Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Who doesn't LOVE AC/DC???

A couple of weeks ago, I adjusted my playlist to include some of my favorite AC/DC songs. I did it in a moment of recollection of the salad days of my youth. I had just read an interesting article in the Sunday New York Times about the Rockin' boys from England and how they never grow up. It mad me nostalgic for a simpler time.
For instance, you never worry that AC/DC is going to go acoustic, "crossover" to country (what the heck was Jon thinking????) or have a touchy feeling album or do collaborate with say Celine Dion (the personifaction of all things evil) or someone dead, like Frank Sinatra. AC/DC will always be about the purest things of teenage years, driving, doing rebellious things and hormones. Sure I don't applaud teens doing bad things, but I think its good that they can rock out to these things. AC/DC doesn't even bother with double entendres. It's pretty clear that when they are talking about Shaking all night long, it's not a mom who was fed up with her infant.
AC/DC reminds me of being a tween (before that was even a word) in California. I was trying to find my niche in life at the ripe age of eleven and twelve. My brother is always three years older than me so he 14 or 15 and he was rocking to Def Lepard, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest etc. I had two choices, either hate him for playing at an absurdly loud level the music or join it and be happy that I could listen to rock and roll without having to buy the album myself. I opted to join. My favorite album back then was indeed one of my favorites albums now. Back in Black. It still sells hundreds of thousands of copies annually and I beleive (without doing any fact checking) it was released in the early 80's- at least before 1982. AC/DC won't seell their music on Itunes or any other digital format. You can purchase them old school in the stores. This has not affected their sales because people just love AC/DC. Me being one of the many minions who can crank up Highway to Hell and drive a little faster and feel a whole lot younger. In fact I imagine myself back in the day, driving the 76 toyota corrola sportscoup (with the optional rally fun pack) down Union in Colorado Springs and singin' my hear out. In reality I'm probably just finishing up the car pool in my sweet, 2004 Honda Oddysey. Even though the stereo is a lot better than in the 76 sportscoup, it still doens't hold a candle to the salad days of my youth.
Robert didn't know me then, but he knows me now and it never ceases to amaze him that I know ALL OF THE CORRECT WORDS to "Back in Black" but I have a hard time with songs like "Angie" by the stones. (I always thought it was Angel) In fact for your reading pleasure. I did not realize the following lyrics until a couple of weeks when I was typing up christmas carols for the cub scouts to sing (it always comes back to the scouts doesn't it?) In the song, "Up on the Housetop" (you know it baby) It says "Up on the housetop reindeer pause." I was looking at the sheet music when I said, hmm, "I always thought it was Up on the housetop Reindeers' paws"
Which in hindsight makes no sense, Reindeer would not pluralized like that and they also don't have paws, they have hooves. So it is indeed an anomaly that I can get all the words to the songs on Back in Black correctly and many of the songs on Iron Maiden -The number of the Beast- for that matter. I think it comes from wanting to be as cool as my leather laden brother and all of his posse who were seeing ozzy, ac/dc and Ronny James Dio live in concert, back when tickets cost about ten bucks and there was a good chance you'd get trampled in the mayhem of no assigned seats.
So thanks Big Bro for making me and my descendents love AC/DC and real HEAVY METAL- Brian actually (back in the day) looked an awful lot like Bon Scott, may he rest in peace. My kids love AC/DC they rock out. Quentin can identify them when he hears them and Joely she really goes to town when Angus starts one of his little riffs. David loves the music on his Ipod and Alice can do a mad imitation of Angus bangin' his head. Once she's got the hopping on one foot with the other leg extended, we'll put her in a Karaoke contest.
And thus concludes my deep thoughts on AC/DC

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