Van Halen vs. Bon Jovi - the battle of the hair bands!

[Vegas]

Originally Posted by HotRockinJohnny

Van Halen (Van Hagar) was a hair band?

I never thought that...................ever.

No, they were not considered that. But they get my vote!

Started in the mid 70's. No 'hair band' title was back then. Zep? A hair band... no. It was a "genre"...

[Titokinz]

SCREW Van Hagar, Diamond Dave was what kept the band alive for me. No matter how great Eddie could shred that guitar, Sammy's vocals lacked the authenticity that DLR had.

[Foxhound]

Originally Posted by Flower

I found this definition ~


Definition: Hair bands were so named because of their use of makeup, teased hair, and oddball costumes. Songs were almost always about sex, drugs, and the supernatural.

Also Known As: Hair Metal, Glam Metal

Examples: Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Guns n’ Roses

Yeah, that's a good workable definition.



Incidentally, using the "hair band" term was a great way to ruffle feathers on this board ten years ago. For whatever reason, the term bothered quite a few other posters.

[dr wu]

Van Halen...mostly on the Eddie guitar riffs....can't say their tunes were my cuppa.

[Darth Pazuzu]

Foxhound, my dear Foxhound...

I've already made my thoughts on this issue perfectly clear on your Guns N' Roses vs. Bon Jovi (?!) poll, and I really see no point in further rehashing them. So no prizes for guessing which way I voted here!

Understand that I'm not trying to be petty or cruel, and please don't take this personally, but I swear that you have just got to be the undisputed Jedi Master Of Mismatched Poll Contestants. Somewhere there's a potential comedy sketch to be made from your exploits!

I'm not devoting any more time and attention to ol' Jon Bon (once again, see my post on the other poll thread), but here are a handful of my favorite Van Halen "deep cuts"...



Apples and oranges, my friend...

[Foxhound]

Originally Posted by Darth Pazuzu

Understand that I'm not trying to be petty or cruel, and please don't take this personally, but I swear that you have just got to be the undisputed Jedi Master Of Mismatched Poll Contestants. Somewhere there's a potential comedy sketch to be made from your exploits!

Apples and oranges, my friend...

In general I like to matchup two bands that were largely contemporaneous meaning that they competed for radio airplay and in record shops. Moreover I hardly ever sponsor what I think will be a complete mismatch. I also know that sometimes I'll be surprised at the result of a poll. You yourself have expressed surprise at the result of a matchup between the Yardbirds and the Zombies.

In this case if you look at the discography and chart success of Bon Jovi compared with Van Halen's, it actually seems to be a particularly good matchup. Moreover, I first became aware of Bon Jovi when back in the 1990's I heard a call-in participant on a radio show sneering at Bon Jovi. My thought was "Bon Jovi? Who are they? Are they like Van Halen?" Over the next few weeks/months, my initial suspicion was confirmed.

Bon Jovi Genres from Wikipedia: Glam metal, hard rock, arena rock, pop rock

Van Halen Genres from Wikipedia: Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal

And of course I myself categorized both as hair metal bands in my opening post.

Originally Posted by Darth Pazuzu

I've already made my thoughts on this issue perfectly clear on your Guns N' Roses vs. Bon Jovi (?!) poll, and I really see no point in further rehashing them. So no prizes for guessing which way I voted here!

I'm not devoting any more time and attention to ol' Jon Bon (once again, see my post on the other poll thread)....

The actual reason you have a problem with my matching Bon Jovi up against Van Halen and then Guns n' Roses is that it seems you have a particular dislike of Bon Jovi. Okay. That's fine. I'm not a great fan of Bon Jovi myself and we're all entitled to our preferences. Me though I have a particular antipathy toward Van Halen. Quite simply their music does nothing for me and David Lee Roth makes my blood run cold. Nor do I much like Guns n' Roses.

Incidentally, Bon Jovi has passed the test of time much better than either Van Halen or Guns n' Roses. Bon Jovi is still a very successful going concern after more than 35 years while both Van Halen and Guns n' Roses descended into personal acrimony and health destroying substance abuse within a decade of their initial chart success.

[Darth Pazuzu]

Point taken. I never claimed not to have a bias. Taste is, after all, a highly subjective thing.

Understand that I don't really hate Bon Jovi as a band, or Jon himself. In fact, I think their endurance and staying power is highly admirable in and of itself. It's just that VH and GN'R seem to be in a rather different league, in spite of all three being a part of the same '80s rock zeitgeist. (I concede that point at least.) Some people appreciate pop smarts and craft, while others tend more toward stuff with a more visceral edge or a more aggressive energy. Hence the reason why Bon Jovi doesn't seem to be on quite the same level -- at least to me.

However, I think acrimony and excess are decidedly not factors to be taken into consideration with regard to the issue of musical merit. True, Bon Jovi has had a greater long-term success, while VH and GN'R have fallen into disorder over the years. But while I do wish those bands had managed to deal with their personal problems a little better, it doesn't affect my opinion of their music, which I love. Bon Jovi, for all their professionalism and reliability over the years, does next to nothing for me.

However, like I said, I have no animosity towards either Jon or his band, and I am perfectly willing to give credit where it's due. It's just that I still think your polls are a bit of a mismatch...

Oh, by the way, here's a "deep cut" of Bon Jovi's that I do rather like, if not out-and-out love. It's from the soundtrack to 1994's The Cowboy Way (appropriately enough! )...