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For me it was Axl and Slash both. That Freddie Mercury Tribute just SO cool. Coolest thing I'd ever seen at the time. Nothing was more cool. The attitude, the sense of realness and unpredictability, the larger than life stage personas. Holy fucking shit that was cool to 13yo me in 1997. I didn't really mimmick the movements, but I did start wearing the bandana and I wanted Slash's hair. Mine is curly and a little frizzy, but definitely not enough. I think I started to grow it out somewhere in 1998 and didn't cut it again until 2005.

It was 1997. I was 13 years old. The tv channel TMF (sort of a Dutch MTV) was showing a Top 90 of the 90's with music video's. They played KOHD live at the Freddie tribute. I was a GnR fan and a rock fan in general from that moment onward. It wasn't just GnR. There was stuff like Metallica, Nirvana and Queen as well that I learned about that day. But nothing made quite the impact GnR did. November Rain was #1 on that list iirc, but KOHD was the big eye opener for me. I managed to record a lot of those songs on VHS over the next few months and then recorded the sound on my old computer. Converted the wav's to extremely low bitrate MP3 files (because my old 486dx with 44mhz processor couldn't even play 128 kbps) and off we went.

They got close though! https://gnrmerch.com/collections/new-in/products/gnr-holiday-t-shirt

I can't want! I heard it'll be called "Welcome To The Jingle".

Same, kinda. I mean, fuck I'm almost 40 yet I still feel like a teenager amond grownups half the time.

A valid point. As much as most people here (including myself) look back on the 2002 lineup in general as something really special and awesome now, it got a TON of criticism at the time. It (the VMA's) was very high profile, Axl was in Mickey-mode rather than 90's mode and the band looked like a total freakshow in every way. That was a publicity disaster. And they already had a lot running against them just for not being 90's GnR. But still that performance made it worse. As a 18 year old kid watching it on TV, I absolutely hated it too. It went against everything that I felt GnR stood for at the time. I was genuinely PISSED. I've grown to love Buckethead's playing, but I still dislike his look. I still really dislike the look of that band in general. But man, looking back on what they were working on at the time musically, that band had the potential to be SO awesome.

If the presence and playing of DJ Ashba, Team Brazil's "management" and Axl's NITL vocals haven't done damage to GnR, nothing will. They're indestructable. If we have an apocalyptic all out nuclear war, the only things left will be a bunch of cockroaches watching a GnR NITL show.

It's a cd (maybe also vinyl?) with a bonus disc of the live show with gaga guesting. I think 7 or 8 songs? Which was the entire show.

39, turning 40 in April. But first I have another anniversary coming up. On January 8th I'm a member here for 20 years. Which is, at that point, over half my life. That's depressing.

Very excited about the deluxe release tomorrow! I'm still not sure whether I'll buy it, because I've already bought the album twice (on vinyl and on cd). I suppose I'll give it a spin first.

Then riddle me this - why does all this shit keep happening to gnr. Every release its something. Everything is a fuckup. Why doesn't this happen to every other artist on the label?

100% this and honestly it pisses Mr off to no end. This is why I don't want to spend any money on these clowns anymore.

Is there any info available on what should be on them? 2003 should be a followup to By The Way with John, right? The others are both Josh albums. Why were they shelved? I imagine the last one was because John would soon return, but the others don't make a lot of sense.

Fair point. In the end, it's Axl calling the shots and keeping the incompetent leeches employed.

Clownband. For a band their size, the amateurism of their operation is absolutely shocking. From mixing quality to (very) low-res vinyl prints, from jukebox fuckups to vinyl delays, from shit communication to stupid release schedules, from the inability to make an album to the shitty merch.... this band is a joke.

Sa far I have planned: 2024-02-03 - DeWolff @ EM2, Groningen 2024-03-10 - K3 @ Martiniplaza, Groningen 2024-06-19 - Green Day, The Hives, The Interrupters @ Gelredome, Arnhem 2024-06-27 - Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band @ Goffertpark, Nijmegen 2024-08-31 - The Teskey Brothers @ Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam Aside from that I'm expecting another Heideroosjes gig. They've already announced there will be 2024 shows for their 35 year anniversary. I'm also hoping for another Alestorm gig. They're touring like crazy, so I think it won't be a problem. And of course I'm really hoping for a Stones EU tour in late 2024. Aside from that I failed to got tickets for Keane in AFAS Live, but I'm still trying to get some second hand. Probably won't work though. And finally Billy Joel announced Cardiff as his only 2024 EU date. FUCK! I really want to see him, but this is really far away and impractical. I wish he'd do a proper EU tour.

Around 2004-2008 there was an extremly busy picture thread here too. Which was fun. But honestly it was also a different (maybe more innocent?) time on the internet. I've seen multiple events where shit got out of hand and/or nudity was also getting posted. Which wasn't good at all. Especially since there's no age verification in any way. Aside from that there was of course some innocent attention whoring too. The old picture thread, I believe, is removed completely and no longer a searchable part of this forum. But for the most part it was great and it was fun how everybody knew just a little bit more about eachother. There is a new picture thread, but it's not the same as it was back then.

It certainly does seem divisive. The comments on social media are all over the place too. Personally I like it too. And sure, much like CD it was up against impossible expectations. For years it was talked about as the holy grail. The heaviest thing they've ever done (was that Baz?) etc. Some people seemed to be expecting the CD-era equivalent of Estranged or November Rain, but more rock and industrial at the same time. But that's pretty unrealistic. That said it's okay to good, but definitely not flawless or epic. Certainly not everybody's taste. The distortion of the vocals alone is divisive. I consider it the weaker of the two when compared with Monsters. And I feel like it would benefit from more lyrics / subject matter. Some bits seem repetitive. I do like the guitar work and I feel like Slash did a good job with the vibe of this. It's good. But I can also see why this isn't a good lead single or anything. To me it's a good album track. Sadly there's no album, but still. I'm glad we got this.

Even without wheels it's perfectly possible for a woman to be the village bicycle.

I also still feel that TG would benefit from more lyrics.

I'm listening to TG now, just by itself. And the strange thing is, I've always listened to it as a combo with Monster. I actually like it better as a combo with Monster. Those tracks go well together. And yes, even in that combination TG is the weaker half of the two. But still, they have a similar vibe that makes them work well together. In the same way that good album sequencing makes certain songs better than when you listen to them isolated.

Yesterday I was playing a Syd Barrett cd that you sent me through old fashioned non-electronic mail because it wasn't available here. Still thankful for that one! ;-)

Why surprised mate? I'm the chewing gum stuck under GnR fandom's shoe. I don't decompose and it's impossible to scrape me off too. But I'm doing well! Living in the same city and working the same job, but by now with the Mrs. and our two daughters (ages 6 and 2). Cool to read you've moved to the States! Hope you're doing well too. Oh, fun fact! You remember Paula McKagan from back in the early days? She stayed over with us for a week last April. Really cool to still be in touch with some people from back then. Later that year she also visited Sekh Met, Binge & Slash and Graeme on another roadtrip. I need to have a drink with Sekhy again too, last time I saw her in person was 2016. Time flies!

tbh that spelling is incredibly off-putting for me as well and only adds to the "they're not even taking this shit seriously" vibe I described earlier.