Funny enough I had a friend in high school whom I hung out with, who loved Kiss at first and then moved on to AC/DC. He ended up on The Rolling Stones which define my country's rock and roll DNA in a nutshell. Alarmingly so for good-natured Charly, he also collected Nazi magazines and stuff.
So yeah I'ved had my own mixed feelings about this "lowbrow entertainment", but mostly because of the crowd involved. Kiss somehow passed, maybe the visual impact is still attractive (What were they thinking with Lick It Up? I remember the day they launched that makeup-less video!) and some of their classics, but AC/DC (live AC/DC!) is completely there yet with their unstoppable power. I agree that it's better taken in small doses.
I've never been truly convinced by good old Brian myself, I remember the controversy back then with said friend. I liked his output in the great Back in Black, also Flick Of The Switch but not a lot more. Bon Scott on the other hand, what a force of Nature. One of those few great Rock Frontmen.
This Live Wire rendition is amazing, and it's certainly my favourite deep? track along with Walk All Over You. I remember ripping the "Got Live If You Want It" cassette to pieces after so much listening. For me it was up there with Live At Leeds in pure rock and roll perfection.
Sorry George. You've lost me. Took a long while but you done did it. Got half way through the video and noway into your usually impeccable text. It's dope rock, stupid rock, so lowbrow it's painful on the eyes & ears. Musically & aesthetically bombastic. I simply d-o-n'-t g-e-t i-t !! :)
Hahaha . . . a bit of a dig, I gather. Not entirely sure of the context of your quote, but I understand i'm out of my depth. Could be, i'm open to admitting I'm not afraid to dismissing things which at first and last hearing appear to be to some important degree fraudulent, a simulacre. Extremely hard for me to get to grips with AC/DC when I know one of its principal members (Angus Young) is the younger brother of one of the founding members of the brilliant Easybeats.
The context is an old Monty Python sketch that seems very appropriate for the situation - I'm sure you can locate it if you're interested.
I do suggest you try to read through my text: I'm not implying it's great writing or anything, but it DOES try to explain precisely what separates a band like AC/DC from truly bland "lowbrow" entertainment (like KISS or, even more accurately, bands like Foghat or Motley Crue).
On the other hand, one might also take this write-up as an excuse to think about what it is that actually separates, say, the early hard rock phase of the Kinks - 'You Really Got Me' / 'All Day And All Of The Night' - that both of us seem to have a comparable craving for, from songs like 'Live Wire' and 'Whole Lotta Rosie'. The complexity of the riffs? The lyrics? The attitude? You might find this a fairly tough question to give a reasonable answer to.
The 70's arena rock that we all used to dismiss for its crude stupidity, from a current perspective seems quite charming. At least it's better than a Taylor Swift concert.
Yes, you're right, important to read your text, as it reveals what I could not have guessed, the level of adolescent fandom which you went though in the late 70's -- as well as its links to your affection for gaming.
Essentially I'm with your father on all of this. AC/DC are surely a force to be reckoned with, but in no way on the same level as the bands who were clearly their inspiration: The Kinks & The Who, not to mention later incarnations such as Neil Young, who does this so much better.
On reflection, my own personal holdout has to do with the ONE-TO-ONE approach the latter have with their subject matter & listeners alike. When Ray Davis sings You Really Got Me, he's addressing the song directly, unfiltered, to a girl. And then to a listener. Not pransing around the stage or hiding in the shadows, but straight on, no frills. No fancy moves, which he would have regarded as a travesty, a cheap gimmick. Most of the better artisits of the period shared that view, with the obvious exception.
But then, hey, everyone still talks about AC/D in worshipful tones, who does so about the Kinks? And maybe, just maybe, if I had been born a decade later, I too might be an AC/DC fan, who knows?
P.S. "Do you remember about what we arranged?" . . . what kind of heavy rock lyric is that??
I'm sorry, Reid, but feels like half of what you write here makes no sense at all, and the other half can be very easily refuted.
"Important to read your text, as it reveals what I could not have guessed, the level of adolescent fandom which you went though in the late 70's" - I am not sure which text you have read, but it is certainly not mine. Because (a) in the late 70's, I was at best 3 years old and could not go through any level of "adolescent fandom" even if I wanted to; (b) the text explicitly states that I did not have even a single shred of "adolescent fandom" for AC/DC - on the contrary, I became a convert to their style only upon reaching full adulthood; (c) no idea how this is at all linked to gaming.
"When Ray Davis sings You Really Got Me, he's addressing the song directly, unfiltered, to a girl. And then to a listener" - well, I guess this can be said about any song of love - or lust - ever written, no? "Live Wire" pretty much has the same message as "You Really Got Me".
"Not pransing around the stage or hiding in the shadows, but straight on, no frills. No fancy moves, which he would have regarded as a travesty, a cheap gimmick" - well, first of all, this only concerns stage presentation, not the music itself; second, the "no fancy moves" rule has nothing to do with distaste for cheap gimmicks and everything with the way live performances were run in the still comparatively strict environment of the 1960s.
(Here's Ray Davies very much prancing around the stage and doing plenty of fancy moves while delivering "All Day And All Of The Night" to an early 1980s audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6qYstpbNu4 - I'd say Bon Scott looks comparatively more reserved in his 1979 performance, doesn't he?)
""Do you remember about what we arranged?" . . . what kind of heavy rock lyric is that??" - that's not a heavy rock lyric, it's an improvised ad-libbed bit. And even if it were, how is it worse than "all day and nighttime yours, leave me never" with its silly syntax?
"And maybe, just maybe, if I had been born a decade later, I too might be an AC/DC fan, who knows?" - finally hit the nail on the head on this one. As a Sixties child (just as my father was), you simply seem to be too conservative to allow yourself to embrace the relative "crudeness" of heavy rock (and probably punk) acts that came later, regarding it as a cheapening of the original values. I used to think like that, too, but fortunately "I'm younger than that now", you know.
Hmm . . . guess I did get a few things wrong, never quite sure of your exact age. Was simply trying to find some causal relations. My apologies. And yes, of courser Ray Davies loosened up in the 80's, but I wasn't referring to his style in his declining years (hoho). We've no need really to go head to head on the two, there's plenty of room for both.
But when you write that AC/DC "care about linking all the elements in a thrilling, dynamic exposition that keeps you on the edge of your seat", I don't see it, I don't hear it. Their riffs and guitar solos are solid and technically proficient, just lacking that musical inspirtation that (and sorry to return to him all the time) a Neil Young can reel off with a single note. Guess i'll have to wait for your (eventual?) Neil Young From The Video Stash to better understand where exactly you find so much to enthuse about live AC/DC. I must be missing something, and yet I have an easy (if delimited) tolerance for all manner of music. Maybe it's there in my final lines, where I regret the way the group has unintentionally squashed the status of groups like the Kinks & Who -- even if no less than Bob Dylan paid them hommage in the recent bio-film.
But it's just as well you refer to the lack of attention paid to the "perfectly thought-out complexity" that I touch on. But it's no use comparing their presumed musical intelligence to all their "clueless imitators", that really doesn't get us very far.
Funny enough I had a friend in high school whom I hung out with, who loved Kiss at first and then moved on to AC/DC. He ended up on The Rolling Stones which define my country's rock and roll DNA in a nutshell. Alarmingly so for good-natured Charly, he also collected Nazi magazines and stuff.
So yeah I'ved had my own mixed feelings about this "lowbrow entertainment", but mostly because of the crowd involved. Kiss somehow passed, maybe the visual impact is still attractive (What were they thinking with Lick It Up? I remember the day they launched that makeup-less video!) and some of their classics, but AC/DC (live AC/DC!) is completely there yet with their unstoppable power. I agree that it's better taken in small doses.
I've never been truly convinced by good old Brian myself, I remember the controversy back then with said friend. I liked his output in the great Back in Black, also Flick Of The Switch but not a lot more. Bon Scott on the other hand, what a force of Nature. One of those few great Rock Frontmen.
This Live Wire rendition is amazing, and it's certainly my favourite deep? track along with Walk All Over You. I remember ripping the "Got Live If You Want It" cassette to pieces after so much listening. For me it was up there with Live At Leeds in pure rock and roll perfection.
Sorry George. You've lost me. Took a long while but you done did it. Got half way through the video and noway into your usually impeccable text. It's dope rock, stupid rock, so lowbrow it's painful on the eyes & ears. Musically & aesthetically bombastic. I simply d-o-n'-t g-e-t i-t !! :)
"Coal-mining is a wonderful thing father, but it's something you'll never understand."
Hahaha . . . a bit of a dig, I gather. Not entirely sure of the context of your quote, but I understand i'm out of my depth. Could be, i'm open to admitting I'm not afraid to dismissing things which at first and last hearing appear to be to some important degree fraudulent, a simulacre. Extremely hard for me to get to grips with AC/DC when I know one of its principal members (Angus Young) is the younger brother of one of the founding members of the brilliant Easybeats.
The context is an old Monty Python sketch that seems very appropriate for the situation - I'm sure you can locate it if you're interested.
I do suggest you try to read through my text: I'm not implying it's great writing or anything, but it DOES try to explain precisely what separates a band like AC/DC from truly bland "lowbrow" entertainment (like KISS or, even more accurately, bands like Foghat or Motley Crue).
On the other hand, one might also take this write-up as an excuse to think about what it is that actually separates, say, the early hard rock phase of the Kinks - 'You Really Got Me' / 'All Day And All Of The Night' - that both of us seem to have a comparable craving for, from songs like 'Live Wire' and 'Whole Lotta Rosie'. The complexity of the riffs? The lyrics? The attitude? You might find this a fairly tough question to give a reasonable answer to.
The 70's arena rock that we all used to dismiss for its crude stupidity, from a current perspective seems quite charming. At least it's better than a Taylor Swift concert.
Yes, you're right, important to read your text, as it reveals what I could not have guessed, the level of adolescent fandom which you went though in the late 70's -- as well as its links to your affection for gaming.
Essentially I'm with your father on all of this. AC/DC are surely a force to be reckoned with, but in no way on the same level as the bands who were clearly their inspiration: The Kinks & The Who, not to mention later incarnations such as Neil Young, who does this so much better.
On reflection, my own personal holdout has to do with the ONE-TO-ONE approach the latter have with their subject matter & listeners alike. When Ray Davis sings You Really Got Me, he's addressing the song directly, unfiltered, to a girl. And then to a listener. Not pransing around the stage or hiding in the shadows, but straight on, no frills. No fancy moves, which he would have regarded as a travesty, a cheap gimmick. Most of the better artisits of the period shared that view, with the obvious exception.
But then, hey, everyone still talks about AC/D in worshipful tones, who does so about the Kinks? And maybe, just maybe, if I had been born a decade later, I too might be an AC/DC fan, who knows?
P.S. "Do you remember about what we arranged?" . . . what kind of heavy rock lyric is that??
I'm sorry, Reid, but feels like half of what you write here makes no sense at all, and the other half can be very easily refuted.
"Important to read your text, as it reveals what I could not have guessed, the level of adolescent fandom which you went though in the late 70's" - I am not sure which text you have read, but it is certainly not mine. Because (a) in the late 70's, I was at best 3 years old and could not go through any level of "adolescent fandom" even if I wanted to; (b) the text explicitly states that I did not have even a single shred of "adolescent fandom" for AC/DC - on the contrary, I became a convert to their style only upon reaching full adulthood; (c) no idea how this is at all linked to gaming.
"When Ray Davis sings You Really Got Me, he's addressing the song directly, unfiltered, to a girl. And then to a listener" - well, I guess this can be said about any song of love - or lust - ever written, no? "Live Wire" pretty much has the same message as "You Really Got Me".
"Not pransing around the stage or hiding in the shadows, but straight on, no frills. No fancy moves, which he would have regarded as a travesty, a cheap gimmick" - well, first of all, this only concerns stage presentation, not the music itself; second, the "no fancy moves" rule has nothing to do with distaste for cheap gimmicks and everything with the way live performances were run in the still comparatively strict environment of the 1960s.
(Here's Ray Davies very much prancing around the stage and doing plenty of fancy moves while delivering "All Day And All Of The Night" to an early 1980s audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6qYstpbNu4 - I'd say Bon Scott looks comparatively more reserved in his 1979 performance, doesn't he?)
""Do you remember about what we arranged?" . . . what kind of heavy rock lyric is that??" - that's not a heavy rock lyric, it's an improvised ad-libbed bit. And even if it were, how is it worse than "all day and nighttime yours, leave me never" with its silly syntax?
"And maybe, just maybe, if I had been born a decade later, I too might be an AC/DC fan, who knows?" - finally hit the nail on the head on this one. As a Sixties child (just as my father was), you simply seem to be too conservative to allow yourself to embrace the relative "crudeness" of heavy rock (and probably punk) acts that came later, regarding it as a cheapening of the original values. I used to think like that, too, but fortunately "I'm younger than that now", you know.
Hmm . . . guess I did get a few things wrong, never quite sure of your exact age. Was simply trying to find some causal relations. My apologies. And yes, of courser Ray Davies loosened up in the 80's, but I wasn't referring to his style in his declining years (hoho). We've no need really to go head to head on the two, there's plenty of room for both.
But when you write that AC/DC "care about linking all the elements in a thrilling, dynamic exposition that keeps you on the edge of your seat", I don't see it, I don't hear it. Their riffs and guitar solos are solid and technically proficient, just lacking that musical inspirtation that (and sorry to return to him all the time) a Neil Young can reel off with a single note. Guess i'll have to wait for your (eventual?) Neil Young From The Video Stash to better understand where exactly you find so much to enthuse about live AC/DC. I must be missing something, and yet I have an easy (if delimited) tolerance for all manner of music. Maybe it's there in my final lines, where I regret the way the group has unintentionally squashed the status of groups like the Kinks & Who -- even if no less than Bob Dylan paid them hommage in the recent bio-film.
But it's just as well you refer to the lack of attention paid to the "perfectly thought-out complexity" that I touch on. But it's no use comparing their presumed musical intelligence to all their "clueless imitators", that really doesn't get us very far.