Will Dj write a hit for GNR?

[sweetness]

His track record, lol

I guess he might be able to write something that'd be a hit with the current rock radio crowd but I don't necessarily consider that a good thing..

[Nosaj Thing]

Considering Axl's vision and all that I think his presence in the next Guns record will be useless. Give him a rhythm guitar and that's all. Bumblefoot and Richard should NOT let this guy write anything.

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

Given his track record with Sixx Am and Motely do you think Dj will write a hit for GNR?

Yes, I do. Am I super confident? No.

But if I had to pick yes or no, I think yes is more likely.

As a fan of Chinese, I am hopeful that it's sequel contains the songs we heard about for so many years. But I wouldn't mind, nor would I be surprised if there are a couple songs on there that DJ wrote and I could very easily see one of them being the lead single.

No way for any of us to know the answer to the posed question, but if we're just speculating, yeah I think DJ has it in him.

+1

My thoughts exactly. Dj may be everybody's favorite whipping boy (he's actually my 3rd favorite GN'R guitarist after only Finck and Slash personally) and not the most technically gifted- but I think he does bring a "modern/hip" ear to the enterprise that could well bear lots of fruit with Axl's unique talents. He also has a "sellable" (insert punch line here) image/stage presence, etc. that I think the media and casual fans could buy into in conjunction with Axl as well.

All that being said- so much (if not all) depends on Axl's state of mind and motivation to release new music over the next few years. No telling on that count...

Edited July 1, 2012 by AXL_N_DIZZY

[Patience 4 Axl]

Considering Axl's vision and all that I think his presence in the next Guns record will be useless. Give him a rhythm guitar and that's all. Bumblefoot and Richard should NOT let this guy write anything.

Do we even know Axl's vision anymore? Considering we've heard about all these songs he's got stashed somewhere from Bucket/Finck, the CD leftovers, and he hasn't released them in over a decade, is it possible his vision has once again changed? DJ is nothing like those two, in sound, style, and looks. Even Axl has changed his appearance since those guys split, seemingly more like an old school rocker and sporting the DJ swag. Could be a sign of what his future intentions might be? Who knows...

[arnold layne]

Chinese Democracy didn't have hits.

[sweetness]

how do we STILL have people admitting chinese had hits, but then in the same post, trying to explain why the hits don't count as hits?

GNR has, by far, the most mentally disturbed fanbase of any band i've ever seen.

the wait for chinese democracy was so long, that it appears to have caused mental illness amongst a sizeable portion of the community.

although i suppose an argument could be made that the wait didn't cause the issues, but simply they revealed themselves because only the mentally ill would have continued to care and wait for that long.

You're one of them too you know.

I don't get how anybody could say Chinese Democracy had hit singles though, I mean that's just plain lying. I think Catcher In The Rye had the most potential, and Better really should have been a "hit", but even though CD and Better charted in the top 5 of the rock charts or whatever could you honestly say these songs were really hits with a straight face? think about what that means for a second. These songs, from an album that was released in 08, are never played on the radio anymore because there is virtually no demand for anybody to hear them. You know what songs still get played on the radio? Welcome To The Jungle, Paradise City, Sweet Child O Mine, November Rain, shit I even heard My Michelle and Mr Brownstone on the radio a few weeks ago.

Those are hits.

Chinese Democracy was not a hit record by any means, don't get why so many feel the need to validate it as one, if it makes you feel better for the public to love an album as much as you do something ain't right.

[Rustycage]

Redefining what a hit is would be to dumb down the criteria in which it is judged like saying "it reached so and so on the ROCK charts" instead of comparing it to everything like was used before for GNR. Some of you already do that.

"Oh, it was a #1 hit on the Songs on an album released from Guns N Roses between 2007 and 2009 chart!!"

[sweetness]

you're arbitrarily creating your own criteria of a "hit" that is completely inconsistent with the industry standard.

do you not see how disturbing it is that a band's own fans are so determined to discredit the band's accomplishments?

I was making a point

Hit songs that actually had an impact continue to get airplay over the years, CD's singles petered out within a few weeks. You really consider those hits?

I'm not "determined to discredit their accomplishments"... just being realistic. Whether or not a band's songs are hits with the public means absolutely nothing to me

[Rustycage]

We aren't discussing Velvet Revolver.

Defining a hit is to compare it to everything at the time. Tossing out variables is dumbing it down to suit your argument. Couple that with the fact that no one ever had to do that before with GNR. THAT speaks for itself and really requires no more discussion.

I don't even know why you want to cling to VR in your argument. They were a NEW band without the name Guns N Roses labeled on their music.

Step 1: Remove the proper criteria for judging the success.

Step 2: Compare them to a new band without a household band name attached to their product.

Step 3: Claim a fantasy where everyone ignores the rest of popular music and just uses criteria of the poor quality and interest of the rock genre today.

Step 4: Claim to have inside info about the music industry even though you have no clue and have produced NADA.

Step 5: Sit back and wait for the opportunity to bet grandma's life savings on a polygraph test.

Did I leave anything out? Seriously, every time someone disagrees with your ass, you have to claim they have no knowledge. Could it be that not everyone is stupid and maybe, just maybe you're WRONG!? No, that couldn't possibly be it, huh?

[sweetness]

it doesn't matter how you argue your point, we're all complete idiots and MSL is an intellectual because he says so

[Rustycage]

Waste. of. time.

You have a monopoly on being pompous.

[sweetness]

this is a common amateur tactic. because you've been proven wrong, you stop debating the points and resort to mockery. i don't know if you're an idiot or not, but you do happen to be wrong about whether chinese democracy had any hit singles. it has nothing to do with me being an intellectual. even with above average intelligence, if someone was not experienced or knowledgeable in regards to radio charts, it would be very easy for them to be confused or for their thoughts on the subject to contain inaccuracies.

Sure, whatever you say Mr. big shot music industry guy. I think I'll turn the radio on to my local rock station, maybe I'll hear Better between Smells Like Teen Spirit and War Pigs. Or should I go to the Greatest Hits Station? There I might hear Chinese Democracy between Move's Like Jagger and Someone Like You

[Rustycage]

No one likes discussing anything with you because no one likes you. It's not a confirmation that your delusions are reality. It's confirmation that people won't let you continuously cupcake them.

[dalsh327]

Honestly, who knows. Who knows if even Axl can still write hits? Just because someone has been able to write hits before is no guarantee they'll be able to write hits going forward. Look at Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Chris Cornell, Bono, etc. I've always viewed musicians much like athletes, they have their prime years followed by a fading of their talents.

Cheers,

Andrew

Hits are a fluke, unless there's a lot of money involved in shoving it down peoples' throats on radio and TV.

[sweetness]

sweetness -

again, because you were proven wrong, you're resorting to mockery. furthermore, you continue to present the faulty premise that if a song doesn't have staying power that it means it was never a hit in the first place. that's simply not how it works. only the biggest hits in history are still going to get played on the radio years or decades later. nobody is claiming chinese democracy or better are all time pop classics. they were simply hit singles in their time. your problem is you're allowing emotion to cloud your judgement of a factual matter.

there happened to be weeks where rock radio stations chose to play chinese democracy and better more than almost any other songs those weeks. thus, the songs charted very high on the radio charts for those weeks. thus, they were "hit singles." there really isn't anything to argue about here. maybe you should ask yourself why it upsets you that a band you're supposedly a fan of happened to have a couple hits on their most recent record? what is really the source of this negativity? it's very strange.

Radio stations played them because in the rock world Chinese Democracy was the most hyped album of the past 2 decades, the radio audience did not respond well to them, they weren't hits. I said in every one of my posts that I don't care either way, don't get where this "ask yourself why it upsets you" shit is coming from. Just calling you out on your delusions you accuse everyone else of having.

You really should get your head out of your ass and join us up here in the real world, nobody likes an unreasonable douche who thinks he's better than everybody

[finck6]

sweetness -

again, because you were proven wrong, you're resorting to mockery. furthermore, you continue to present the faulty premise that if a song doesn't have staying power that it means it was never a hit in the first place. that's simply not how it works. only the biggest hits in history are still going to get played on the radio years or decades later. nobody is claiming chinese democracy or better are all time pop classics. they were simply hit singles in their time. your problem is you're allowing emotion to cloud your judgement of a factual matter.

there happened to be weeks where rock radio stations chose to play chinese democracy and better more than almost any other songs those weeks. thus, the songs charted very high on the radio charts for those weeks. thus, they were "hit singles." there really isn't anything to argue about here. maybe you should ask yourself why it upsets you that a band you're supposedly a fan of happened to have a couple hits on their most recent record? what is really the source of this negativity? it's very strange.

rusty cage -

just this week alone, half a dozen members of the community stepped forward to praise my posts and defend me from unfair attacks. i may not be the most popular member of the community, but your premise that nobody likes me is completely false and continues a pattern of you having little regard for the truth.

mister saint laurent-

the mygnr community isn't dumb enough 2 take your bait

[TeeJay410]

To simply point at the peak number and say "hit" ignores the context of the release. I feel like a broken record, but the songs fell of the chart shortly after release, and the peak numbers were in the first week or two of release due to strong single downloads and radio plays, all of which due to the curiosity of the latest guns n roses release regardless of the quality of the music. The songs dropped on the charts rather quick. A "hit" also has the intangible quality of cultural impact. You can hardly say the Chinese democracy singles took the world by storm.

In short, just the chart number doesn't tell the whole story. If the songs were hits, Axl would be much more respected in the states and wouldn't have trouble filling arenas.

Which leads us to the larger point, if Axl can't find success on the charts with the mystique of Chinese democracy behind him, what makes anyone think he could four years later without that element and plus DJ ASHBA?

[finck6]

To simply point at the peak number and say "hit" ignores the context of the release. I feel like a broken record, but the songs fell of the chart shortly after release, and the peak numbers were in the first week or two of release due to strong single downloads and radio plays, all of which due to the curiosity of the latest guns n roses release regardless of the quality of the music. The songs dropped on the charts rather quick. A "hit" also has the intangible quality of cultural impact. You can hardly say the Chinese democracy singles took the world by storm.

In short, just the chart number doesn't tell the whole story. If the songs were hits, Axl would be much more respected in the states and wouldn't have trouble filling arenas.

Which leads us to the larger point, if Axl can't find success on the charts with the mystique of Chinese democracy behind him, what makes anyone think he could four years later without that element and plus DJ ASHBA?

DJ ASHBA is unproven. so. your questions. beat the hell out of me

[Bobbo]

To simply point at the peak number and say "hit" ignores the context of the release. I feel like a broken record, but the songs fell of the chart shortly after release, and the peak numbers were in the first week or two of release due to strong single downloads and radio plays, all of which due to the curiosity of the latest guns n roses release regardless of the quality of the music. The songs dropped on the charts rather quick. A "hit" also has the intangible quality of cultural impact. You can hardly say the Chinese democracy singles took the world by storm.

In short, just the chart number doesn't tell the whole story. If the songs were hits, Axl would be much more respected in the states and wouldn't have trouble filling arenas.

Which leads us to the larger point, if Axl can't find success on the charts with the mystique of Chinese democracy behind him, what makes anyone think he could four years later without that element and plus DJ ASHBA?

Perfect post, agree with every word and every point you made.

I think that's why tyeres no new nu material yet or...maybe ever. Theres no mystique or general demand for another gnr record without slash and co. And I think its a combination of the label having no more faith in the nu band in terms of original material, and axl not wanting to deal with further ridicule and the notion that he failed to make a gnr record people generally dig without the help of some old friends...

Chinese Democracy was Axls one big shot at making GNR a van Hagar type of affair, and all it really did, for the majority, was make people miss the old lineup more than they already did.

[WillieC]

In Soviet Russia, DJ no write hit for GN'R. Writers hit GN'R for DJ.

In Soviet Russia, fans no ask DJ for the freebird at GNR show. Fans show the bird to GN'R's DJ for free.

Don't be offended, they're just jokes.

[RandallFlagg]

90% of stuff considered a hit single disgusts me, it's like they're churned out in a robotic formula from some banale factory with a generic message and bland mind numbing chorus with verses no one even notices nor receives any form of personality or opinion from, no power or depth to the majority of the radio chart. With rock now it's even worse that you have to stoop that low and pointlessly empty to break mainstream, then again that is the level of a lot of bands, to be another breakdown/nu metal/screamo fad (whose choruses are pretty much always pointless whining about some break up they invented for the attempt at seeming emotional) or a generic Nickelback or Simple Plan.

You have the flipside results, Nothing Else Matters, Bohemian Rhapsody, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Would?, Karma Police, Sweet Child O' Mine where everything just comes together so perfectly and powerfully that it generates a buzz and energy that permeates through so many walls and casual listeners just can't resist it, you can't plan that kinda effect tho it's not premeditated (even tho many examples may have conventional structures, why do they stand out?), it just happens, it's the magic of music coming together organically, almost anti single.

I don't want Ashba to try and write a hit, Axl would lol at that notion, I want them all to just make a record freely with equal input, to create music not formulaic product! There'll be plenty interest regardless. Rather have no hits than bland attempts to play a market, Guns always been so far above that.

[Apollo]

and so yet again, when someone is proven wrong, they resort to insults. classic.

You insult people in almost every post. Is that classic as well?

You have probably been in more arguments in the last month than anybody here. And in just about every single one of them, you have insulted the person you disagree with.

Anybody you disagree with is first a bitter ex fan.....then a liar, slanderer, etc.......then comes the polygraph and $10,000 challenge......finished off by you questioning their overall intelligence. All because they have a difference of opinion about a rock band.

You are the last person who should be whining about people using insults.

But back on topic.

So in YOUR world. If a band has a song hit number 40 in the Rock or RnB chart in its debut week, doesn't crack the regular billboard top 100....and then falls completely off the rock or RnB chart after one week.......that is a "hit" song?

How many songs do you think spend at least one week in one of the charts? Using your criteria as to what a hit is, then how many hits are there every year? I would be close to 1000?

I apologize for dwelling on this. But just so we all can understand how you think or rationalize things.

Appetite....25 million sold. Jungle, scom and PC are considered classics now in rock music.

Illusions. Sold 18 million each. Nov Rain, YCBM, Don't Cry.

CD.

Took over a decade to make. One of the most expensive albums of all time.

Do you think everybody associated with the album....singer, musicians, road crew, producers, label, along with anybody in the music industry that was effected by CD - bestbuy, music reviewers, radio disk jockeys, etc - along with all rock fans, not even music fans, just rock fans......minus you and five other people on this forum.....out of all those people, how many do you think would say "yes, the single Chinese democracy was a HIT for guns n roses." I doubt Axl would even say it was a hit.

We are all starting to learn what your deal is. You come from the bill Clinton school of debate.

Sure. Any song that spends one week on a billboard chart can be labeled a billboard hit. But in reality, CD, Better and any single off of CD were commercial failures.

CD is one of my favorite albums of all time. Certainly my favorite album of the last decade. But even I don't go around bragging about all the hits it produced.

Which is a shame, as I feel it is a better album than either illusion. The Blues, live recordings, was literally my favorite song (of any song in the world in the early to mid 00s) for probably three years straight.

So sure. You can brag that it had two hits. But even members of the band, and normal die-hard fans, would not say that the song CD was a hit.

It is like my coworker who told me she was a published author, and her catalog was for sale on Amazon. Wow. Impressive.

Then I looked it up. Both books were self published by HER. One has sold seven copies, one three.

She also talked about her writing blog.....which has members from all over the world. I checked. She has five subscribers (after three years) and yes, one is from Canada. Half of her blogs have 1 visitor. Some have no reads.

Technically, yes. She is a published artist with a blog read worldwide.

But what is she really???

You have so much great information about GnR, it is a shame that you have turned off so many posters because you choose to argue about the stupidest things.

[shotgunblues1978]

Having skimmed the thread, it's painfully obvious that most people here don't understand how the radio operates

The radio stations and labels are in bed with each other, always have been. As the music industry has changed dramatically in the last decades, both record labels and radio stations have struggled mightily to adapt, and are now even more tied at the hip.

Bottom line: the major radio stations basically play what the labels want them to play, and the record labels have become more dependent than ever on singles (most people don't really buy albums anymore), so the labels are only going to push songs that appeal to the general music listening public, who have shorter attention spans than ever.

Chinese Democracy's performance on radio is totally irrelevant to whether or not a DJ-penned single would succeed. There were several factors at play. One, the record label didn't give a shit about promoting Chinese Democracy in the US. They took their check from Best Buy and called it a day; they had zero incentive financially to push the album, so they didn't. Two, Chinese Democracy didn't have many radio friendly songs, and they did a poor job of selecting singles. The fact that they released CD as a single with the minute long ambient intro was just another indication of how little the record label cared about promoting the album. It's a miracle that the song did as well as it did with that intro. CD really only had 3 songs with a chance at being legit "hits" on rock radio: Better, Shackler's Revenge, and Scraped. Better did pretty well and actually hung around on the charts a lot longer than CD, but it wasn't really pushed. Better absolutely should've been the lead single.

Anyway, point being that if DJ writes a song that is released as a single, that the label decides to push and that has some appeal to the average rock radio listener, then he will write a hit with GnR. If not, then they probably won't have a hit. It's really that simple.

[Rustycage]

^Requests also play a huge part in radio airplay. CD hasn't been in high demand with requests. How is it considered a hit when it's hardly requested?

Edited July 2, 2012 by Rustycage

[finck6]

^Requests also play a huge part in radio airplay. CD hasn't been in high demand with requests. How is it considered a hit when it's hardly requested?

isn't considered a hit. isn't properly promoted