Brunzopolis

Only good thing from this period was Finck. Love his Brownstone solo.

Well that, and the anticipation that Axl was going to start singing like Axl again. "He's singing like that so as to save his voice" for when it really matters." Remember that?

-When I was really really young, like, elementary school age, and heard GNR for the first time (I think it was WTTJ), I loved it, but it made me feel weird - almost ashamed; I think it was the...sexual vibe of it all. Hard to explain. I was always quick to say I thought the band was wimpy, or 'gay' when around others. Metallica and Megadeth, now those were real tough guys. I liked their music (which I did), so that made me a tough guy too. That was my thinking.

-I think the music that GNR created is among the greatest music ever made; and I think the greatest music ever made is the greatest thing mankind has ever done or ever will do. If life from other worlds are visiting earth, one of the primary reasons they are doing so is to listen to our music.

-I believe there have been moments during live GNR performnaces (and other bands too) where things occur, that if we knew what was truly happening, would change our notions/beliefs about reality.

-I think the first appearence of the 'Mickey Mouse' voice during the Argentina gig in 93' is very important. Not saying I think it was the reason that that was the last gig of "old" gnr - but I don't think it was a coincidence that it was the last gig, if that makes sense.

-And lastly, not a confession, just a strong opinion that I don't get the opportunity to express anywhere in real life: If the band would simply release a handful of old concert gigs that had been remastered, re-done, and spruced up to DVD quality, it would make jillions of dollars. They're sitting on a gold mine, and I don't think they really know how big the gold mine is. I'd probably start with the second night of the 91' RIR gig. Axl belting out some of those notes, strutting like the baddest mofo ever, wind blowing through his hair - put that in a TV spot - that kind of rockgodsmanship blows minds and hasn't been done since. A lot of people, even if they're familiar with GNR music (as most people are), either forget, or have never seen some of that stuff.

I can't see him ever even considering this. He seems to have a lot of integrity. Hiring songwriters would compromise it. But...I think maybe he has so much integrity, that were he to, in a moment of wavering, hire songwriters, it would later cause him so much anguish that it would set something off creatively inside him. So maybe it's a good idea (for us, the greedy fans, at least ).

But really, how much time has to pass before "writers block" becomes "not really a songwriter anymore".


Even going back to the UYI's...how many of those songs had their genesis years earlier? November Rain, YCBM, Don't Cry...others? Musical creativity seems to be something that comes in bursts. Being young seems to help. Turmoil helps. Drugs seems to facilitate stuff too, sometimes.

I don't think it's about, or ever was about Axl somehow breaking free of his "writers block" - as if he's got a bunch of great songs just sitting in his brain waiting to come out. Musical creativity seems to be somthing that is more about external factors placed on the individual that open up them up to something. As Keith Richards puts it: Being a conduit.

Living in a posh mansion in Malibu surrounded by a gang of Brazillian schlubs; being hung-up on the past; and grinding out one lousy performance after another (yes, that's what it is, "grinding". There's no way he truly wants to be doing all these shows. Something or someone is forcing his hand, either truthfully, or it is just how he sees it), is not the lifestyle that leads to great creative outpourings. I'm not judging him for it, just saying I don't see great (or even, any) songs coming down the pike, given the way things are.

Personally, I think it all went down about as good as it ever could have.

The band wrote a pile of great songs and, as far as I know, they all got released; we, and everyone who lives after us will contine to enjoy them for years to come.

The writing was on the wall (etched in stone) by 94' anyway.

I think so. The intro is too awesome. Makes up for what might be comparitively weak verses and chorus.

And the intro snippets were used so perfectly in the movie. The syncing up of bits of the song with the action on the screen, etc.

Apparently James Cameron had initially planned on using "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones". Very lame in comparison.

The song and that movie, and particularly those scenes early on with John Connor and that bad4good kid (remember that?) riding around on that dirtbike, jacking atm's with that neato computer gizmo, going to the arcade, the bits of YCBM (my first exposure to the song - OMFG what is that song!?), were almost too much for my pre-teen brain to handle. Coolness overload.

Over the years, I've come to prefer Finck's solos in SCOM and Brownstone over Slash's. On their own, anyway - seperated from the full songs - which I never listen to. Just found live versions I've liked, pulled out the audio, cropped down to the solos; they stay in my playlists always.

At first, it was like "why is he playing so fast? Play like Slash!" But after a few listens, his take on those solos really grew on me. He seems like a cool guy too.

could you upload those clipped solos? Cheers

Yup:

http://www.filedropper.com/gnrscomsolofinckrio01

http://www.filedropper.com/gnrbrownstonesolofinck06

http://www.filedropper.com/gnrbrownstonesolofinck02

Over the years, I've come to prefer Finck's solos in SCOM and Brownstone over Slash's. On their own, anyway - seperated from the full songs - which I never listen to. Just found live versions I've liked, pulled out the audio, cropped down to the solos; they stay in my playlists always.

At first, it was like "why is he playing so fast? Play like Slash!" But after a few listens, his take on those solos really grew on me. He seems like a cool guy too.

Axl's voice didn't "turn" into Mickey Mouse - he started using falsetto to hit the notes he used to hit with his "head voice", then eventually started to use it for the notes he used to hit with his chest voice as well. He changed the way he sings completely.... added more rasp (kind of like a screech) to that falsetto with time. If you don't believe me, try it yourself, it's easiest to get that screech rasp on the REALLY high notes when you're pushing out the most air - impossible when you're singing lower notes.

This is something I believe he's done because he damaged his vocal chords on the Illusion tours... nobody can sing like he did in 1993 and get away with it.

You really sound like you know what you're talking about. Thanks for writing that out.

I'm a big Led Zep fan, but it's Slash for me. Mainly just because my favorite GNR songs trump my favorite LZ songs - and Slash played lead guitar on those songs - therefore, Slash.

'Technical ability', when it comes to guitar, is imo, a largely irrelevant question. I don't care in the slightest if someone can play things that few others can; fast and complex hand positions, whatever - why does it matter? Music is about sound and how the sound makes you feel.

As far as writing/composition goes... I think the first thing to consider is that the creation of music (as with all things that are creative/artistic) is a relatively mysterious process. From Keith Richards' wikipedia page:

"Richards has frequently stated that he feels less like a creator than a conduit when writing songs: "I don't have that God aspect about it. I prefer to think of myself as an antenna. There's only one song, and Adam and Eve wrote it; the rest is a variation on a theme."

How much credit do/should we give to the person listed as "writer" in the liner notes?

Going back and tying this in with 'technical ability'...if inspiration strikes - a riff pops in your head - do you have the technical ability to play the riff or melody on a musical instrument? Yes? Then that's all that matters, really.

That snippet that was released a couple of weeks ago sounded intriguing. I hope the album is good. Not getting my hopes up too high though.

A question: Does anyone else think that Soundgarden is a terrible 'live' band? They've written some of my favorite songs of all time, but hearing their live performances is always a disappointment. I think it's just the way Cornell seems to usually just half-ass his voice. I dunno.

1. You Could Be Mine

2. Locomotive

3. Pretty Tied Up

4. Civil War

5. Knockin' On Heaven's Door

6. Estranged

7. Yesterdays

8. Don't Cry (Alt. Lyrics)

9. Breakdown

10. 14 Years

11. So Fine

12. My World

13. Get In The Ring

14. Shotgun Blues

They also have thousands of hours of unreleased video footage from the Classic line up. I bet Axl sits on that to the grave. I bet Adler, Duff, Slash, Izzy would release it tomorrow if they could get Axl's agreement, which won't get as Axl would claim that would affect the current bands chances.

This is the footage for the, what was then planned, documentary, right?

I almost want this more than the songs.

If what some have said is true - that during this period (UYI tours) Axl was in full-on Diva mode, and having all those lavish "theme" parties after shows that were eating through tour profits - parties which no one else in the band really wanted (so they say) - then I imagine this would be a big reason Axl doesn't want the footage to be released. It would just solidify the image of him that many people have. An image that, for most of the time Old Guns were together, is probably not that accurate.

Would be so interesting to see though.

1. Welcome to the Jungle

2. You Could Be Mine

3. Coma

4. Locomotive

5. Mr. Brownstone

6. Pretty Tied Up

7. November Rain

8. Paradise City

Well, in TV, ad money is king, and the band was sure to bring in lots of that due to the, what was probably quite unique, very broad appeal.

Like, you could be a 15 year old boy and think they were bad-ass rockers, and your little sister could like them because she thought Axl was dreamy, and it didn't really matter.

Maybe that was part of it.

Been a while since I read Slash's book, but I think it is the one that I enjoyed most. I particularly enjoy hearing about the writing creating of songs, and Slash had some great stuff in regards to that.

The stuff in Steven's book about sexual abuse...I did not see that coming. Poor guy.

I was going to say that it's also interesting to hear different people recount the same event, and how drastically different the accounts can be...but I can't think of any specific incidents of this between the three books atm. But, speaking of which, anybody who also diggs the whole alt/grunge rock scene of the early nineties will love the book Everybody Loves Our town. The author interviewed a bunch of people (separately - one at at time) from that scene, then combined all of the quotes into a sort of linear cohesive narrative. Like, if so and so happened to be say something about a specific time Kurt Cobain was taking drugs, he'll then follow that up with someone else's quote detailing the same incident, and the two are often totally contradictory. Kind of a neat reminder about how "history" really works.

There's also a fair bit in the book about Axl, and some on Duff too. I think the woman's name was Bree Leventhal? She was a rep for Geffen...or something like that. She talks a lot about Axl. One story I remember is something about the two of them talking on the phone and her feeling that Axl could sort of psychically get into hear head, or something like that.

Now, I think it's fantastic. When it came out, I had a different opinion. I was in my early teens and didn't really understand the concept of a cover song. "Wait...these are songs other bands did originally? What's the point of that? Why don't they just release another album with songs that are as unbelievably awesome as what's on UYI and AFD?

I've been listening to it quite a lot lately, particularly "Human Being" and "Hair of the Dog". On the latter, I always wish Axl's vocals at the end of the song were higher up in the mix. Like @ 3:16 of the song - Now you're messin' with this other biiiittttch (in perfect Axl "demon" voice).

To my ears, with a few, brief, momentary exceptions, Axl's voice, at every show since the 2001 re-emerging, has had the Mickey Mouse thang (or some other variant) going on. Even the shows where people say "Hey, Axl's got his voice back! Check out this clip, it's great!", I still hear it and kinda cock my head to the side thinking "No, this isn't quite right". But that's just me!

It sucks, but what can you do. I think the guy is the greatest (and most interesting) rock n' roll performer of all time, and the old Guns' albums will never leave my ipod.