171: Van Halen - Van Halen (1978)

March 03, 2026 / Amanda Rodgers

“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.

Discord & Rhyme Roll Call

John McFerrin (host)
Mike DeFabio (moderator)
Rich Bunnell

Van Halen tracklist

Runnin’ With the Devil
Eruption
You Really Got Me
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
She’s the One
Jamie’s Cryin’
Atomic Punk
Feel Your Love Tonight
Little Dreamer
Ice Cream Man
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.

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tags / John McFerrin