This one stings. It’s not that one of the top-tier masters of not only the guitar but just about every single solid instrument he ever touched has finally left this earth after years of dealing with the worst of the diseases. Eddie had been suffering from cancers and injuries for decades, had a problematic hip that required surgery in 1999, and certainly endured the aches and pains that come with the circa-1980s rock and roll lifestyle, and if anything, those problems are now ceased, and for the better. No, it’s because without a question the work of Edward Van Halen is pretty much the soundtrack of my life, from birth. I was dancing around to “Jump” and “Panama” when I was a toddler, thanks to a household of young “adults” who were blasting the records nearly non-stop in a rotation of 1980s rock choice cuts. Doesn’t matter who was singing in the band to me…I might be one of the few who will give Gary Cherone a break and his due for singing during that odd “Van Halen III” era. But name the song, I can tell you what it means to me. “Dreams” is Colorado Springs on a hot summer day with the T-tops out of my Monte Carlo as I’m ripping through the mountains along Interstate 24. “Hot For Teacher” is a song that might be Alex Van Halen’s calling card, but Eddie was right there with him as he always was, with each brother supporting the other. The synthesizer of the 5150-era sounds, the finger-tapping techniques that galvanized “Eruption” as a benchmark for everybody else to attempt…hell, the man used a freaking Makita 6012HD drill to play the intro and solo for “Poundcake”! Who does that?

The memories and the accolades are flooding in ever since Wolfgang Van Halen made the announcement yesterday. Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe, Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and John 5 referred to him as “our generation’s Mozart”. And if they aren’t right, they certainly aren’t far off. Eddie was always striving to advance, to push himself, to perfect a craft that he had been working on ever since the day he and Alex swapped instruments of choice after he grew frustrated while trying to play “Wipe Out” by The Surfaris. He might not have perfected that song, but he certainly did his damndest to perfect his guitar work. He could make the most wicked bits look like he was playing them via telepathy, the whole time wearing this sly, shit-eating grin that almost seemed to tell everybody that this was his territory. Just about every music video Van Halen ever made, you’ll see it.

Sixty-five years old…too young. Pray for the speakers in my car…like every other one that has come before, they are going to get a workout thanks to the influence of this man. Rest easy, EVH.