We've all gotten somewhere in the 5 stages of grief after this time has pasted since we all first heard about AC/DC's Malcolm Young. If you don't know what happened or who he is... well... I'll just tell you to save time. Malcolm is Angus Young's brother. They are the lead and rhythm players of AC FUCKING DC. Not that long ago Malcolm was reported to be in a nursing home due to dementia.
I was thinking just last night about my record player and my guys at work. If you are just joining us, other than your editor, I am a nursing assistant in a vets' home. since I got my little Crosley player for Christmas, I've been taking it to work after I figured out that it calms the "wanderers". They will just come up and sit to listen to the music and eventually go to sleep.
I've had 80 year old little ladies bumping to Led Zeppelin, I've had senile, angry republicans appreciate Jefferson Airplane... I've had my co-workers suspect me of drug use... but nothing compares to when you put on a record and they actually know what you're playing.
Recently I was working back in the secure unit- where the wanderers are placed so they can go about their meandering safely- and I had my player out. I had brought a few albums I though the guys would like: America's Greatest Hits, Volunteers, The Grass Roots' Greatest Hits, Dreamboat Annie, and of course the offending Houses of the Holy. They dig The Crunge. After fending off the double amputee who kept putting his claw arm on the record, one of the more... together residents popped up for a snack just as I put on Gary Puckett and The Union Gap's Greatest Hits (Compilations are the best for them... lots of singles).
He stood there quietly spilling ice-cream on the counter and started to hum, which he does pretty often. Then the track changed...
The man started humming louder until the chorus struck. "WOMAN! Have you got cheating on your mIIIIiiiIIND?" and so forth until the track ended. I tried other regular singles on there, but that one was the only one that got him.
This had me thinking back to the time when I first started and was pulled to go on a trip with the guys in the Unit. I got to go to the zoo for work! Woo!
Anyway, during the trip, while everyone ate lunch, the head nurse started singing to them. just little songs that I later found in a binder stashed away. Just little folk songs. I like to call her the little southern belle, and she sings just like what you would expect from one. High with lots of vibrato... only that was soon drown out buy the monotonous murmur that picked up among the men.
Each one of them looked up like a light had gone on, only one glance could tell you no one was home. The songs brought something out in them that was clearly engrained into their minds.
When I first heard about what happened to Malcolm it was... well my first thought was "I'll take care of him!"... but I took it like a death, because that's the way it has been made to seem. In a way, it is a great loss. A hero, destroyed by his own mind, and one of the greatest bands in history shut down. I'm sure a lot of people have had the thought "Damn, poor guy... I wonder if listening to his music will make him sad... He's too young!"
Well, Brian Johnson recently told the Telegraph that Malcolm told the guys: ''Just get out and make music, lads – just for me one more time". The thing about dementia is, well, you can kind of tell once it starts taking over you. My one of my guys is 3 years younger than my grandma who still enjoys chopping wood and bee keeping, while my mother on the other hand will forget where she is driving to mid-drive and will need to be reminded a time or two... and she hasn't even cracked 45. She knows it is inevitable, but at the same time doesn't.
Hallucinations, false realities, and dream like states follow these people, but it is as real as that computer in your face to them. It's a fate that lies ahead for most, but in order to face it, we have to embrace it. While no one is safe it seems, we can look for the cure and aid in the healthy care of those who are stuck in their own minds.
Recently I have made up some purses that are featured with the faces of AC/DC and their legacy. If interested, 10% of the proceeds will be going to Alzheimer's research and care! Let's keep rocking and rolling and hope/ pray/ whatever it is you do for Malcolm and all those who need it.
Let's keep the music in these people's lives. go out and play my minions! They will love you for it and you will be making a huge difference in the lives of those your music touches.
