Now or in the prime?

[DrBrownstone]

I wasn't old enough to enjoy GNR in their hey day (I was born in 86) but I've always wished I was born 10 or 15 years earlier, so I could have seen the original line up. When I got into them, it was the late 90's, and their type of music was at it's lowest point popularity wise. Most of my friends couldn't really understand why I was so obsessed with this "80's rock band" but to me they were so much more than that...

But anyways, I would have loved to have been around at a time when there was no internet, no cell phones, etc. seems much more innocent...idk. Hearing about upcoming shows on MTV or in rock magazines. By the time I discovered them, the band had already broken up, and "Oh My God" was just released...

[sailaway]

Well you were born too late to experience that period of time firsthand Dr.Brownstone,but you can make your own memories because GNR still exists!! Positive thoughts rock

[RocketQueenGNR]

I don't prefer one period over the other...

Like it's said before, now you're just one click away from everything.

I got addicted in 1990, was 8 years old so too young to see them live. I only had my Paris, Tokyo and making f*cking vids, my cd's flags en posters and other collectibles, but that was cool too.

And they were also very popular in that period, almost everyone I knew had a shirt, cd or whatever. Guns was everywhere back then!

[Possessed]

i understand the topic starters point, it is so much easier to get our music and news about our favorite bands through the WWW. However at the same time I think it's killed the anticipation factor. it use to be when an album from an artist you really liked came out. You were first to the store to buy it on release day. Didn't matter what the weather was. You were at the store waiting in that line to get your hands on the album you desired. Nowadays it's all changed thanks to the WWW. Now people can just get there music with just one click. And most of the time they aren't paying for it. Personally I'd rather go to the store, buy the cd, and put it in the player. And as for the new band, well I'm gonna give my opinion on that cause I don't wanna cause an argument.

[Saphyra]

I love all he old stuff and the new stuff but I am dying to hear new songs even if they were recorded ten years ago.

Me too, pal

[ironmt]

i understand the topic starters point, it is so much easier to get our music and news about our favorite bands through the WWW. However at the same time I think it's killed the anticipation factor. it use to be when an album from an artist you really liked came out. You were first to the store to buy it on release day. Didn't matter what the weather was. You were at the store waiting in that line to get your hands on the album you desired. Nowadays it's all changed thanks to the WWW. Now people can just get there music with just one click. And most of the time they aren't paying for it. Personally I'd rather go to the store, buy the cd, and put it in the player. And as for the new band, well I'm gonna give my opinion on that cause I don't wanna cause an argument.

I agree with the whole Internet thing and there being no mystery or surprise(part of the fun of heading to the record store was not knowing what was on the album and being completley blown away, hearing November Rain or Estranged for the first time.) by the way you are allowed to express your opinion on the new band(not that I have to tell you that). It seems to me that the majority of us that were around when the band was In there prime(1988-1993), tend to lean towards the original band being better and the younger generation that wasn't around to see the original lineup tend to lean towards the new band. I guess thats just the way It goes.

[SoulMonster]

i understand the topic starters point, it is so much easier to get our music and news about our favorite bands through the WWW. However at the same time I think it's killed the anticipation factor.

I am not sure "anticipation" is the right word. My anticipation for a new record from my favourite bands is not diminished in any way because it is easier to get that music through Internet. I still get equally happy about good music, or disappointed with music that isn't up to expectations. I still enjoy the music just the same, and enjoy the feeling of listening to it for the first time, just the same. There are OTHER parts of the whole music aficionado thingy that has changed, the joy of hunting for music that is hard to find, is definitely reduced, the joy of collecting something that is rare, is gone, the joy of finding something that you know is hard to find, has gone. But the anticipation is just the same.

[Black Horse]

I like both, the old band and the current one. I grew up listening to the old band, I was a teenager when they were on top of the world and I couldn´t attend any of their shows because I was a minor and wasn´t allowed to go. Rock music alwas attracted me since I was a little kid but it was thanks to GNR that I truly appreciated it and started to love it. At that time, we didn´t have internet so we got all the news/rumours from magazines, radio stations and tv, people weren´t so demanding as now or maybe they were but didn´t have the means to express it as we do now thanks to new technologies.

I remember I found out the band was again active like in 2001 while I was waiting to catch the train and saw a magazince cover with Axl in it and the headlines talking about Rock in Rio. Then, in 2002 I got access to internet for the first time and the first words I typed on google were guns n roses and I found out they were in the middle of a North American tour. I was freaking out because I could watch those performances online, I heard the new songs...etc. I followed the band and I finally saw them live for the first time in 2006, what a blast. I love this current incarnation and I enjoyed buying Chinese Democracy and my first listen of it. I think it´s very cool that the band members are more accesible to the fans thanks to twitter or facebook or the forums, hell I even got to chat with BBF once! THAT would have been imposible in 1992!

Both eras are fine but I´m a bit nostalgic/old school since this era leaves nothing to our imagination,no magic, we get it all instantly, we don´t know how it feels to be counting the days for something because something happens and 3 minutes later it´s available in ineternet.

[SoulMonster]

Both eras are fine but I´m a bit nostalgic/old school since this era leaves nothing to our imagination,no magic, we get it all instantly, we don´t know how it feels to be counting the days for something because something happens and 3 minutes later it´s available in ineternet.

I don't get this. I don't this at all. If there is something that has been constant about GN'R is that nothing is immediate. Waiting is part of the game. Right now I am waiting for the next record, and before I did that I was waiting for CD. And whenever a release date is suggested I sure as hell don't expect it to happen instantly, I expect endless postponements to take place.

Edited January 26, 2012 by SoulMonster

[ironmt]

Both eras are fine but I´m a bit nostalgic/old school since this era leaves nothing to our imagination,no magic, we get it all instantly, we don´t know how it feels to be counting the days for something because something happens and 3 minutes later it´s available in ineternet.

I don't get this. I don't this at all. If there is something that has been constant about GN'R is that nothing is immediate. Waiting is part of the game. Right now I am waiting for the next record, and before I did that I was waiting for CD. And whenever a release date is suggested I sure as hell don't expect it to happen instantly, I expect endless postponements to take place.

I'm sure your expectations will prove right.

[tange]

man everything was different with respect to media. i remember using encyclopedia brittanica's for school. When the internet hit it took a while for most to catch on. Partly because it was so slow.

Nonetheless, i think the internet has become a great leveler in our society. no band gets built up and torn down quite like they used to. The net took the media monopoly and handed it its ass.

as a result we have tons of info out there that would have never been otherwise.

I think the mystique created around guns made them very cool. That is one reason I think Axl doesn't do much media. He understood what people liked bout Guns.

[ZoSoRose]

its crazy yet cool to see a fight hasnt broken out on this topic yet.

[Guest NewGNRnOldGNR]

I think New GN'R is villainous. & thus I opt for it rather than the heroic Appetite incarnation. It's like how dare these dead beats attempt to continue Guns N' Roses.

Ali or the rapist Iron Mike? The Rock or the rattlesnake Steve Austin? I affiliate with the demonised, so now.

[RandallFlagg]

I like how Axl doesn't just release things every two or three years with the usual build up and promo and interviews that are stock and pointless, basically, we have a new record, buy it, come see uis on tour, he doesn't need money so he doesn't need to promote, he's kinda like if you're still interested in what I have to offer and what we've got going with this band, come out and see it, if not, whatever i'm not going to force it on the cool kids with the tv, you'll hear about Guns N' Roses somehow. I'd prefer if he released things more often since the things he does are usually amazing but there's certainly that air of mystique and not just promo-cd release bombardment-tour-repeat cycle.

[Black Horse]

Both eras are fine but I´m a bit nostalgic/old school since this era leaves nothing to our imagination,no magic, we get it all instantly, we don´t know how it feels to be counting the days for something because something happens and 3 minutes later it´s available in ineternet.

I don't get this. I don't this at all. If there is something that has been constant about GN'R is that nothing is immediate. Waiting is part of the game. Right now I am waiting for the next record, and before I did that I was waiting for CD. And whenever a release date is suggested I sure as hell don't expect it to happen instantly, I expect endless postponements to take place.

I was talking in general in this last paragraph, not specifically about GNR. What I mean is that for exemple, if an interview happens we don´t have to wait until the date it will be aired on tv or raidio because it will leak almost instantly in internet as it happened with the metal show interview. Or if the band plays a show after a long period of inactivity and you want to know how they look like or how they sound...etc, you don´t have to wait untill the day they come to play to the show you got tickets to, you just have to wait a few minutes or hours and those videos of the show will be uploaded to youtube...and so on. That is what I meant, and this can be applied to GNR and to other bands as well.

I hope you got what I meant, I don´t really know how to express what I want to say well since English is not my mother language

[SoulMonster]

I hope you got what I meant, I don´t really know how to express what I want to say well since English is not my mother language

And English is not my mother tongue, either, so there's always the chance of me misunderstanding others, too, haha.

But yes, I understand what you are saying and agree with you now

[Black Horse]

I hope you got what I meant, I don´t really know how to express what I want to say well since English is not my mother language

And English is not my mother tongue, either, so there's always the chance of me misunderstanding others, too, haha.

But yes, I understand what you are saying and agree with you now

Cool

[dalsh327]

I like how Axl doesn't just release things every two or three years with the usual build up and promo and interviews that are stock and pointless, basically, we have a new record, buy it, come see uis on tour, he doesn't need money so he doesn't need to promote, he's kinda like if you're still interested in what I have to offer and what we've got going with this band, come out and see it, if not, whatever i'm not going to force it on the cool kids with the tv, you'll hear about Guns N' Roses somehow. I'd prefer if he released things more often since the things he does are usually amazing but there's certainly that air of mystique and not just promo-cd release bombardment-tour-repeat cycle.

I think GNR can build up for the next album by just releasing new songs here and there. I have to wonder if they had released all of ChiDem one song at a time over a year, then put the CD out, but put the CD out as a Deluxe edition with a DVD of live versions of the songs, how that would've fared saleswise over time.