Rhythm & News
Rhythm & News is a nationally syndicated content network delivering professionally produced audio content to radio stations, and digital media outlets across the United States.
Each day, Rhythm & News provides fresh, ready-to-air segments covering entertainment, music, pop culture, lifestyle, technology, sports, business, travel, health, and human-interest stories. Our mission is to help broadcasters engage listeners with compelling content while maintaining complete control of their programming, music, local advertising, and station identity.
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Affiliate stations choose the content they want, schedule it when it works best for their audience, and integrate it seamlessly into their existing programming.
Whether used as part of a weekend feature program, morning show, afternoon drive, or daily content strategy, Rhythm & News delivers relevant stories designed to complement virtually any format.
Rhythm & News reaches listeners through a growing network of affiliate radio stations and digital platforms nationwide. From major headlines and entertainment news to emerging trends and inspiring stories, the network provides content that informs, entertains, and sparks conversation.
Produced in Cleveland, Ohio—the Home of Rock and Roll—Rhythm & News is committed to creating engaging audio content for today's broadcasters and today's audiences.
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Rhythm & News
#005 - AC/DC Bat Bites, Stadium Tours, and Luxury Turntables
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More than fifty years after their formation, AC/DC continues to prove that rock and roll is far from dead.
In an era dominated by streaming platforms, social media trends, and rapidly changing musical tastes, the Australian rock legends remain one of the most powerful live acts on the planet. Their songs fill stadiums, their merchandise sells worldwide, and their influence stretches across generations.
Many classic rock bands spend their later years celebrating past achievements. AC/DC appears more interested in creating new stories.
From Taylor Momsen's unforgettable bat encounter to a premium lightning bolt-shaped turntable and a massive expansion of the Power Up Tour, the band continues to demonstrate why they remain one of music's most enduring forces.
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Welcome. Today we are looking at Rock Legends ACDC and um how they managed to keep their legacy so electrifying and culturally relevant in 2026. We are covering everything from backstage wildlife mishaps to high-end luxury audio gear and of course massive stadium tours.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it is uh quite the lineup of topics. They really cover all the bases.
SPEAKER_01They really do. Let's start with this crazy story from Spain in 2024. Taylor Mommsen from The Pretty Reckless is opening for ACDC, and like a literal bat flies out of the night sky and sinks its teeth into her leg.
SPEAKER_00Which, you know, means immediate emergency rabies shots. It completely shatters that whole glamorous rock star illusion.
SPEAKER_01Oh, completely. And you would think ACDC, these legendary architects of heavy rock, would put out some, I don't know, polished PR statement. But no, they basically turned into like mischievous grandpa's.
SPEAKER_00Right. They started calling her Batgirl.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And then leaving Batrubber duckies in her dressing room taping no bat signs on all their amplifiers.
SPEAKER_00I think they even baked her a giant bat kick and uh made a bat horn tiara. It sounds like summer camp antics, but there is actually a brilliant psychological mechanism at play here.
SPEAKER_01Wait, really? A psychological angle to a bat cake?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, when a band reaches their level of fame, everything around them usually gets sterilized by corporate management.
SPEAKER_01Oh, right. The fun just gets totally sucked out.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. So by maintaining this relentless, chaotic humor, they preserve that gritty garage band dynamic that actually fuels their music. It stops them from turning into just a sterile corporation.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell That makes total sense. It keeps them grounded. And uh that refusal to conform to a polished standard bleeds right into how they handle their business empire, too.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell Oh, you mean the turntable?
SPEAKER_01Yes. You would expect legacy rock merchandise to just be, you know, mass-produced t-shirts. But they collaborated with Project on a high-end turntable that is literally shaped like their jagged zigzag lightning bolt logo.
SPEAKER_00And it is a striking piece of equipment. We were talking about a 28mm MDF plinth.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um, a flat acrylic tone arm that is actually tapered to match the lightning bolt. Wow. Yeah, it's intense. Plus an Ortiphon 2M red cartridge and this glowing red LED illuminating a 10 millimeter glass platter.
SPEAKER_01Okay, but at like 1,149 pounds or about $1,700, isn't that just a super expensive aesthetic gimmick for a super fan?
SPEAKER_00See, you would think so. But the CEO of Project, Heinz Lickenegger, actually pointed out that it solves a major acoustic problem.
SPEAKER_01Wait, how does a zigzag shape solve an acoustic problem?
SPEAKER_00Well, standard rectangular turntables suffer from this thing called acoustic ringing. If you think about sound vibrations inside a square box, it is like water in a bathtub.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I am with you.
SPEAKER_00The sound waves hit the flat edges and bounce straight back. It creates an echo or a distortion that kind of muddies the sound.
SPEAKER_01Ah, I see. So the jagged edges stop that.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Yeah. To borrow that water analogy, it is like waves crashing into an uneven rocky coastline instead of a flat pool wall.
SPEAKER_01Oh, the energy just breaks up and dissipates.
SPEAKER_00Right. The chaotic shape physically prevents unwanted resonance. It delivers an incredibly punchy, precise audio experience.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell That is amazing. They managed to turn their literal logo into functional audiophile architecture.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's brilliant.
SPEAKER_01And that ability to take that raw, jagged energy and deliver it with premium precision is exactly why they are still commanding the live music industry today. I mean, they just announced their 2026 power-up tour.
SPEAKER_00Kicking off this February in a massive stadium in Brazil.
SPEAKER_01Right, spanning 21 new dates across North and South America. And this is a huge cultural moment because it is their first U.S. run in nine years.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And the lineup driving it is formidable. You've got Brian Johnson, Angus, and Stevie Young, Matt Laugh, and Chris Cheney.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell, you know, watching a band in their 70s outsell heavily produced modern pop acts, it really makes you stop and evaluate what audiences actually crave right now.
SPEAKER_00Aaron Powell I think it comes down to the raw scarcity of unpolished rock. We live in this era of, you know, backing tracks, holographic performers, algorithmic performance. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_01Everything is so curated. Trevor Burrus, Jr.: Right.
SPEAKER_00And ACDC offers the exact opposite. People are not just paying for nostalgia. They're paying a premium for a visceral, imperfect, deafening reality.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Because it is becoming so incredibly rare in modern entertainment, they deliver something tangible. They manage to balance that goofy backstage chaos with massive stadium energy. Trevor Burrus, Jr.
SPEAKER_00And premium brand extensions is how you keep the engine roaring for over half a century.
SPEAKER_01Aaron Powell Absolutely. But you know, as we watch them dominate another decade, there's a fascinating question I want to leave you with. That's here. If a band's brand can survive lineup changes, decades of shifting music trends, and even physically morph into high-end audiophile art, at what point does the lightning bolt actually become bigger than the music itself?