William Reid, co-founder and guitarist of The Jesus and Mary Chain, the Scottish band who helped define shoegaze and alternative rock in the 1980s with their feedback-drenched, minimalist approach, said in a Stereogum interview that Eddie Van Halen was one of "the worst guitar players in the world" and that he "ruined rock guitar all through the '80s and '90s 'cause so many people copied him."
His specific objection was not to Van Halen himself but to the wave of imitators who took from Van Halen the wrong lesson, cramming as many notes into as few seconds as possible, prioritizing speed and technique over memorable musical ideas.
"I just couldn't get any of that playing as fast as you can and cramming as many notes in one second as you could," Reid said. He added that Peter Hook's bass riffs are "a thousand times better than anything Eddie Van Halen could ever conjure up."
His brother Jim Reid set the table by arguing that knowing too much about music theory can make you worse at writing it, that limited resources force greater invention. "Guitar players should never learn scales," William agreed before launching into the Van Halen commentary.
The rock internet has been arguing about it since June. The Parade write-up this week brought a fresh wave.
Van Halen devotees say Reid is wrong and has made a fool of himself. Jesus and Mary Chain fans say he has a point. Both sides are very loud about it.