Rock fans angered by Eddie Van Halen Grammy tribute
Fans of rock and roll getting mad at the Grammys treatment of the genre is a lot like the “old man yells at cloud” meme. Every now and again though, they really drop the ball and do a facepalm move that manages to aggravate even the most jaded who already have low expectations of the annual awards show.
Such was the case over the weekend when the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards held this year’s event at the Los Angeles Convention Center, sans audience but with artists in attendance.
During the “In Memoriam” segment, paying homage to those in the music industry who’ve passed in the last 12 months, there were performances mixed with images of the dearly departed, including Eddie Van Halen.
The virtuoso musician died in October and was honored with his patented red, white and black striped guitar on a stand in the middle of the stage while video of him performing the iconic solo “Eruption” played behind it. The tribute lasted all of 20 seconds, sandwiched between performances of Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak playing a Little Richard medley and Lionel Richie singing “Lady” in honor of Kenny Rogers.
Immediately following the way-too-short moment, social media lit up with criticisms of the Recording Academy for the slight, bemoaning the fact that more should have been done for someone who revolutionized his instrument.
That’s what
it
really comes down to at the heart of it. Forget for a moment that Van Halen was the main ingredient in his namesake group, arguably the greatest hard rock band to come out of the United States. The way that he changed the guitar and encouraged budding musicians to pick up the instrument is right up there with Hendrix a far above some of the greats like Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton.
It turns out, incredibly, the eulogy had the chance to be much, much worse. The Recording Academy reached out to Eddie’s son, Wolfgang, and asked him to perform “Eruption” during the show. Smartly, he declined and later said diplomatically, “I don’t think anyone could have lived up to what my father did for music but himself.”
This is someone who has been assaulted with so much vitriol and outright hate since he was a teenager by misguided “fans” who never understood that one of Eddie’s life goals was to be able to play music with his son. Since it didn’t fit into their expectations of what the band Van Halen should be, they focused all of their negativity on Wolfgang, who took over bass duties in the group in 2006. Putting him up there to do one of the most copied and over analyzed pieces of music ever laid down would have opened up the floodgates of condemnations no matter how solid of a job he did.
“It was my understanding that there would be an ‘In Memoriam’ section where bits of songs were performed for legendary artists that had passed,” Wolfgang posted on Instagram in the days following. “I didn’t realize that they would only show Pop for 15 seconds in the middle of four full performances for others we had lost.”
“What hurt the most was that he wasn’t even mentioned when they talked about artists we lost in the beginning of the show,” he continued. “I know rock isn’t the most popular genre right now (and the academy does seem a bit out of touch) but I think it’s impossible to ignore the legacy my father left on the instrument, the world of rock, and music in general. There will never be another innovator like him.”
Wolfgang went on to say he wasn’t looking to pile on the hate, but merely to explain his side of the situation. He even said his father would likely laugh off the whole thing because he was about the music more than anything else.
“I’d love to get the opportunity to speak with the Recording Academy not only about the legacy of my father, but the legacy of the rock genre moving forward.”
Let’s hope at the very least the organization takes him up on that offer and stops treating rock and roll like some sort of afterthought they are forced to begrudgingly acknowledge only when it cycles through popularity in the mainstream.
VINYL OF THE WEEK
Keep an eye on this spot as each week we’ll be looking at new or soon-to-be-released vinyl from a variety of artists. It might be a repressing of a landmark recording, special edition or new collection from a legendary act. This week, it’s a box set from a band of postpunk, dance-punk icons. GANG OF FOUR: ‘77—81’ Initially scheduled for release last year, but delayed due to production issues, ‘Gang of Four: 77—81’ is a stunning, limited edition box set gathering the UK dance-punk band’s influential early work from a crucial five-year period.
The set contains ‘Entertainment!’ and ‘Solid Gold’ with both remastered from the original analog tapes. There’s also an exclusive singles LP and double LP of the never officially released ‘Live at American Indian Center 1980.’ Additionally, the package includes two new badges, a C90 cassette tape compiling 26 never-before-issued outtakes, rarities and studio demos from the two studio albums.
There’s also an epic 100page, full-color handbound book that details the history and legacy of the original Gang of Four with never before seen photos, contributions from surviving original band members, rare posters, ephemera, flyers, essays, artwork, liner notes and more. It also marks the first official publication of their lyrics.
Formed in Leeds in 1976 by bassist Dave Allen, drummer Hugo Burnham, guitarist Andy Gill and singer Jon King, the band pioneered a style of music that inverted punk’s blunt and explosive energies in favor of tense rhythms, percussive guitars and lyrics that traded in Marxist theory and situationism. They put every element of the traditional “rock band” format to question, from notions of harmony and rhythm to presentation and performance.
In the last few years, Gang of Four songs have continued to resonate with and been sampled by artists far afield from “post-punk,” including Run the Jewels and Frank Ocean, further cementing a 40-year legacy that cannot be overstated.
‘Gang of Four: 77—81’ can be purchased online and in stores from all respectable retailers who carry vinyl.