ac/dc — t.n.t.

This album is a special one. This is a legit copy of T.N.T. This album was released prior to the Atlantic records release of High Voltage and is pretty much the same album except it includes a song called “Rocker” and a Chuck Berry cover of “School Days.” Very on brand tunes for AC/DC. It’s early AC/DC at it’s finest — just them being there to rock and roll to the top (which they do say is quite a long way to reach by the way).

It’s so funny revisiting this album about 15 years after getting it as a gift one Sunday. It’s a record that for sentimental reasons I can never give up — it was a gift to me from my music mentor and given at such a perfect time to shape my whole life to come. I was at the height of my obsession with my favorite band at the time (which was of course AC/DC, duh). This was also the blossoming of me really falling in love with learning and playing music (at this moment all eyes were set on playing guitar) and was the very start of my record collection (this was officially album number 4 in the collection). He gave me this gift at the perfect time to line a lot of things in motion.

His name is carved into the record itself by the production run-outs. Barely noticeable until the light hits the record a certain way. He grew up in Sweden so winding up with this record that never really made its way to an American release made it even more mind blowing to my young self. The miles it traveled! This fascination definitely is what sparked the record collection to go from 4 albums at age 14 to closer to 300 at age 30.

At age 13, AC/DC was my whole world. I thought they were the coolest band in existence. I remember for my 14th birthday begging my parents for the DVD boxset AC/DC’s Family Jewels (which my parents did indeed get me — thanks y’all). I’d stare at videos of Bon Scott performing so intensely it was like I was trying to become him. I still to this day think he’s one of the greatest frontmen in the history of rock n roll. The charisma just oozes out of him as he performs. His combination of sex appeal, humor, and power is just so uniquely him. No one else delivers quite like him. Yes, not even Brian Johnson. I know there’s plenty of AC/DC fans who love him just as much as Bon Scott but I’m not one of them. Brian Johnson could never match Bon. I felt that way as a kid and still stand by that opinion half a lifetime later.

I also loved Malcolm. Everyone talks about how great Angus Young is… No one gives nearly enough love to Malcolm Young holding down the rhythm so well and always looking cool as a cucumber. The two of them were my biggest musical inspirations at the time; being the chill Malcolm but also the immensely powerful Bon Scott.

Every week I’d show up to guitar lessons wanting to learn a different AC/DC song. I’m lucky my teacher was awesome. My favorite song at the time was “Touch Too Much.” It was my guitar teacher’s MySpace song and because I was a young weirdo with bad social skills — listening to someone I idolized’s MySpace song on repeat was a very normal 13 year old pastime. Dear god, I could have benefitted from having some friends. But “Touch Too Much” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” (both not on this album) are pretty much the only AC/DC songs I can even sit back and listen to anymore and still enjoy.

Oh yeah, so also about AC/DC, I literally cannot listen to them anymore. I’ve officially had to teach “T.N.T.” and “Highway to Hell” and “Back in Black” so many times I basically dissociate when I hear any of their tunes now. It’s like something in my system completely freezes and I have to escape where the songs are playing. I know I have other teacher friends who have expressed this same feeling so this isn’t just a me thing either. That’s the irony in all of this. This band was my whole world at the time I was given this record and now it’s like borderline nails on chalkboard to me. I’m listening to the album right now as I write this (a YouTube rip since guess who still doesn’t have speakers for her record player heh) the first 2 seconds of “T.N.T.”’s open E chord hit as I get to this segment and I’m beginning to feel that sensation in my stomach that says “turn it off now.” This special record to me at 14, this special band… Now at age 30 I’m going to vomit.

But aside from the 3 minute and 34 second pause I just needed to take while writing this to get “T.N.T.” out of the way, revisiting this album right now is fun. It reminds me of a part of myself I’ve forgotten about. That middle school me that didn’t have any worries; just a cheap record player, a guitar and free time to stare lovingly into the eyes (and let’s be real, I was a 14 year old girl, so also the bulge) of Bon Scott while I change my MySpace background for the 50th time that week.

I love when young students I meet are really into AC/DC, it taps into some deep part of my brain that still has love for them and makes me feel excited. Makes me feel like I can be the teacher who introduces them to something brand new that changes their life and maybe makes them collect 300 records… But hopefully they’ll still find themselves listening to it 15 years later and not feeling weird due to overexposure from it.

Pre-Covid lockdowns, when I had students who graduated from high school I’d usually get them a gift of some kind — for many of them it’s been records. Some from my personal collection as my teacher did for me, some I went out and hunted down for them, just something we worked on that reminds me of them that they could listen to and keep forever and take into the next phase of their life. I think gifting records is so special from musician to musician. Just continuously spreading the love of music forever, adding our own tiny sketches into the record before handing it off to the next most worthy artist in our life.

Aside from “T.N.T.” (the song) revisiting this album feels like a return home of some kind. Like I’m getting in touch with the little rock and roll loving Michelle still in there somewhere just excited to be playing open chords with the gain turned too high on the amp (because let’s be honest… I was 14 guitar tone was an abstract concept). I still feel the same fuzzy feelings I do now hearing “Rock N Roll Singer” that I did when I was 14. That was by far my favorite song since to me it was the ultimate dream to be someday: a rock n roll singer. When I finally learned how to sing and play that song it was game over, even more so when I started butchering my own version of the leads. I would sing that “yes I are!” with so much enthusiasm. I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever heard and I loved that a song so rocking could also be so fun and silly.

If there’s anything that 30 year old Michelle takes from a revisit with this album, probably one of the most rarely played in my collection due to the AC/DC stomach sinking feeling I get so often now, it’s that song. “Rock N Roll Singer.” I think something about that song rubbed off into my whole personality as I listen to it again and reflect. A love of music, a love of going against the norm, a love of silliness and just here to be having a good time.

Thanks AC/DC and especially thanks to my teacher who gave it to me. I may feel ill hearing “T.N.T.” now, but it’ll be over my dead body before I give up T.N.T. the album. This band, as much as I may not seek them out anymore, has just a little initial etched into my personality forever — even if you can only see it in a certain lighting.