It Usually Begins with Sammy Hagar*

In Sunday's LA Times--the obscure West Coast daily that is fast becoming a dumping ground for Reason mag cast-offs--former Van Halen frontman, tequila pusher, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, and compulsive, red-suit wearing recidivist speeder Sammy Hagar joins the Rand-o-Rama when asked what his "bedstand reading" is: "Anything by Ayn Rand."

Throughouth the short Q&A, Hagar offers up other pearls of wisdom:

CULTURAL ADDICTION

"I love the Food Network. I'm happiest in a kitchen. When I'm home from touring I don't want to eat out, I want to cook and try out new things. Gourmet food and fine wines…. Emeril Lagasse is a good pal of mine and we did this charity auction where the bidder comes to my house in Cabo for dinner with us and Emeril cooks. The guy is a rock star."…

SECRET WEAPON FOR NAVIGATING THE CULTURE

"Did I mention margaritas? I think you need to take life like a day at the beach. You have to work hard but also sit back, listen to the ocean and look at the sun, feel everything and not take yourself too seriously. Does that answer the question? Probably not."

More here.

Back in 2005, on the occasion of Ayn Rand's 100th birthday, Reason compiled samplings from books, movies, and more that document "the long shelf life" of the author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. That's online here.

The New Individualist, the magazine of The Objectivist Center, has compiled a long, entertaining, and exhaustive list of celebrity Rand fans here. And here's movie news that makes Rand fans tremble like Dominique watching Howard Roark work a jackhammer.

Not particularly obscure headline allusion here.

Comments

[Jesse Walker]

a long, entertaining, and exhaustive list of celebrity Rand fans here

Why haven't I heard about the Jerry Lewis connection before? We've finally found our Galt.

[ed]

Too bad Dean's still dead. He would have made a fine if not boozy Rearden.

[Lamar]

David Lee Roth was the front man for Van Halen. When Sammy signed on, it became Van Hagar. The reason for the distinction is to highlight the fact that everything that Sammy Hagar has ever done really sucks. Yes, even that song.

[:-]

Wow, Lamar. People still care about Van Halen?

[Baylen]

Not this song.

[Edmund Wilson]

Oh those awful Objectivists!

[joe]

Objectivists exist along a continuum.

On one end is the guy in "Dirty Dancing." Some people matter, Baby, and some people don't.

And on the other end is Sammy Hagar. Look at me, I can't drive 55!

😛

[t.j.]

do i have to like every celebrity who like ayn rand or has libertarian leanings? you guys can keep sammy hagar and drew carey.

[Cavanaugh and Welch]

Nick,

Cast-offs? We left of our own free will, you pompous leather fetishist.

[Eric the .5b]

Let's keep Drew Carey. Sammy Hagar...ehn.

[NAL]

Not a big Sammy fan here either. His voice didn't go iwth EVH's music very well in my opinion. DLR was an annoying personality, but his voice and lyrics matched the music much better.

On another note, I have a feeling half of the celebrities who proclaim to love Ayn Rand have no idea what her philosophy really says. In fact, if you were to describe Objectivism to Brad Pitt, for example, without using that word and without mentioning Ayn Rand, I'd bet he'd scoff at you as "heartless" and "selfish".

[Skole]

Better dead than red.

[JSF]

What's with all the Sammy bashing?!?

Nothing wrong with a little "Plain Jane" or "Cruisin and Boozin" (though I guess the idea of popping a buck of gas into the tank is a bit dated)...not to mention the Montrose contributions. Sure, Ronnie Montrose was the stud, but Sammy wasn't a slacker in that lineup.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

In the interest of full disclosure, my departure is best described as me having been shot out of Reason's ass like a giant bowl of sauerkraut-stuffed prunes packed in 100% natural sauerkraut / prune juice.

[Nick]

"In the interest of full disclosure, my departure is best described as me having been shot out of Reason's ass like a giant bowl of sauerkraut-stuffed prunes packed in 100% natural sauerkraut / prune juice."

I always wondered what that smwll was.

[James Ard]

Lamar, Montrose did not suck. everything else? yes. But not Montrose.

[TrickyVic]

"""What's with all the Sammy bashing?!?

Nothing wrong with a little "Plain Jane" or "Cruisin and Boozin" (though I guess the idea of popping a buck of gas into the tank is a bit dated)...not to mention the Montrose contributions. Sure, Ronnie Montrose was the stud, but Sammy wasn't a slacker in that lineup.""""

yeah, Trans Am Highway Wonderland, Red

Hagar rocked his butt of in the '70s!!!! Maybe that's why he was cheezy in the 80's..

"""In fact, if you were to describe Objectivism to Brad Pitt, for example, without using that word and without mentioning Ayn Rand, I'd bet he'd scoff at you as "heartless" and "selfish".""""

Ah, the value of selfishness.

And a special thanks to Tim for spoiling sauerkraut for me. Thanks, thanks a lot!

[Ken Shultz]

Lamar, Montrose did not suck. everything else? yes. But not Montrose.

Everything Hagar did after Montrose seems to have sucked.

...but you're right, as 70s rock bands go, Bad Motor Scooter, Rock Candy and Space Station did not suck. But it's hard to reconcile the guy in Montrose with the guy in the yellow jumpsuit.

[Retief]

Guys, he was asked about bedstand reading. Clearly he was referring to the well known insomnia curing effects of Rand's prose.

[Eric Dondero]

Ted Nugent reaffirmed his libertarianism last night on Houston Radio. In an hour long interview on KTRH, Nugent repeatedly called himself a "rugged individualist." He hammered Leftys and political correctness, and anti-gun rights advocates the entire time.

Sweet music to Houston's ears.

And let's not forget other self-proclaimed libertarian rockers like Neal Peart of Rush, and Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo.

Nice to see Hagar joining the club.

"Old Punk Rockers never die, they just become libertarian activists." -- Eric Dondero, former Florida Punk Rocker

Others in the former Florida Punk Rock Club: Brian Doherty, Phil Blumel, Ivan Osorio and Tom Walls.