Sisyphus

Underwhelmed. I got into GN'R in the late 90's during the release of Oh My God, Live Era, Axl's interview with Kurt Loder. There were rumblings of a new band with a guy from The Replacements playing bass and Robin Finck on guitar, 50 songs recorded and whatnot. As a teenager I had huge expectations and I really felt like Axl was going to take the world by storm. But it never happened.

The early 00's were cool with all the mystery and the general belief among fans that big things our coming our way. I was always a massive Axl fan and I felt like he had been betrayed by the former bandmates but he didn't do himself any favors by proving to the world he was actually the problem.

Instead of a strong comeback single they put out Oh My God which is a very cool track but then Axl went on to claim it was actually just a demo. After tinkering with it for years you end up releasing half-finished song on a weak-ass movie as the first originral GN'R single since UYI. Seriously?

The Vegas and Rio shows gave them some momentum but what followed was a canceled European tour and more of the same, two low key Vegas shows, the out of breath VMA fiasco, NA Tour marred with cancelations, riots, no albums in sight, no singles. 

Axl had the most amazing band at his disposal but never truly allowed those guys to become a "band". He never gave them a chance to be accepted because the whole thing had to be shrouded in secrecy and nobody could say a word about potential plans and releases. Those guys never had a chance with the lack of music, videos and media exposure. Axl never stood by his new band or helped them gain acceptance in any way. Instead he let them fight their own battles and ended up losing everyone from Buckethead to Robin Finck to Josh Freese to Brain.

The 2006 comeback was huge. Axl was finally back on track, image wise he found his niche, his voice was strong, the album was supposedly coming. It could've turned into something great but it didn't of course. 

The bothced release of Chinese was the last nail. There was no promotion due to Axl bickering with the label, Finck was gone only to be replaced by a Motley Crue reject. GN'R officially became a punchline. There was some fire left in 2009/2010 but from 2011 it became a full on cash-grab, Axl going through the motions, Vegas residencies and such. 

Axl lost his edge, image became stale with silly rock-star cliches, no new music on the horizon, faceless members of a supposed "GN'R" playing to smaller and smaller crowds until Axl had no other choice but to reunite.

Despite some enjoybale moments, GN'R brand was dragged through the mud by poor management and awful decisions accross the board. 

The new GNR is case of what could have been.

I'm not surprised. Nikki already made it known he's interested last year when he said a GN'R/Motley tour would destroy the world. I have nothing against Motley Crue. I actually like a lot of their songs and own a few of their albums.

That being said, Vince Neil is a gigantic douche and Nikki is a pathological liar. I can't think of anyone that has less integrity than Nikki. He will rewrite history, lie, cheat, manipulate and everything in between. And the craziest part is that when he gets called out on his blatant lies, instead of owning up he goes on the attack and makes it personal while trying to detract attention from the lie that started it all. Insane. Nikki's autobiography is make-believe and so is their movie The Dirt. They're liars through and through. And Tommy is just a little boy in a man's body. The whole Mick Mars saga exposed them for what they are. Greedy, lying and manipulative. I hope GN'R stay away from them.

I wouldn't say better than Chinese but certainly not far behind it. What a record Ain't Life Grand is! Far superior to It's Five O'Clock Somewhere for me. I go back and forth whether Contraband or Ain't Life Grand is the best Slash's post GN'R album. I'd lean towards Contraband bacause I absolutely love Scott Weiland but man Rod Jackson was the shit. I wish they had done more together.

Prime Axl is untouchable as a singer and a perfomer. The greatest of all time. Coolness personified.

July 1999.  I felt an instant connection. After just a few days of listening to Use Your Illusion 2 I proclaimed Guns N' Roses to be my favourite band. 24 years later and it is still my favourite band.

On 12/16/2023 at 6:04 PM, ShadowOfTheWave said:

Plenty of people who hate the song also gave it a proper listen.

That may be the case but I seriously doubt it. Not because I think this song cannot be "hated" or "disliked" but because people who are quick to criticise and denounce others people's artistic work and make hyperbole claims in the commentary sections don't really strike as the kind of people who would give it a few proper spins to see if they're missing something and determine it's value more consciously.

I generally get the impression that becasue the song doesn't gratify them instantly it has to be "worst song ever released".  But I feel like the positivity towards the song is gaining steam and deservingly so, IMO.

Universal backlash my ass. I see a lot of people attempting to create this narrative that "everyone hates" The General but all I see is a bunch of knee jerk reactions and then a whole lot of people who actually gave it a proper listen or two and appreciate the song. A lot of positive comments as well.

The nonsense posted on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter is totally insignficant to a brand of GN'R proportions. 

Perhaps but Monsters will overtake it once it gets released.

I love Hard Skool, Absurd and The General as well. I hope they do State of Grace and Atlas Shrugged next. And release Monsters ASAP. Just keep 'em coming. I don't care during which sessions those songs were conceived and who played on what, I just want more GN'R music. 

58 minutes ago, Stay.Of.Execution said:

Where are those stories from? My PayPal is still intact

I think it was reddit.

Has anyone ordered the CD from that Japanese website? I've read stories how people were scammed by the site and how they increased the shipping costs once the item had been paid. Someone even claimed that his PayPal was hacked after buying from that website.  

I want the CD. It's also avaliable for preorder on ebay but it is more expensive there. 

So let me get this straight. She wanted to have sex with Axl but ended up sucking Riki's dick? Ooopsie. Then she heard Axl being abusive towards that other girl but still decided to stick around. Then she was dragged accross the floor violently and Axl proceeded to fuck her but she didn't actually say 'no' or try to make him stop because she was "weirdly enough, okay with this"? Then after being supposedly 'raped' she sucked his dick voluntarily and then proceeded to cuddle with him until the morning. And then bam, 34 years later she would like some sort of settlement for it? Seems legit.

42 minutes ago, Towelie said:

My World?

Love it. I wish it was longer though. 

It would be cool if they put together an album of new material and then offer these Chinese era left-over tracks they've done so far and will do in the future as a deluxe edition bonus disc. Wishful thinking I know.

15 hours ago, adamsapple said:

Hard Skool - with a bit more heart and attention to detail, this could have been a GREAT one, but the ‘copy, paste, repeat‘ way they put this together gives it a bit of a plastic pop flavor. Still my favourite from the leftovers though, even though the musical theme somehow reminds me of „Dead Horse“ from UYI 1.

Perhaps - love that Carole King style piano riff - but again: copy, paste, repeat. Why? This one screams for a rock and roll piano solo, but instead it got some rather uninspired guitaring. I mean that’s SLASH right there on stage, right? Will you please give the motherfucker a few bars more to actually play some fucking guitar for fucks sake?

The General - dark I can reflect, but this one’s going nowhere for me. No release, no climax...or maybe I just don’t get it. I feel this song comes from an honest place and I respect that, but everytime he sings „Daddy don’t…“ a part of my soul just shuts off. Times are dark enough already. Survivors don’t whine. They inspire and lead by example. Back to the drawing board I would have said. Needs a twist, a moral, a conclusion, something...anything. I understand it's just a b-side, but given the topic I think this one deserves more and better in the composition and songwriting department.

Absurd – are you listening to me mister security guard? That song – gone!

Monsters – jury’s still out on this one, waiting for the official release and a live performance. But so far, this one sounds promising.

Five „new“ songs in and still no guitar solo that gets me excited, makes me close my eyes, bang my head, tap my foot, drive too fast, drink too much or grab my guitar and pretend I’m a rockstar. Where’s the soul? Where’s the spirit?

Stop messing around with copy and paste in Pro Tools. Stop contemplating your fucking „gear“ and „tone“ and get to the actual matter of things. It's GNR for fucks sake not some hipster bullshit band. Give me some proper guitar solos that make my jaw drop you lazy old farts.

I really want a new album but if it sounds anything like these „new“ songs, I won't be running to buy it. I'm happy they do perform "new" songs in concert and release them. I just hope none of them ends up on a future album, at least not in their current form or shape.

Whatever happened to the art of songwriting.

Thoughts?

I love your review and the analytical approach but I personally absolutely love everything they've done so far. I do wish there was more variety in terms of verses in Perhaps and Monsters. The General too. I've always felt the verses are the strongest part of Axl's songwriting. I'm not bothered by the guitar work but it maybe isn't as memorable as it could have been. 

I'll be really disappointed if Perhaps, The General and Monsters appear on vinyl only. I want all of these songs on a CD. Including Hard Skool and Absurd. I have the EP but I would really love to have all of those songs on one disc.

I don't get the Absurd hate. I personally really love that song. I'd love it if they experimented more with that kind of sound. Any sound really. There's just something magical in those Guns N' Roses songs for me. I keep reading people saying "this is filler or that is filler" or "I don't like this song and that song". I respect that, don't get me wrong. But for me they're all great. There's not a single GN'R song I dislike.

I love it. LOVE IT! Been listening to both songs over and over again. I can't wait for the official release. I want more, more, more. 

1 hour ago, Stay.Of.Execution said:

"i don't like the n-word"

"you're a snowflake"

 

it's a great song nonetheless, despite its flaws

That's why the n-word remains such a trigger. Because we continue to put emphasis on it and give it more value than it deserves.

I'm indifferent to the word n-word in that context. It's irrelevant to me. Like calling someone a jerk or an idiot. Or a chink. Who cares? I'm small time white boy myself. Mexicans might even call me a gringo at first glance. Don't give a shit. 

I wouldn't call a black person the n-word if I felt that it would offend them. But I have zero problem with Axl using that word in that particular context. I think that people who make a big fuss out of it pretty much represent everything that is wrong with being "woke".

Edit: I wrote ni***r in my original post and it changed to 'hooray for tolerance'... Cracked me up.   But funnily enough there's no substitute for chink or gringo.. Woke in a nutshell.

On 1/8/2023 at 1:53 PM, SoulMonster said:

Again, if I remember correctly, your argument was that the governments used the pandemic to impose restrictions they had no intention to lift when the pandemic was over. You were wrong. Except for China, it seems like most if not all countries have lessened restrictions as a result of people becoming vaccinated. Like I said they would. 

And it is because people have been vaccinated, or been offered to get vaccinated, that "the thing has run its course". Granted, media would likely have written less about it regardless because they do tire of subjects after a while, and it hasn't really "run its course" from an epidemiological perspective since people keep dying from it (although here in Norway only the very weak/old). 

The "experimental potion" is not experimental since it went through rigorous testing before (emergency) approval was granted. You cannot simply keep lying about this and hope reality changes to reflect your opinion. That's not how the world works. You don't have that power. 

As for whether the vaccines had anything to do with whether the disease run its course or not: If you by "run its course" mean that countries came to a point where it was little reason to impose restrictions because people had the offer to get protected through inoculation, then yes, of course the vaccines were the result of that. We could have got to that point without vaccines, too, but then more people would have died and it might have taken longer. 

As for what country "won" (as if this was a competition): That's impossible to say unless we agree on the criteria to use. If we just look at number of Covid-19 related deaths per capita, then I am sure Sweden didn't "win". Besides, you cannot compare countries like this because every country had a different situation, had their own peculiar circumstances. Countries with large cities would logically do less well because social distancing is harder; countries where people fear/distrust governments would logically do less well because it would be harder to get people to get inoculated; etc etc. This is way too complicated for simplistic explanations and comparisons.

The restrictions have been lifted for the most part but the blueprint has been worked out in full detail. 

We're obviously not going to see it eye to eye. But it continues to amaze how you disregard the consequences these past events have had on people in every possible aspect. 

For you it's all about the number of deaths and vaccination rates. And you take every percentage in regards to deaths, "preventable" deaths, and vaccine efficiency at vace value as long as you deem the source credible. But the only credible sources in your eyes are the institutions and private corporations that have been running the show and profited the most from the whole endeavor. 

The percentages in regards to vaccine protection (meaning transmission, chance of developing severe symptoms, duration of protection, efficiency of boosters, etc.) have VARIED greatly. We have been served a monumental amount of different calculations by differenent research facilites as to how effective this potion really is. There are even jokes floating around the internet how the official narrative in regards to level of protection of vaccines changed from one week to another. I'm just calling it like it is.

But if the vaccine is indeed the "saviour", shouldn't countries with lower vaccine rates experience more urges? As early as mid 2021 Forbes reported that four of the five most vaccinated countries are experiencing surges. In my country less than 60% of people are fully vaccinated and covid hasn't been a thing for a while now. No complants in regards to hospitals, no apocalypse whatsoever. And yet China with their 90%+ vaccination rate is facing surges. And China is not an isolated case.

I believe the total lockdowns were a huge mistake (China has gone to extremes and it is backfiring) and the vaccine is just partly (and I'm being generous here) effective.

For the record, I don't think the vaccines didn't do any good. I don't think that vaccines are poison, a tracking device or a plot to murder me in the long run. I don't!

What I do believe though, it that vaccine protection has been overstated and that the vaccine strategy should target vulnerable groups exclusively instead of trying to intimidate the entire population and forcing people to get vaccinated out of fear of losing their freedom, jobs and livelihood.

Peace out.

Snowflakes disliking One In A Million because Axl used a word...  One In A Million is awesome through and through. 

Anything Goes (but I would prefer to keep Anything Goes and replace You're Crazy with Shadow Of Your Love because You're Crazy acoustic is just so much better)
Mama Kin (mainly because I think it's un unecessary cover)
Bad Apples (probably)
My World (I still love it though)
I Don't Care About You (the verses don't do much for me)
Scraped (why did they have to do that?)

48 minutes ago, NicoRourke said:

I thought he looked fanstastic in 2006, never understand what happened afterwards when he resurfaced later for nuGNR tours or his current look. I understand the man is 61 and I'm not judging, I just don't understand what lead to this.

He did look much better in 2006 but still rather unnatural if you watch him closely. I understand that he's 61 as well, I don't want to be judgemental here, but to me he doesn't old but rather weird.

He looked like himself in 1999 and almost unrecognizable in 2000. It's shocking that he felt he needed some work done at the age of 37, 38. He was so young. Ah well.

Great picture. It's mind-boggling to me that Axl looked very much like Axl all the way up until he resurfaced on the scene looking like a fucking alien after doing god knows what to his face. And he has never recovered since. It's so unfortunate he went down that road but he's the one that has to live with it so who am I to judge ...
 

On 12/19/2022 at 4:31 PM, Atlas19 said:

No jewelcase as far as I know

On 12/19/2022 at 11:02 PM, Free Bird said:

Exactly what I bought. 20€ for each.

Thank you for the response. That's a shame. I guess digipak will have to do.

On 12/19/2022 at 1:05 PM, SoulMonster said:

It is only natural that the media gets fatigue from talking about one single subject that has dominated the news for such a long time. Also as most people have been vaccinated and the disease is much less of a concern (although, old people keep dying, of course).

 

It isn't a "another version of the flu" both because it isn't technically a flu virus and because it was so much more deadly than the seasonal flu.

 

Cases of what? Here in Norway I think the number of infections have increased a lot because we have stopped wearing facial masks and stopped socially distancing. But it's okay, because almost everyone is well protected through vaccinations and previous infections. We have managed to lower the mortality rate substantially and we don't have to impose various restrictions any more. On that topic, can you remember that you argued fiercely that the social restrictions would be kept even as the disease become less deadly? Well, you were obviously wrong.

As for cases of mortality, people still die from Covid-19 here in Norway, but now only those that are weak and old. 

The delusion is high with this one. Compliant and steerable like there's no tomorrow. Just the way they like it.  

The restrictions aren't imposed because the thing has run it's course. And I mean run it's course in a sense how long can you bombard and instill fear in people before the rationality prevails.

It's the same in countries with low and high vaccination rate. Your experimental potion has very little to do with it. If at all.

Covid-19 has always been dangerous to - to use your own words - weak and the old.

Sweden won.

I have a question if anyone can help. I'm only interested in buying two CD versions of both UYI 1 & 2 with a remastered edition and live material. Are those avaliable in jewel cases? So far I've only seen digipak versions.

Well? It is mind blowing how the dangers of covid-19 dissipated once it was removed from under the microscope and the media moved on to other things.

The fear campaign has run it's course and people are no longer interested. But covid-19 didn't disappear. There are huge number of people still getting infected each day and there are many casualties directly or indirectly connected with the disease. But there's no apocalypse. 

I don't believe the countires with lower vaccination rates are still facing lockdowns. Would be interesting to know if the surges around the globe are even related to vaccinaton rates... I'm guessing not so much. 

Once the magnifying glass was removed covid-19 became what it always had been - another version of the flu with a striking name and the most elaborate marketing strategy the world has ever seen. 

Of course the believers will claim the number of cases is significantly lower than it was a year ago. Fair enough. But how many people are actually getting tested?

Alarming numbers are easy to produce as long as you shove a cotton-tipped plastic swab into every nose on the planet.