Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today, MJ Hiemstra is back to help us celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the most exhilarating rock records of the 80s. You can check his online portfolio wherever fine internet connections are sold or accessed.
Genre: Hard Rock, Pop-Rock
Label: Warner
Release Date: January 9, 1984
Vibe: 🤘🤘
Picture this: It’s 1984. You’re a 13-year-old boy living on the Canadian prairies. You’re a fan of many kinds of music but veer towards the mainstream for the most part. You’ve bought sleeveless tees with Japanese suns on them and are quickly collecting unmanageable amounts of pins for your black trench coat that you bought at Value Village. One day, you turn on Much Music (the Canadian version of MTV), and through the 13-inch TV’s tinny speakers, you hear a synthesizer pounding out a melodic rhythm as the screen indicates more to come.
Suddenly, there he is. David Lee Roth, dressed in what appears to be an assemblage of rags, drops down into the splits, primps his hair, lets out a primeval howl, looks at the camera, and sings, “I get up/and nothing gets me down.” Thus begins a five-week run as the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 and the completion of the evolution of a band that took just a decade to reach pinnacles mere mortals can only dream of.
Side note: Pete Angelus, Van Halen’s road manager, would later say that they probably spent more money ordering pizzas to the set of “Hot for Teacher” than they did on making “Jump.” No matter the cost, it set in motion a rumble that would be felt for years to come.
Van Halen’s 1984 is an absolute powerhouse of rock music and a new direction from a band that, until then, had positioned itself as a guitar-heavy rock band with music intended strictly for parties you have when your parents are out of town. While setting up his home studio, Eddie Van Halen began experimenting with synthesizers. Unsurprisingly, the Paganini-esque guitar virtuoso quickly turned himself into a keyboard impresario, as evidenced by the burning synth solo on “Jump.”
Those who thought this might detract from the band’s heaviness need not have worried. Beginning with “Panama,” Eddie shows us he has not forgotten about his “Frankenstrat” guitar. “Top Jimmy,” an ode to Jimmy Roenek, the leader of Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, continues the guitar dominance with a guitar solo that makes one question Eddie’s status as a human being. While side one is a party effort, side two gets a little darker with “I’ll Wait,” “Girl Gone Bad,” and “House of Pain”—all songs more reminiscent of their previous efforts.
In all, 1984, despite being the last album made by the original members before the transition to “Van Hagar,” is a major cultural waypoint. This record defined a summer for teenagers all over the world who were only just discovering themselves. It’s forever entrenched in my heart as the sounds that opened my eyes to a whole new world. I’ll be forever grateful to the four party animals that gave me the music I still treasure.
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈
All this time later, "Jump" is still a thrilling song.
My jaw still drops at the opening of Hot for Teacher, with the brothers Van Halen absolutely KILLING it.