And now a word on the AC/DC rumor

I KNOW NOTHING (Jon Snow), so don't presume this is going to change anything.

Basically there are two parts to the rumor.

1. AC/DC are retiring, because
2. One member (probably rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young) is very (maybe terminally) ill

Now, #2 is more serious than #1, so I certainly hope that's not true. If it is, then my prayers are with him and his family. Discussion of #1 below the fold.

As for #1, here are the release dates of the band's five most recent studio albums.

1. Black Ice (2008)
2. Stiff Upper Lip (2000)
3. Ballbreaker (1995)
4. The Razors Edge (1990)
5. Blow Up Your Video (1988)

You might notice that that is five albums in twenty-five years. This is a band that has for all intents and purposes been semi-retired for decades.

I love AC/DC. "Hell's Bells" is quite literally the song that got me into classic rock.  But these guys are in their sixties, and I would not begrudge them - nor treat it as any sort of tragedy - if they chose to throw in the towel.  They've had an awesome career. They overcame the death of their lead singer back in 1980 by recording Back in Black, one of only a handful of albums to sell more copies than Led Zeppelin IV or The Dark Side of the Moon. If they've reached the point where they feel they need to retire gracefully (a word I use cautiously considering Angus Young's stage antics), then they are more than entitled to do so.

They were probably never going to be the Rolling Stones, touring on into oblivion. (With all due respect to Mick Jagger, he's not screaming every song in a falsetto.) So, no, #1 by itself doesn't really concern me.