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Why is Axl so calm and happy nowadays?


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I think there gets to a point that you'rde waging some sort of war, and you finally get to the point where you figure out it's just not worth it, or it didn't work out, you're tired of it all, why did i do this? Axl probably figured this in 2014, maybe particularly at RIR.

So it's probably a case of initial submission, then as things go along, it re-opens the happiness up.

 

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“Death isn’t always about the destruction of the body. Sometimes, just like that, you extinguish one self and another is born. But every birth is violent and there’s no death without pain.”t

This is from Altered Carbon, just in case you think I have original meth induced schizophrenia thoughts, I don’t I’m just ironically prentending not to.  

Edited by wasted
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The main reason is Slash, I'm not even counting Duff but Slash... I believe he loved the guy to death even in the dark years but couldn't do anything about it, now everything's okay, they are back on stage, selling stadiums around the world, having fun... Another reason, meds.. I believe he is in the right meds now that why he is so calm and happy and at last, he is older... Don't have the media on his neck and stuff, he dont really need to rant or break shit like he used to.. I have to say that I do miss rant and stuff like this sometimes hahaha, or just talking... He doesnt rly talk to the crowd, that bothers me

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He is back with his old friends and back on top of the music world.  When he was with nu guns he was trying to prove something, that he is the biggest rock star out there but he was playing mid level amphitheaters.

 

Now he is playing staidums full of people.  Literally on top of the world.  People respect him again.  He has earned it.

 

No longer is he the butt of a joke, but he is in the place he has always belonged.  

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Axl's emotional outbursts have nothing to do with Slash. Axl's been volatile and unpredictable since he was a teenager, long before he met Slash. His mood swings and anger were notorious in the 80s, notorious in the 90s, but seemed to start to calm down in the 00's. Today he seems pretty mellow, although still liable to the occasional outbursts.

Why? Hard to say for us. Maybe he has simply matured a bit? Learnt to deal with his temper? Maybe he is more fastidious with medication these days? Maybe he has reconciled himself with life and the past and found some inner peace? We all change as we grow older. Maturation can be a life long process.

One might argue that part of early GN'R's appeal was Axl's visceral stage presence, how the emotions in his performances were real and not just put on for the show. He meant it. Every single word of it. It was volatile and it could crash and burn at any second. Paraphrasing Duff: Axl didn't just bring the fire, he threatened to burn the stage down. That makes for a highly compelling concert. It was probably easy for Axl to channel these emotions, because he overflowed with them, they were always there, just below the surface, ready to burst out. It made for a challenging life, as he would admit: 

"A lot of things about my mood swings are, like, I have a temper and I take things out on myself. Not physically, but I'll smash my TV knowing I have to pay for it, rather go down the hallway and smash the person I'm pissed at. […] With all the pressure it's like I'll explode. And so where other people would go, 'Oh well, we just got fucked,' Axl's going, 'God damn it!' and breaking everything around him. That's how I release my frustration. It's why I'm, like, pounding and kicking all over the stage" [Rolling Stone, November 1988].

"I can be happier than anybody I know. I can get so happy I'll cry. I can get completely opposite, upsetwise" [Hit Parader, November 1988].

Not only is it hard to live with himself being this way, it was incredibly hard for his band mates to live and work with him. Steven seemed to have drawn the short straw, but they all got into fights and problems with Axl. Duff seems to think he managed it the best, finding some parallel between his own anxiety issues and Axl's mental issues.

So although the shows today may suffer to some extent from Axl being less unpredictable, less volatile, and less dangerous, I am happy for Axl if he is now more at peace with himself and the world. He deserves it.

Edited by SoulMonster
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3 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

 

So although the shows today may suffer to some extent from Axl being less unpredictable, less volatile, and less dangerous, I am happy for Axl if he is now more at peace with himself and the world. He deserves it.

If Axl was more unpredictable, volatile and dangerous presently, there wouldn't be any shows.  Duff and Slash, both of whom matured and recovered from their addiction problems, would not put up with it.

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Reunion is probably the biggest factor. Unsurprisingly it's a huge relief for Axl when the whole world doesn't hate him anymore.

Also he knows now that Guns N' Roses will be remembered as one of the big and legendary rock bands. In the nineties when he was on top, he had so much to lose and there was so much pressure on him. When you're on top, there's only one way you can go and that's down. It's a horrible situation to be in, especially when you have problems with your bandmates and you see how the other big rock band called Nirvana, is doing everything they can to make your band look bad. It's really no wonder that Axl wasn't always in a good mood.

Then the whole world started to hate him basically. How is anyone supposed to be be happy in a situation like that?

Now he doesn't really have any reason to be unhappy. Everything's going smoothly with GNR and besides that he's a frontman of another legendary band, AC/DC and everyone's praising his performances with that band and for a good reason.

The only reason that I could think of that could still cause some sorrow to him is, that his voice isn't as good as it once was. But I guess he's come to terms with aging and that's a good thing.

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He's matured a lot over the last 10 years. I noticed it when DJ joined the band, actually.

He's also openly stated that some of his 'demons' if you will, have been worked on and that he's in a better place.

1 hour ago, Gnrcane said:

If Axl was more unpredictable, volatile and dangerous presently, there wouldn't be any shows.  Duff and Slash, both of whom matured and recovered from their addiction problems, would not put up with it.

And understandably so.

I however felt that Axl was at his best as a performer when he was unpredictable.

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From early 2016 and continuing now, I personally have thought Axl is going on a bit of a "Clean Up Tour" of sorts. I think he may have realized that he's done enough "his way" and would like to be remembered for being more than a notorious asshole.

-Showing up on time or early
-Playing songs he knows fans would love to hear
-Playing with Slash, Duff and even Adler again
-Killing it with another band and surprising their fan base winning most of them over in the process
-Playing Slither
-Appearing with Foo Fighters

............these all seem like great ways for him to lose his reputation in the general public as a gigantic asshole.

We, the hardcore fans, have complaints of course but we're always going to, right? IMO, all the guy needs to do is put out some new GN'R music now and even the most hardened GN'R fan will have to admit he's done everything he can to clear up his reputation.

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2 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

From early 2016 and continuing now, I personally have thought Axl is going on a bit of a "Clean Up Tour" of sorts. 

I think he may have realized that he's done enough "his way" and would like to be remembered for being more than a notorious asshole. Showing up on time or early, playing songs he knows fans would love to hear, playing with Slash, Duff and even Adler again, killing it with another band and surprising their fan base winning most of them over in the process, playing Slither, appearing with Foo Fighters............ these all seem like great ways for him to lose his reputation in the general public as a gigantic asshole.

We, the hardcore fans, have complaints of course but we're always going to, right? IMO, all the guy needs to do is put out some new GN'R music now and even the most hardened GN'R fan will have to admit he's done everything he can to clear up his reputation.

He can go back to being a giant asshole as long as he sounds good when he sings! Ahaha

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32 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

From early 2016 and continuing now, I personally have thought Axl is going on a bit of a "Clean Up Tour" of sorts. I think he may have realized that he's done enough "his way" and would like to be remembered for being more than a notorious asshole.

-Showing up on time or early
-Playing songs he knows fans would love to hear
-Playing with Slash, Duff and even Adler again
-Killing it with another band and surprising their fan base winning most of them over in the process
-Playing Slither
-Appearing with Foo Fighters

............these all seem like great ways for him to lose his reputation in the general public as a gigantic asshole.

We, the hardcore fans, have complaints of course but we're always going to, right? IMO, all the guy needs to do is put out some new GN'R music now and even the most hardened GN'R fan will have to admit he's done everything he can to clear up his reputation.

I agree.

After the idea of nuGNR collapsed he seems to have become more accommodating. He tried doing it his way, with passion, but it failed, so now he has accepted doing it other ways, the way the majority of fans want it, but have lost some of that passion as a trade-off. At least as far as GN'R is concerned. When he gets to do something different, like play with AC/DC or play something new with Guns, he seems to be more excited again. Basically, I think he is getting bored with a lot of the material. Which is why he likes adding covers. 

I don't know if this necessarily is connected to him becoming more complacent, though. I think it is probable that his maturation (or whatever it was that caused him to be less volatile) just happened to happen at the same time that he gave up on his GN'R vision and instead accepted his fate as a nostalgia act (maybe we can even say he embraced his fate, the collapse of nuGuns might have been a sobering experience to him).

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54 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

From early 2016 and continuing now, I personally have thought Axl is going on a bit of a "Clean Up Tour" of sorts. I think he may have realized that he's done enough "his way" and would like to be remembered for being more than a notorious asshole.

-Showing up on time or early
-Playing songs he knows fans would love to hear
-Playing with Slash, Duff and even Adler again
-Killing it with another band and surprising their fan base winning most of them over in the process
-Playing Slither
-Appearing with Foo Fighters

............these all seem like great ways for him to lose his reputation in the general public as a gigantic asshole.

We, the hardcore fans, have complaints of course but we're always going to, right? IMO, all the guy needs to do is put out some new GN'R music now and even the most hardened GN'R fan will have to admit he's done everything he can to clear up his reputation.

I agree with everything, but Guns N'Roses are way bigger than the Foo Fighters, so I wouldn't really list appearing with the Foo Fighters as kind of an accomplishment (no offense there).

They're popular but their music sucks...it's just basic riff rock n roll like Nirvana was.

Besides I still haven't forgot Dave Grohl's rants about Guns N'Roses and Axl at Rock in Rio IV, saying Guns N'Roses music sucks etc...Now Axl is with Slash and all of a sudden everything's ok and their music rocks again...

Edited by Propaganda
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8 minutes ago, Propaganda said:

I agree with everything, but Guns N'Roses are way bigger than the Foo Fighters, so I wouldn't really list appearing with the Foo Fighters as kind of an accomplishment (no offense there).

They're popular but their music sucks...it's just basic riff rock n roll like Nirvana was.

Besides I still haven't forgot Dave Grohl's rants about Guns N'Roses and Axl at Rock in Rio IV, saying Guns N'Roses music sucks etc...Now Axl is with Slash and all of a sudden everything's ok and their music rocks again...

No offense taken. I come & go with Foo Fighters personally but their quality of music wasn't what I was referring to, not even their popularity for that matter.

I was referring to exactly what you were saying in the second half. Whether or not Grohl did it just because Slash is back or whatever is irrelevant to me honestly. It's more on Axl in my eyes. The fact that Dave (and other members of the Foo Fighters) have slung shit Axl/GN'R's way and Axl is still cool enough to forgive it and have something like this happen speaks volumes to me.

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7 minutes ago, tremolo said:

I’m not so sure about that.

I think Axl will completely redeem himself when he releases new music. I think the pressure of the idea is what’s keeping him from doing it, the high expectations and all that... but it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece that will climb to the top of the charts and stay there forever. As long as it is a fresh album of unheard material fans will be happy. We know he is capable of that, even moreso with Slash in the fold.

 

I still think he somewhat lost his muse, but who knows... it is entertaining to watch someone on the edge, unpredictable, angry and ready to unleash his frustrations, but I’d rather have happy Axl. I just hope he finds inspiration to surprise us with new music.

100% truth

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20 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

No offense taken. I come & go with Foo Fighters personally but their quality of music wasn't what I was referring to, not even their popularity for that matter.

I was referring to exactly what you were saying in the second half. Whether or not Grohl did it just because Slash is back or whatever is irrelevant to me honestly. It's more on Axl in my eyes. The fact that Dave (and other members of the Foo Fighters) have slung shit Axl/GN'R's way and Axl is still cool enough to forgive it and have something like this happen speaks volumes to me.

Oh I see. I misunderstood you there.

Axl is cool as shit for sharing the stage with them, after all the bullshit. You're right it does speak volumes of Axl.

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I don't know what exactly helped him ( reunion with Slash the most to me, and of course meds) , but I'm really glad he found peace. Just look how many people suffer from depression and they end up killing themselves. Axl fought his demons and he is fine, that's the most important. As a social worker myself, I can tell you that you need huge balls and luck to get over it or just find peace and control that awful thing.

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I would imagine...

-Having something of a "family unit" with the Lebeis clan. Even Alan Niven, who had a lot of strong words about Fernando, admitted without hesitation that they play an important role in his life. 
-Therapy and proper medication (not an insult at all. Mental health is important). 
-Slash and Duff being back. No matter what people say, and how happy Axl felt with other lineups, I imagine the shadow of those band members along with the memories of how badly things ended with them ate up a lot of Axl's thoughts. 
-Guns N' Roses pretty much runs today how Axl wanted it to in 1996. He runs the show, but Duff and Slash play an important part. 
-At the risk of sound crass, I'm sure the financial security that comes with the Not in This Lifetime tour help. From various documents, sources, and lawsuits (namely the Pittman suit), it appeared financial problems plagued the various touring lineups after Slash left. From what we heard, the band was essentially in a perpetual loop of debt. They would rack up debt, have to play shows to make money to pay that debt, and then rack up more debt in the process of touring. 

Edited by themadcaplaughs
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13 minutes ago, tremolo said:

The FF are way bigger than GNR, and have been for a while. Not necessarily because they’re better, but because they’ve kept a steady pace releasing bew material and touring.

This is true.

The FF are massive, at least here in Latinoamerica.

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