Question about Axl interview quote

[uzi your illusion]

In the Feb. 28th 2009 interview with Del James on Gunsnroses.com there is an answer Axl gives that I found pretty interesting. Reading over tons of old interviews with Axl over the years there are often times little tidbits that get overlooked because of the way he delivers some of his responses. Del asks him about Slash and says "Do you think he can play guitar?" Towards the end of his answer Axl says "To me, it's sad. I don't get it. Where does it go? Is it a choice? Sometimes it's there on covers; I think Clive [Davis, legendary record executive] fell for that.

It wasn't there with me on 'Sympathy [for the Devil]' or ['The] Spaghetti [incident?'] and it took years for me to get there again, in my opinion, and in the ways I wanted it to be. Will I keep it? Who knows? I'd like to, but who can say?

The last part is what stands out to me. The "where does it go? Is it a choice?" part, talking about inspiration i would guess? I know in the letter Merck gave us years ago he talked about the "muse" that Axl would have where he would get a couple of really productive days done on recording Chinese Democracy, then just as quick it would leave again. It just seemed to me in this answer he started out talking about Slash losing his inspiration to do great work, but then leads into questioning his own desire. I really do not want it to turn into a Axl vs. Slash discussion, just curious as to how other people took this quote.

[sascha]

Yeah it's probably about the inspiration, hence the mention of the cover material, maybe they could not agree on original material around that time but wanted to put out something. I wish he'd talk more about the working process as the artificiality of CD sure is evidence of a writers block.

[uzi your illusion]

What I wouldn't give for a full length piece on strictly the writing of the album. I think it was the billboard piece where the interviewer asked Axl if some of the lyrics on Chinese Democracy were referencing the making of the album. The bit in I.R.S especially

Feelin' like I've done way more than wrong

Feelin' like I'm livin' inside of this song

Feelin' like I'm just too tired to care

Feelin' like I done more than my share

Could it be the way that I carried on

Like a broken record for so long

I would imagine for an artist to talk in depth about struggling with writers block would not be something they would enjoy talking about. I often wonder if at least part of the Chinese delay was because Axl couldn't find the inspiration that he was talking about in the quote about Slash. Thanks for the reply

[rockerman]

What I wouldn't give for a full length piece on strictly the writing of the album. I think it was the billboard piece where the interviewer asked Axl if some of the lyrics on Chinese Democracy were referencing the making of the album. The bit in I.R.S especially

Feelin' like I've done way more than wrong

Feelin' like I'm livin' inside of this song

Feelin' like I'm just too tired to care

Feelin' like I done more than my share

Could it be the way that I carried on

Like a broken record for so long

I would imagine for an artist to talk in depth about struggling with writers block would not be something they would enjoy talking about. I often wonder if at least part of the Chinese delay was because Axl couldn't find the inspiration that he was talking about in the quote about Slash. Thanks for the reply

What do you write about when all your dreams and hopes come true? When you know your set for life and your perceptions have changed. What do you write about when your not that scared misfit angry KID anymore?

You can rail and rant about your CPA not finding a tax shelter for your.. or your lawyers fees for the last bit of litigation being insane ond overtly expensive...or that record executive that threatens you with oblivion if you dont come up with a hit. You can bitch about your manager that expects 15% of all your take...

One would hope that what ever was a thorn in your side at 25 is not the same thorn in your side at 45...

[Binge_And_Slash]

Fuck, that was 2 years ago already? What have I done with my life.

[uzi your illusion]

You may be right , maybe thats why so many of the lyrics on the album are a lot more abstract and vague then on previous releases. I remember reading once about Zack Wylde hearing some stuff that Axl was working on and asking him when the lyrics would be ready. Axl said something like "if i wrote now it would only be about lawsuits and courtrooms" or something to that extent. It would be cool to know when the most productive and unproductive periods of the recording process took place , and what was to blame for each instance.

[Vincent Vega]

You may be right , maybe thats why so many of the lyrics on the album are a lot more abstract and vague then on previous releases. I remember reading once about Zack Wylde hearing some stuff that Axl was working on and asking him when the lyrics would be ready. Axl said something like "if i wrote now it would only be about lawsuits and courtrooms" or something to that extent. It would be cool to know when the most productive and unproductive periods of the recording process took place , and what was to blame for each instance.

Zakk:

"Wylde felt sorry for Axl. 'The poor fuckin' guy's got every fuckin' cunt trying to sue his ass,' Wylde says. 'I'd be on the phone with him. He'd be telling me about all these strategic moves his lawyers were making. I was listening to him playing Axis and Allies on the fuckin' phone.'" (Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

"I'd say [to Axl] 'Dude, did you come up with any lyrics yet?' And he's just like, 'Dude, I got people suing me right now.' He's on the phone with his lawyers 24-7. He was, like, 'I can't come up with any lyrics right now - they'd be about every other lawsuit I got going.'" (Spin, 07/99)"So we jammed together for just over a week, we jammed over a whole bunch of shit and came out with three pretty cool ideas." (Zakk Wylde, Kerrang!, 01/28/95)

"One of the riffs ended up on the first Black Label Society record [sonic Brew], [on the track] 'Rose-Petalled Garden'. The stuff that I wanted to do, eventually, would have been like GNR on steroids, man." (Zakk Wylde, MyGNR)

Moby:

"'I found it difficult to chart a linear development of the songs that they were working on,' recalls Moby. 'They would work on something, it would be a sketch for a while, and then they'd put it aside and go back to it a year, six months later. He became a little bit defensive when I asked him about the vocals. He just said that he was going to get to them eventually,' Moby continues." (Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

[sergiodefenders]

Other people wonder, where doeas Axl's inspiration goes during the last fuckin 15 years?. Anyway, Axl was bitter, when people is bitter, mad or upset, usually says nonsenses, well, this is that case.

Edited February 11, 2011 by sergiodefenders

[uzi your illusion]

I know Axl said in the chats here that he was never officially diagnosed as anything. Although i thought in the early 90's it was reported he was bi-polar or something close to that. I know that people who have these drastic changes in mood from time to time can go from super creative and productive to a dead stop at the drop of a hat. It may stand to reason that the letter from Merck talking about Axl's "muse" appearing and vanishing so quickly might suggest something to do with this unofficial diagnosis. For a guy who's career is based on writing new material this constant struggle of hyper creativity one minute and crippling writers block the next could keep someone constantly on the edge. Axl says in the interview i posted above "will i keep it, I hope so but who knows" , the delay between AFD and UYI might of been because of this same affliction.

[uzi your illusion]

SonofAbitch - would you agree that they've only gotten more cryptic in the last say decade. His stuff from when they broke on the scene to when the original band imploded was pretty cut and dry i thought. It might be that everything to do with the current band since it's inception in '98 has been so convoluted behind the scenes that Axl doesn't want to say one way or the other definitively. Just because he's seen so many SOLID plans turn to nothing over the years.

[Jboogie]

You may be right , maybe thats why so many of the lyrics on the album are a lot more abstract and vague then on previous releases. I remember reading once about Zack Wylde hearing some stuff that Axl was working on and asking him when the lyrics would be ready. Axl said something like "if i wrote now it would only be about lawsuits and courtrooms" or something to that extent. It would be cool to know when the most productive and unproductive periods of the recording process took place , and what was to blame for each instance.

Zakk:

"Wylde felt sorry for Axl. 'The poor fuckin' guy's got every fuckin' cunt trying to sue his ass,' Wylde says. 'I'd be on the phone with him. He'd be telling me about all these strategic moves his lawyers were making. I was listening to him playing Axis and Allies on the fuckin' phone.'" (Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

"I'd say [to Axl] 'Dude, did you come up with any lyrics yet?' And he's just like, 'Dude, I got people suing me right now.' He's on the phone with his lawyers 24-7. He was, like, 'I can't come up with any lyrics right now - they'd be about every other lawsuit I got going.'" (Spin, 07/99)"So we jammed together for just over a week, we jammed over a whole bunch of shit and came out with three pretty cool ideas." (Zakk Wylde, Kerrang!, 01/28/95)

"One of the riffs ended up on the first Black Label Society record [sonic Brew], [on the track] 'Rose-Petalled Garden'. The stuff that I wanted to do, eventually, would have been like GNR on steroids, man." (Zakk Wylde, MyGNR)

Moby:

"'I found it difficult to chart a linear development of the songs that they were working on,' recalls Moby. 'They would work on something, it would be a sketch for a while, and then they'd put it aside and go back to it a year, six months later. He became a little bit defensive when I asked him about the vocals. He just said that he was going to get to them eventually,' Moby continues." (Rolling Stone, 05/11/00)

Most of the lawsuits we're Axl's fault any damn way.

[.Seal]

Most of the lawsuits we're Axl's fault any damn way.

Please do educate us, you enlightened one.

[uzi your illusion]

You can bring a lawsuit against anyone and it doesn't necessarily have to have any merit whatsoever. Erin and Stephanie may have been put through hell or maybe they just wanted a quick payout and to drag Axl's name through the mud. Once someone has a couple of lawsuits thrown there way, even if their not guilty people always assume that the person is at fault just because there are multiple trials. You have to consider though once the ball starts rolling and people see the same guy getting hammered for every little thing then there going to jump in and kick him when hes down, figuring that he'd be more apt to settle just to clear his plate. No one knows for sure what lawsuits were his fault or not, but its careless to so easily speculate that hes automatically at fault just because these people brought up charges against him.

[bigcountry]

AFD was written about what it has taken them to get to where they are. The same can be said for CD, but it is more criptic as someone else said.

As far as the mental issues.... Bi-polar sucks and if he has it, it would explain alot. I have it and at times I can be so productive other times I can't even clean out a cabinet drawer without being overwelmed and have to stop and never go back to it. Each mood may last for as little as an hour or less and at other times it is months or somewhere in the middle, you just never know. It also took me a decade to come to terms with it enough to let even my friends know what I was going through, they just knew they would see me for a while and the next thing they knew it had been 6 months since they last seen me. It takes alot to come out and say I have a mental disorder becuase of all the baggage that comes with that label being put on you. I talk about my illness more freely when i am typing on the computer cause yall don't know me from most anyone else on this forum.

Do you think for a min. Axl would come out and say I have a mental disorder given his status and the standards that are set for him by not only us but the media and even himself.

I am not saying he has a metal problem but if he does it sure explains alot but he could just be the biggest asshole on the planet at times either way he marches to a bet of a different drumer than most people.

[uzi your illusion]

Great response BIGcountry, thanks for the insight. I hope you've gotten a handle on your situation the best you can. I remember reading once that Axl was the most honest person you could ever meet. Maybe his perception is different then others but when he tells you something he 100 percent believes it. So you could be right that if Axl had a disorder he probably wouldn't want to come out and announce it to the world. Although if anything maybe people would be more understanding of some of his more erratic behavior if he said that he was struggling with something like that.

[Fun n' Games]

This is a really nice and sensible thread, almost every single post in here is great! Congrats, uzi your illusion! Reality is a multi-dimensional thing, and if you don't just judge quickly but try to look at things from various angles, things which were a mystery before start making more sense.

AFD was written about what it has taken them to get to where they are. The same can be said for CD, but it is more criptic as someone else said.

As far as the mental issues.... Bi-polar sucks and if he has it, it would explain alot. I have it and at times I can be so productive other times I can't even clean out a cabinet drawer without being overwelmed and have to stop and never go back to it. Each mood may last for as little as an hour or less and at other times it is months or somewhere in the middle, you just never know. It also took me a decade to come to terms with it enough to let even my friends know what I was going through, they just knew they would see me for a while and the next thing they knew it had been 6 months since they last seen me. It takes alot to come out and say I have a mental disorder becuase of all the baggage that comes with that label being put on you. I talk about my illness more freely when i am typing on the computer cause yall don't know me from most anyone else on this forum.

Do you think for a min. Axl would come out and say I have a mental disorder given his status and the standards that are set for him by not only us but the media and even himself.

I am not saying he has a metal problem but if he does it sure explains alot but he could just be the biggest asshole on the planet at times either way he marches to a bet of a different drumer than most people.

Hope you are doing well, man! Also, note that Axl said he wasn't "officially diagnosed", which to me means he knows it's an issue, but he (on purpose) never went to a doctor to get it diagnosed. Axl hates lying, he probably owes it to himself not to lie, so he doesn't say he doesn't have it, he just says "not officially diagnosed". Makes sense to me.