Jesus and Mary Chain Reject Shoegaze Label, Blame Van Halen

WHAT THEY SAID

"I think guitar players should never learn scales. I think the worst guitar players in the world — like Eddie Van Halen." ^* William Reid went after Van Halen in a festival interview, blaming him for ruining rock guitar through the '80s and '90s by inspiring speed-obsessed imitators. ^*

THE DETAILS

• Jim Reid dismissed shoegaze as a made-up term invented by an NME writer, insisting the genre doesn't actually exist. ^*
• The brothers were interviewed at New York's Total Bummer festival, where Jesus And Mary Chain headlined alongside Dinosaur Jr. over the weekend. ^*
• William argued that Van Halen's note-cramming approach spawned a generation of copycats, and he'd take Peter Hook's bass riffs over anything Van Halen ever played. ^*
• Jim described his own guitar playing as deliberately limited — only playing to the level needed — and suggested that technical knowledge can get in the way of creativity. ^*

WHO IS RIGHT

William Reid is right that Van Halen's influence spawned a lot of soulless shredders, but calling Eddie one of the worst guitar players in the world is absurd — "Eruption" changed rock whether you like it or not. The Peter Hook comparison is apples and oranges.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The Reid brothers will keep saying exactly what they think and Van Halen fans will keep being furious about it.

Source Articles:
^* Jesus And Mary Chain Say Shoegaze Doesn’t Actually Exist, Eddie Van Halen Ruined Rock Guitar — Tom Breihan, Stereogum, 2026-06-02T16:53:37+00:00 — https://stereogum.com/2501049/jesus-and-mary-chain-say-shoegaze-doesnt-actually-exist-eddie-van-halen-ruined-rock-guitar/news/