SoulMonster

Well, they have released new merch and two old singles in these 7 years I doubt they will release videos from the NuGnR era when Slash and Duff are in the band, and they can't release photos from a studio where they aren't.

I don't think most people who we think of as "perfectionist" consider absolutely every thing in their life equally important and will fuss over every single aspect of their life and spend an inordinate time on absolutely everything. And that's obviously also the case with Axl. I believe that one of the main motifs for Axl's behaviour, and how his choices must be understood, is his ideas of how he wants to be remembered as an a composer and performer. He has a very particular vision of how he wants his legacy to be. This means that certain songs, those that will form the core of his songwriting corpus, becomes extremely important to him. It is those songs that he hoped will elevate him to a similar, or at least approaching, status in the history of rock or music to Elton John and Freddie Mercury. Don't get me wrong, Axl doesn't harbour any illusions that his discography is any close to these artists in size, and he is too self-deprecating to consider his songs equally great (at least publicly). But he is willing to work a lot, and allow himself to be paralyzed in the process, on these songs to get them "right", or "perfect". At the same time, he accepts that he cannot take this approach to all the songs he work on, nor does he have to if these songs are not intended to be part of his main legacy. Similarly to Elton John and Freddie Mercury, and almost every other artist, who of course have released songs not intended to be taken that seriously and in a sense was also not intended to be their great works of art. Additionally, what is "right" or "perfect" for these songs aren't necessarily obvious to us, it is not necessarily about objective quality of his singing or composing structure, but more esoteric things like how he sings certain parts, how the drums come in, etc. It causes weird decisions that doesn't necessarily make a lot of sense to us (or me, at least), but very important to him, because, again, he has this strong idea in his mind of how these important songs should come out. Similarly, to him albums are the currency of musicians. Albums are more than just a collection of songs. It is the main criteria product of a musician. He grew up in a time when a song would always be understood in the context of where it was on an album and how that album physically looked. You didn't rate a song entirely independent of the cover art, the notes, the quality of the artwork, how the songs flowed when played, what came on one side of the vinyl and the opposite side, etc. He wanted his albums to rival the best albums of his idols. So he was (and is?) extremely fuzzy about this. The songs on an album doesn't need to all be fantastic, it rarely is for any great artist, but every album should have some killer songs, a meaningful collection of songs that work together, and be packaged into a physical product that is in itself great and resonated with the songs. Does all this make Axl a perfectionist? Well, it depends on how you define that. But I don't think there is any question about whether Axl will spend a stupendous amount of time tinkering with certain things. And does this explain why Hard Skool and Absurd might seem sloppy or not that important to him? I think so too, these aren't his next November Rains, and also they aren't part of album so it matters somewhat less. It is also possible that these songs meant more to him at some point, but that he has had to adjust his ambitions for them as newGN'R failed. Hence, these songs means less to him now. We'll see.

A stem cell therapy company in Medellin, Colombia.

He did look like a younger, fresher Slash. A torch bearer of sorts.

You know, not to take anything away from your expectation of new material this year, but I simply don't think the vast majority of those who attend GN'R shows care much about setlists except that they will be disappointed if they don't hear the classics. GN'R has become one of those bands that you go to if you want to go to a rock show as part of a night out, to have something to discuss around the water cooler the next day, it is cultural capital, now you can wear the t shirt, it does't matter that much what is played as long as you hear Paradise City, November Rain, etc.

He wasn't that bad. He genuinely did his very best while in the band, was very enthusiastic, made lots of efforts to get the band making new music, was very nice to fans. He was a fan who suddenly got promoted to star. There was something sympathetic about all that. But then he looked like a tool and was a bit silly when he acted all rock star, probably because he tried a bit too hard, and he couldn't really nail all the guitar parts (he is not a bad guitar player, but next to Bumblefoot and Richard he came across as one). Giving someone shit because they aren't the best on guitar seems a bit petty to me. He also gradually realized that lots of fans despised him and that hit him hard and eventually made him throw in his hat when a reunion was forming, and he will always have my respect for that. After leaving he was always gracious towards the band and his time in GN'R.

He said as much himself when he said, "at that point, its best I go do what I'm really good at doing": Absolutely. In fact, Axl wanted me to be a part of it. I couldn’t be more happy for it happening. I was stoked to find out about it, people have got to remember, If I wasn’t a fan of the band, I wouldn’t have joined the band. I have great admiration for Axl, Slash and Duff and, Steven, Izzy and everybodys put into that thing. I have even more respect now after playing in the band for so many years. I couldn’t be more happy, I’m just a biggest fan as I’ve always been, I’m so happy for the fans that they get to go out there and see at least half of the band reunited, its a big deal. This is what the fans have been wanting, me included in that. I just didnt feel like it was my place. If Slash has come back, I couldnt be more happy, this is great. At that point, its best I go do what I’m really good at doing. Its kind of the best of both worlds, I get to have my favorite band back and I get to go play in my favorite band again. Its a win win.

What? I didn't say anything about lying

Oh, this is going to grow old quickly.

Has anyone here said they expect them to record a new album? We are waiting for more singles to be released, old songs with Slash and Duff on them. Btw, I like the thought that you either read your post somewhere else or wrote it somewhere else, and thought it was such a great post that you should paste it in here, too

Because they have a good time?

Yes! That's true genius!

Fantastic musician I'm a huge fan of Kyuss and Qotsa. Actually more than GN'R

Just throwing it out there, but could it be that Josh Homme is not actually Axl Rose? That's not making an excuse for Axl's lack of interest in releasing music, just pointing out that argument that if something is easy for someone it has to be easy for others, is flawed. Pointing out that other people find it easy to run, isn't helping a man without feet, and I think at this stage we can accept that Axl got some severe mental handicap when it comes to releasing music.

I think you are missing the start to this discussion. I was simply arguing against the notion that a reunion with Slash would result in music like Appetite. Maybe that was a straw man in this discussion and not something anyone hear thinks, but I was referring to back in 2016 when bitter fans seemed to be over themselves in joy over the prospect of Slash being back in the band and what would come out of it. OF COURSE I don't care if they will never top Appetite, personally, I am fine with that, and I don't want that to be an excuse for Axl to not release more music (not that I think it is) nor a reason for me not to want them to release more music. I enjoyed Use Your Illusions, I enjoyed Chinese Democracy, I enjoyed the locker leaks, and I enjoyed Hard Skool. I will most likely enjoy whatever they release next and be entirely fine with it not having the same effect on me as Appetite had back in the late 80s

It's bullshit? So you think they are not past their prime and that they can release something equally great as Appetite, really? I have to disagree. Appetite, as far as I am concerned, is a masterpiece. And it was the result of many things coming together: the right guys at the right time when they were extremely inspired and hungry and worked together, influenced by various music at the time but created something unique by merging their inspirations into a distinct sound, and it came out when I was in my - as far as music goes - formative years. This will never happen again, it cannot theoretically happen again. So they can never top Appetite as far as I am concerned. Based on what they have been able to create and release since then, including UYIs, that opinion is substantiated. As for the rest of your argument it seemed to be more complaining that they don't release anything, which is irrelevant to my point.

Yeah, some people really struggle to accept that the best days are behind us. I remember the excitement when Slash and Duff were rejoining the band, people thought this would be the catalysator for Axl, that now he would focus on new music and it would be like the 90s again, all he had needed was to have his best pal beside him. When that didn't work it is the absence of Izzy that is the problem. Izzy was the great creative force and without him they are all lost. But the problem is that Axl simply hasn't prioritized releasing music. And as far as creativity goes, they are all past their prime. I think think they could definitely release more good music (I really like hard Skool), but it will never be like Appetite, they and me are not the same.

Not really, Izzy wanted The Project to be a quick thing, he came in with a handful of songs and wanted to go on tour immediately with him and Duff singing. The rest of the guys wanted to do it more seriously, including finding another singer. It became too ambitious for Izzy who didn't want to deal with a singer, and he left. So Izzy's contributions were only Do It For The Kids and Snafu? Then I suppose we can conclude that Izzy wasn't vital for Velvet Revolver, either, then.

I'd be happy to comment on both of your arguments. 1. I don't agree with your premise that Izzy was the creative force of Use Your Illusions. All of Duff, Slash, Axl and Izzy contributed importantly to song writing. They were all important for what became those two records and in the process they demonstrated that they were all good song-writers. They have also afterwards shown themselves to be able to write songs in various constellations without the need for Izzy (Velvet Revolver, Loaded, Guns N' Roses). They simply don't need Izzy to create and release music. The reasons why they haven't released more since the reunion (except Hard Skool and Absurd) is most likely not due to Izzy's devastating absence, but that they don't prioritize it much. I highly doubt they have spent much time frustrated in rehearsal studies trying to come up with riffs and melodies and gone, "Fuck! We can't do this without Iz!" The problem is more likely that they haven't even tried, and that is mostly due to Axl not prioritizing it. 2. Yes, absolutely. As I stated above, Appetite became what it was because of the input of all 5 guys, UYIs became what they were because of the input of all 7 guys, and Chinese Democracy became what it was because of the input of all 54 guys. These records were collaborative efforts. And Izzy is a great song smith, no doubt about it, but going from that to claiming that he is vital, that without him they can't make music, is simply a bit ridiculous Not only am I convinced they could make a record without his help, I believe it could be good, because they have all proven they can release great music without him.

But your claim wasn't that they can't do it by themselves, but that they can't do it without Izzy specifically. It is clear that Axl/Slash/Duff haven't been able to release any new music these years (Hard Skool and Absurd excepted), but claiming this is because Izzy is out of the picture is not so clear. Most people would sensibly argue that the main reason is that they haven't been in a band together for most of this period. Because this is the statement that I am objecting to: "The truth is that Axl, Slash and Duff were not able to release an unpublished album without Izzy". Please pay attention

Thank you! I don't have any plans for a book right now, I feel I have so much more groundwork to do before I can even contemplate such things. TAs for my immediate plan, right now it is to complete this the way I am doing it, i.e get to the present (currently working on 2016, so a few more years to go!). And when that is done I want to go over it and make it better by adding a few sentences here that adds context, move chapters around, add more images, add links, draw lines to previous events, etc. Basically just increase the readability of it. The purpose will still be to let the quotes speak for themselves without providing interpretation and creating a narrative that might not be true, but just make it a better read. Then I might consider other media to make it more accessible to people, maybe a book or something like that, but it must be free for people to access and read. This is totally non-profit, and for two reasons: I want it to be perceived exactly as it is, a nerdish labor of love; and because no one should ever be able to suggest I am not 100% impartial and objective by having accepted money from anyone. My agenda is only to present what has actually been said by the band members (and those close to them) over the years, and sort this chronologically and thematically. Other people can then create stories and narrative out of it. But it will be harder to create a narrative not based on facts when anyone can just verify by checking with my work.

The next chapter, covering the entire 2015, is now out: (6) 35. 2015: AXL AND SLASH MAKE PEACE, DJ LEAVES THE BAND, WILL 2016 BE THE YEAR OF THE REUNION? (a-4-d.com) 2015 was an interesting year. On one hand nothing really happened with the current version of the band (except DJ leaving), the band was on hiatus and Frank and Richard (not DJ) would talk vaguely about something happening in 2016. On the other hand, Axl and Slash were clearly getting over their feud, resulting in various rumours about Slash rejoining the band (whilst DJ was leaving) and a reunion tour coming up in 2016. Not only that, these rumours become more and more concrete (unlike DJ's position in the band) as the year went on with the band itself hinting towards big things to come (as if DJ leaving wasn't enough). The year ended with Axl planning to guest at the Jimmy Kimmel show, widely expected to be him presenting details about the 2016 reunion tour. What wasn't clear, though, was what the 2016 lineup would look like (except that DJ was out), if it was just a single show or two, and if new music was also in the cards. Oh, the excitement! For an index over absolutely every chapter, look here: (6) 02. GLOBAL INDEX (a-4-d.com) For a list over all interviews/articles used: (6) INTERVIEW AND ARTICLE INDEX (a-4-d.com)

Yeah, that's probably part of it. Lazybones.

Yeah, as I said, I don't get it. There are various other threads dedicated to just chatting and general musings on GN'R. But again, not criticising it, I was just perplexed by it

Again, I am still not talking about why people post at this forum, but this thread.