I tend to do the cooking on Sunday nights here in chez 1537 and last night I had something of a religious experience / Pavlovian response* / seizure. I always tend to listen to the radio when I cook, usually something talkie and entertaining, or something newsy and political, even something sporty at times but last night it was all shite so I tuned into Planet Rock and after a very interesting interview with Woody Woodmansey from The Spiders From Mars they blasted AC/DC ‘Shoot To Thrill’. Not even one of my favourites from Back In Black, but without thinking about it for a second I found myself duck-walking up and down the kitchen and played what is definitely the most accurate air-guitar solo there has ever been, complete with grimacing and shaking my mane. It was funny it isn’t a track I ever think of particularly and yet there I was, without a conscious thought** almost three minutes into my routine before I’d even noticed! Great stuff.
It put me in mind of one of my favourite ever New Year’s Eves. When I was 15 my parents were invited to a party at their friends, I was too but I decided I didn’t want to go, so they went, taking my brother and I was home alone. Now I grew up in an isolated farmhouse and outside the house was a raised terrace, about 8 foot, or so above the farm-yard. A stage. At about 11.30 I dragged my dad’s big speakers outside carefully, took a big swig of coffee, cued up If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It at a completely ridiculous volume level and became Angus Young and Bon Scott for 40 minutes, or so. I went for it too, no stopping, note for note. The sound from those big old speakers was VAST and I just loved absolutely every second of it, no neighbours just meant no possible embarrassments, no witnesses.
In fact if I could go back and spy on an event in my childhood again I’d pick that one. I know it’s silly, but I took it so seriously, no stopping, no resting, just get on and finish the show. Just a chunk of uninhibited innocent fun and I was so lucky to have the time and space to do it in.
My duck-walking is a bit less sinuous these days and I reckon I’d struggle during the trickier solo bits on ‘Bad Boy Boogie’ now, but it was nice to make the connection to something I hadn’t really thought about in a long, long time.
447 Down (still).
*nothing to do with Pavlovas, but thanks for asking.
**an all too often occurrence according to Mrs 1537; Pah! Wives!
I’ll bet you sing in the shower, too.
Yup, Tom Jones medleys mostly! I do a mean Delilah.
On of the greatest live albums in the history of our known universe….hell, even the unknown universes. I bought this when I was 14 at a dinky little mall north of my house. I think the first thing that struck me was the album cover. It seemed so violent and visceral to me. By the time I’d gotten to “Whole Lotta Rosie” I was floored.
This had to have been one epic air guitar New Year’s Eve concert in the English countryside. I had a few of my own…except they were in my parent’s basement.
terrific story, love that you didn’t have any say in the matter, the ktichen duck walk just happened organically!
Cheers, it’s just a deeply engrained conditioned reflex. I’m a slave to the rock!
I prefer to air-Cliff rather than air-Bon or air-Angus. Much less effort.
I think in the next 12 years or so I’ll have to drop back into midfield and become Cliff.
It’s not really an age thing in my case. I’m just lazy.
You still have to trot forwards every so often and bellow the chorus.
True, but it’s still the easiest of the five air-AC/DC options. Phil has to do drumming and Malcolm sort-of bobs up and down a bit.
Steve Rothery from Marillion, now there’s a lazy man’s dream air guitar target.
Great call! I can finally just stop listening to AC/DC altogether. I was only doing it for air-convenience anyway.
Um… shaking your MANE?
Ok so in interrogation under sodium pentathol I may confess to a touch of artistic license about my own appearance.
Cool set of ACDC there buddy…
Cheers Deke, tip of the iceberg too!
Terrific moment, very visual, and one I can relate to insofar as I grew up in the country and have air jammed to the entirety of Dirty Deeds (the song, though, not the album…even then I didn’t have the stamina for such a gargantuan attempt). Thanks for sharing, really enjoyed it!
Hi Ian, thank you very much! I may have been miming to a small audience of bemused nocturnal mammals and some alarmed chickens in West Wales but in my head I was headlining Wembley stadium.
Thanks again.