I've decided that I don't hate the new Van Halen song and video. The song is 100% not-great VH but all the familiar elements are there, except for maybe Wolfgang.
Beyond the fact that I couldn't stop singing "sexy dragon magiiic!" under my breath for a few hours, this song and video had very little impact on me, other than what I expect from any other viral media thing. I consumed it as I do all media these days: in front of a computer screen, with headphones on. I watched, I was amused, I moved on.
I was not sitting at a computer screen with headphones on when I first heard Van Halen's "Summer Nights." Instead, I was in a car with my high school buddies, on one of the last days of the school year. It was almost summer, finally warm enough to go without a jacket, and we were cruising around the sticks listening to FM radio. Van Halen had just released 5150, Sammy Hagar had replaced Diamond Dave and we were all LOSING OUR MINDS over it.
And when my buddy Jeff jammed the cassette of 5150 into the car's stereo and the opening chords of "Summer Nights" started playing, we pulled up alongside another car at a red light and Pat began rolling the windows down so the occupants could see us stick our heads out just in time to shout out in goofy fist-pumping unison with Sammy:
UHN!
And then peel away, rolling the windows up like nothing happened.
I'm holding out hope that as digital music moves to mobile, away from screens and headphones, there'll be more chances for things that are momentarily interesting to become really awesome moments for someone.