The Estranged Video: So ridiculous it's great?

[Vincent Vega]

Does anyone else feel that Estranged is so ridiculously over the top that this obvious, blatant self indulgence is what makes it also epic? Like it's so bad, or so ridiculous that it's great? I've always loved the video--It's an episode in excess that doesn't really happen today, that harks back to the best, self indulgent days of the Stones and Led Zeppelin in the 1970s.

[Daedalus]

I think it's just ridiculous ...but the song is epic

[moreblack]

The making of is quite a good watch

[Izzy_Stradlin_XX]

No. 5 Star song. 1 star video. Fucking ridiculous, although the live parts are fucking boss.

Yeah.. They should have released that show instead of the Tokyo one. xD

[saber_]

I enjoyed the story that was being told and never really got why it took so much criticism.

My only critique of the video is the concert parts don't seem to jive with the storytellling parts. A bit disconnected, if you will. But the imagery aside from the concert footage was very cool and captivating, intriguing.

When I was 14 I thought the "swimming with the dolphins" scene was cool, and I still do. It's neat, for lack of a more muscular adjective.

[moreblack]

My only critique of the video is the concert parts don't seem to jive with the storytellling parts.

they do a little bit, he comes off stage and is so drained his soul leaves his body, the rest is madness...

[saber_]

My only critique of the video is the concert parts don't seem to jive with the storytellling parts.

they do a little bit, he comes off stage and is so drained his soul leaves his body, the rest is madness...

Good call, good call. I was going off memory- hadn't watched it since last summer.

I still think a lot of the imagery is cool in the video.

I think one reason this video took some heat is because it was released at the tail end of '93. By that time, UYIs had been out for 2+ years and GNR had dominated MTV for a long while up until that point. People were a little bit weary of GNR and it was in that context the video felt out of place at the time (for some). Critics capitalized on the feeling in the air and seized on the dolphin bit, instead of judging the video on its merits.

I think the video is interesting on a lot of levels, especially given the estrangement that took place afterwards among various Gunners (not just Axl but Slash, Izzy, Steven, Duff: they all were estranged from eachother in some way).

[megaguns1982]

I think that by 1994 when this video was released GnR were not even close to what they originally were. Call it evolution or whatever, I say it was just a case of a rockband with too much money.

Love the song..... Hate the video.

This is the video that occasionally embarrases me to be a GnR fan.

[moreblack]

No. 5 Star song. 1 star video. Fucking ridiculous, although the live parts are fucking boss.

this is all out of 10, right?

[Lines&Noses]

No. 5 Star song. 1 star video. Fucking ridiculous, although the live parts are fucking boss.

this is all out of 10, right?

Lol moreblack!!

The song I think is good. The lyrics in particular are amazing.

I just think it would have been an amazing 5-6 minute song that was stretched out to 10.

The video was bonkers, and I'm not sure about the idea of there being an over arching sotry between the three videos?

I mean Don't Cry was the first song written in GnR, November Rain was pre GnR so you have to figure they were not written to fit with Del James's short story.

Thus there was a fair amount of shoe-horning/mis-match going on.

That said given the nature of the song I guess they had to go pretty abstract. You couldn't really have them rocking out on stage for such a slow number.

[moreblack]

No. 5 Star song. 1 star video. Fucking ridiculous, although the live parts are fucking boss.

this is all out of 10, right?

If you seriously think Estranged is a 5/10 star song, you're fucking nanners.

sane is overrated.

Let's just say that it wouldn't be the first song I'd put on a Guns playlist. I liked it a lot more back in the day

[Velvet-Rose]

I like the video. It's awesome.

Dolphins? Awesome.

Axl jumping off a big fuck off boat to swim with the dolpins? Awesome

Slash rising out of the water to play an awesome guitar solo? Totally fucking super duper majoy uber awesome.

It didn't cost me money, so I can enjoy it.

But if I was in the band and it really was Axl pushing for this that and the other, I'd be very pissed off. Apart from Slash. He has no right to be pissed off. It may have hurt his pocket but he came out of that video looking fucking epic.

[yuanyelss]

My only critique of the video is the concert parts don't seem to jive with the storytellling parts. A bit disconnected, if you will. But the imagery aside from the concert footage was very cool and captivating, intriguing.

[Desperado]

Slash rising out of the water to play an awesome guitar solo? Totally fucking super duper majoy uber awesome.

I have always loved the video and that was my favourite part. but after watching the making off I learned that it wasn't slash and that it was a stunt man

I still like the video but I now feel like crying when that part comes

[moreblack]

Let's just say that it wouldn't be the first song I'd put on a Guns playlist. I liked it a lot more back in the day

Same here. On top of that looking back Estranged and Coma are train wrecks live.

not always, they had some good nights with those songs. They just never played them enough to really nail them down dead.

[Changes]

Let's just say that it wouldn't be the first song I'd put on a Guns playlist. I liked it a lot more back in the day

Same here. On top of that looking back Estranged and Coma are train wrecks live.

not always, they had some good nights with those songs. They just never played them enough to really nail them down dead.

Although Coma always seemed a bit too hard for Axl to sing live.

As for Estranged I heard Slash saying recently that was his hardest song to play, and I always felt Axl should have played the piano himself. After hearing Dizzy explain how he had such a hard time learning it, his contribution always annoys me a bit when I watch/listen to live versions (which I do once in a while! It is NOT a 5/10 star song )

Edited March 9, 2011 by Changes

[hilaryaustin]

the only part I like of the video was when slash was doing the lead part in the middle of the sea. The rest were like usual music video.

[Velvet-Rose]

Slash rising out of the water to play an awesome guitar solo? Totally fucking super duper majoy uber awesome.

I have always loved the video and that was my favourite part. but after watching the making off I learned that it wasn't slash and that it was a stunt man

I still like the video but I now feel like crying when that part comes

And you had to tell me?

It doesn't matter. I refuse to believe you anyway. It's Slash.

Perhaps they made that up to scale down the totally fucking super duper major uber awesomeness because people just couldn't handle it.

[Carburetta]

Awesome song, awesome video. Seriously I love it. Axl jumping off an oil tanker into the Gulf of Mexico is so cool that you couldn't make it up.

As a side topic, the making of video is an absolute must watch for all Guns N' Roses fans, all of the making of videos are essential viewing.

[Christian]

I only like the part when they all are walking towards the camera in slow motion, they were so fucking untouchable back then!! Too bad Guns N' Roses doesn't exist anymore.

[roxxy]

Such a great vid. For me it's a little bit mysterious but that's not a bad thing at all ^^

BTW, Axl's house that can be seen in the video, you can found it in Google Maps, it's something like 5199 L4tigo Canyon Road, Malibu, California. (4=A, stupid censorship)

Edited April 9, 2011 by roxxy

[ssiscool]

some seriously epic moments in the video. And the part walking down Sunset Blvd (i belive it's there. With the Rainbow Bar and Grill)

[axletta3001]

Awesome video, one of the best ever.

AXL'S EXACT WORDS FROM MAKING OF ESTRANGED VIDEO

"November Rain is a song about not wanting to be in the state and having to deal with unrequited love, Estranged is acknowlidging it and being there. And having to figure out what to fucking do, it's like being catapulted out into the universe and having no choice about it and having to figure out what the fuck are you gonna do because the things you wanted and worked for just cannot happen and there's nothing you can do about it".

"I wrote the song basically about who I am and how I feel and the breakup of my marriage with Erin and how I didn't want it to die. I also applied it to other situations or friendships or family and things you knew it had to end". "Well, when we started to record the song, I brought it to the band and no one really had a concept of what was we were going to do with this thing and it was a very long piece for a lot of changes so it was really exciting to start working on it and finding all the parts and the band trying to figure out what to do with the parts, everybody was very inspired" "I actually had a dream of playing a piano in this song. I started playing the piano, and felt the emotions it was bringing out of me."

"I don't necessarily know of anyone who's made a video like this, you know, showing their own emotional destruction and the process of transcending it. Another thing about this video is also a communication with Dylan, he is someone I'm not allowed to communicate with and someone who feels that I abandoned him and I didn't. I was told one thing and shown another and Dylan is robbed of certain things that he likes and I'm also, so trying to transcend that in deal with that. So making the video is like what's really going on, I'm trying to show it. It was really wild when we filmed that scene because in this room (Dylan's room)there's a shelf and ever since Dylan moved out of the house I've always pictured myself sitting on that shelf, just looking at his room. When it came time to film that scene I went up to sit on the shelf, and at the end I just laid down and went on sleep and had the most peaceful sleep, coz I really needed to do that for myself and I really needed to be there in his room, and like it was a very strange way for me to spend time with Dylan in my own mind, that I hadn't taken the time or found the time and it happened on film, but it meant a lot to me, I don't know how long I must have slept, maybe and hour but it felt like five hours but I had a heavy sense of peace that I really like".

"Dolphins simbolyse a state of grace and a state of peace". "On stage I'm communicating the song to the crowd but also every situation that relates any of the words are going trough my head at that particular time". "Slash took the song very seriously and the song means a lot to me". "You still have emotions and feelings, not wanting something to die, caring about another person, not wanting members destroy themselves, so this song can be applied to Steven Adler, it can be applied to a lot of people, members of my famyly, relationships I had with Erin and with Stephanie and there is not a goddamn thing you can do about it, so to me, at the present time, sitting here right now, this and Coma are the two heaviest songs I've ever written" "At the conclusion of November Rain things changed.There was an evolving that took place. It's very hard to rise to or transcend the story the way it was intended."

"Don't Cry is ...personally I am more proud of it than anything I've done. Those video's are hard to look at. I was in the process of being "fucked over" when November Rain was coming out. For a period of time I was going to buy the video from the band and put it in storage, but decided to "rise" to it and put it out." "After it was done, I felt so good inside cause it pulled ALL this stuff out of me". "This (Estranged) and Coma are the 2 heaviest songs I have ever written". "It is wild to be doing this video with the things going on at home and with family. It woulda been nice if it happened with Stephanie and I, but the woman continually worked very subtly at destroying that, and trying to keep me from being here for some fucking reason. I don't know..it's amazing, certain things are happening, and it's nice to realize that - wow, it wouldn't be as cool if she was here, as when she was the person she was with me. Very strange. Deep inside ALL the emotions you realize you do love this person and care about what happens to them. But, not to the point of being a martyr or hurting anyone in my life."

[ssiscool]

Let's just say that it wouldn't be the first song I'd put on a Guns playlist. I liked it a lot more back in the day

Same here. On top of that looking back Estranged and Coma are train wrecks live.

a train wreck?

[Mr. Dude]

The video trilogy takes a lot of flak, but I think its one of the reasons people remember GNR. I like it that after Axl jumps off that tanker, he pretty much wasn't seen again until after the turn of the millennium. It fits with the whole idea and definition of Estranged. Excessive? Yes. Self-indulgent? Yes. But those are the reasons I like Axl and GNR in the first place. As over-the-top as they are, Axl was liviing and breathing those songs. Everything he writes, records, and releases is autobiographical.