Jump to content

The Estranged Video: So ridiculous it's great?


Vincent Vega

Recommended Posts

  • 4 months later...

Axl always stated that there was a totally different story/script they were going to do for the Estranged video before Stephanie and he broke up. That it was going to be a direct continuation of the 'story' being told throughout DC and NR. I wonder what that story was and how it differed from the final product?

Has it ever come out or leaked?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can read the script. It's called "Without You" by Del James.

They were gonna show why she only had one half her face showing in the casket.

Oh, I didn't know they were going to follow the book verbatim, I thought he meant they had a different concept.

Do you remember when the Estranged video debuted, Josh? Were you still paying attention to GN'R at that point? If so, what do you remember the reaction back then, like the immediate sentiment being? I've read the NR video was incredibly well received and was the most requested video on MTV for all of 1992.

OT but I actually just bought the Language of Fear the other day, it should arrive in the mail. I've never really read horror before so it should be interesting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can read the script. It's called "Without You" by Del James.

They were gonna show why she only had one half her face showing in the casket.

Oh, I didn't know they were going to follow the book verbatim, I thought he meant they had a different concept.

Do you remember when the Estranged video debuted, Josh? Were you still paying attention to GN'R at that point? If so, what do you remember the reaction back then, like the immediate sentiment being? I've read the NR video was incredibly well received and was the most requested video on MTV for all of 1992.

OT but I actually just bought the Language of Fear the other day, it should arrive in the mail. I've never really read horror before so it should be interesting.

The video came out in early 1994, and it didn't exactly fit in with the stuff on the channel at the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can read the script. It's called "Without You" by Del James.

They were gonna show why she only had one half her face showing in the casket.

Oh, I didn't know they were going to follow the book verbatim, I thought he meant they had a different concept.

Do you remember when the Estranged video debuted, Josh? Were you still paying attention to GN'R at that point? If so, what do you remember the reaction back then, like the immediate sentiment being? I've read the NR video was incredibly well received and was the most requested video on MTV for all of 1992.

OT but I actually just bought the Language of Fear the other day, it should arrive in the mail. I've never really read horror before so it should be interesting.

The video came out in early 1994, and it didn't exactly fit in with the stuff on the channel at the time.

Weren't there a lot of surreal videos that year though? Beck's Loser, Black Hole Sun, Human Behavior by Bjork...I mean, Estranged wasn't that out there compared to those videos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MTV still promoted the hell out of it though. I still have the world premiere on an old VHS somewhere....they premeired it the same week as a new U2 video and some other BIG band. It was like "The biggest bands in the world all have new videos and WE'RE playing them first!!!"

So yeah, they built the hype up, premiered it, played it back to back. The VJs had to pretend to think it was the greatest thing they'd ever seen, whether they actually felt that way or not. But yeah, they were like "WOW!!! Did you see that? That was insane!!"

No idea how people liked it...by 1994 I was the only GNR fan left at my school other than some white trash mullet heads. "Alternative" stuff was on fire that year...Soundgarden, NIN, Beck, Green Day, and you still had Pearl Jam fans and Nirvana fans despite the recent departure of Cobain. I think most people just didn't give a shit, and some of my friends even mocked me then, but I was so pumped about that video.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Estranged didn't come off as "surreal" or "out there" though. Just pompous and overblown.

Yes, this. When it came out, I was actually embarrassed I'd ever been a fan. Loser or Black Hole Sun were cool, Estranged never was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and go to amazon and read Axl's introduction to Language of Fear to hear the plans straight from the horses's mouth.

Jesus Miser, you never read Language of Fear? And here I thought you considered yourself a GNR historian.

I stopped reading fiction for years and only read biographies, and so I'm trying to get myself back into the world of fiction. Bought language of fear, divergent and the hunger games.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd hate myself if I ever read any shit that Del wrote. I'd be embarrassed for my life. I read quite a lot, both fiction and non fiction, so it's an absolute joke to call Del a writer. He's as much of an author as Tobias is a songwriter.

Then again, Axl is a master of surrounding himself with talentless sycophants.

Anyway, it's shocking to realize this video came out in 94, considering what was happening in rock music then. I was a kid and was following all the latest alt grunge rock. I didn't even care to see anything GNR, because in my mind, that was as old and uncool as dad-rock. In my mind and everyone else at my school, GNR was ancient and laughably old.

In reality, they were the same age as the grunge guys!

Anyway, I wised up later and became a bigger fan of GNR than any of the grunge bands.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just thought a GNR enthusiast such as himself surely would have read at least Without You and Axl's introduction years ago.

I read his introduction years ago, just never got around to buying the book because of the way it was slagged here and my stupid obsession with biographies of US Presidents.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read it, my oh my, I can absolutely not see why 'it was based on the story' ....only thing that I noticed was, in the story, the musician wrote a song and wanted to give half of the royalties to his girl, because the song was about her....now...that was exactly Axl and Erin...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Estranged didn't come off as "surreal" or "out there" though. Just pompous and overblown.

This. It was horrible and embarassing. Worst of the awful 3. And, indeed, to release something like that in 1994 was suicidal. Unless Axl wanted every one of his fan to hate him eversince and be embarassed to admit being his fan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Estranged didn't come off as "surreal" or "out there" though. Just pompous and overblown.

This. It was horrible and embarassing. Worst of the awful 3. And, indeed, to release something like that in 1994 was suicidal. Unless Axl wanted every one of his fan to hate him eversince and be embarassed to admit being his fan.
It's better than the video for since I don't have you
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Estranged didn't come off as "surreal" or "out there" though. Just pompous and overblown.

This. It was horrible and embarassing. Worst of the awful 3. And, indeed, to release something like that in 1994 was suicidal. Unless Axl wanted every one of his fan to hate him eversince and be embarassed to admit being his fan.
It's better than the video for since I don't have you

I guess I'd take Since I don't Have You over it but they're both shit so not much to argue about :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Estranged didn't come off as "surreal" or "out there" though. Just pompous and overblown.

This. It was horrible and embarassing. Worst of the awful 3. And, indeed, to release something like that in 1994 was suicidal. Unless Axl wanted every one of his fan to hate him eversince and be embarassed to admit being his fan.
It's better than the video for since I don't have you

I guess I'd take Since I don't Have You over it but they're both shit so not much to argue about :lol:
You could argue which one is shitter....
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first time I have seen the video, it was already 1997.

Due to enormous lack of money on our television they couldn't buy almost any videos for a long 5 years.

There was no cable tv, and rare people had satellite antenna. Whoever had one wasn't willing to pay for better programs. We were watching only free ones and those were completely uninteresting. There was no YouTube either.

Because of these circumstances, I don't see it as something horrible and embarassing. I was fascinated to see my dearest band again in a video never seen before, playing their best ballad in my opinion. It was cool to see Axl again since there were no news about him for some time.

This video is in my memory as something beautiful that filled this longlasting gap and brought me some kind of happiness ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...