Tattoo in Review
January 10, 2012 Today, Van Halen released the Tattoo single and video.
I loved Down in Flames. It's one of my favorite unreleased songs. And Tattoo sounds exactly like what I would expect a modern Van Halen interpretation of the Down in Flames might sound like with the band's more mature personalities. Whether that speaks to you, is a matter of opinion. I prefer Down in Flames, but it would be hard to pull off today without Mike's vocals.
Here's what isn't a matter of opinion:
Van Halen should not be making cheap videos like this. How is it that no one spoke up and said, "This is the kind of video old rock bands make. You guys are one of the best live acts the rock world has ever known. Let's just show 'em the a live performance of the song. Simple. Raw. Van Halen." It worked for Unchained 30 years ago and it would work today (we've all seen the Cafe Wha? show).
Even if they didn't agree and wanted to make a more flashy video, this still misses the mark by a mile. Many modern rock (mostly metal) bands with much smaller budgets are churning out great videos these days with the help of up-and-coming directors and student film crews. Tattoo looks like a "friend of a friend" did it.
Van Halen is notoriously bad at picking the best first single for their albums and their videos (for the last 20 or so years) have not been good representations of the songs. So, if Tattoo isn't your favorite, don't worry. There's a lot to look forward to in February. I can't wait to hear the rest.