Van Halen’s ’Jump’: Hello Synthesizers, Goodbye David Lee Roth

The song "Jump" and the album 1984 propelled Van Halen into the rock stratosphere -- and shortly thereafter, front man David Lee Roth left the band to start a solo career. What was it about "Jump" that resonated so strongly? Was it the unexpected decision to include synthesizers? Was it the goofy, low-budget video? Whatever, it endures, and it also started the ball rolling to the often-maligned Van Hagar era. Butch and Kevin discuss all this and more, with some details about the song and video you may not know. A few points to get you started:

• This week's beer is Apollo IPA from Apocalypse Brew Works.
• Roth hated the idea of adding synth to Van Halen's music, and in fact, the song had been in limbo for several years before Eddie Van Halen decided to record it on his own.
• The purpose of the award-winning video was to show the human side of the band, but even that ticked off Roth, who wanted to be the focal point of the video.
• A year later, Roth's ego led him away from Van Halen. But the keyboards stayed.
• Here, as promised, is an especially awkward example of what the "Jump" performance video inspired other, less charismatic bands to do with their music videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8qqQeLe_G8
• And this is Nerf Herder's brilliant nerdcore tune inspired by the Van Halen legacy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvAGBz4ZJm4
• And if we'd known about this brilliance, we'd have mentioned on the show. Still ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ6bli9Xir4