An extension of the von Neumann linear analysis is proposed for the study of the discrete-velocity Boltzmann equation (DVBE) and the lattice Boltzmann (LB) scheme. While the standard technique is restricted to the investigation of the spectral radius and the dissipation and dispersion properties, a new focus is put here on the information carried by the modes. The technique consists in the computation of the moments of the eigenvectors and their projection onto the physical waves expected by the continuous linearized Navier-Stokes (NS) equations. The method is illustrated thanks to some simulations with the BGK (Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook) collision operator on the D2Q9 and D2V17 lattices. The present analysis reveals the existence of two kinds of modes: non-observable modes that do not carry any macroscopic information and observable modes. The latter may carry either a physical wave expected by the NS equations, or an unphysical information. Further investigation of modal interactions highlights a phenomenon called curve veering occurring between two observable modes: a swap of eigenvectors and dissipation rate is observed between the eigencurves. Increasing the Mach number of the mean flow yields an eigenvalue collision at the origin of numerical instabilities of the BGK model, arising from the error in the time and space discretization of the DVBE. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.