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My name is Towelie and I don't like Paradise City


Towelie

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Man, it feels good to say that.

I love AFD as much as the next GNR fan, but Paradise City? Nope. Not for me. Whilst I have to (begrudgingly) concede that it is not just a GNR classic, but also a classic rock song, beloved by many non-hardcore Guns fans, Towelie thinks the song is a stinker. I've even gone as far as leaving after the penultimate song at a Guns gig just so I don't have to sit through this shitty song.

Who knows why the odd song just doesn't resonate with us, especially when you "get" 99.99999% of everything else that a band has created. Maybe it's something to do with your sub-conscious, with my brain not processing the polyrhythms.... who knows the reasons why we like the songs we like and why we all hear and respond to music differently. But when a great band makes a song that the whole world and his dog loves and you just don't get it, at some point you have to get over yourself and come out and say "my name is Towelie, and I have a problem. I hate Paradise City."

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31 minutes ago, Towelie said:

"my name is Towelie, and I have a problem. I hate Paradise City."

??Well done, perhaps if you can think of your earliest childhood memory we can talk it out from there ?

In all seriousness not a favourite of mine either. I don't hate it, fairly indifferent really. 

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The studio and live versions from everything until '10 I enjoyed. The band currently just ruins this song for me personally now, the tempo is way too fast, Axl generally sings it a little too clean, he sings over the solo, whistle is wrong, etc. Not a favorite for me live anymore :shrugs:

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7 hours ago, Len Cnut said:

Paradise City is a cracker, brilliant chorus, amazing counterpoint verses, glorious guitar intro, belting solos...i cant see where its worthy of criticism, for a GnR song it has everything, i can't think of a bad spot on it, Slash is on fire through that song for every little guitar phrase there is, including the stuff on the little bridge bit where Axls doing the 'so far away' stuff.  The lyrics are spot on, really upbeat sing-a-long chorus while the verse is all like...cynical street shit, i love it personally.

You say it so well :heart:

The song makes me happy every time I hear it.

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Look it's overplayed to fuck but it's still a massive tune. Sure the Paradise City you've seen live for many years comes complete with fire works,confetti etc and maybe that takes away from the song itself. But the recorded version on AFD is a raunchy, nasty but sophisticated bit of songwriting.

Captain America's been torn apart

Now just a court jester with broken heart

he said "turn me around and take me back to the start"

i must be losing my mind.......

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12 hours ago, Len Cnut said:

Paradise City is a cracker, brilliant chorus, amazing counterpoint verses, glorious guitar intro, belting solos...i cant see where its worthy of criticism, for a GnR song it has everything, i can't think of a bad spot on it, Slash is on fire through that song for every little guitar phrase there is, including the stuff on the little bridge bit where Axls doing the 'so far away' stuff.  The lyrics are spot on, really upbeat sing-a-long chorus while the verse is all like...cynical street shit, i love it personally.

What Len said.

It's the quintessential GNR tune.

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