The two guys from the very popular “Lost in Vegas” YouTube series (“Home of the Unbiased Reactions”) have … believe it or not … never heard Van Halen’s ”Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love.” Watch their reaction. Their enthusiasm for the newly discovered song is infectious!
Doug from VHND reflects on this video:
I absolutely love this video!
I really get a kick out of these people hearing Van Halen for the first time and just being blown away. How lucky have we been to have been living, breathing and digging on Van Halen for 40 years!
These guys nailed so much of what makes Van Halen great in just 12 minutes. The only real correction I have is on the tone. Eddie’s tone wasn’t just the byproduct of that rock era — it literally created the tone of that era that followed. (Which they wouldn’t know.)
And I love how they immediately caught the essence of David Lee Roth. They immediately said in the first verse, this guy is not the greatest singer, per se, but his attitude and his swagger makes this so cool. Who cares if Dave’s voice is not technically the best…it’s just COOL AS HELL and is absolutely perfect for Van Halen.
I think my favorite part of the whole video was when they heard the breakdown segment for the first time. They had been talking about Dave’s attitude and swagger in the verses, and then they hit that breakdown and just lost their crap. That whole earlier time I kept thinking, “Just wait until they hear Dave in the breakdown!” And sure enough, they recognized this right away.
(Incidentally, this is the part of the argument I think the people who prefer Sammy just don’t get — especially when he sings Dave-era songs. Yeah, he may have the purer singing voice and stick close to the notes. But it takes a certain attitude and swagger to pull off Dave’s songs…)
I also loved how they recognized Eddie’s guitar talent — EVEN THOUGH “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” is one of the simplest, easiest little solos he ever did. It is just so melodic and cool sounding, that it just fits the song. But these guys have no idea the tricks he has in his toolbag, they only have the barest of ideas of what he can do from this song.
And how they reacted to the chorus, just how that “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” (power chord) just hits you square in the gut every time.
And I also love how when they got to the “Hey! Hey! Hey!” part, that they recognized that it would be where the crowd would be fist-pumping and screaming along to it. Hey, Hey, Hey!!!!
“Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love” came on the radio the other day when I was driving — and I thought, and still believe that that is one of the coolest opening riffs OF ALL TIME. I can never hear that opening AND NOT be in a fantastic mood. And then I thought, “How cool would it be if VH opened a show with that song?” You have the normal histrionic drums and Eddie wailing on guitar like they normally open, but then they hit that last part of it — pause for like 2-3 seconds of silence — and then out of the total darkness on stage you just hear that opening riff cutting through the arena like a machete. Holy freak — what a killer opening song that would be!
As simple as the song really is, it is a testament to how amazing Van Halen is. That song still just cuts me to the core every time I hear it. What a gas it is to see others “getting it” right from the very first listen.