AC/DC: Classic or Dud

Keith Moon accidentally killed his chauffeur/bodyguard in 1970, and in 1973 he paid someone to have Ian MacLagan killed (when Pete Townshend got wind of it, he stepped in and paid the guy not to kill MacLagan). Didn't affect sales at all.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Thursday, November 6, 2014 3:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That's a slightly different story to the one I've heard... the one I heard was that Moon was so pissed off at MacLagan making off with Kim that he paid someone to have his fingers broken to put an end to his career, rather than have him killed. Then Pete paid the guy double not to go through with it.

― Welcome To (Turrican), Friday, November 7, 2014 8:40 AM (18 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

wow! i had never heard this!

http://www.irishmirror.ie/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/keith-moon-put-end-rocker-3880810

I'd never heard this moon vs. Mac story either! Crazy

I'd heard the broken-fingers story, but I seem to recall an interview with Townshend, who is notorious for not keeping stories straight, where he leaned in close to the interviewer and quietly said something to the effect of, "No, Moon actually put a hit out on Mac." Probably not the case, though.

It wasn't that long ago, Pete had to write to Mojo or some such to refute an oft told tale about one of his original Mod hard nut mates that had killed four men in a brawl. "Killed" was a more poetic term for "hurt a bit" back in the sixties, you see.

okay back to me going through the AC/DC entire discography....

we left off about halfway through For Those About Rock....ended up being a bit of a slog, obv the title track is all time, but yeah felt like them trying to recreate Back in Black to lesser results...

Flick of the Switch is maybe the nadir (at least until the late 90s/00s)....reaaaaaly uninspired mid-tempo stompers, seems like they were all written by AC/DC coming up with a title they were going to shout in the chorus...."Rising Power" is a keeper, but outside of that I've already forgotten everything except "Bedlam in Belgium" because it had the world "Belgium" in the title and seemed to be a story song about some AC/DC show that turned into a riot

now on Fly on the Wall....again I think this is not well regarded but actually seems a bit better than Flick of the Switch at least...."Shake Your Foundations" is great....

but i mean it's hardly great or anything

"Sink the Pink" - lolzy song title aside is pretty great -- though looking ahead they recycled this and "Shake Your Foundations" for Who Made Who

ok the rest of this outside of those 2 standouts isn't super great, danger is okay

okay wow does the title track to "Who Made Who" feel like a breath of fresh air....their new wave song? Or at least proof they like Eliminator by ZZ Top? way more spare track with the repeating bass and angus seemingly trying to simulate a sequencer with an SG....catchy as hell...

it's such an odd album...a "soundtrack" with a new hit song, a some of their "greatest hits", the two songs from the previous album, one Bon Scott era fan favorite....and two (pretty cool) instrumentals....don't really know what this is supposed to be but honestly it works as a listening experience

Who Made Who is so good.

it's maybe the greatest "filler" album ever made

the instrumentals are really cool, nice to hear them breaking (slightly) out of their mold

i skipped over the hits on who made who because i'd just heard them all

on to Blow Up Your Video

definitely off to a better start than the last few, "Heatseeker" is sprightly, quicker tempo and catchy and Johnson actually bothering to write some vocal melodies, seems in the vein of Who Made Who (the song), seems as though they've struck on a good variation on an AC/DC song with this stuff

so far this is much less plodding than the last few studio albums, nice

meanstreak is kinda funky, little aerosmith goosestep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34ISD2fAzs

ok i need something more mellow for while

Black Sabbath

The Cult's "Electric?"

The Red House Painters guy's Bon covers album.

Obviously not the brothels though

Except that that's specifically what the guy seems to be talking about (or agencies, at least)

It is kind of reassuring in this ever changing world that the drummer for AC/DC is still a mad, crazed bastard allegedly doing bunches of drugs, booze and having to hire security guards to keep hookers pimps away. It's way better than being some ex-rocker whiny dude in floral tops, game show host or reality tv star bozo.

Can I get an Amen. My money is on he tours with 'em. I'm there with Hells Bells on.

I never liked Brian Johnson era. Even back in black. Just does nothing for me. Totally no edge. Even Highway to Hell is a little glossy save for a couple of songs (title track, shot down in flames, if you want blood)

I never even heard flick of the fly or blow up your switch or any of that shit. Just put powerage up to 11

Heatseeker's amazing, too bad they never play it live.

Who made Who is also amazing, the video's great with those cybermen-ripoffs. Anyway, which video is not great? Most of them are directed by David Mallet, which is kinda curious when you realize he's the same guy who did those arty Bowie videoclips such as Ashes to Ashes and Look back in anger.

Highway to Hell is Bon tho

xpost Angus described Powerage to me as their "experimental" album the other day. Bit annoying I spoke to them three days before the Rudd business.

"Nervous Shakedown" is my only recommendation from weird later-period AC/DC. It's a cool song though. I would use it in a movie if I wanted an AC/DC song that wasn't overused already (and I was in charge of such things).

Highway to Hell is Bon tho

― punk rocketeer (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, November 7, 2014 11:41 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I know. My point is they were softening it up even with him still around.

man u are hardcore dude, i don't mind taking a bubble bath to the razor's edge myself

So,this is out: http://youtu.be/TT8e7i0ccLQ

Who's the guy playing the drums?

no clue but it ain't Rudd.

Apparently Bob Richards from Shogun. Phil was unable to make the early October shoot for "undisclosed reasons".

shoot?

It seems that Phil wasn't able to complete any of his october-scheduled shootings, neither the Play Ball one nor the other one.

this new video is amazing like a time capsule from the 80s

when i saw the video for rock'n'roll train i would have sworn they could have shot it in 1988

i mean at least this one has some hi-tech green screen rather than just fans hanging off scaffolding

oh wait i think train did have green screen of brian in front of a train

i hope they do a version of the vid without cutaways to sexy sports ladies, just the "big bang baby" shit

Blow Up Your Video is super underrated IMO, this is a fun album

there's some actual melodic stuff on here that's pretty impressive for latter day ac/dc and the songs are relatively "diverse" (in ac/dc terms)

They've been around so long that isn't even "Late period" anymore. They were better for much of the 80s than most people give them credit for.

haha yeah i guess "after most people give a shit except for thunderstruck and money talks ac/dc"

"Play Ball" has a pretty nice main riff, prob their best single since "Big Fun"

haha i meant "Big Gun" but "Big Fun" would be a good AC/DC song title too

Anybody else find it funny that the video for "Play Ball" features footage of just about every kind of ball-centered sport except for baseball, the sport most closely identified with the phrase "play ball!"?

maybe all the sexy lady baseball footage they found was from A League Of Their Own and it was too pricey to buy the rights

i'd never really listened to Thunderstruck on headphones before

so anyway, the last time, when they go back to the whoa-ah-oh-ah-ohoh-ah-oh part, there are THREE drum machine hits on the fill before they kick the guitar in for the final "Yoooo beeen THUNDERSTRUCK"...it's so clearly a drum machine, really weird

i always noticed that those hits had a really heavy echo on them that made them stick out but i just kind of assumed it was for dramatic effect, didn't consider whether it was punched in on a drum machine. AC/DC drums are so typically devoid of flashy flourishes that it would be kind of appropriate if one of their most memorable drum fills was added by a producer with a drum machine while mixing down.

That was one of the non-Rudd albums. And the production (Bruce Fairbairn) is probably the most heavy-handed of any AC/DC album. Tons of weird shit going on in the margins.