Subscribe to Ultimate Classic Rock on No, this isn’t a Rickroll. Rick Astley is back, and he’s covering AC/DC. Yahoo! Music alerts us to the pop singer’s latest performance of “Highway to Hell,” which he delivered during his encore set at the Troubadour in Los Angeles last night. Astley, currently on tour in support of his recent self-performed, self-penned 50 LP, made two Stateside appearances during the trip — one in L.A., and one in New York. For those who haven’t kept tabs on Astley since his ’80s heyday, “Highway to Hell” no doubt comes across as a surprising cover choice. But as Yahoo! notes, it’s been something of a staple in his set list over the years — and the fact that he’s at the drum kit for the song, which might seem odd to those who remember him crooning over mechanized beats all those years ago, is really a return to roots for Astley, who started out his music career as a drummer. After watching his commercial fortunes wane in the early ’90s, Astley slowed his musical output;

prior to his latest album, his most recent release of original material came in 2001, with the German-only Keep It Turned On LP. The extended hiatus evidently increased demand for new music: Upon its arrival in the U.K. earlier this year, 50 peaked at No. 1, becoming his first chart-topping effort in nearly 30 years. 50, which does not include Astley’s version of “Highway to Hell,” arrives in U.S. stores on Oct. 7. Check out fan-shot footage of the performance above. AC/DC Albums Ranked Worst to Best Best of Ultimate Classic Rock Billy Idol + Miley Cyrus Team Up to Perform ‘Rebel Yell’ at iHeartRadio Festival AC/DC Play Last ‘Rock or Bust’ Show in Philadelphia: Photos, Set List, Review Police Albums Ranked Worst to Best 22 Best Rock Album Sequels Why Fall Out Boy Erased AC/DC From Their ‘Save Rock and Roll’ Album Cover Compelling photo shows two boys in Mynanmar Two boys holding hands, one wearing a monk’s robe, the other wearing a black T-shirt and jeans while puffing a cloud of smoke.

It’s an immediately arresting image. It’s also, as you can see above, the cover art for Fall Out Boy’s upcoming album, Save Rock and Roll, which has a U.S. release date of April 16 (pre-order here). The reunited emo-punk standouts said in a Tumblr post they found the image on the Internet and identified with the way it brings together old and new. Photographer Roger Stonehouse snapped the original picture in Myanmar. 4 parts of an ac unit“We came across the punk and monk image on the Internet and it really solidified what we were trying to get across on the record— the idea of old and new clashing,” the band wrote. thru wall ac covers“Tradition and change coming together. mobile home ac package unitsThere was something striking about it.”

They continued: “Obviously this is an image that means a lot to many people — we felt like we wanted to be part of this conversation. These kids represent the youth, change, and irreverence that we hope our record is listened to with. At the end of the day we just want to take the rules and start all over with Save Rock and Roll anyway.” The album cover art is notably different from the original photo in at least one way. In Stonehouse’s shot, the boy’s black T-shirt actually turns out to contain the cover art from AC/DC’s 2008 album Black Ice. Still, while the symbolism of an album titled Save Rock and Roll Photoshopping out AC-freaking-DC isn’t ideal, it’s easy to imagine there would’ve been copyright concerns in using the untouched photo — not to mention the glaring design flaw of having a huge AC/DC logo right behind the cover text. (“It’s a copyright issue with the AC/DC shirt,” Fall Out Boy’s publicist confirms.) Elsewhere, the blog Pop Culture and the Third World points out the cover art’s use of Third World imagery recalls Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” video, from 2011’s 4.

At the time, an essayist on Racialicious argued that people in the “global north” need to collaborate more genuinely (and remuneratively) with the “global south.” It’s a complicated but important discussion, and with the Save Rock and Roll cover art, Fall Out Boy boldly — and artfully — enter into it.Watch Bruce Springsteen & Eddie Vedder Cover AC/DC’s “Highway To Hell” In Melbourne AC/DC are the single greatest gift Australia has ever given the world. This past weekend, Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band played Melbourne’s Aami Park, and he paid his host country tribute by playing a triumphantly bar-rocking cover AC/DC’s immortal “Highway To Hell.” Special guest Eddie Vedder and Tom Morello both helped out. Watch a fan-made video below. Somehow, Bruce’s voice is sounding even more wizened than Brian Johnson’s lately. I didn’t even know that was possible. Until AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson figures out his health issues, or the band finds a new singer, we sadly won’t be getting new AC/DC music, and sadly, there’s even a chance the band might call it quits (which would please Johnson’s supporters).