Might as well jump. Jump!

Something you may not know is that the delivery of rock and/or roll requires a fine bit of athleticism. Not merely purveyors of the blistering hooks and power chords that have launched a thousand VH1 weekend marathons, true rock and roll stars are performers, acrobats, visual icons. These artistes must not only perfect the craft of hypnotizing gyrations and a commanding vainglorious strut, but also the delicacies of a well-timed high kick-straddle jump combo.

The supreme quintessence of which, of course, is Mr. David Lee Roth.

These days, you may think that such searing bravado is only reserved for the most obnoxious of reunion tour arena rock—but such is not the case. In fact, in recent months I have noticed a resurgence of the rock and roll jump in a most unlikely place: the indie rock band portrait. Are these artists paying unspoken homage to the influential leaps of Diamond Dave himself? Or, as Bloom suspected, can we really never escape the towering monolith of influence? Of course, the presentation of the contemporary rock and roll portrait jump is filtered through the blasé lens of the independent music image: as the rest of the outfit looks away, pondering something momentously inconsequential, one member leaps into the air, triumphantly shedding the fetters of hipster indifference in Rothian exuberance. Go ahead, jump.

Exhibit A: Illinois

Exhibit B: Lovedrug

Exhibit C: The 123 Go's

Exhibit D: mewithoutYou