AC/DC in popular culture

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Due to the worldwide popularity and influence of the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, many people have made tributes and references to the band and its members in popular culture. AC/DC have not only provided contributions to the soundtracks of numerous films, but frequent references to the band have also appeared in films and television shows. The band's influence on many different types of musicians, across several genres, has meant that their songs have frequently been covered by other artists.[1]

Contents

[edit] Film

Maximum Overdrive (1986) - Who Made Who is the soundtrack to this film
Maximum Overdrive (1986) - Who Made Who is the soundtrack to this film

AC/DC have been asked to record soundtracks and songs for various films. One such example is for the Stephen King film, Maximum Overdrive for which AC/DC's album Who Made Who is the soundtrack. King also included a reference to the band in the film; in the opening scenes of the film, a Volkswagen Type 2 has AC/DC's logo painted its side.[2] AC/DC also recorded material ("Big Gun") for the 1993 film Last Action Hero.

Beyond the influence of AC/DC's music itself, lead guitarist Angus Young's school-boy stage outfit is often mimicked.[3] An example of this is in the 2003 film School of Rock, in which Jack Black's character, Dewey Finn, wears an Angus Young-style schoolboy outfit for the concert finale of the movie and also plays a cherry Gibson SG guitar, similar to Angus Young's.[4] The film also features a cover of "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" and the original version of "Highway To Hell", "Back in Black" and "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)".[5]

Other films have been heavily based around the band, such as Isi/Disi - Amor a lo Bestia - a Spanish movie in which two AC/DC fans steal a street sign with the name of the group.[6] Furthermore, the 2004 film, Thunderstruck, tells the story of five AC/DC fans who set out on a pilgrimage to visit the grave of AC/DC's former lead singer, Bon Scott.[7]

[edit] Television

There have been numerous references to AC/DC in various television shows. For example, there have been multiple references to AC/DC in The Simpsons, such as AC/DC t-shirts appearing in the background (in "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace") and songs featuring in the closing credits (such as "Highway to Hell" featuring in "Simpsons Bible Stories").[8] Certain characters in the television show have also made references to the band, such as in the episode "I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can", where Otto the bus-driver asks Lisa Simpson to spell "AC/DC" as part of her preparations for an upcoming spelling bee; after spelling "A, C, D, C,", Otto informs Lisa that she is wrong because she "...forgot the lightning bolt."[9]

Other television shows have also included references to AC/DC. One such example is in My Name Is Earl in the episode "Barn Burner" where number 98 on Earl Hickey's (played by Jason Lee) list is not taking his two sons to an amusement park because he went to an AC/DC concert instead.[10] Also, in the animated television series, Beavis and Butt-head, the character Butt-head is frequently seen wearing an AC/DC t-shirt.

[edit] Tributes by other musicians

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Many different musicians have covered AC/DC's songs and even released tribute albums, showing their influence on many types of music genres, as the lists show:

Individual covers

Artist(s) Song(s) covered Album/single Release date Notes
Guns N' Roses "Whole Lotta Rosie" "Welcome to the Jungle" single 1987 Has also been played as part of Guns N' Roses' concerts.[11]
John Farnham "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" Age of Reason 1988 [12]
Exodus "Overdose", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" Fabulous Disaster, Tempo of the Damned respectively. 1989, 2004 respectively [13]
Hard Ons with Henry Rollins "Let There Be Rock" Single 1991 [14]
Annihilator "Live Wire" In Command 1996 [15]
Quiet Riot "Highway to Hell" Alive and Well 1999 [16]
Mark Kozelek "Rock 'n' Roll Singer", "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me", "Bad Boy Boogie" Rock 'n' Roll Singer 2000 The songs are sung in a folk ballad style.[17][18]
Six Feet Under "T.N.T." Graveyard Classics 2000 [19]
The Offspring "Sin City" Million Miles Away single. 2001 [20]
Twisted Sister "Sin City" Twisted Forever 2001 [21]
Iced Earth "Highway to Hell", "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" Tribute to the Gods 2002 [22]
Illdisposed "Beating Around the Bush" Retro 2002 [23]
Living Colour "Back in Black" Collideøscope 2003 [24][25]
Shakira "Back in Black" Live & Off the Record 2004 [26]
Bruce Dickinson "Sin City" Tattooed Millionaire 2005 [27]

Tribute albums

Title Artist Release date Notes
Fuse Box Various 1995 Artists featured include; The Meanies, Ed Kuepper and Spiderbait.[28]
Thunderbolt Various 1998 Artists featured include; Sebastian Bach, Joe Lynn Turner, Jack Russell, John Corabi and Ugly Kid Joe.[29]
A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC Hayseed Dixie 2000 Features bluegrass covers of songs from Back in Black.[30][31]
What's Next To The Moon Mark Kozelek 2001 Covers of AC/DC songs from the Bon Scott-era done in a folk ballad style.[32]
The Rock-A-Billy Tribute to AC/DC Full Blown Cherry 2004 Covers of AC/DC songs in a rockabilly style.[33]
Graveyard Classics 2 Six Feet Under 2004 Cover of the Back in Black album done in a death metal style.[34]
A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC - Hayseed Dixie.
A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC - Hayseed Dixie.

[edit] Other tributes

  • A drawing of Angus Young can be seen on the cover of Green Day's 1994 album, Dookie. Young is on top of the red building on the right, behind the dogs pouring brown matter into the street.[35]
  • In 2005, Nerf Herder lead singer, Parry Gripp, released his first solo album titled For Those About to Shop, We Salute You as a parody of the title of AC/DC's 1981 album, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You). The album cover is also parody of the international version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.[36]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ MUSICMATCH Guide: AC/DC. Musicmatch. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  2. ^ Trivia for Maximum Overdrive (1986). IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  3. ^ Sharken, Lisa (2001-01-24). The Mighty Angus Young. Gibson Guitar Corporation. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  4. ^ Still photographs of "School of Rock". IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  5. ^ Soundtrack for School of Rock (2003). IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  6. ^ Isi/Disi - Amor a lo Bestia (2004). IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  7. ^ Thunderstruck (2004). IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  8. ^ The Simpsons: Simpson Bible Stories. TV.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  9. ^ The Simpsons: I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can. TV.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  10. ^ Barn Burner. My-Name-Is-Earl.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  11. ^ Guns N' Roses singles. Here Today... Gone to Hell. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  12. ^ Lewis, Jonathan. John Farnham - Age of Reason. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  13. ^ Exodus. The Covers Project. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  14. ^ Discography. The Hard Ons. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  15. ^ Rivadavia, Ed. Annihilator - In Command. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  16. ^ Prato, Greg. Quiet Riot - Alive and Well. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  17. ^ Gardner, Daron (2000-08-04). Mark Kozelek - Rock 'n' Roll Singer. FakeJazz. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  18. ^ Stahl, Geoff. Mark Kozelek - Rock 'n' Roll Singer. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  19. ^ Melzer, Alexander. Six Feet Under - Graveyard Classics. Metal Observer. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  20. ^ Million Miles Away Single now in Stores!. The Offspring. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  21. ^ Hart, Jeremy. Various Artists - Twisted Forever. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  22. ^ Hinds, Andy. Iced Earth - Tribute to the Gods. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  23. ^ Melze, Alexander. Illdisposed - Retro. Metal Observer. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  24. ^ Johnson, Tom (2003-11-08). Living Colour - Collideøscope. Blog Critics magazine. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  25. ^ Fricke, David (2003-11-13). Living Colour - Collideøscope. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  26. ^ Ives, Brian; C. Bottomley (2004-03-29). Shakira Interview. VH1. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  27. ^ Henderson, Alex. Bruce Dickinson - Tattooed Millionaire. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  28. ^ Fuse Box - An AC/DC tribute. The Kuepper Files. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
  29. ^ Thunderbolt. Metal Reviews. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  30. ^ Moody, Dainon. Hayseed Dixie - A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  31. ^ Genesis. Hayseed Dixie. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  32. ^ Mark Kozelek - What's Next to the Moon. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  33. ^ Deming, Mark. Various Artists - The Rock-A-Billy Tribute to AC/DC. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  34. ^ McKellar, Lachlan (2006-02-22). Six Feet Under - Graveyard Classics II. Metal Observer. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.
  35. ^ Armstrong, Billie Joe (2002-06-17). Billie Joe Explains Dookie's Cover. VH1.
  36. ^ Hicks, Dylan (2005-07-13). Ad Rock. City Pages. Retrieved on 2006-12-05.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
AC/DC
Brian Johnson • Angus Young • Malcolm Young • Cliff Williams • Phil Rudd
Bon Scott • Mark Evans • Chris Slade • Simon Wright
Discography
Studio albums: High Voltage (Aus.) • T.N.T. • Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap • High Voltage (int.) • Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (int.) • Let There Be Rock (Aus.) • Let There Be Rock(int.) • Powerage • Highway To Hell • Back in Black • For Those About to Rock We Salute You • Flick of the Switch • '74 Jailbreak • Fly on the Wall • Who Made Who • Blow Up Your Video • The Razors Edge • Ballbreaker • Bonfire • Volts • Stiff Upper Lip • Stiff Upper Lip Tour Edition
Live albums: If You Want Blood • Live • Live: 2 CD Collector's Edition • Live from the Atlantic Studios • Let There Be Rock: The Movie
Films and videos: AC/DC: Let There Be Rock • Fly on the Wall • Who Made Who • AC/DC • Clipped • Live At Donington • For Those About To Rock • No Bull • Stiff Upper Lip Live • Live '77 • Toronto Rocks • Family Jewels
Related articles
ACDC Lane • Angus Bucks • In popular culture • Lineups • Portal • Rare songs
Production: Harry Vanda • George Young • Mutt Lange • Bruce Fairbairn • Rick Rubin
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