Chinese Democracy - PLATINUM

[HowlinWolf]

Platinum, for this record, doesn't mean SHIT. The album was a FLOP. With the buzz and anticipation it should have easily gone 10x platinum.

Yeah, Axl and Best Buy didnt promote it. Big Deal. This was arguably most anticipated record of all time. Fucking 15 years in the making, everyone and there mother was waiting for it to come out. The problem was and still is that it doesn't sound like the Guns n Roses we all grew up with. Forget the new band members and all that shit. This album didn't sound like GNR progressing, it sounded like a totally different band, and most GNR fans didnt give a shit. Many of those who bought the album were looking for a modern and updated version of classics like "You Could be Mine" and "Welcome to the Jungle", instead we got some substandard generic radio rock. The album is shit, in my opinion. This is why Death Magnetic sold 5 times the amount and Metallica is in the middle of an ultra succesful tour. ACDC has gone 4 times platinum with Black Ice and this summer they were filling FOOTBALL stadiums in the US. I am also a fan of these bands and wasnt anticipating these albums like I was Chinese Democracy. I enjoyed both these albums, two of my favorites progressing, I hated Chinese Democracy. It was generic garbage.

You guys need to give it up and just enjoy Appetite, Illusions, Lies and hearing the songs live. Whether it Velvet Revolver or GNR, but quit trying to love this album. It's vapid, souless and lacking everything that made this band the greatest American rock band ever.

Nobody knew about Chinese Democracy except the hard-core fans like us and the underwhelming single, Chinese Democracy, turned off casual rock listeners. Had their been proper promotion and a great single released at first(with a video), like There Was a Time, the album would have done so much better. Also think the Best Buy exclusive hurt the album. This album has plenty of heart and soul. Great lyrics, great guitar and perfect vocals...what more could you ask for? Chinese Democracy is so much better than those AC/DC and Metallica albums, it's not even funny. In fact, Chinese Democracy is the best album of the 2000's. You wanna talk about "vapid, souless and generic", well those words describe the new AC/DC and Metallica albums perfectly! Those albums overall are terrible but they sold well cause of heavy promotion, having the best song from the album released as the first single with a music video and touring as the album is released.

everyone knew CD was coming out... Axl may not have promoted it but they were playing the entire album from front to back on major radio stations. The biggest stations were also hosting listening parties.. The problem is that the people that were still left didn't like what they heard. The album didn't sell a million copies.. A million were shipped and Best Buy got screwed.. The whole think would have been recieved better as an Axl solo record.. People wouldn't compare it to other GnR records and it would have stood on it's own for what it was..

For what it was worth, CD was my favorite song on the disc too.. One of the only songs I liked..

[ashbalove]

bottom line is: chinese democracy didn't debut #1. and since november 2008, it's still yet to hit #1. yet, axl thinks secret gigs with his fashion buddies is cool

man what a crybaby are you, all your posts are like this

and you're ignorant, there are many countries where cd DID debut #1 or became #1

those are the countries that aren't fucked up by lil' wayne and beyonce or whatever

the only album chart that matters is the top 200 billboard album chart

[Anahzul]

You guys need to give it up and just enjoy Appetite, Illusions, Lies and hearing the songs live. Whether it Velvet Revolver or GNR, but quit trying to love this album. It's vapid, souless and lacking everything that made this band the greatest American rock band ever.

But Chinese Democracy has beautiful songs. I like it

[karlossacanell]

You guys need to give it up and just enjoy Appetite, Illusions, Lies and hearing the songs live. Whether it Velvet Revolver or GNR, but quit trying to love this album. It's vapid, souless and lacking everything that made this band the greatest American rock band ever.

But Chinese Democracy has beautiful songs. I like it

It´s a great album. It has killer songs, half tempo songs, ballads, a bit for everybody ...

[ashbalove]

You guys need to give it up and just enjoy Appetite, Illusions, Lies and hearing the songs live. Whether it Velvet Revolver or GNR, but quit trying to love this album. It's vapid, souless and lacking everything that made this band the greatest American rock band ever.

But Chinese Democracy has beautiful songs. I like it

It´s a great album. It has killer songs, half tempo songs, ballads, a bit for everybody ...

i just checked the only album the music industry cares about which is the top 200 billboard album chart. the new guns n roses record 'chinese democracy' is nowhere to be found. it's not on this chart. but guns n roses 'greatest hits' is #105 this week. how embarrassing. yeah. a bit for everybody. bullshit

[HowlinWolf]

It´s a great album. It has killer songs, half tempo songs, ballads, a bit for everybody ...

I have been a fan of all Axl's past music. I like two songs on CD,,, Totally expected a better product..

[ashbalove]

chinese democracy record, the record axl didn't promote, is not on the top 200 billboard album chart. but guns n roses greatest hits still is and bon jovi too LOL

[gnr-dave]

chinese democracy record, the record axl didn't promote, is not on the top 200 billboard album chart. but guns n roses greatest hits still is and bon jovi too LOL

The GH album was not promoted either.

[Nikos Zarkadas]

i liked the album.It wa not perfect or like the''old days'' but who cares.

[amacfantasy]

The GH album was not promoted either.

Yea it was, by the 20 years of history surrounding those songs before its release

Edited February 23, 2010 by amacfantasy

[trqster]

Most people buy mainstream music from "fashionable" bands, as was Gn'R in their heyday. Now they're simply unknown to most people and forgotten by others. Too much time has gone by without any albums...

The only way to measure fairly CD album success against its predecessors imo would have been if it was released some 14 years ago or so. That's just the way it is.

Edited February 23, 2010 by trqster

[Blunoze]

I think the fact that Appetite sold over 15 million in the time it took Chinese to sell a million, pretty much nails down the public opinion of both records. All the promotion in the world can't make it a better album than what it is. If people hear something and want to hear more, they will find it. You don't have to shove it down their throats. We will never know if the old line up could have produced an album that was any better, it might even have ended up worse for all we know.

For as much as I enjoy certain songs on Chinese, it can only be considered as a failure in comparison to the other studio albums. Its been the slowest selling, and will no doubt end up the lowest selling GNR studio record of all time. I don't buy all the 'downloading has killed it' crap. All you needed was a two deck tape recorder for the early albums!

Lets hope the next album can take GNR back up to where they should be. And for now, lets enjoy the tours.

[Gibbz]

Congrats Guns! Any time someone bitches over hairstyle, guitarperformance etc. under so called "news", link them to this 3 page document. Wow!

You say that as though Axl did all that by himself and that same band that earned all that is still together.

What the fuck ..

You guys need to give it up and just enjoy Appetite, Illusions, Lies and hearing the songs live. Whether it Velvet Revolver or GNR, but quit trying to love this album. It's vapid, souless and lacking everything that made this band the greatest American rock band ever.

But Chinese Democracy has beautiful songs. I like it

How about you don't speak for everyone? Thanks.

I think it's genuinely great, clearly different then their past sound .. Which doesn't make it unworthy.

[AxlCorp]

Chinese Democracy will sell 20 million copies ...eventually....if not, I got mine, that's all that counts! (hugging cd cover right now)

[Guest Apollo]

All those things have nothing to do with the quality of the album

The fact you are so hung up on it . . . . shows that you are just an Axl-hater whose sole purpose on this board is to insult Axl. Hate to burst your bubble, but this isn't 1988 or 1993 anymore. Guns n Roses aren't the biggest band in the world anymore.

How many copies an album sold, an interview with Kurt Loder or being in Rolling Stone has NOTHING to do with the quality of the album. Only 14 year old girls care about stuff like that.

Shame that in your mind the ACTUAL MUSIC is the least important thing. Pathetic that you judge an album by how many copies it sells. The new Jonas brothers album will sell several million copies. They will appear on every show possible. Does that mean it's a GOOD album?????

Axl got 14 million dollars to release the album.

GnR is touring.

GnR released a kick-ass album.

How exactly did Axl fail??????

And the best thing is that if YOU don't like how Axl operates . . . . there are a million other bands out there for you to listen to. Go listen to Velvet Revolver. I'm sure they will have a new singer soon. Or Nickleback!!! They sell millions, they do all the late night shows, they are in ROlling Stone magazine..... because those things are important to bands like Nickleback. I respect Axl more for NOT doing all that promotional bullshit.

And in case you forgot. Axl can do whatever the fuck he wants to do. You seem to have forgotten that it is HIS life - not yours. If you don't like how he does thing, don't support him.

Axl cares about the music. Douchebags like you care about everything BUT the music.

And stop acting like YOU speak for the majority of the rock world. You, gnr-dave and a few others on here love to rip chinese democracy and Axl at every step. But YOU do not speak for most GnR fans. I've seen GnR twice in the last decade and both shows were awesome. I absolutely love Chinese Democracy and still listen to it almost daily. Music is for each individual person to decide if they like it or not. STOP ACTING like you speak for 90% of GnR fans, because you don't.

Go listen to a band that you enjoy. Pretty simple.

(OH, AND IT'S PRETTY SIMPLE YOU ARE A cupcake WHO IS JUST TRYING TO GET A PUBLIC FORUM REACTION FROM AXL).

Edited February 25, 2010 by Apollo

[oki]

ı wonder why people still bashing chinese democracy ...ıt has sold more than 3 million copies all through the world..went platinium in both us and europe...12'th best selling album of 2008...triple platinium in canada....certificated gold or platinium almost every countries of the world...debuted no.1 in 13 countries....and people still bashıng...ıt's lıke a joke...people still compare it with appetite album..ıt's not 80's or 90's anymore..ı don't thınk there's more artıst left ,that they can sold 3 million copies worldwide thesedays...

[Atlas Shrugged]

I think the fact that Appetite sold over 15 million in the time it took Chinese to sell a million, pretty much nails down the public opinion of both records. All the promotion in the world can't make it a better album than what it is. If people hear something and want to hear more, they will find it. You don't have to shove it down their throats. We will never know if the old line up could have produced an album that was any better, it might even have ended up worse for all we know.

For as much as I enjoy certain songs on Chinese, it can only be considered as a failure in comparison to the other studio albums. Its been the slowest selling, and will no doubt end up the lowest selling GNR studio record of all time. I don't buy all the 'downloading has killed it' crap. All you needed was a two deck tape recorder for the early albums!

Lets hope the next album can take GNR back up to where they should be. And for now, lets enjoy the tours.

oh please 15 million copies in a year? even if that were true, I BEG YOU to find an album released this side of 2000 that has sold 10 million copies in a year let alone 15 million( as you're claiming)

to compare the sales of appetite to chinese democracy in determining which album is 'better', is as absurd as your are stupid, and you're very fucking stupid.

Edited February 25, 2010 by Atlas Shrugged

[Blunoze]

I think the fact that Appetite sold over 15 million in the time it took Chinese to sell a million, pretty much nails down the public opinion of both records. All the promotion in the world can't make it a better album than what it is. If people hear something and want to hear more, they will find it. You don't have to shove it down their throats. We will never know if the old line up could have produced an album that was any better, it might even have ended up worse for all we know.

For as much as I enjoy certain songs on Chinese, it can only be considered as a failure in comparison to the other studio albums. Its been the slowest selling, and will no doubt end up the lowest selling GNR studio record of all time. I don't buy all the 'downloading has killed it' crap. All you needed was a two deck tape recorder for the early albums!

Lets hope the next album can take GNR back up to where they should be. And for now, lets enjoy the tours.

oh please 15 million copies in a year? even if that were true, I BEG YOU to find an album released this side of 2000 that has sold 10 million copies in a year let alone 15 million( as you're claiming)

to compare the sales of appetite to chinese democracy in determining which album is 'better', is as absurd as your are stupid, and you're very fucking stupid.

Er, its on the Riaa (Recording Industry Association of America) official website. And Shania Twain also did it in 2003 with 'Up!' Now who is very fucking stupid?

[Guest Apollo]

Fucking pathetic that some people judge the success of an album by how many copies it sells, or by how many magazine interviews the band does.

The music is all you should care about.

[PappyTron]

Fucking pathetic that some people judge the success of an album by how many copies it sells, or by how many magazine interviews the band does.

The music is all you should care about.

Whilst the quality of the music is the cornerstone, the sale also have a huge effect on the future output of the music. If the sales are huge then the band is more likely to consider releasing new material. Conversely, if the sales suck (which, relatively speaking, is the case) then the band, or Axl if we are being honest, are more likely to go into hiding or take another 15 years.

[LLL]

The ironic part about the ones who say CD selling 1 million in USA and 3-5 million worldwide, with little to no promotion is a faillure (which it definitely is not these days or 10 years ago even), is this;

They are the same ones whom when Velvet Revolver sold a couple of hundred thousand copies worldwide with massive promotion, (promoting it from Letterman to Ellen, touring heavily, spamming all radio and TV stations, popular internet sites with gimmicks, releasing games, etc.), were saying sales figures do not matter and everyone mentioning the (real) poor sales were cupcakes who do not understand what music is about, and how the music industry sucks and people do not listen to 'real' music.

They should look in the mirror more before typing hypocritical nonsense. Their opinion does not mean one thing because of this fact.

Second, if sales figures and appearances on different media dictate your enjoyment of music, I feel sorry for you.

Third, the sales figures of CD are very strong, especially in this age, no matter how some butthurt individual tries to spin it.

[Sweersa]

The ironic part about the ones who say CD selling 1 million in USA and 3-5 million worldwide, with little to no promotion is a faillure (which it definitely is not these days or 10 years ago even), is this;

They are the same ones whom when Velvet Revolver sold a couple of hundred thousand copies worldwide with massive promotion, (promoting it from Letterman to Ellen, touring heavily, spamming all radio and TV stations, popular internet sites with gimmicks, releasing games, etc.), were saying sales figures do not matter and everyone mentioning the (real) poor sales were cupcakes who do not understand what music is about, and how the music industry sucks and people do not listen to 'real' music.

They should look in the mirror more before typing hypocritical nonsense. Their opinion does not mean one thing because of this fact.

Second, if sales figures and appearances on different media dictate your enjoyment of music, I feel sorry for you.

Third, the sales figures of CD are very strong, especially in this age, no matter how some butthurt individual tries to spin it.

Well said.

[Blunoze]

Fucking pathetic that some people judge the success of an album by how many copies it sells, or by how many magazine interviews the band does.

The music is all you should care about.

Whilst the quality of the music is the cornerstone, the sale also have a huge effect on the future output of the music. If the sales are huge then the band is more likely to consider releasing new material. Conversely, if the sales suck (which, relatively speaking, is the case) then the band, or Axl if we are being honest, are more likely to go into hiding or take another 15 years.

Purple Aki???

[PappyTron]

Fucking pathetic that some people judge the success of an album by how many copies it sells, or by how many magazine interviews the band does.

The music is all you should care about.

Whilst the quality of the music is the cornerstone, the sale also have a huge effect on the future output of the music. If the sales are huge then the band is more likely to consider releasing new material. Conversely, if the sales suck (which, relatively speaking, is the case) then the band, or Axl if we are being honest, are more likely to go into hiding or take another 15 years.

Purple Aki???

Yes. Can I feel your biceps?

[RichardNixon]

this has been discussed so many times already, the reason why Chinese Democracy didn't sell was because of illegal downloads, lack of promotion, lack of single, lack of music video, and a recession, its quite a long list isn't it? Oh and how about the fact that no one is interested in Axl and is so called band of hired Guns.

The real reason is because Slash is not in the band and fans thought the album sucked.

That is why the CD songs were played on the radio for a few months then we never heard them again.

If the album was good in fans eyes and radio DJ eyes, the songs would still be heard on the radio but they are not.

It does not matter what a few thousand fans think of these message boards it matters what people in the real world thing.

The thing I wonder if these songs were VR songs and not Axl songs would people still think the album is so great.

Im guessing NO, CD is a good album, but not great. It could have much better if released back in 2002, the songs are too dated for 2008 when it was released.

It would have been much better received back in 2002

The songs are "dated" for 2008 but not 2002? How does that make any sense at all?

And btw, fans on message boards are actual people in the "real world."

I don't see Pearl Jam/KISS/Alice In Chains/Def Leppard/Nine Inch Nails fans bitch more than people like you, despite the fact that new music from the aforementioned bands don't sell nearly as well as the music from the peak of their popularity.

Edited February 26, 2010 by RichardNixon