Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast

Discord and Rhyme is a podcast where we discuss the albums we love, song by song.

A music podcast where we discuss our favorite albums, song by song. New episodes every other Tuesday.

171: Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)

“To hell with the rules. If it sounds right, then it is.”

—Eddie Van Halen

GoddammitbabyyouknowIain'tlyintoyouThisIsDiscordAndRhyyyymeYEEEEEAAAAHHHHWWWW!!! Van Halen was a cultural phenomenon in the late 1970s and early 1980s until David Lee Roth split with the band, and they’re one of the first bands that John had any real opinions on in his journey of getting into rock music. With this album, the band largely redefined the boundaries of what an electric guitar could do in a rock context, but they also found a way to make this boundary-pushing fun and light on its feet in a way that largely helped shape rock music for the next decade. About half of this album is radio staples, but the other half has some real gems as well, so come listen to John lead a discussion (with Rich and Mike) about a great album from what was, for a few years, an absolutely great band.

Miscellany

  • In addition to the very funny Yacht Rock webseries episode about “I’m the One,” the Beyond Yacht Rock podcast has a full episode debating the respective merits of Van Halen and Van Hagar. If you’ve listened to our episode, you know where our sympathies lie.

  • One of John’s favorite commercials growing up was a Nissan commercial in the 1990s that made excellent use of the Van Halen cover of “You Really Got Me.” We are including a link to this so that you can see it as well.

  • Mike had never heard Montrose’s “Space Station #5” before producing this episode, and was amazed to discover that Sammy Hagar actually used to be cool.  

Other links 

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call 

  • John McFerrin (host)

  • Mike DeFabio (moderator)

  • Rich Bunnell 

Van Halen tracklist 

  1. Runnin’ With the Devil

  2. Eruption

  3. You Really Got Me

  4. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love

  5. She’s the One

  6. Jamie’s Cryin’

  7. Atomic Punk

  8. Feel Your Love Tonight

  9. Little Dreamer

  10. Ice Cream Man

  11. On Fire 

Other clips used 

Van Halen:

  • 1984

  • Jump

  • Right Now

  • And the Cradle Will Rock

  • Get Down Tonight

  • I'll Wait

  • Unchained

  • Girl Gone Bad

  • Dance the Night Away

  • Dancing in the Street

  • Panama

  • Hot for Teacher

  • Top Jimmy

  • Sunday Afternoon in the Park

  • One Foot Out the Door

  • She's the Woman 

Others:

  • The Other Leading Brand - A Saucerful of Secrets (With the Devil)

  • The Mahavishnu Orchestra - Awakening

  • Niccolo Paganini - Capriccio No. 5 (transcribed for guitar by Eliot Fisk)

  • Steve Hackett - Shadow of the Hierophant

  • The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Bold as Love

  • The Kinks - You Really Got Me

  • Frank Zappa - Punky's Whips

  • Sparks - Eaten by the Monster of Love

  • The Doobie Brothers - Black Water

  • Christopher Cross - Ride Like the Wind

  • Tone Loc - Wild Thing

  • "Weird Al" Yankovic - Isle Thing

  • Rush - YYZ

  • Elton John - Can You Feel the Love Tonight

  • Brian Wilson - Walkin' the Line

  • Def Leppard - Animal

  • John Brim - Ice Cream Man

  • Aerosmith - Big Ten Inch Record

  • The Low-Maintenance Perennials - Ice Cream Man (Coda)

  • Motorhead - The Hammer

  • David Lee Roth - California Girls

  • Montrose - Space Station #5

  • David Lee Roth - Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody

Band/album personnel 

  • David Lee Roth - lead vocals, acoustic guitar

  • Eddie Van Halen - guitar, backing vocals, electric sitar

  • Michael Anthony - bass, backing vocals

  • Alex Van Halen - drums

Credits 

“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of: 

  • Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf

  • Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste

  • The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...

  • Faith No More - Midlife Crisis

  • Herbie Hancock - Hornets

  • Kraftwerk - Autobahn

  • Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen

  • Van Halen - Runnin’ with the Devil (this episode only) 

You can buy or stream Van Halen and other albums by Van Halen at vanhalenstore.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Instagram, Threads, and BlueSky @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich Bunnell, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and keep as cool as you can.

This website and all episodes' discussion/commentary © 2018—2025 Discord & Rhyme. Excerpts from recordings appearing in episodes are included for purposes of review only, and all rights to such material remain property of their copyright holders. Please note that we make a good-faith effort to ensure all information included in these episodes is accurate, but if we get something wrong, let us know at discordpod@gmail.com and we will print a correction in the show notes. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Website design by Amanda Rodgers. Thank you for visiting, and keep as cool as you can.

Powered by Squarespace