BLOG BATTLE: Van Halen or Van Hagar?

Dave vs. Sammy! Make Your Vote Count!

In a few weeks, the Stuck in the '80s podcast crew plans on hosting an epic Van Halen vs. Van Hagar battle. Like the rest of our broadcasts, the 'cast will be available on iTunes. But we think this is the one that will launch us into fortune and glory. Or, at the very least, make us extremely popular with suburban dirtballs nationwide.

A few years ago, Van Halen vs. Van Hagar wasn't even a fair fight. But David Lee Roth ain't exactly aging well, while the hard-working Sammy Hagar has turned himself into Jimmy Buffett with power chords. When I was 16 years old, 5150 was a curse word in my house. But after seeing the "Sammy & Dave" tour a few years ago, I started to loosen up. Hagar's set was fun and energetic; Diamond Dave's was downright cringe-inducing (especially when he tried to do his flying drum-riser split, but looked more like Wilford Brimley falling off a curb).

Listen: I'll always choose the original VH over the later generations. But I'm willing to be bet that there are more Van Hagar fans out there than VH loyalists think.

So let's do this: Van Halen vs. Van Hagar?

Just click on the comments link and start typing. The easiest option is to choose the "Other" button and type in whatever snarky blog name you want. I'm thinking Gary Sherone (sorry, make that C-H-E-R-O-N-E) will be a popular option.

Comments

[Gary Cherone]

If you're gonna make fun of me, the least you could do is spell my name correctly, Mr. Pop Music Critic. It's Cherone, not Sherone.

[Sean Daly]

That's what I get for ripping on the defenseless.Sorry, Gary.Now...are you gonna vote or what?

[Guy]

I was firmly in the DLR camp for years. Then I got sick of DLR's receding hairline, increasingly limited vocal range and sense of entitlement (not to mention his radio show) and became more of a Sammy guy. My Sammy conversion actually started a few years earlier, when I caught him in Cabo San Lucas around midnight jamming to Zepplin & Stones covers with Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains). He sounded great, although it could have been the 20 beers I had knocked back earlier in the evening.Regardless of whose camp you are in, VH in any form is done. You are free to finish your bottle of booze, Eddie.

[chilledbongo]

of course dave is not aging well - me, neither - but we only notice bec of the work he did in his prime. sammy wins the aging showman award, but most of the best songs on vh greatest hits albums - really all that matters - belong, alas, to the davester. so, battle? really?

[Rick Gershman]

Diamond Dave all the way, because I won't critique him based on his post-Halen years--Axl Rose thus gets a similar waiver--and appreciate him for when he was fronting the best rock 'n roll band of the late 70s/early 80s.Of course, if you DID consider everything post-Halen, DD's a massive sack of dung. And Hagar, at least, seems like a decent guy.And when you get down to it, Eddie's kind of seemed to be a dick in recent years...man... I guess I'm down on everyone today......but not a one of 'ems as bad as Chad Kroeger.Speaking of whom...guess who got named No. 6 in the world's Top 100 Unsexiest Men?(No, not me... I'm 102.)(And no, not Daly... he's... yeah, you guessed it...):-)

[bonhamonmyshoulders]

First of all, Guy, it is Zeppelin with an "e". Didn't you win the spelling bee in 6th grade? Now, I don't care who can sing better now, but Van Halen was pure rock when DLR was there. The DLR howl, the splits, the heavy riffs defined the band. By the time Hagar took over, they turned into a freakin'power pop group with their overdubbed vocals. They were getting as cheesy as a Def Leppard or Bon Jovi. And Gary Cherone was just a bad dream. Though they did well on the charts with Hagar, their bite was gone. If I heard Hagar sing a song sung by DLR, I would probably get sick. DLR is certainly a shadow of his former self and Hagar is a better singer now, but the group is finished. All we have are great memories(of DLR heading the group). Eddie has a better chance getting back together with Bertinelli and making it work. Or better yet, Brimley. (Hmmm...Van Brimley).

[sparky]

This isn't even a contest. I was a VH fan during the Diamond Duh years and when I heard he quit/fired depending on whose story you want to beleive I was crushed. I was also a Sammy fan after just getting my VOA album. So what did they do, they mixed peanut butter and chocolate and whola Van Hagar.I never did get to see VH live with Dave, but I saw they twice with Sammy and it was magic. Sammy is the ultimate showman and seems to know that he has one of the greatest gigs in the world. Plus he usually travels with the Cabo Girls so that isn't hard on the eyes.Do us all a favor Eddie, suck up your pride and make nice with Sammy, pump out a few more albums and ride off into the sunset. Plus letting Valerie get away was really, really stupid.

[sparky]

bonhamonmyshoulders, I saw the Sammy vs. Dave tour and seeing a DLR sung by DLR is enough to make you hurl. The man should definitely go back to becoming an EMT because his career is in desperate need of the paddles.Code Blue!

[Tonka]

When it comes to Van Halen, I have to agree with the almighty Joe Dirte', when he said "Van Halen, not Van Hagar." I think I like a lot of you who think Van Halen is DLR and Sammy is, well, Sammy...with perhaps a little Montrose mixed in for good measure. That being said, I saw DLR at Ribfest this past year, and although I enjoyed him, especially for the price (six bucks!), it was very "Vegas." It seems he never knows when to turn off the schtick switch. I guess I'll be able to guage the aging rockers when I check out Sammy in June at the Ford Amp.

[Anonymous]

DLR fronting van halen was, in the immortal words of roth himself, "stands for nothing more than sex, drugs and rock n' roll."damn, eddie van halen has sure turned into a moron since he's been off the sauce. somebody please get him back on the heineken kick!

[rdr]

Absolutely no contest. DLR is and always has been a talentless clown. No voice, and an idiotic persona. Sammy Hagar has an almost perfect voice for rock, writes his own songs, plays guitar, and made Van Halen listenable to me for the first time. Anybody remember the first Montrose album? Sammy's voice was a major factor in making that one of the classic rock albums. I understand that to most people, flash means more than quality, but to a musician's ear Hagar's the real thing, and Roth ain't.

[Sean Daly]

Pretty good blog battle so far. Started out one-sided, now it's getting good.A dear colleague of mine just found this quote from Sammy Hagar regarding the last VH reunion tour. Interesting stuff:"I have to tell you, there were nights I didn't know what song Eddie Van Halen was playing. There were times I wanted to kill that guy for what he was playing. I would have left that tour in the middle of it if it wasn't for the professional aspect. He's never going to see me again unless he goes and gets himself some help."

[Rebecca]

Van Hagar all the way! I always loved Van Halen with Sammy because the songs were much more upbeat and had great innuendo. Plus I just love Sammy's lifestyle attitude. My friends and I saw the Sam and Dave tour and actually were on stage for Sammy's set... freaking awesome! We are looking forward to his concert in June.

[Jimmy Buffett]

I was kind of partial to Hagar, at least until he started ripping off my beach bum turned businessman act. Kenny Chesney? Don't even get me started ...

[RedRocker55]

Sammy wins....He has the BEST teeth in ROCK!!

[P-Train]

This is unbelievable...I must be in the rock twilight zone. Someone - Please, for the love of God - tell me what are the Top 5 Van Hager songs ever recorded???What are the options? "Right Now"? "Why Can't This Be Love"? I mean you'd be hard pressed to come up with 5 decent songs...personally, I can't think of 1.Now, Van Halen with Roth?? Are you kidding me?? "Unchained", "Mean Streets", "Atomic Punk", "Little Dreamer", "On Fire", "Bottoms Up", "DOA", "And The Cradle Will Rock", "Take Your Whiskey Home", "Sinners Swing", "Dirty Movies", "So This is Love", "Could this be Magic?"...it's endless, man.For Christ's sake, "Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now" is better than anything Hager ever wrote.And lyrics? The entire 5150 album is like a motivational tape on reaching for the "golden ring" - don't give up on love - be all you can be! Live the dream! It's like a Tony Robbins tape. It's pretty lame stuff. Hager seems like a great dude to have a tequilla with in Cabo but his lyrics are 3rd rate.Roth, on the other hand penned some serious rock n roll gems...too many to list. David Lee Roth spawned an entire decade of rock in the 80's. He laid down the blue print for rock n roll frontmen.Don't dis the man because he's lame now. Do the Beatles suck because Paul McCartney is lame now?? For that matter, do the Beatles suck because John Lennon is dead? Don't take away points from Roth for living too long...he would have benefitted from a plane crash in 1985, but hey, how cool are you going to be at 52?I saw Roth with VH on the 1984 tour and trust me, it was rock n roll perfection.

[SoManyJs]

How is it possible that Hagar is getting more votes? I thought it was a rhetorical question. Everybody should have put down three letters (DLR) and told Daly to start a more productive blog. I'm aghast. These are the bloggers that I've been blogging side by side with blog after blog? From the Cherone misspellings to the "Van Hagar all the way!" quotes, this blog should be blown up and we should all try to forget that it ever happened.

[Sean Daly]

P-Train, for this you win Blogation of the Month:"Don't take away points from Roth for living too long...he would have benefitted from a plane crash in 1985, but hey, how cool are you going to be at 52?"That's morbid, but funny as hell.

[Van Aiken Train]

Next Question (now that the Hager fans have been silenced): Which American Idol contestant, past or present, would make the best new singer in VH?Pickler or Paris?Bucky or Bo Bice?My vote is the fat guy with the John Waters moustache who sang Copa Cobana. You know the guy...I think his name was Bennett.

[Wile. E Coyote, Super Genius]

Don't hate DLR for what he became. Savor the Awesomeness of Van Halen with him. With Hagar it was just another Power Ballad Band. Blech.DLR >> Hagar

[Steve Spears]

You're right, Sean. P-Train has the best argument to date. I was just about to cash in my chips with the Van Hagar fans, but now I have to rethink things.

[KISS Army Fan]

Diamond Dave!

[Anonymous]

time for tv guy chase to chime in:what was/is that tv show with brooke burke hosting, it's an american idol rip off where a lead singer is chosen for a band on cbs?i cannot believe van halen has yet to be chosen as the band. why do i not know the name of this show? because if brooke burke is in it and it doesn't have a catchy name like, say, "vegas," all you know or remember is brooke burke.

[jon]

My votes for Diamond Dave!

[Anonymous]

The last one was called "Rock Star: INXS".

[P-Train]

My long winded blogation could have easily been summarized with what "Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius" said:"Don't hate DLR for what he became. Savor the Awesomeness of Van Halen with him."Well said!I most certainly have, and will continue to Savor the Awesomeness of Van Roth.

[RedRocker55]

Yea DLR fans Diver Down was a epic album with such hits as:Pretty Woman, Happy Trails, Dancing In The Streets, Big Bad Bill. Album fillers I Think so!Oh yes don't forget VH ONLY #1 Hit with DLR was "Jump" So the had to go pop metal , don't get me wrong their First album Kicked major ASS but it was all down hill after that .Some food for thought: Though many critics suspected Hagar wouldn't be able to sustain Van Halen's remarkable success, his first album with the band, 1986's 5150, was a huge hit, reaching number one and spawning the hit singles "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," and "Love Walks In." Released in 1988, OU812 was just as successful, earning stronger reviews than its predecessor and generating the hits "When It's Love" and "Finish What You Started." For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, released in 1991, was another number one hit, partially due to the hit MTV video for "Right Now."

[Anonymous]

Well they are both almost different bands, however Sammy is a true musician, I always liked his solo stuff before he got with Van Halen, and I was more a skeptical tradionalist when he joined Van Halen.I saw the 1984 tour on my 16th birthday which was good, then at the last minute I went to see Van Halen on the 5150 tour, what a difference Sammy made, he seemed much more tune with the crowd and he has always seemed like a cool guy who just likes to rock and roll and have fun while doing it.Dave was more into just being a rock star and video star and it was all more scripted.Sammy has always been able to old his own, where Dave has always been a little 'out there'.All in all it seems like Eddie is the one who most needs to get it together, Sammy has said they would make a fortune if they did a U.S. tour with both Sammy and Dave if they didn't kill each other 1st.

[Daniel]

I like both front guys for the band -- they each have their unique style and voices. It depends on your mood and what you want to get out of a given VH session; Roth is good for some raw and wild songs when you are plugging away on the job. And Hagar VH is excellent for working out (weights and/or martial arts). You have to remember like someone stated in a previous blog VH changed from a more gritty rock n roll band to a wide open and dare I say more balanced with more instruments especially Eddie's excellent keyboard skills. Close call but will go with Van Hagar at the closing shot at the buzzer!

[Anonymous]

David Lee Roth was the best front man all the way. Nothing beats the old Van Halen.