From the jet flanger in the intro, played on an electric piano, cranked through a Marshall, to the cruising vibe of the song and DLR freestyling over the verses, it makes this one of my favourite Van Halen songs. In addition, the purchase of this electric piano led to the “Jump” keyboard riff.
Well, they say it’s kinda frightening
How this younger generation swings
You know it’s more than just some new sensation
It’s like the movie “Footloose” before it was even written and made.
No one wanted to go to school.
We just wanted to hang out somewhere, listen to music, read about music, talk about music and do so many other things. Because going to school was like being in the military. It’s why “I Wanna Rock” resonated. The teachers demanded obedience and everyone was moulded to fit a box.
But that doesn’t work.
It’s been proven to not work. The military even stopped this kind of teaching in the early 70’s, but schools kept at it, up to the late 80’s. Kids need to have their beautiful uniqueness kept intact, it’s what makes em special.
And these days we tell our kids to enjoy school, as it should be the most stress free time of their lives. Unless they freak out over exams, which means, it’s not as stress free. But you know what I mean.
Teachers are also at a different level these days, being more enablers than disablers. But kids need to deal with social media and the good and bad which comes from it. So maybe not as stress free as it should be.
Which brings me back to the words of the mighty David Lee Roth which I quoted above.
Well, they say it’s kinda frightening
How this younger generation swings
You know it’s more than just some new sensation
The younger generation swings to technology more than music these days.
Once upon a time, having an album from an artist was like a badge of honour and now, the kind of phone you have is the new totem. Plus, the mainstream news outlets just don’t understand the youth of today. They worry about climate change and student debt and all the things that the current powers ignore, while they drain our Earth of its resources.
It was the youth that blew apart the record labels business model. They killed CD’s, adopted Napster early, then iTunes, then YouTube, then other streaming services. And the youth have short attention spans, moving from one thing to the next. The only thing they can do for a short time is binge Netflix.
destroyerofharmony 
This album was a game changer in my world Pete. It’s just one big party rock album and when I discovered W&CF waaaaay back in early 81 I had never heard this kind of guitar or for that matter those Tarzan like vocals of Roth ever.
Blew my mind…
I was a bit late at getting this (like mid 80s) and I got it dubbed onto a cassette, and those riffs just got me playing air guitar on my tech drawing T square.
EVH’s tone is nasty on that album. I was use to the clean sounds of Frehley/Neilsen and May on the studio albums.
Here comes Eddie who dumped me on my arse!
Yes I agree. The 80s was still a cool time for experiencing and hearing different sounds and tones. By the 90s it was all about production and sounding bigger. Until Tom Morello started doing some trippy things with sounds and effects.
I’m just working on a post of my music discoveries back in 1983! What a year for music!
Nice. Looking forward to it
Thanks Pal should drop in the next week or so.
I’m waiting for the youth to kill vinyl again. Can’t believe they’ve hung onto it this long! The vinyl bubble will burst.
I agree. It’s marketed as a cool totem to keep. I still buy some of the special edition record day stuff, and it’s still wrapped in the plastic.
I buy anything on vinyl that has something exclusive in the way of bonus tracks. There’s a lot of that. From there I try to avoid buying albums I already have on CD. It’s crazy how we used to complain about CD prices all through the 90s, but vinyl seems to be getting a free pass. When I was a kid a new CD was around $20, while records and tapes went for $10 each!
The prices are high for vinyl. Like you I am on the lookout for those rarities added to the album.
most of my vinyl collection came in the 90s when the prices plummeted. In Australia new vinyl sells for $60 and second hand vinyl sells for $60. Lol.
The new generation does swing differently. Has been so much fun watching my kids grow up and see all the differences from when I grew up. Totally different world. The only thing not different is that song totally kicks major a$$.
HAVE U SEEN JR’S GRADES??
Lol. Juniors grades are a lot better than mine.
haha
👌
I’m with you on watching the kids grow up so differently. Our time was cool and I think the kids time is also cool.
ATCWR definitely kicks.