There are essentially two ways to approach art. You can either stay consistent and keep doing what already works, what’s safe, the tried and tested, or you can keep reinventing yourself, pushing the boundaries and exploring new territory. Both come with professional risks, but neither approach is wrong. It just depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. With someone like Prince, for example, every new album is a bit like going to the fancy new Indonesian-Ethiopian fusion restaurant. It might blow your mind by exposing your taste buds to exciting flavors you’ve never tried before, but it could also be an overrated fad and culinary disaster. AC/DC, on the other hand, is like that local diner that’s been around for decades. It’s dependable, it fills you up and, most importantly, it’s delicious. We all know what we’re ordering, and we’re never disappointed. The comedian Bill Burr put it best:

“You can’t veer from what you do. Look at AC/DC. You know? They made the same song. They sing about their balls, the devil and women. And that’s it. And they never veered from that.”

That might sound like a joke, but as it turns out, an AI prompted with AC/DC lyrics will generate a song called Great Balls. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since these are some actual AC/DC song titles: Ballbreaker, Hard as a Rock, Caught with Your Pants Down and Cover You in Oil, all of which are from the same album! In my defense, I never said that the diner serves fancy food. But that’s the point, it just needs to be predictable and solid. The fact that AC/DC managed to stay so consistent is actually quite remarkable given that they had to find a new singer after Bon Scott died. Few bands are able to survive such a dramatic shift in personnel, but AC/DC were able to stay focused… on balls.

I discovered AC/DC as a young teenager, in my local library. Back then, I wasn’t a big reader, but I loved music, and the library happened to have a shelf with CDs (try saying AC/DC CD fast over and over). I had just started playing guitar and was still naive to the world of rock music. I found an album with a completely black cover, and decided to give it a listen. Needless to say, it was a total revelation. For the next month I blasted the screechy voice of Brian Johnson, over and over again, to my father’s dismay. To make it worse, I also began playing in bands; covering some of the songs (badly, I’m sure). My father must have been thrilled when I had to return the CD, but the damage was done. I kept exploring and found my way to heavier and heavier music, fulfilling the journey that every Scandinavian must take, namely to the depths of death metal. That will be a story for another time, though.

I’m not a teenager anymore, and my musical taste is a bit more refined. Nevertheless, I still love a good diner and I still maintain that Back in Black is a masterpiece with amazing songs full of energy, attitude and, well… balls.

Please enjoy what I would consider to be the perfect setlist for a concert by AC/DC. The last three tracks are the encore.