Veteran metal guitarists weigh in on Billie Eilish's comments about Van Halen after severe social media backlash
Even negative publicity is still good publicity. When teen pop sensation Billie Eilish appeared on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show last month, she was asked by the host to name any member of the legendary band Van Halen, and she admitted she wasn't aware of who they were.
Eilish gets the benefit of the doubt since the band hasn't released new material since she was 10 years old, and besides, Van Halen is generally regarded as one of the all-time great bands of the 1980s, even to people who follow them. Billie Eilish wasn't born till December 2001.
But even that hasn't stopped the outpouring of vitriol and hatred from armchair critics and self-appointed musical gatekeepers who have been criticizing the pop singer for not knowing who one of the biggest names in the music industry are.
And even though the Van Halen bassist himself came to Billie Eilish's defense recently, that hasn't stopped the global music community from having their say on the Internet.
Following these rants, veteran axemen from thrash metal bands who reigned supreme in decades past have also put their two cents in. Guitarist Alex Skolnick of Testament fame had this to say on Instagram:
"This has been a viral mainstream news topic for over 24 hrs now (@people, @cnn you name it. No kidding!) My thoughts as posted on Twitter: 'So #VanHalen is trending right now, because @billieeilish said she doesn’t know of them (asked on Kimmel)."
"She's a 17yo pop star (a damn good one, esp. for her age). Why would she? On the other hand, her brother/collaborator should. If u play guitar, early VH = required listening," he added.
He continued, "Someone weighed in & said (paraphrasing) 'kids today only know what’s current!' My response: 'You have to remember that VH music (the 1st wave) is 40 (!) yrs old. And great & influential as it is to us (we guitarists especially), it didn’t carry across generations like a select few (Zeppelin/Queen/Pink Floyd for example)."
"And during VH's time, 40 yo music was from...the '40s. #Final thought — whatever your position, it is oddly refreshing to have a trend-generating debate about music for a change #vanhalengate," he added.
The guitarist of thrash metals icons Slayer and Exodus, Gary Holt, later left a comment on the post which seemed to point the finger at celebrities who wear T-shirts emblazoned with the names of popular bands.
"But when she wore an Exodus shirt everyone was all 'don't hate, maybe she likes it'," Holt said. "If she doesn't know VH, no way this kid knows Exodus."
As for Van Halen themselves, frontman David Lee Roth will be commencing his Las Vegas residency next month, while famed guitarist Eddie Valen is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Eddie's son, Wolfgang Van Halen, recently posted the best response to the raging music debate on Twitter — "If you haven’t heard of Billie Eilish, go check her out. She's cool," he tweeted.
"If you haven’t heard of Van Halen, go check them out. They're cool, too. Music is supposed to bring us together, not divide us. Listen to what you want and don't shame others for not knowing what you like." We couldn't have said it better ourselves!
