Exclusive Audio: Eddie and Alex Van Halen

Last week we were hit with the tragic news that Van Halen's highly anticipated and freshly announced reunion tour was being indefinitely postponed. The jury is still out on what all this means — especially with regard to the band's performance plans at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony March 12th in New York City. A few weeks ago, our Brian Hiatt spoke to Eddie and Alex Van Halen about — among other things — the band's thoughts on being inducted and the logistics of going onstage with VH members new and old to play the award show. Whatever news unfolds, we prefer to bask in the more innocent, if fleeting times when there was hope and excitement underneath the Van Halen brothers' HoF wise-cracking:

On what they thought upon hearing that they'd been nominated.

On their plans for performing at the ceremony.

On ousting Michael Anthony and naming Wolfgang the band's new bassist; new material; tour news.

On the future of Van Halen.

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Song Stories

“My President”

Young Jeezy | 2008

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."

More Song Stories entries »

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