downzy

16 hours ago, tboneman said:

There are rumours that this song was made with AI. Especially drums sound AI-ish. 

If fans can't tell whether it's the artist or AI, they probably deserve to be replaced by AI.  

16 hours ago, Blackstar said:

The label appears to still own the rights to the songs that are on the Chinese Democracy album, whereas the rights to the "NITL" singles are registered with the US Copyright Office as owned by Gundam (the GN'R business entity).

That makes sense.

It all depends on how the deal (or renegotiated deal) was structured.  Labels will often included provisions that allows them to retain recording rights for material recorded paid by them, whether the material gets released or not.

It sounds like the label's mechanical rights to any recordings made during the making of CD are limited to what was released on that album (or, as others have pointed out, were purchased by the band/Axl).  

4 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Yeah, it's possible that he has bought the rights to certain songs he wants to release.

It all depends on whether sales of Chinese Democracy repaid the money owed to UMG.  And what kind of album commitments had (or still has) with UMG. 

If Axl repaid his debts and isn't contractually to deliver additional albums, he likely retained rights to unreleased material without payment. 

If I had to bet, all of this was renegotiated at some point since the reunion.  It's just a matter of whether any recording during the CD sessions remains the property of UMG if Axl repaid UMG of all recording costs. 

Who doesn't want to "feel the Axl Rose vibe?" 

At least it's something.

18 hours ago, El Guapo said:

So, how many of you guys watched The General official music video again in the last couple of weeks?

Once was enough. 

On 4/10/2024 at 1:43 PM, Voodoochild said:

IMO because it all feels like an already outdated esthetic. Not as cool as 60s Beatles, but just some trippy-ish noise that people will find it (even more) ridiculous in the future. 

Kind of like this very 2000s visuals:

 

Yeah...  It's one of those things you figure artists would know by now to avoid what are obvious trends that, if they're not already out style, soon will be.

And yeesh, that Lincoln Park video is brutal to watch now.  

Looks like Pink Floyd is getting similar backlash to GNR with respect to AI in their videos:

https://petapixel.com/2024/04/09/fury-as-ai-video-wins-competition-held-by-pink-floyd/

Interesting discussion happening right now as to when and where computer generation is appropriate.  I think some artists can get away with it (particularly EDM artists) where computer technology has long been associated the art form.

I don't think AI is something that works all too well with classic rock artists.  It just feels like jumping on the bandwagon as a means to recapture relevancy.  

1 hour ago, EvanG said:

Obviously I was kidding, you can't compare an 80s rocker playing a cover to a young and modern artist who has the marketing machine of the Eurovision to help him. As for The General not being well received, depends where you look, on YT it gets mostly positive reactions, obviously not here because this is MYGNR.

Is it though? 

Compare it to Perhaps, Hardskool, and Absurd, it has the fewest views and the fewest likes (relative to views).

And while the majority of the comments on Hardskook and Perhaps are positive, a lot of the comments on The General are jokes regarding the overuse of AI.  Not saying there aren't people who respond positively to it (I enjoy it), but it definitely didn't perform or resonate as well as the previous GNR singles (based on both concrete and anecdotal impressions).

On 3/8/2024 at 2:38 AM, TheDemocracyRose said:

Brian Johnson sounds like Tom Jones. 🤭

That's what I said the first time I heard it!

Really enjoyed it; far more than I thought I would for a typical 12 bar blues song.  Really well done.

Another entry from the vile and deranged...

https://apnews.com/article/katie-britt-mexico-border-sex-trafficking-f74c95d1f7e3e5b9a660d9efc51ab214

Imagine being so craven to use the plight and tragedy of someone being sex trafficked for one's own political gain?  To say nothing of the fact that the crime and trauma happened in Mexico while George W. Bush was President, but Britt pins it on Biden.

Moreover, shouldn't victims of sex trafficking find refuge in America?  

Katie Britt - a garbage human being for a garbage political movement.

Please do not include links to dropbox downloads wherein the contents are not described and approval is required.

Well, looks like Democrats can say goodbye to Trump being tried in federal court before the election on Jan 6th charges.

Supreme Court is going to hear arguments on whether Trump has complete immunity while President at the end of April.  Means a judgement likely won't be delivered until the end of June.  By that point it will be too close to allow the case to move forward since it's too close to the election. 

The charges relating to the stolen documents and obstruction could still proceed since the charges do not relate to his time in office, but considering Trump drew a very friendly judge, that case will likely be pushed back and won't happen before the election.

The Georgia case is all but certain to be shelved since the DA lied on the witness stand relating to her relationship with her fellow prosecutor.  Recusal by the DA means anyone in her office can't work the case.  It would need to be picked up by another district/county.  That ain't happening.

That leaves the New York state hush-money trial that's set to take place next month.  It's both the weakest case against Trump but also the one that likely won't move the needle since it's a state case, not a federal one.

Congrats to the Democrats who decided that their main bulwark against the trainwreck that is Trump is an 81 year old man who sounds like he's 90 whenever he talks.  

Nice country you go there America.

Anyone claiming Prince is average or not a music legend needs to give their head a shake.

It's one thing for his music not to resonate (which is how I describe myself), another thing to say he wasn't an enormous talent with respect to composing and performing music. 

Moved topic to My World, the section for music discussion.

Personally, I like a few of his songs (Kiss, Doves Cry, Nothing Compares 2 U), but don't really consider myself a fan. 

I get why people love him, but he never clicked for me.  Just never dug his sound. 

His virtuoso talents are impressive, but much like a drum or guitar virtuoso, I can only listen to it for so long before it loses its appeal.  For me it's all about the songs, and in that aspect I never viewed Prince in the same regards as his contemporaries (MJ, Madonna). 

On 2/11/2024 at 8:53 PM, gunsnchalupas said:

major artist like Ashanti

It was at this point in the post that I checked out...

One thing that never made sense to me was the concept of "balance to the force." 

I thought it was something first brought up in the OT, as that would make sense since the Sith are crushing it.

But nobody in the OT actually mentions Anakin or Luke bringing "balance to the force."  It's a concept first raised in Phantom Menace.

Why would the Jedi want to balance the force when nobody had seen the Sith in how many years?  Wouldn't balancing the force mean the Jedi would have to be taken down a peg or two?  Why would the Jedi want to balance the force when they're doing well (relative to the dark side of the force)?

Maybe I'm missing something that gets explained in the cartoon series (which I still refuse to watch since their only reason to exist is to fix what the prequels broke).

I've got no problem with her.  Her music isn't really meant for people like me.  It's lyrically driven, which doesn't really work for me. 

But from what I hear, her performances are over the top and a worthy spectacle.

To each their own.  Like what you like.  Anyone who hates this woman needs to get their heads checked.

23 minutes ago, Chris1989 said:

I think we are in a very weak era that is far more controlled by dark forces and media manipulation than the eras where a buzz was generated by live performances and reputation spreading in the local scene and going nationwide.

LOL, I don't think I'm as conspiratorial about all of this as you are.  I truly believe that if people were writing and releasing genre defining calibre songs we'd hear about it. 

I think the real culprit is that most new artists are writing to a format that limits them creatively but improves their chances of being heard.  Writing for the algorithm is a real thing these days.  Short intros, choruses within 30 seconds, no bridges, simple chord progressions, no key changes or use of interesting time signatures.  Music (particularly pop music) is far simpler.  More focus is on lyrics and rhythm (all about the beat).  I'm also inclined to believe that most of the great hooks have already been mined.  Unless you're a Brian Wilson, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Paul McCartney that can play around with really innovative chord progressions and time signatures, most of the great melodies involving the standard I - V - VI - IV chord progression have been written.  So easier to write stuff with greater focus on lyrics, sound and rhythm than melody or hooks.  

21 minutes ago, Chris1989 said:

I would say that her music is top tier for this era/generation, but mid tier when you consider the great female singer songwriters of the past and their achievements at the time.

Agree.  Mediocrity in songwriting is kind of the most we can expect at this point in time.  It's rare I hear something truly novel and great.

If Taylor had launched her career in the 1980s, I don't think she gets close to the same level of fame and success she gets now.  She has a couple of bangers that will live on, but when you compare her to an artist like Madonna, it's night and day (with respect to songwriting).  

Been seeing a lot of people upset about the fact that the rock category wasn't aired this year.

Apparently the Grammys cycle various awards in and out of the broadcast on a yearly basis. 

Plus it's mostly a show about performances, less about awards (which makes sense considering most people would rather watch performances than speeches).

But I'm not sure if people truly understand how much rock has fallen off the radar.

If you look at the acts that were nominated, three of the five are from a different century (Metallica, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age).

The most recent act (Greta Van Fleet), formed almost 12 years ago.

Paramore, the band that won for best rock album, has been around for twenty years.  And with respect to other artists, isn't hardly relevant.  It ranks 271 in terms of daily streams on Spotify.  Few people listened to a band that won rock album of the year.

So I don't blame the Grammys for not airing the rock album award (even if it was done so because it was rock's year to sit out from being televised).  It's a reflection of how rock has become so irrelevant; an indictment of the genre and not really the Grammys.

1 hour ago, Chris1989 said:

Swift? She's extremely talented. She has the voice, she has the lyrics, the playing ability, she has the attitude, and she does what she wants when she wants it. She is a trendsetter and a global superstar. You can love her or hate her, but I don't think anybody who actually looks into her discography with an open mind would be able to say she's not an absolute superstar.

I agree with all of this. 

Funny enough though, you don't mention her music.  Which I think is average, at best.  I think her songs are popular largely because of her lyrics (which makes sense since she comes from the Nashville scene).

But in every other aspect, she does it all very well and deserves the accolades and success.

8 hours ago, Rovim said:

but maybe the award should be given to the people who made that happen

They do.  It's called Song of the Year for people who write the song.  Record of the Year is for the overall sound (performer, song writing, recording quality, etc).  Album is for the entire album.  

6 hours ago, Rovim said:

just my opinion, but I don't think the same can be said about Chinese Democracy. you don't tinker with the same material for years and release it after a decade for it not to stand the test of time, artistically, not commercially speaking at least.

But would most hardcore GNR fans, even those who became fans during the nuGNR days, say CD is GNR's best album?  Maybe a few, but I would have a hard time believing most would.  It's not an indictment of the material per se.

I honestly think very little will "stand the test of time."  Assuming human beings are still living and capable of listening to recorded music hundreds of years from now, I doubt very little of what we've done will be remembered or cared about.  Outside of the Beatles, I'm having a hard time believing that people in 2524 will be blasting the deep cuts from Chinese Democracy.

6 hours ago, Rovim said:

Beyonce doesn't even write her own material for the most part. she has a team of writers. her talents lie in her singing and dancing ability primarily so even if she won album of the year, is it really a win if she didn't actually wrote the lyrics/composed the music.

I'll push back on this a bit.  I don't think the performer has to write their own material for the album to be considered great.  A lot of great albums have been released by artists who didn't write most, if not all, of the material.  A great album is just that, a great album.  It doesn't necessarily need to be performed by the same person or persons who wrote it.