Eddie Van Halen ‘ruined rock guitar,’ according to The Jesus and Mary Chain

You can say a lot of things about the late Eddie Van Halen, but you can’t deny that he was an incredible guitar player, right? Or maybe you can, if you’re The Jesus and Mary Chain.

Speaking to Stereogum, Jim Reid of the Scottish alt-rock duo talked about how, when it comes to playing guitar, sometimes simpler is better. “I can play guitar, but only just. It’s kinda deliberate. I play guitar to the level that I need to play guitar,” he said. “And sometimes knowing too much about making music gets in the way, and it ends up back to Eddie Van Halen again, do you know what I mean?”

Jim’s older brother and bandmate William Reid then chimed in.

“I think guitar players should never learn scales. I think the worst guitar players in the world, like Eddie Van Halen — I can’t stand Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing,” said William. “I think he ruined rock guitar all through the ’80s and ’90s ’cause so many people copied him.”

“And I just couldn’t get any of that playing as fast as you f****** can and cramming as many notes in one second as you could,” William went on. 

So whose playing does he admire?

“I listen to Peter Hook’s bass riffs, and I think that’s a thousand times better than anything Eddie Van Halen could ever conjure up,” said William. He was referring to the New Order and Joy Division bass player, who’ll be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later this year.