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24 June 2010

Comments

Andy

I was probably a Bon Scott snob when Back in Black came out ("it's not *real* AC/DC") but am happy to concede that actually it probably is AC/DC's finest hour - maybe that five month period of reflection/mourning/creativity was just what the band needed.

Lyrical content is something that I've been struggling with. When I listen back to some of the questionable lyrics I spent my formative years listening to I can't help but get a rather sour taste in my mouth. A couple of years back as Adam was trying to find his own musical "place" (still not there yet) he went through an it-might-be-hip-hop phase and I spent many hours trying to establish what parts of the genre were not homophobic, misogynistic or glorifying violence... even now as he's going through an it-might-be-heavy-metal phase I balk at using my knowledge of the genre to recommend anything.

Still haven't established how to deal with it (or even if I should) - I just hope that he comes through it all with an understanding of what he's listening to...

David

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, Andy. I was genuinely surprised by my reaction to the lyrics on Back in Black - I think it was just the relentlessness of them. I remember listening to tracks like "What do You Do for Money, Honey?" 30 years ago, and I knew pretty much what the gist was, though I didn't pay a lot of attention (I was a precocious snob, and knew the words weren't as 'worthy' as Neil Peart's fanfic paraphrase of Samuel Taylor Coleridge!). So I don't think my psyche was damaged by them - but then none of us can step outside our own minds to judge if we might have turned out more emotionally balanced and secure had we not listened to these wicked words.

And still there's something about the songs on Back in Black that feels different to a song like Whole Lotta Rosie, which has always seemed like cartoon fun, impossible to take seriously, and therefore quite harmless.

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