Does anyone else think the band has actually organized and planned the cluster of mixed information to keep the mystery of new music alive?

[Black Sabbath]

Think about it, before Chinese Democracy came out, there was always a huge mystery surrounding the album and any unreleased music really. Then, when the album was released, a lot of us, or myself at least, were relieved, but kind of missed the mystery surrounding the whole CD saga.

Now, we're all foaming at the mouth again for new music, and no one knows if it's in sight or not. None of the band members share the same answer really, so does anyone think it's all kind of planned on the band's part, ya know, throwing different answers around to try to keep everyone guessing and keeping the mystery of unheard GnR music alive.

Personally, I think it's possible, and if it's true, it's an amazing tactic, because hell if they were doing that, we really could see new music before the end of the year and have it announced out of no where.

[Bruno P.]

I think that DJ is a liar. That is all.

[Coma16]

Doubtful many people outside of forum members are keeping track of it all. If a new single is released then there will be a buzz.

Edited April 4, 2013 by Coma16

[Black Sabbath]

Not many people outside of the forum were keeping track of Chinese Democracy either, really.

[Guest Gunns]

yeah the band members have been playing dumb for the past 5 years (including Axl) in order to create world-wide suspense and hysteria.

[Black Sabbath]

That's the whole thing though, people aren't sure if they're supposed to be excited right now or not, and maybe that's the band's whole tactic.

Think about it, mixed answers all around for months, then bam, a press release a month before new music is supposed to drop, and everyone goes crazy.

[Black Roses]

Why do they need to do it when casual rock fans hate Axl, think CD sucks and don't give a fuck about NuGNR???

[Guest Gunns]

That's the whole thing though, people aren't sure if they're supposed to be excited right now or not, and maybe that's the band's whole tactic.

Think about it, mixed answers all around for months, then bam, a press release a month before new music is supposed to drop, and everyone goes crazy.

fuck estranged

[Black Sabbath]

Nowhere in my original post did I say anything about them doing it to please the masses, so I don't know why you guys are even bringing that up. I'm talking about us, the real fans.

[PITBOSS]

i guess that would be cool, but in this day and age i think average joe isn't sitting around waiting and hoping for new gnr music like we are on this forum. it wouldn't be a very smart business move to just drop an album out of no where either. i really think the band doesn't know what axl has planned.

a new album? the sooner the better

[Guest Gunns]

I somehow doubt its going to be anything like how CD was handled.

Remember the monumental promotion which turned out to be a monumental fuck up?

Axl will most likely have all his eggs in a row before he even starts contemplating choosing a release date, and you can bet your arse that he will promote the fuck out of it when its all good and ready.

[PITBOSS]

Nowhere in my original post did I say anything about them doing it to please the masses, so I don't know why you guys are even bringing that up. I'm talking about us, the real fans.

for us real fans? would be awesome if he dropped an album with some remixes and already recorded stuff even if it was recorded by folks who aren't in the band any longer.

[Black Sabbath]

I agree, but we can only work within the reality we find ourselves.

[PITBOSS]

I agree, but we can only work within the reality we find ourselves.

rickpeters says 10-8 or 10-15 for new music (not betting any money on that one)

would be sweet if they had a private-ish concert for fan club members like metallica has done for the release of the next album. (a guy can dream right?)

[sweetness]

ha, no. I do think eventually something awesome might happen, whether it's leaks or an actual album. But to think anything since 08 has just been part of some greater master plan is plain ridiculous, didn't we learn that with Chinese Democracy and the "monumental promotion"?

[Randy Lahey]

I don't see any method at all.

[TombRaider]

yeah the band members have been playing dumb for the past 5 years (including Axl) in order to create world-wide suspense and hysteria.

[downzy]

The mystery and romanticization that occurred around Chinese Democracy had a lot to do, I think, with a few factors that would be difficult, if not impossible to replicate.

First, the last time GNR published music it was at the top of its game. It was the biggest band in the world. Very few bands cease at their peak (even if the internal structure was crumbling) and this drove a lot of people to wonder what the next offering would be. You can't say that the same phenomenon exists with Chinese Democracy. For most who heard it (or the single on the radio) didn't find a ton to like (though I didn't hear a lot of complete disparaging of the album either). The standards for a new album are a lot lower than they were back before 2008.

Second, and tying into the first point, the band as a group of individuals no longer brings as much mystique as the previous line up did. The additions of guys like Buckethead and Robin really drove a lot of curiousity as to what the new GNR sound would be like. Moreover, with GNR replacing virtually every player save for Axl and Dizzy, you had people wondering if Axl was up to the challenge of producing something without the classic band members. Since most people have now decided that he hasn't, I'm not sure if people are still as curious what this new band can do. Nobody doubts that Ron isn't a great player, but does anyone really think he can out-do Buckethead in terms of composing and coming up with some funky shit? Maybe some do, but I don't get that vibe.

Third, I think most people's attention and patience with this band has kind of worn thin. People were already losing patience with Axl well before the release of Chinese Democracy (which didn't do so well); what makes you think people are still willing to wait on this guy any longer? Had Chinese Democracy succeeded in a way like Appetite or even the UYI albums, then absolutely people would be clamoring for anything this band will give them. But that attitude only really exists on Internet forums (which have far less traffic today than say, 2006).

Now, with regards to whether the band is actively trying to conjure up mystery, I would think they would have learned the last time they hype isn't always beneficial. A little bit is great, but Chinese Democracy level of hype only leads to disappointment for most. You could argue that it's consciously done but let's be frank here, this isn't a band known for having its shit together. It has a hard enough time doing the simple things right (anyone a member of their "official" fan club?), so I have a hard time believing that they'd have the wherewithal to pull something off like this. Plus, Ron just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd buy into that kind of program. Likewise, there's enough mystery to what Axl does (or doesn't do) already that conscious efforts to foster even more is completely unnecessary and likely counterproductive.

Edited April 4, 2013 by downzy

[axlsalinger]

This band is far too disorganized and dysfunctional to pull off an elaborate plan like this. Although on some level Axl does either like or require some level of mystique.

[TombRaider]

The mystery and romanticization that occurred around Chinese Democracy had a lot to do, I think, with a few factors that would be difficult, if not impossible to replicate.

First, the last time GNR published music it was at the top of its game. It was the biggest band in the world. Very few bands cease at their peak (even if the internal structure was crumbling) and this drove a lot of people to wonder what the next offering would be. You can't say that the same phenomenon exists with Chinese Democracy. For most who heard it (or the single on the radio) didn't find a ton to like (though I didn't hear a lot of complete disparaging of the album either). The standards for a new album are a lot lower than they were back before 2008.

Second, and tying into the first point, the band as a group of individuals no longer brings as much mystique as the previous line up did. The additions of guys like Buckethead and Robin really drove a lot of curiousity as to what the new GNR sound would be like. Moreover, with GNR replacing virtually every player save for Axl and Dizzy, you had people wondering if Axl was up to the challenge of producing something without the classic band members. Since most people have now decided that he hasn't, I'm not sure if people are still as curious what this new band can do. Nobody doubts that Ron isn't a great player, but does anyone really think he can out-do Buckethead in terms of composing and coming up with some funky shit? Maybe some do, but I don't get that vibe.

Third, I think most people's attention and patience with this band has kind of worn thin. People were already losing patience with Axl well before the release of Chinese Democracy (which didn't do so well); what makes you think people are still willing to wait on this guy any longer? Had Chinese Democracy succeeded in a way like Appetite or even the UYI albums, then absolutely people would be clamoring for anything this band will give them. But that attitude only really exists on Internet forums (which have far less traffic today than say, 2006).

Now, with regards to whether the band is actively trying to conjure up mystery, I would think they would have learned the last time they hype isn't always beneficial. A little bit is great, but Chinese Democracy level of hype only leads to disappointment for most. You could argue that it's consciously done but let's be frank here, this isn't a band known for having its shit together. It has a hard enough time doing the simple things right (anyone a member of their "official" fan club?), so I have a hard time believing that they'd have the wherewithal to pull something off like this. Plus, Ron just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd buy into that kind of program. Likewise, there's enough mystery to what Axl does (or doesn't do) already that conscious efforts to foster even more is completely unnecessary and likely counterproductive.

This.

[dalsh327]

Think about it, before Chinese Democracy came out, there was always a huge mystery surrounding the album and any unreleased music really. Then, when the album was released, a lot of us, or myself at least, were relieved, but kind of missed the mystery surrounding the whole CD saga.

Now, we're all foaming at the mouth again for new music, and no one knows if it's in sight or not. None of the band members share the same answer really, so does anyone think it's all kind of planned on the band's part, ya know, throwing different answers around to try to keep everyone guessing and keeping the mystery of unheard GnR music alive.

Personally, I think it's possible, and if it's true, it's an amazing tactic, because hell if they were doing that, we really could see new music before the end of the year and have it announced out of no where.

I'd love it if GNR did what Bowie did... just have it finished, THEN make the announcement, and have it out 2 months later. I think when you take into account there are finished songs in the vault, Axl just has to trust the band he has and the wealth of experience they collectively have.

I think Axl is going to downplay when the album's coming out, because it bit him in the ass last time.

If Ron's talking about buying a second home there, the next question is going to be, "is Vegas going to be GNR home base"? I guess if we see Fernando or Axl Tweeting about spending time in Vegas, that'll answer the question. To me, it's probably the best place to get them all together and cheaper than Los Angeles. If they wanted to, they could gut out a house and just turn it into one big recording studio,and when they're done, either rent it out or sell it off to some Vegas entertainer that can put it to good use. That's along the lines of the house in Spain U2 have when they work on new music.

To me, the band just finds out the itinerary a few months at a time, and just want to know when they have free time. I don't think there's planning for the entire year, it's prob. based around promoters from different countries, requests for private shows, some music guy for a movie wanting a GNR for a soundtrack and negotiating that out.

I think for Axl, he has to be focused on how the show's going to go off, or he's focused on singing/songwriting in a studio - I don't think he can do both. I do think with the years of doing the ChiDem songs live prior to the album coming out, he was road testing the songs. Over the next few years, we'll start hearing new songs, but they're working with a different set of rules of recording and releasing music - even since ChiDem was released, things changed a lot.

Edited April 4, 2013 by dalsh327

[HisRoyalSweetness]

with CD it was easier to convince yourself there was some method to the madness... some master plan of axl's that we couldn't appreciate yet. but now we know the emperor had not clothes. now it's just clear that everything in axlbeta's life is a hopeless clusterfuck.

[Rustycage]

I do not think there is much organization at all within this band. I think it should be seen as a victory that they all show up at a gig at the same time. Anything more than that is too much to expect.

[AndreCC]

I think every time dj comes out talkin about it. is to kinda ease up the moods, and let people know they're working on it. Not necessairly working on the record, but working to start doing that. A bit of damage control, because it gets people's hopes high and gives them some time without drama and pressure from the public.

Honestly i think we're gonna get a new album by November 2013, if not by November 2014. So it's almost there!

[The Linguini Occurrence]

You lost me at "organized" and "planned".