Wolfgang Van Halen defends Billie Ellish for not knowing Van Halen

When I was 17 (1990) I don’t think I could’ve named one Yardbirds’ song or any of their guitarists.
I knew who Page,Clapton and Beck were but nothing of the Yardbirds influential history.

 

“Hey nineteen, that’s Billie Eilish”

 

For whatever reason, VH really don't translate across generations the way other older bands do. And I say this as a huge fan. I'll bet she knows who Led Zeppelin and the Doors were but VH just haven't had the same kind of cultural staying power. Again, I am a huge VH fan but it's just true.

 

Van Halen will eventually go the way of Mountain.

And I say that as a huge fan of Mountain.

 

Yea, on that note when AC/DC played near me it was more than half young people, same with Guns n roses at the same stadium. Scorpions and Van Halen all grey hair. Some bands seem to translate more. As and unreleated aside. When i saw Danzig, weirdly, half younger people and half women. Really trippy. I would have thought all old dudes.

 

I think of all the education that she missed...

 

She has probably heard of Zeppelin. However, outside of Stairway to Heaven, I doubt she could name one song.

And no to The Doors.

Who.
Mountain?
Who.
Mountain?
THE WHO!
Oh, gotcha.

Maybe so, but buy then, I’ll probably be transcending time and space.

 

I feel like You Tube has democratised a lot of music. You can find Benny Goodman and the newest hit single. I'm always surprised how educated on music younger people are. They have access to so much. Pretty cool really.

 

Eventually????

 

Who the hell is Billie Eilish?

 

Ehh when I went to see Van Halen in 2015 there were a lot young people at the concert so this isn’t true

 

Old men embarrassing themselves again. I grew up with Van Halen, saw them in concert a few times, and jammed my ass off to them more times than I could possibly count or remember, but in no way should she know who they are or care who they are.

 

Why "should" it be that young people don't know artists who predate them?

I couldn't care less that Eilish never heard of VH, but I don't understand the notion that it's bad for young people to be aware of older musical acts...

 

First: I know who commented first via tweet. I'm the one who posted this thread.
Second: Jokes don't always work. Always consider the audience and the situation.

 

My 13-year old niece had never heard of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen or Pink Floyd when I asked her recently about all three.

It's not a big deal.

Hell, when I was 13, I couldn't name any song by The Rolling Stones that wasn't Start Me Up or Undercover of the Night.

 

The bigger story is Eddie named his kid wolfgang?

 

No, it means that they have their own world and we have ours. When you were 18 years old, did you know or care about Bob Wills, Bud Freeman, or Robert Johnson unless you were a total music geek?

 

It is a popular name in Northern Europe where the Van Halens emigrated from.

 

Understandable but still a very celebrity thing to do... what with van halen the band being the embodiment of all things American for about a decade and the fact he, like the rest of us take on entirely new American identities regardless of where we came from.

 

Since Eilish is a musician, shouldn't that qualify her as "music geek" - in theory, at least?

 

You are correct, their world is much more narrow and restricted. I wasn’t oblivious to Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly in the 80’s. The younger generations are very much uninformed of great music and popular culture from just 20+ years ago — and it hasn’t always been that way.

 

On the other hand, Van Halen prominently figures into the history of rock music. No, she doesn't have to know their music, but I do think that any musician should have a basic knowledge of musical history. That goes for the boomers, too.

However, the way popular music is today, Van Halen's history doesn't really have a place in it. And, I would classify Billie Ellish's music as avant-garde. What I heard of it is off the beaten path. That is another result of not having a centralized music business anymore. When people get their music from a variety of sources with no gatekeepers, the music and audience becomes fractured and historical music has much less of any impact or influence.

 

Right, that is why Van Halen is being weeded out and forgotten.

 

Maybe. Maybe not. Look how many musicians out there still think rock music started with The Beatles or Led Zeppelin.

 

I can't agree with the "they have their world and we have ours" sentiment. Decades of musical philosophy is behind me (Sting, U2, Lennon etc.). "They" have their tastes and influences and so do "we". A bit of expansion and broadening of the minds can't hurt both ways. Its not important that she didn't know at 18, its not important that some on SHF claim not to have heard about her, but saying "don't know and don't care" from the safety of the bunker is just not healthy.