Honoring Malcolm Young's 63rd Birthday

In honor of dear Malcolm Young's 63rd birthday, the team took a vote and decided to share this lesser known AC/DC tune, found by Aurora. 

It's heartbreaking that Mal can't remember writing or playing songs like this one, even more that he can't remember the people he was with, including his brother and soul mate. 

We mean soul mate in a platonic sense. Anyone reading something pervy into that statement is, in the immortal words of Bugs Bunny, a maroon.

We also take this time to affirm our belief that those who blather that "AC/DC always sound the same" are maroons. Sure we like the stuff that got radio play, but sometimes deep cuts like this one are better indicators of the band's heart and soul than the more popular stuff. We love the bluesy sound on this one.

Malcolm was AC/DC's nerve center. They are a different band without him. A good band, yes. A band with several of the same key components, yes. A band that he would be proud of, very much so. But nonetheless, a different band. Anyone who doesn't realize that isn't really listening.

We love you, Malcolm. We are sorry for what your illness has stolen from you. We are sorry for the suffering of your family and friends. We know that in the end, you will be free. Your soul will never forget the truth. We believe this in our hearts and souls.

Written by Cie and Aurora

for

Team Netherworld

Happy 60th Birthday Angus Young

Awesome then

Awesome now

Team Netherworld wishes a very happy birthday to one of our favorite people, the awesome Angus Young. He's still just as kooky as ever, and still a nice guy who never let the whole "rock star" thing go to his head. 

We hope Angus senses the big warm hug we're all sending to him, and it makes him smile!

We're featuring the videos from Fly on the Wall, an album which got panned by humorless prats with a stick up their ass. The very kind of people that Angus is the antithesis to, and that's why we love him!

Tempest

for

Team Netherworld

My own playlist that I made with the songs from the Fly on the Wall video set. I always loved this fun little story line!

Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds

Quiet People Have the Loudest Minds

I

In an industry that praises a man for being a blackguard

You refused to behave like a swine

You were tolerant, but not amoral

You chose to cleave to what you deemed important

Refusing to be some sort of cog in the machine

Your voice was an understated baritone

Your style in no way operatic

You preferred to let your axe do the talking

Coming up from a humble background

You led the poor in a quiet revolt

By teaching us to be unashamed of who we are

If anyone had ever referred to you

As a knight riding in on a white horse

You would have laughed

But you were a hero to many of us

We saw you as strong in spite of your diminutive stature

Which is why we were shocked when it was revealed just how fragile you are

There was no antecedent to predict

How swiftly and fearfully you would be felled

II

When I found out the reason

Why the world would never again hear your restless thoughts poured out in music

It made me shiver and sway

My soul was left a jittering mess

Tumbling into a sick, hellish abyss

My heart landed in the basement

And there is no consolation

Nor any chance for denial

My eyes are swollen from crying

Everybody knows that something's wrong

I never was any good at hiding behind a mask

This is the worst, the absolute worst

Because not only are there no expectations for recovery

There's nothing left of what you were in your head

Although the curtain's not yet drawn on vital functions

The obituary for your soul's been read

I thought it might be whiskey that would take you in the end

She was the one mistress you had trouble resisting

Because she temporarily quieted the voices of self-doubt

That screamed behind your placid demeanor

Quiet people have the loudest minds

I loved yours

Love it still

Love it always

Cie and Mo

for

Malcolm

Writing Prompts:

Mindlovemisery's Menagerie

The Reverie

Cross-Posted to:
Dream About Me Sweet Brother
(Warning: Blog contains explicit, unapologetic slash/erotic gay fiction)
KHEL 666
Poetry of the Netherworld
Rattling Bones Undead Musician Magazine

Notes:

Morella La Muerte (Mo) is the primary writer on the first poem, The Real Cie is the primary writer on the second.

Mo wanted to use the words from both Wordles but became overwhelmed. She emailed Cie asking for advice. We've been collaborating since five this morning! Three point five hours in, we've finally got it cooked to delicious imperfection.

Delicious imperfection could also describe the subject of the poem, although that sounds kind of lecherous. We actually are referring to his personality. He was flawed, but extremely well-intentioned. He created wonderful things without knowing just how wonderful they were. He was also extremely hard on himself. He never measured up to his own exacting standards.

I doubt we'll ever stop writing about this situation. We certainly will never stop thinking that it's a steaming pile of crap on the part of the Universe. We'd have been sad to have the man killed off, but to destroy his mind on top of it, that's fucking insult to injury. His was a beautiful mind. The world has been robbed of a real treasure.

Ignoring the fact that we have to get a spotlight over here because Angus is taking off his clothes again, could we just for a moment pause and ponder the absolutely solid foundation of this very tasty blues-rock number?

Angus spoke about his admiration for Malcolm's style in a January 2014 article from Guitar World:

"Sometimes I look at Malcolm while he's playing, and I'm completely awestruck by the sheer power of it. He's doing something much more unique than what I do-with that raw, natural sound of his. People like Malcolm, Steve Cropper, Chuck Berry and Keith Richards-they're all doing something better than the rest of us. I can't deny that Eric Clapton's and Eddie Van Halen's lead stuff has influenced a stack of people, but for me it's the rhythm thing that's way more impressive and important to a band.

Malcolm is a big inspiration to me; he keeps me on my feet. Even when I'm tired from running around the stage for two hours, I'll look back at what he's doing and it gives me that boot up the backside I sometimes need."

Absolutely.

What a great loss, not only to the world of music, but to the world as a whole.

Photoshop manip by Cie

Original Eye in the Sky image:

Copyright: zadvinskiy / 123RF Stock Photo

Angus and Malcolm Young: Real Brotherly Love

 

We have learned that Malcolm Young's dementia is so fast-moving that his wife had to put him in a long term care facility. He doesn't remember things that happened just minutes before. His short term memory has been totally wiped.

Some of the team have gone through this sort of thing with parents or uncles and aunts, or grandparents. But to endure it with your sibling, your best friend, must be a hell beyond compare.

Angus has said of Malcolm that he felt that Malcolm was actually the better guitarist. He wasn't flashy, he provided a solid wall of sound. But Malcolm, according to Angus, could kick anyone's ass, including Angus', had Angus ever acted like some sort of prima donna.

Malcolm Young put up with no shit. He was scrappy. But he was also a generous, caring soul. He took it upon himself to call Bon Scott's mother personally following Bon's death, so she wouldn't have to learn about the devastating loss from the news. He said it was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, and he agonized over it for a long time afterwards. He believed that Bon told him that he "did good," stating that he felt a hand on his shoulder and the presence of his departed friend.

Malcolm believed in doing the right thing. He once walked off the set of a TV show after they tried to goad him into swearing to make him look like more of a bad boy. He was moved to tears by the crushing death of fans at an ill-planned concert venue with general admission, and was deeply saddened by the deaths of the children at the Waco disaster.

Malcolm was married to his wife Linda since the late 1970's. He has a daughter named Cara and a son named Ross. It would be heartbreaking to see the love of your life and the father of your children decline so badly so quickly that you had to opt to put him in a nursing home because you could no longer properly care for him yourself. It would be heartbreaking to see your devoted father decline into a state where he no longer recognizes you.

For Angus, watching the person who was not only his brother but also his best friend fall into a state where he no longer recognizes those who mean the most to him must be a hell beyond compare. Only two years apart in age, these guys were close as could be. Both stated that they scrapped at times when they were younger, but it certainly didn't keep them from forming one of the deepest bonds we've ever seen. They didn't have to say it in words: they love each other and each would do anything for the other. They were inseparable.

We can only offer our sympathies and our greatest respects. There will never be another Malcolm Young. He was one of a kind. He always had such a spark. Who would have imagined that his life would play out in such a tragic way?

We never know what awaits us. We have to treasure the moment; we truly do. This sort of thing could, sadly, strike any one of us or someone we loved with great depth; perhaps someone we thought would always be there.

A bond like that which exists between Angus and Malcolm Young can never really be broken, not even by a tragedy of this magnitude. Their unmistakable loving filial ties will outlast both of them. A friendship such as theirs is forever.

All of our love to these two iconic brothers. You are in our hearts always.

 

Blooming Psycho

for the KHEL 666 Krew

Fuck Yeah, Angus Young!

Amazing musician, amazing drawing. No, I did not draw it, Dahlings. I wish I could say I did. It was shared by Juice Box Weirdo on Facebook.