions in order: They did and a new album is schedule for a late Spring releasing by them. They have a plethora of hits to dig into and just play and play. They don't need to be writing new songs And honestly? No. Not really. Van Halen are a band that everyone knows at least one or two songs and frankly most of us would prefer they didn't. The fact is, they are very different people now then they were in the 80's.

See? There wearing sunglasses now! And Michael looks a lot like some punk kid who just got lucky!

Okay so they're exactly the same and it's the world which has changed. But the fact remains; new Van Halen is Old Van Halen and if Van Halen just started as a band today there's no way in hell they'd be hitting the top 40. Music trends change, and van Halen's left long ago. Unless they suddenly release a finely crafted pop music video with David Lee Roth in in outrageous costumes with a hint of social commentary...

Moving on...

No one would want to here it. We listen to Van Halen because they SOUND like Van Halen. And it's a good if unchanging sound. You're not evolving it. So why just add more? "Aha! So it must be a cash garb!" says the hipster cynic. Yes, continue making fun of the silly old men making music, and hope you die before you get old. 

No one is denying that a tour and making an album would make them money. But back to my earlier point, money really isn't the issue. Maybe Eddie misses the music. Maybe Dave misses the spotlight. Maybe Alex misses being ignored but amazing. Maybe Wolfgang misses being in school. And maybe, just maybe they're surprised that they still have fans and wanna do something for them. Maturity? In Van Halen? It could happen.

So now without further ado, the new Van Halen song "Tattoo". With a music video of a couple of guys who may be old, and may not have the chops they use too. But that's not gonna stop them from having the time of their lives.