Van Halen Reunited!

Unless you have been living under a stack of Peavy amplifiers, no doubt you have heard that David Lee Roth and Van Halen are reuniting. Well, sort of. Michael Anthony, original bassist and THE background vocal sound of Van Halen is not back (very disappointing). I am a huge Van Halen fan (both Roth and Hagar eras). I even tolerated VH III. Ok, I liked one song ("Without You").

In honor of this momentous occasion, here is my list of the top nine Van Halen references in film. If you think I should have included more, feel free to let me know.

9. Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Fire in the Hole from Van Halen III is featured in this movie (during one of the more ridiculous scenes in all of the Lethal Weapon movies - Riggs convinces Murtaugh to strip down to his underwear and cluck like a chicken to distract a flame throwing bad guy). Not really a reference, the song is mediocre at best, and the scene is ridiculous, but you know how I feel about the franchise, so there.

8. Back to the Future (1985)

Marty scares his teenage father into asking his teenage mother to the prom, in part, by playing a cassette marked "Edward Van Halen." Oh, yeah, and George McFly thinks Marty is an alien.

7. Twister (1996)

Might have ranked higher, but this flick didn't technically contain a "reference." Rather, Eddie and Alex contributed an instrumental to the soundtrack and Van Hagar contributes "Human's Being." One of the best Van Hagar songs.

6. Varsity Blues (1999)

"I got it bad, got it bad, got it bad, I'm hot for teacher." Weren't we all??

5. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Think Eddie Van Halen would have been willing to join Wyld Stallyns?

4. Airheads (1994)

Whose side did you take in the Van Halen/David Lee Roth split?

3. Better Off Dead (1985)

A claymation hamburger playing guitar to "Everybody Wants Some." Classic.

2. Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

Spicoli rescues Brooke Shields from drowning and blows the reward money by hiring Van Halen to play his birthday party. Actually, I don't think I would consider that a waste of hard earned reward money.

1. The Wedding Singer (1998)

"Now take off my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up!"


So, what do you think? Let me know!