Rovim

the popping is a sequel to the blip in Scraped

you said something silly....again cause you don't seem to understand that there is no person in the world that is qualified or able to decide objectively on which are the best Gn'R tunes. Hype is not relevant. Music is just expression of emotion, like art. for example, Rolling Stone magazine was of the opinion that Led Zeppelin was shit at first. Many people disagree. It doesn't mean anything cause the listener and how he perceives the music is also a factor which makes music subjective. believe it or not, your opinion is just your opinion.

you can simply choose to not listen to it. A choice my neighbours don't have.

too bad we all don't know the meaning of the word "subjective". It can't be delusional, cause it's music we're talking about here.

if my grandma had wheels, she would've been a bike. It is what it is. At least some tunes are getting released, maybe Axl will release more in the future. If you expect Axl to not take years to do it, you're wasting your time imo.

yup

if everyone liked the same shit it would be a very boring world to live in. Some people let the fact that others dislike what they like get to them which is their problem, really.

The General's chorus is so good. I like how both Josh and Brain came up with songs that actually were released by Axl. The mullet head in me kinda wishes that all these NITL released singles got the Mike Clink treatment, but I really like it anyway.

sure there are some artistic choices that I don't find pleasing but I think the song rocks. I wonder how the pre reunion version sounds like, but anyway, it's a good track imo.

ranking of the songs done by the new guns line up so no

I don't like to grade this shit with numbers but here goes.... Catcher, the demo version is imo the best original tune Axl has released since UYI. Oh My God is messy, but it's my favorite from the harder tunes from new Gn'R. Better is the most successful experiment of bridging the gap between old school classic Axl vocals with the higher clean notes especially in the verses, a bluesy solo from Robin, and probably the best riff on the entire album from Bucket in the bridge. It's pretty cool how for that song to exist you needed Robin, Axl, Bucket, and Richard, It works so well as a song imo. Madagascar, Prostitute, SOD all very powerful emotionally, all could have worked great with Slash. Shackler's, Scraped, If The World, and Sorry seems like the most removed from what old Gn'R would come up with, though Riad's riff and Axl's vocals do remind me of an AFD kinda style, but with different production. I.R.S feels like a more modern Out Ta Get me in lyrical theme, has a Gn'R feel to it. Some of Axl's vocals in the verses are brilliant, the way the vocal melody land on those huge sounding power chords is very satisfying and Bucket's solo is perfect and even if it's a fast solo, it's actually bluesy to my ears. Chinese title track is a nice slice of a jaded Josh/Axl hard rock and it works well as an opener. This I Love is kinda whiny, but the orchestration and especially Robin's brilliant solo redeems it for me. TWAT gains momentum as soon as Robin's solo kicks in. The closest thing to a kind of variation on Estranged, but still not nearly as good imo. I think Catcher and TWAT are the centerpieces of the album. what came after Chinese (Absurd, HS, Perhaps, The General) all cool tunes, but I prefer most of the tunes from the album except The General and Monsters. none of it is as good as my favorites from UYI except Catcher imo, but judged on its own merit, I feel like Chinese is a fine addition to the catalog. it's obvious that Slash was a must if the goal was to create the best Guns album, but also that new musical territories were explored thanks to talented people that came up with fresh ideas that Slash couldn't have thought of.

no indication that Melissa quit Gn'R as far as we know. Pitman is probably never going to work with Axl/Gn'R ever again.

tell me why I had to be a power slave

I think I agree with Tom Zutaut's opinion, that he didn't think there was a single, at least when he was still working for Axl. I think it applies to the final product as well, with the tunes Axl managed to add/finish and that made it to the album. I like all 14 tunes, but every one of them lacks a certain element that would have made it a potential hit single. It's really not that kind of album imo. the title track's long intro seems to turn it into like a WTTJ wannabe, there isn't really a big chorus and the guitar sounds are a departure from Slash's tone. I can understand why it didn't grab old school fans the way Slither did, for example. Better's intro and chorus are not exactly hit single material, though I love the track and all the parts. The chorus adds much needed balls to the track. don't care about it being a hit anyway, I'm very happy with the final product, even if the locker leaks gives a great idea of a superior potential version of the album with more powerful drums, audible bass, more space for the music to breath, and maybe less tinkering and less layers (I'm into layers, but some of the tunes got drowned in too many little ideas stack on top of each other)

Wichita shows that there is still that Gn'R spark between Axl, Slash, and Duff and the rest of the lineup also did a great job covering it. If they don't record it and release it, that would be criminal. for me it's The General, the ritz pro shot, and Wichita. edit: I didn't include Monsters cause it didn't get or about to get an official release as far as we know, but that is by far the strongest Chinese track this lineup has released imho.

oops.

I don't see how we can "know" such a thing, but maybe I'm being too literal. Chinese didn't contain any covers. They don't need to include it on a potential album, they can release it on its own in digital form and maybe they have more/will have more than enough material for one album of 10 to 14 tracks.

I remember Matt and Duff were filmed for the rise of VR doc or whatever, and I think that it was Matt that said that Slash wanted to just play solos and leads over the entire Contraband record and they had to kinda restrain him from doing that. I think Contraband was Slash's most commercial attempt at least up to that point. The record is easily digestible in your face hard rock and it feels like some compromises were made so Scott could have a space to do his thing. Usually Slash was more the center of it with everything supporting his guitar playing and there was more of it. not sure if I agree with Gilby that Slash wasn't into it, but I do feel like the goal was to make a hit record more than ever. Even the name of the band and the record suggested it was Slash, Duff, and Matt's answer to Axl's new Gn'R.

Matt said so himself: he talked too much shit about Axl in the press for him to be a part of it. I always liked Matt as a drummer, but like you said, it was probably going with Axl's drummer, Frank (which he wasn't going to get rid of anyway cause Axl seems too loyal to do that with no good reason) or not rejoin Gn'R. It's not even a choice, cause I think Slash and Duff couldn't wait to rejoin Gn'R. where I feel Matt was maybe a little bit too entitled is expecting to fill the drummer spot when it wasn't even available just cause they had history together (and I respect what Matt contributed to Gn'R, I think he was much more than just an "additional musician")

how is Kiss a joke band? they had the tunes, riffs, solos, the fresh image at the time, millions of fans and they were also very influential. Their personalities were always shit and they were always super greedy and didn't get along, but Ace is like rock n' roll personified for example. (or at least was) Kiss Alive alone is something that only a non joke band can achieve imo, but obviously I'm biased cause I'm a fan and I understand that some aspects of the band are a big turn off for many, but the music was there and the live shows were unique. I think Kiss is an important piece of the hard rock puzzle, they made their mark and showed how important the spectacle aspect of the show could be to some bands, and that's on top of creating a respectable sized catalog.

I don't think Slash didn't or doesn't like Gilby or that Slsah holds grudges, but I also don't think it's black and white. My guess is that the lawsuit did influence the working relationship between Slash and Gilby after old Guns was done. He didn't include Gilby in any of his projects as far as I know until a lot of time has passed. I also think that there's a difference between playing live with Gilby here and there compared to forming another band with him or a project and to be clear, I'm not 100% sure that the reason for not collaborating with Gilby was the lawsuit, but I believe it is, cause other than that, there didn't seem to be any issues between them. for example, when Slash, Duff, and Matt formed VR, Slash didn't call Gilby. Maybe cause they wanted a different style from a rhythm player, but maybe it was cause Slash still remmebered the lawsuit so he went with someone else, first Izzy and then Dave Kushner.

I think Paul and Gene would rather keep the amount of control they have on the brand. They don't seem to want to include Ace and Peter. A lot of shit slinging in the press throughout the year between Paul and Ace, as well.

to each his own, for me there are like 8 great Kiss albums at least. They did know how to write great tunes imho. Nothing too complicated, but what they did was done right. All the classic Kiss members were very talented, but if you don't relate to it, you don't relate to it.