I have a little theory running around in my head and I’d appreciate you helping me out with it.
AC/DC have just launched their entire catalogue on iTunes, giving fans the opportunity to digitise their whole collection or pick and choose the favourites they want to purchase.
Let’s suppose you’re an AC/DC fan and you want to get some of their music to rock your iThingy. Due to budget limitations, however, you’ll restrict your purchase to just 10 songs.
Which 10 AC/DC songs would you buy?
You get “For Those About to Rock We Salute You” and screw the rest.
Too harsh?
I need 10 for it to be a useful sample.
Great song, though.
Alas can’t help you on this Mate. I never saw the appeal of AC/DC, but others would say the same for many of the artist I favor so to each his own.
Have to agree with you there Coggs, but did have the extreme good fortune to work for a certain Race Driving School in NW Connecticut about 15 years ago, and had one Brian Johnson & his wife Brenda as students/racers.
Spent MANY long hours in the evening with the two of them, after a long day of racing, for several seasons. All I can say is that Brian is one truly funny man. His stories were priceless. Still brings a smile to my face remembering them. 🙂
Oh…and the BOTH of them are very good racing drivers.
Here’s my list, in no particular order:
1. For Those About to Rock… as Mallthus said
2. Hells Bells
3. Shoot to Thrill
4. Highway to Hell
5. Back in Black
6. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
7. Have a Drink on Me
8. Rock & Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution
9. It’s a Long Way to the Top if You Wanna Rock n Roll
10. TNT
I’m curious to see if my list proves or disproves your theory…
Good list. Theory going well.
I don’t think it’s a groundbreaking theory, by the way, it’s just one that struck me a day or so ago (whilst working out to AC/DC at the gym).
Paul, almost perfect 😉 How about Thunderstruck for Noise Pollution?
I wanted to put Thunderstruck in there too, but, in the end, deferred to the older tunes. It’s a good one, though!
Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)
TNT
Highway to Hell
Girls Got Rhythm
Hells Bells
Rock n Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution
Let There Be Rock
Then get these three AC/DC covers as performed by Mark Kozelek:
Up to My Neck in You
What’s Next to the Moon
Rock ‘n Roll Singer
And, yes, I left out both “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long”. Neither ever did much for me.
I’ll have to check out those covers, I like Mark Kozelek a lot.
While he was waiting around for the Red House Painters legal troubles to be resolved, he recorded a whole record of AC/DC covers. It’s actually quite good.
I enjoy the Modest Mouse covers, too.
Up To My Neck In You
Down Payment Blues
The Jack
Back In Black
Shoot to Thrill
Let There Be Rock
Thunderstruck
Jailbreak
Problem Child
Hard As A Rock
Never been a longtime fan of AC/DC but here are my 10 songs (in no particular order):
1 Thunderstruck
2 Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)
3 Safe In New York City
4 Back In Black
5 Big Gun
6 Highway To Hell
7 T.N.T.
8 Big Balls
9 For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)
10 Let There Be Rock
But I must also mention the interesting cover of Thunderstruck by the swedish group Hellsongs on the album Hymns in the key of 666. A very different soft, jazzy ballad version.
Tough call to pick only 10 – I’ve just copied all my CDs into iTunes (pity can’t easily do the same with the tapes & vinyl…), but here’s a stab:
1. You Shook Me All Night Long (THE best rock anthem in the world, ever…)
2. Whole Lotta Rosie (why has nobody else suggested this?!?!)
3. Beating Around The Bush
4. Big Balls (just for the silliness of it)
5. It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll)
6. Problem Child
7. Thunderstruck
8. Shoot to Thrill
9. Let’s Get It Up
10. Gone Shootin’
Alternatively, if you’re more into Bon Scott era, for 10 tracks just get the If You Want Blood album…or Brian Johnson era it has to be Back In Black.
I am definately of the ‘Bon Scott’ era so my list is as follows:
1. Whole lotta Rosie
2. Riff Raff
3. The Jack
4. Rocker
5. You shook me all night long
6. Back in Black
7. Shoot to Thrill
8. Problem Child
9. Jailbreak
10. Dirty Deeds
No particular order of course but the Bon Scott era is best IMHO.
Here’s 10, which I’ve whittled-down from 25 or so:
Thunderstruck
Shoot to Thrill
Jailbreak
Rock N’ Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution
Shot Down In Flames
Moneytalks
Hells Bells
Highway to Hell
Sin City
Good Riddance to Bad Luck
I should have added my own selections. I actually DID recently buy 16 AC/DC songs on iTunes. If I’d restricted myself to just ten, it would have been:
Back in Black
You shook me all night long
Touch too much
If you want blood
Dirty Deeds
Rocker
The jack
Highway to hell
Let there be rock
Jailbreak
For the sake of full disclosure, the others I bought were:
Hells Bells
Rock and Roll ain’t noise pollution
It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll
TNT
Can I sit next to you, girl?
High Voltage
it’s funny, noone mentioned touch too much. the one and only ac/dc song, that i’d call a must. good to see it’s on your list…
apparently, the old days are more in vogue around here….
I’m also surprised that I’m the only one with ‘Girls Got Rhythm’. Probably my second or third ‘most needed’.
Was a toss between that or Beating Around the Bush for me…
So Swade, the theory – presumably that most people picked Bon Scott and Back in Black material, with very little of the later Brian Johnson stuff?
I just noticed this story. OK so:
Let There Be Rock
Big Balls (Best lyrics of all time)
Back in Black
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Highway To Hell
It’s A Long Way To The Top If You Wanna Rock n Roll. (Who said bagpipes aren’t cool?)
Those are the only ones I can remember, but they are all great.
Forgot to add Thunderstruck. I was about 12 or 13 when this came out. This is a good rocking song but with a horribly slick MOR production, so typical of late 80s/early 90s ‘stadium rock’ records, and it put me off AC/DC until I listened to the earlier records with the great, gritty production.