AC/DC’s Brian Johnson: We Hope ‘Power Up’ Will Inspire Kids to Pick Up the Guitar + Be in a Band

AC/DC's reunion was probably one of the best things to happen to rock fans this year. Their upcoming album Power Up will be out Nov. 13, and Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams told Loudwire Nights they want two things to come from its release — for it to make people smile, and for it to make kids want to pick up a guitar.

While there were a few big rock releases in 2020 so far, only one made it to the top of the Billboard 200, and it was by an artist who originally became known to the public as a rapper — Machine Gun Kelly. Though Williams admitted he's never heard of the musician before, his pop-punk album Tickets to My Downfall debuted at No. 1 on the chart upon its release in late September.

But why haven't other rock albums achieved that same feat this year, when we've seen releases from previously chart-topping artists including Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam and Deftones? What is different about the younger generations of rock artists and fans alike?

"I think they got swallowed up by the mainstream. Mainstream music, by that I mean social media, the 'norm,'" Johnson explained. "AC/DC started in the mind of Malcolm Young many years ago when he was sitting at home in Australia, and the only music you could hear was this soft, gentle music. And he just went, 'Everything's too nice, I wanna do something about this.'"

"Being in rock 'n' roll… it's never been the genre that people ever listen to, they never took it seriously. And I think it's time that stops because it is a very serious statement of music, and it has been for so long," the singer continued. "I think now and again, you get big bursts of rock 'n' roll, and then you get people coming up and making silly statements like, 'Hey man, rock 'n' roll is dead.'"

The frontman hopes that people in younger generations, who may not have grown up with AC/DC, will listen to Power Up and decide that they want to go out and get a guitar and learn to play.

Listen to the full interview above.