I remember going to my friend Sean's house at some point in 1984, and he had just purchased Van Halen's 1984 album. We knew "Jump" because it was all over the radio, and it was a popular choice at the local skating rink, where many suburban Houstonian pre-teens gathered for birthday parties -- although jumping in roller skates is not recommended for amateurs. As was the custom back then, Sean popped the 1984 tape into his light brown Fisher-Price portable tape player, and we listened to the whole tape, front to back, playing some pretty killer air guitar and air drums in the process.
While there are many fantastic songs on the album, "Panama" has always stuck out as my favorite. I'm not sure there is a song that invokes me to fist pump more than "Panama." It's energetic from the get-go, with Eddie Van Halen's monster riff backed by brother Alex's pounding drums and Michael Anthony on bass. When David Lee Roth starts singing, if you're not bobbing your head, you have no head. Despite what the title suggests, the song is about a car, not about the Central American nation that has a canal. During the bridge, you can hear Eddie Van Halen revving his Lamborghini,
although that is not the car that is the subject of the song. Go figure.
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