Nintari

This is true, but it's not always what it seems. Regardless of Melissa's actual status at the moment, going online and creating a get-well thread on a forum that Melissa will never see... that necessitates it's own psychological investigation. What's the point? What's the motivation? Because even if it's well-meaning, it's still bizarre behavior. This is why I don't get bent out of shape about things. The internet is just... it's its own universe with its own rules. Trying to apply real-world social rules to it is just asking for trouble. At the very least, it's an act of self-harm haha.

Pfft. She can't hold a candle to Tracy, let alone Roberta.

Always thought The Blues would be a hit. Sad that it wasn't.

If I were famous, I'd do stuff like this for free.

It's all sad to me. Once, twice, a billion times. Doesn't matter. As I've said, I got into GNR as a kid because they seemed genuine. At least as far as artists go, anyway. So to see them, and Metallica, and a lot of the other guys of that era now hawking beer and credit cards and jamming with Hannah Montana/Carrie Underwood... it's just so off-putting.

They're the same thing. Exactly the same thing. A large conglomerate comes to you, offers pile of money to promote their shit, you sign on the dotted line and then immediately promote their shit. In the old days, back when (some) artists cared about not being corporate whores, they'd call it selling out. Now, it's just the cost of doing business, and everyone's doing it. But it doesn't change anything. It's still just as unseemly as it's always been. I just wish that most of the anti-establishment people from my youth had stayed that way. Instead, I have to watch most of them become something that their younger selves would have disavowed. Hell, if Axl knew that he'd be on Budweiser commercials later in life, he'd have probably found a tall bridge and jumped. That's how much against it he use to be.

Present day, you say?

Integrity, legacy, artistic credibility etc. Personally, if it were me, I'd have pulled an Izzy. GNR was never going to be what it was, no matter what. So why go back? You've got all the money in the world. Go make something befitting of your age/current life. Or, perhaps retire and find something else to do. But going up there as a grandparent, playing music that was written by a bunch of angry, drug addicted street punks in their mid-to-late twenties... no. Not my cup of tea. But hey, if it's theirs, so be it.

I just checked the '92 dates for the US, and they certainly played some stadiums on that leg.

You're assuming that stability, longevity and financial viability are all that matters.

The last time the "complete" band was intact was 1990.

Could have gone my whole life... my whole... entire... life...

A lot of conventional wisdom within the fanbase is that if Axl had just gotten the album out in the late nineties, or early 00's, everything would have been better. But I don't buy into that logic at all. By 1995, GNR was pretty much your dad's music. They weren't going to capture any more market share within the youth demographic. The Seattle scene had taken care of that. So really, the only way to go was Stones 2.0. You stay together, put out blue-based rock, and you gracefully grow older together and have a nice, respectable, long career. But that didn't happen. Axl hired a bunch of new people, tried to become something he wasn't, tried to make the band become something that it wasn't... which meant what, exactly? Who was going to buy into that? The OG fans weren't, because it wasn't like the old stuff. The kids weren't, because pfft GNR? Whatever, boomer. That's why CD was doomed from the start. They could have let Axl keep the record and have him keep waiting. Nothing was going to matter in the end. The best bet, was to keep all the material, get the original band back together, have them cherry pick what they wanted, then put out a proper album. But no. Cause GNR.

I'm a novelist. I know how to read. I just didn't (and still don't) know what the fuck a "solo spot" meant, so I did the next best thing haha.

Back and Forth Again. SCOM is objectively his high-water mark, but man... Back and Forth Again. That solo, along with the chord progression, is like hearing an angel commit suicide. Gut wrenching.

Probably just act like a real band and keep rolling. There should have been a new album out by 1993, 95, 97 etc. At this point, GNR should have become the Stones 2.0.

No, but I would like the '91 Ritz show to come out by itself.

If it only comes out on vinyl, sure. But I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about Apple Music and Spotify etc. If it comes out via the normal streaming channels, that's (new casual fans) pretty much the only people it will appeal to.

I own all their records, even the banned Lies album with the fully-nude model. What would I gain from buying this? Must be for the uber casual fan who's just discovering the band.

This is a difficult choice. Matt can do it all, but Steven has just a cool swing to his playing. If I went with Steven, I'd lose a lot skill, but I'd gain feel. With Matt, the reverse. Eh, fuck it. I vote Steven.

I don't think they're a downgrade. I just think they're in a different style that you don't like. It's neither here, nor there. I personally prefer the original solos. Well, if you believe Axl, Back and Forth Again was a rejected B-cut, and Slash absolutely dominated on that one.

It should not be reworked, it's awesome as it is. Maybe remastered, but that's it.

Man... that first sentence really bugs me. If I had written it, I'd have changed it from, with nearly four decades of career, Guns N ’ Roses has positioned itself as one of the largest rock bands in history to With a career spanning nearly four decades, Guns N Roses have positioned themselves as one of the biggest rock bands of all time.

Not with me, no. Well, maybe I'd check out a Youtube video. But going to a show? No thanks. I would, however, feel excited to see what having Izzy back in the band could do for new songs, since the current GNR doesn't want to release anything original.

Hustler. The Walmart to Playboy's Macy's. As a boy, whenever I saw one of them (which was rare), I knew I was in for some serious skin lol