Opinion | Volodymyr Zelenskyy gets pumped up by AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses — it’s time for all rockers to help Ukraine win the war

Volodymyr Zelenskyy starts his day with a jolt of AC/DC.

It’s an endearing image of an inspiring leader. Before the Ukrainian president gets briefed, holds meetings, issues orders and monitors the counteroffensive, he cranks up classic rock. As he told CNN’s Erin Burnett this week: music gives him energy.

There is nothing amusing about this ghastly war in Ukraine. It keeps me up at night. But I did smile watching Zelenskyy yammer on about his morning routine, which includes working out to shredding guitars, pounding drums and the high-octane oomph of AC/DC, Eric Clapton and Guns N’ Roses. His life is “Welcome to the Jungle.”

The West is supplying Ukraine with arms and music.

It’s amazing how the right song can put you in the right mood. We have love songs. Breakup songs. We have songs for proms and weddings. Birthday songs. Funeral songs. My favourite is dishwashing songs. Have you ever tried to scrub a pot to Debussy? It can’t be done. You will drop that sponge and stare into the middle distance in a fugue state as “Clair de lune” makes you drool into the Palmolive.

But turn up the Zeppelin and your cookware will shine.

Now a new sub-genre: songs to motivate a world leader to repel a barbaric invasion by a nuclear superpower that has inflicted unspeakable death and destruction. Songs to kick-start bravery and resolve against murderous aggression.

A few years ago, Zelenskyy was an actor and comedian. Now he is a wartime president and AC/DC is helping him believe that, to quote one of their songs, he has “Big Balls.”

A couple of summers ago, I went through a Spanish pop phase even though I didn’t understand the lyrics. For all I know, I was bopping my head and grooving along as the singer belted out, “Your stolen kitten has genital herpes.”

It didn’t matter. Latin music makes for outstanding shower songs.

Zelenskyy laughed after admitting he often doesn’t know what AC/DC is singing as he exercises in the pre-dawn hours. He should not feel sheepish. Even if English is not your first language, it’s tough to make sense of: “Concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT / (Done dirt cheap) / Neckties, contracts, high voltage / (Done dirt cheap).”

He also wondered if his musical tastes are dated: “Maybe it’s too old music.”

This led to some headlines this week that linked Zelenskyy to “dad music.” Can we please do away with “dad” as a pejorative prefix? Dad jeans. Dad jokes. Dad shoes. Dad bod. Dad emojis. Dad glasses. Dad haircut. Dad crème brûlée (inside joke).

No, Mr. President. Your music is not too old. There’s a reason astronauts still listen to the Moody Blues in space. There’s a reason sport arenas still blast Queen. There’s a reason the Rolling Stones will still be touring after we are all long gone.

Classic rock is timeless. Classic rock is power. Classic rock is focus.

You know who is not a fan of the Eagles? Vladimir Putin.

So, today, I am calling upon all able rockers to help Ukraine win this horrendous war. Putin is a malignant tumour on the planet. Music can be a chemo. Guns N’ Roses has already added the Ukrainian flag to the video board when they perform “Civil War” in concert. U2’s Bono and the Edge played in a Kyiv subway last year. The Scorpions changed the lyrics to “Wind of Change” — a power ballad associated with the fall of the Berlin Wall — because they felt it now “romanticized Russia.”

And they do not want to romanticize war crimes against Ukraine.

I think classic rockers should start supergroups to buy drones or raise money for Ukraine. AC/DC and Guns N’ Roses should join forces and release new material, with all proceeds going to the besieged country to rebuild after the fighting stops.

Eric Clapton and Brian May should kick off an “Octaves for Odessa” guitar tour. Paul McCartney, who performed in Moscow 20 years ago, should take his mic to Kharkiv.

Why can’t there be a kind of “Live Aid” benefit concert for Ukraine? The biggest stars should raise awareness and perform their greatest hits while sending a melodic message to the autocrats of the world: We stand with Ukraine.

Zelenskyy could have escaped to govern in exile as soon as that convoy of Russian tanks rolled across the border last year. But he stayed to fight for his people. Give the man new songs and new collaborations to breathe fire into this fighting spirit.

Keep the man’s undisclosed bunker speakers supplied with inspiration.

While addressing the Grammys in a satellite message last year, Zelenskyy observed war is the opposite of music: “Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals — even to those who can’t hear them …

“But the music will break through anyway … On our land, we are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs — the dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story …”

All the rock stars alive can’t stop Putin from violating international law or targeting Ukrainians with his treacherous weapons of war. But they can help Zelenskyy stay locked in the right mood as he bravely defends his country.

Ultimately, there is only one song lyric that matters:

If Ukraine does not win, we all lose.

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