UME TIMES - If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Have you ever seen the phrase "AC/DC"?
Yes, it is likely that you will see this on the back of radios or portable cassette players. Most Japanese would think it has got something to do with electricity. People who are familiar with electronics would know that it means alternating current or direct current.

To most English speaking people ...

DC-AC inverter of the Royer circuit by Neotesla licensed under CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

However, when an American or a British person sees "AC/DC" on a T-shirt or a poster, they immediately know it refers to a rock band-one which many would consider the greatest.

AC/DC is a rock band from Australia formed in 1973. However, if you ask a Brit where AC/DC is from they will proudly answer "Britain, of course!" It's true that several of them were born in the UK, and that they were lionized after they started touring England. Now, they are an internationally known rock band. Well, maybe not here in Japan...
There is an astounding disparity between Japan and the rest of the world in terms of this rock legend's name-recognition.

It's only Rock 'n' Roll

It may be only Rock 'n' Roll to some, but AC/DC takes Rock 'n' Roll seriously - very seriously. And they stick to their musical style in the same manner. Their intractable absorption with the three-chord minimalist approach to song writing has led many critics to label them as recalcitrant, anachronistic dinosaurs of rock.

And to that, Angus Young, the lead guitarist, responds with a scowl and a hackneyed, tongue-in-cheek expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

If you ever have the chance to see AC/DC live, please do. Even at their age they still perform with energy, panache, and great fastidiousness.

The author with an AC/DC T-shirt

WORDS

• alternating current/direct current：（電気の）交流/直流
• lionize：もてはやす
• astounding：驚くべき
• disparity：格差、相違
• stick to：こだわる
• intractable：強情な
• absorption：夢中になること、没頭
• recalcitrant：頑固な
• anachronistic：時代錯誤の
• scowl：しかめっ面
• hackneyed：使い古された
• tongue-in-cheek：ふざけた、皮肉交じりの
• panache：堂々とした
• fastidiousness：厳密なこと

WRITER

下平先生
日米歴15年以上のベテラン講師です。楽しい英会話から資格対策までお任せ下さい。趣味はランニングで、大阪城近辺を1週間で40キロ走ってます！