David Lee Roth Says Van Halen Are Terminally Unhip
Van Halen's David Lee Roth insists his band isn't cool, never was cool and probably would say they never will be cool -- and he seems totally at ease with that.
"Even when we were happening, even when we were the flavor of the week the first time, we weren't cool," he tells QMI Agency. "John Travolta and 'Saturday Night Fever' were cool. And across the street, the Sex Pistols and the Clash were cool. We were just kind of an island. I don't know that Van Halen ever really fit in."
"And it was not a conscious act," he continues. "Many times we're trying to imitate other people; it just comes out looking and sounding like us. And today we're still not cool. We're somewhere between Katy Perry and Muse. Somewhere between Kings of Leon and Maroon 5. Welcome to our island. Abandon all hope."
While we're not exactly ready to put Van Halen anywhere near Katy Perry on the unhip scale, we get what Lee Roth means. While obviously popular, Van Halen certainly haven't been totally embraced by the taste makers and critics who somehow dictate who is in the cool crowd. And obviously, not being cool is cool with DLR.