Song 533: This week the playlist comes around to Jump by Van Halen, written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Similar to last week, this week’s choice came as a result of the sad news about Eddie's demise - he died on Tuesday, 10/6, of cancer - and it also marks the first appearance of Van Halen on the list. This 1984 hit soon became the quartet's most successful single, and it quickly got my attention not long after its release. The YT link here will take you to the official video for the cut, and during the MTV era when the crew put it together, many comparable segments hit the airwaves, showing a group performing a recording, although they are usually lip-synching and visually matching their recorded parts. No matter how good the record itself, such videos generally don't impress me that much, but on this one, I feel the 45 has a visual partner that grabs me as strongly as the audio. In light of Eddie's passing, I especially appreciate his entertaining animated moves. He actually crafted the foundational riff for the tune in 1981, and it took a few years for his bandmates to recognize the value of his inspired musical ramble, but when they did, once they got it on tape and let the public hear it, it really took off, so this seems like an apt way to memorialize him. Today we can be thankful that 36 years ago, he and his gang advised us to roll with the punches to get to what's real, which makes as much sense now as it did then, if not more so.
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