BingBing

Wait until my father hears about this, Potter!

It pains me to say this as a lifelong fan of 30-years but the song really still does nothing for me and the video needs to come with a warning label - 'may cause nausea, motion sickness, epilepsy and despondency'. But, I do hope it does well. It's just not for me, personally speaking.

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but each time I hear the song I immediately think of David Bowie. Not sure if it's Axl's vocal delivery or the structure of the song (maybe both?) but it sounds like GNR covering a Bowie bootleg. 'Perhaps' it's just me

What the future of GNR is versus what I'd like it to be are probably two opposing different things. For so long I just wanted to see Slash and Axl back on stage again and I find remind myself regularly of this fact and I'd rather have them 'active' than not at all. Even if that does mean just as a touring band and nothing else. I sure would miss them if they just faded away into obscurity. I also remind myself that the band has always been dysfunctional from the very start (it was practically their branding!) and although you'd be forgiven to think that time and maturity would provide a more substantial grounding for them, I guess old habits die hard. Hence why my expectations for a new album are constantly in check. As for the future. Just having them around and being able to follow each gig on here and appreciate them is where I'm at, personally. The dream would, of course, be to have a new album but honestly I don't sense that will come but I hope I'm proved wrong. Having some new tracks once in a while would be a 'nice-to-have' but if I want that to happen then I do set myself up for possible disappointment. So right now, I think they'll probably do shorter tours as of 2024 and keep the engine running. To me, GNR are like Christmas. 30-years ago it was magic, but seeing as we've all grown up and life goes on, it's still good but trying to recapture that original feeling is pretty much impossible for me personally but I'm still grateful to have a watered down version so to speak. Sometimes reality and expectations don't align and I'm cool with that.

When I was 12-years old, way back in 1992 [insert despairing tears here] my obsession with GNR achieved a new level of cringe. Myself and a mate purchased bandanas and some cheap, knock off aviators and thought we looked the shit. Henceforth went into our tiny little village, rolling in thinking we were true rock n' roll stars. Suffice to say the looks we received were interesting to say the least, not to mention the looks from the old ladies on the bus. We did contemplate the cycling shorts but thankfully sensibility kicked in. Suffice to say and from that day onward we stuck to our GNR 'Bad Apples' t-shirts and toned it down. My dad still brings this up on a regular basis like parents do when they want to embarrass you 30-years later. Yesterday, holds nothing for me! Will always remember the time we jumped on our bikes too (in 1993) and cycled for five miles to the Milton Keynes Bowl just to sit outside in the pouring rain and listen to our heroes. It was like the rock version of The Goonies. Utter bliss!