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Was amused to read in the paper and hear on PM that Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, is upset that there is a plan to teach secular ethics classes in NSW schools.

It seems religion doesn’t like competition. Especially when the competition is winning which even has the Catholics worried:

ROBERT HADDAD: It’s not what’s happening in Baulkham Hills North for example where they offered, the school there offered the ethics trial to all the parents of the students in years five and six, not just the parents who opted out of SRE (special religious education).

As a consequence there was a 47 per cent uptake by the students for the ethics-based course. That reduced the number of students in SRE down to 50 per cent while another 3 per cent are still doing nothing.

Or course religion decides the best thing to do is lobby politicians rather than examine the reasons why secular ethics wins the popularity contest. (Hint to religion: You need a little more than ’cause Jensen or Pell said so).
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For those about to rock...

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Brian Johnson has a deserved go at Bono and other “do-good” rockers:

“I do it myself, I don’t tell everybody I’m doing it,” Johnson said.

“I don’t tell everybody they should give money – they can’t afford it.

“When I was a working man I didn’t want to go to a concert for some bastard to talk down to me that I should be thinking of some kid in Africa.

“I’m sorry mate, do it yourself, spend some of your own money and get it done. It just makes me angry. I become all tyrannical.”

I do think there is a place for charity concerts as long as the money is properly accounted for. But, good intentions aside, do we really need a remake of We Are the World for Haiti? It was a god awful song then and the assembled “talent” this time around is not going to make it any better.

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…is a nice little book by Anthony Bozza on, well Why AC/DC Matters. Bozza has a simple thesis, that AC/DC is the greatest living rock band ever and his book explains why.

Those that know me would understand my sympathies to this idea. That is not to dismiss the likes of the Stones, Zeppelin, Bruce and his E-Streeters and so on. But AC/DC’s simplicity has oft been overlooked by critical and popular trends. And Bozza does well in showing how AC/DC’s simplicity is the key to the sound. He explores the nuances of the simplicity, whether it be Phil Rudd’s slightly behind the beat drumming, Cliff William’s slightly ahead of the beat bass or Malcolm’s Young’s right on the beat rhythm guitar. Add in AC/DC’s remarkable understanding of space (think the Highway to Hell or the Back in Black riff) and mix all together and Bozza gives you the key to AC/DC’s huge sound. Don’t be fooled in thinking it is all volume. Far from it.

But even while I agree with the overall thesis of the book, I have quibbles. For example, the following statement:

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30 years ago July 27, 1979 a simple, powerful riff using A, D (with a F# in the bass – very important that) and G announced that AC/DC were ready for world domination.

For the past 6 years they had toured relentlessly, first in Australia and then Europe and the US building a fierce, loyal, following. The two prior studio albums, Powerage and Let There Be Rock, had firmed the foundations of AC/DC’s sound. The live album If You Want Blood… captured the intensity of their live performances. At that time, AC/DC were the best live act in the world. No-one in their right mind wanted to follow them on stage.

But true success had still eluded them. The next album was going to need to be a big one to capitalise on the following that they had built. After an abortive attempt at producing the album with Eddie Kramer Robert “Mutt” Lange was brought on board. He was the perfect choice.
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29 years on since his death, Bon Scott still remains one of the greatest frontmen of any rock’n'roll band ever. And that is no mean feat as he was in a band with a guitarist that has become one of the most enduring icons of rock’n'roll.

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