Why AC/DC Matters
AC/DC is one of the most commercially successful bands alive, but they’ve always been critically under appreciated. It was very frustrating to see that prejudice from the inside, as someone who was a member of the music media at the national level at an iconic magazine. I use Rolling Stone as an example in the book because I know from experience that the general attitude there towards AC/DC was one of disdainful acceptance. But that attitude can be found across the board in most mainstream media coverage of the band for the past 30 years. And it’s completely unwarranted. The band’s musicianship is incredible and their contribution to the history of rock is incalculable. They do what they do, and nobody does it better. You could argue that they’re a metal band and that metal fans are dedicated, like Kiss’s fans, or Judas Priests’ or Def Leppard’s, which explains their enduring popularity. But AC/DC’s music transcends that. It’s much more primal and fundamental, which is the real case for their widespread appeal. There is a reason that Chuck Berry and all the forefathers of rock and roll started a revolution. It was because there was no denying the electricity of the music and the magnetism of the back beat. It spoke to, and continues to speak to generations of fans. AC/DC’s contribution to music history runs parallel to that.
Anthony Bozza
Anthony Bozza
