Monday’s Musical Memory Box solution: Panama, Van Halen, MCMLXXXIV, 1984. Pierre-Marc Perreault continues a great month of March with the bonus points.

Van Halen has given us “Panama”, “Jump”, “Right Now”, “Dreams”, and countless other rock staples. But mostly, they’ve given us one of rock’s greatest debates: David Lee Roth or Sammy Haggar?*

*Apologies to Gary Cherone

For some, like Pierre-Marc Perreault, it is David Lee Roth. For others, like Laura Nicol, it is neither. For Stéphane Dubord (a HUGE Van Halen fan), it is Sammy Haggar. And on and on it goes.

I can see why some prefer David Lee Roth; showman, high-energy songs, classic rocker. It might also be a generational thing; if you were of a certain age when Van Halen first made it big, David Lee Roth could be the only true face of the band. I started really getting into music when the change occurred, so the Van Halen that was playing on Much and on the radio was of the Sammy Haggar variety. With hindsight, I still prefer Haggar. There seemed to be a deeper emotional tone to the lyrics, and the music flourished, became more complex. But I totally respect everyone’s opinion on this – I’m in no way anti-DLR.

I am sad, however, of what became of Van Halen (more specifically the Van Halen brothers, Eddie and Alex). One of the best rock bands of all-time has become a hollowed-out shell, ravaged by drug and alcohol abuse, pushing away once prominent members. I keep expecting to find out on Twitter that Eddie Van Halen is dead (for real).

Here is Stéphane’s take on one of his favourite bands:

“This was the 1st VH album I owned… sort of. I “borrowed” my uncle’s tape, and then dubbed a copy for myself. As an 8 year old, this was heavier than anything I owned, but I was mesmerized by them from the first listen. Funny enough, I later filled in the rest of the space on the blank tape with some of the other “hard rock” stuff I had on other cassettes, the first of which was a song off the Footloose soundtrack by Sammy Hagar. Who knew how prescient a move that was! LOL“

Here are your lyrics for today:

“‘Oh, she walks slowly, across a young man’s room.

She said ‘I’m ready…for you…’
‘I can’t remember anything of this very day,
‘cept the look, the look…
Oh, you know where, now I can’t see, I just stare…’”