Tag: Atomic Punk

My Sunday Song – “Atomic Punk” by Van Halen

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic14 Comments

For My Sunday Song #145, we are tackling “Atomic Punk” which is off Van Halen’s debut album.  The space age song is a very deep cut and was never released as a single, but was the B-Side to “You Really Got Me”.  It is one of those gems that only the true fans listen to probably more than some of the band’s big hits (maybe that is just me)  I believe it helped drive the sales to way above 10 million copies.

The song is a sci-fi song about a dystopian society and Dave is the leader of this rag-tag crew.  The opening of the song has these space age sounds coming from Eddie’s guitar almost like a space ship sound.  Eddie captures the sound by rubbing his palm over the strings with the guitar going through one of his pedals.  It is captivating.

Lyrically, there isn’t a whole lot here.  Not in context or theme, but in length.  This is more of a showcase for more of what Eddie can do.  Not to take anything from Dave as he delivers the lyrics earnestly and convincingly as it does set the tone for the dark feel of the song.  But it is Eddie’s guitar playing that is again in full force with all the tricks he throws at you.  You hear something a little different and new each time you listen.

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The Debut: Van Halen – ‘Van Halen’

Published on by 2loud2oldmusic19 Comments

For my third installment of The Debut, I have decided to take on the daunting task of discussing on what is regarded as one of the best debut albums in rock history, Van Halen’s debut simply called ‘Van Halen’.  Why is it daunting? Because so many people have written about this album that there really is nothing I can add to the discussion other than my opinion which is probably no different than what has already been said.

We will start off with some general information about the album.  The album was released on February 10th, 1978.  I was only 9 at the time.  It was produced by Ted Templeman who was famous for producing The Doobie Brothers, Van Morrison and Montrose (early Sammy Hagar connection).  The album reached as high as only #19 on the charts and did sell over 1 million copies in its first year.  It has now been certified Diamond Status with sells well over 10 million copies.

The band was originally discovered by Gene Simmons from the band KISS.  Gene worked with the band and they did some demos, but nothing materialized as Gene headed back out on tour with his band.  The ended up playing a lot of live shows around Hollywood including the Whiskey A Go Go and the Starwood.  It was at the Starwood that they came to the attention of Mo Ostin & Ted Templeman with Warner Brothers Records.  They later signed with Warner and went on to record their debut album.

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