Amir Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/35054/In-Defence-Of-Guns-N-Roses-Chinese-DemocracyHadn't seen this posted before, nothing amazing, but some funny charts in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lies They Tell Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I thought that was an excellent article. The madness of Chinese Democracy is what makes the album so great. Love this quote: Guns N’ Roses have always been about debauched, unrestrained, overripe excess. Appetite For Destruction, man. Well, this is the Gunners album that lives up to that name. So much of everything went into it, from musical genres, to musicians, to money, to time, to studio personnel – look at the credits for this album, it must have kept the “engineering assistant” industry going for years – that it could only ever wind up being too much for coherence. I don't agree with everything he writes. I don't think GNR ballads are any better than the best GNR rockers. And I don't think Riad N' The Bedouins is even close to being the best track on CD, but the song is definitly a bit underrated.Anyway, I like this part aswell:Axl’s brand of hard-working scientific perfectionism is the opposite of everything rock & roll is supposed to be, and that’s what’s so good about it. When you’ve exhausted rebelling against the world, when you’ve been rewarded for thumbing your nose at the rich and powerful by being asked to join them, the only thing left to fight against is the empty-headed attitude that mistook a haircut for a rebellion in the first place.I'm sick of people who try to kill all the creativity of rock bands by complaining that this and that isn't rock n' roll. IMO Chinese Democracy is exactly what rock & roll is supposed to be by rebelling against all these lame ass rules of what the Rn'R sound is supposed to be.I hope Axl keeps on being crazy and experimental instead of trying to please the fans too much and becoming just a nostalgia act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flayer Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Appreciated the article, it made some very good points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) A lot of mistakes but some parts of it were alright. This guy isn't very accurate. Thanks for posting. Edited August 12, 2013 by Rovim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunzen Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 A lot of mistakes but some parts of it were alright. This guy isn't very accurate. Thanks for posting.*accurates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManetsBR Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 The snippets of the saga that have leaked out so far are demented. When the label tried to push Axl Rose into choosing a single producer by giving him a stack of CDs to listen to he put them on the ground and drove over them in his car. When drummer Josh Freese quit, Axl took revenge by removing his drumming completely, hiring Bryan “Brains” Mantia to painstakingly recreate Freese’s precision work with the help of a notator who spent years transcribing Freese’s meticulous patterns so that they could be re-recorded identically, at the end of which Axl told Mantia that he actually quite liked how loose Mantia’s own style was, and that he should re-record everything again that way. When guitarist Buckethead – named because he performs with a KFC bucket on his head – wasn’t feeling in the mood, Axl took him to Disneyland, and when Buckethead demanded a chicken coop be built in the studio so he could record inside it, Axl went ahead and had it built for him. These are only the beginning. Imagine when the full story gets told. It’ll piss all over Some Kind of Monster.Fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Is that CD bit true? I really can't wait until the full story for the making of this album gets told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stumbleine Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) CD is a cult album and will be recognized as a major artistic accomplishment in time. Edited August 13, 2013 by stumbleine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estranged Reality Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 the CD thing is an old story. i wonder how many of these are truly accurate and haven't been distorted and exaggerated as they pass from person to person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManetsBR Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Brain confirmed the whole note-to-note thing, and Axl himself confirmed the Disneyland thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 A lot of mistakes but some parts of it were alright. This guy isn't very accurate. Thanks for posting.*accurates Huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 CD is like the record aliens would make if they found a laptop with iTunes full of rock history on it. Axl really made the album for the ringtone generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeryen Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Is that CD bit true? I really can't wait until the full story for the making of this album gets told.sad thing is, even if you can't, you most likely will have to wait. a long time. -____- 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I hope Axl keeps on being crazy and experimental instead of trying to please the fans too much and becoming just a nostalgia act.Okay people, are you gonna break it to him or do I have to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magisme Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I hope Axl keeps on being crazy and experimental instead of trying to please the fans too much and becoming just a nostalgia act.Okay people, are you gonna break it to him or do I have to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lies They Tell Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I hope Axl keeps on being crazy and experimental instead of trying to please the fans too much and becoming just a nostalgia act.Okay people, are you gonna break it to him or do I have to? Yeah, I can see why that seemed like a tempting quote to make a joke about. But seriously, GNR is not a nostalgia act... yet. Not having cornrows and playing "only" about 4 songs from your latest album on the last leg of your tour, does not automatically make you a nostalgia act. If the band will continue to tour like this for the next 10 years with no new music, then I'll agree with you. But the next few years will probably show us what has become of Guns N' Roses. I have a feeling that there's great things ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) I hope Axl keeps on being crazy and experimental instead of trying to please the fans too much and becoming just a nostalgia act.Okay people, are you gonna break it to him or do I have to? Yeah, I can see why that seemed like a tempting quote to make a joke about. But seriously, GNR is not a nostalgia act... yet. Not having cornrows and playing "only" about 4 songs from your latest album on the last leg of your tour, does not automatically make you a nostalgia act. If the band will continue to tour like this for the next 10 years with no new music, then I'll agree with you. But the next few years will probably show us what has become of Guns N' Roses. I have a feeling that there's great things ahead.They just need to release more music and tour behind it. Then, after all the finished material is released ('CD ll') Axl should give a much deserved chance to this line up and write a fresh album that this line up can be proud of, and tour behind that.They'll be considered a nostalgia act by many as long as they'll play mostly songs that were written by other musicians that came before them. Edited August 13, 2013 by Rovim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magisme Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Truth is most of the world has seen it as a nostalgia act since the very first Nu show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Truth is most of the world has seen it as a nostalgia act since the very first Nu show.I was 100% on board with Axl in the Buckethead era because I (foolishly) thought he was actually going to produce something new and exciting. I was even holding out hope to an extent around the 2006 tour but today with this lineup and absolutely nothing to indicate anything new and worthy of note on the horizon I've pretty much given up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magisme Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Truth is most of the world has seen it as a nostalgia act since the very first Nu show.I was 100% on board with Axl in the Buckethead era because I (foolishly) thought he was actually going to produce something new and exciting. I was even holding out hope to an extent around the 2006 tour but today with this lineup and absolutely nothing to indicate anything new and worthy of note on the horizon I've pretty much given up.100% agree. I meant that's what your average person thought. Those who were aware of the reincarnation in 2002 (not including us fanboy weirdos) saw an oddly dressed Axl and an eclectic group of freaks living off of GNR's past successes. In 2002, I thought Axl was gonna prove them all wrong. I was wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Dude Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I remember reading this article. I've seen a decent amount of critical reappraisal regarding Chinese Democracy. Its got a timeless quality that I think will continue to grow as it sheds the baggage and expectations of the past. Here are some reasons another member gave for it not getting a fair shake upon release:1: It didn't have a competent audience2: It received no promotion from the record company3: Myspace streaming/torrents4: Slash wasn't on it so people didn't listen/care5: The Best Buy deal hampered it6: Nobody buys CD's anymore7: There is a radio conspiracy against Axl Rose8: The economy is to blame9: The wind was blowing in the wrong direction I can personally attest to that last fact. I remember a cold, stinging wind blowing in my face as I walked toward the Best Buy entrance, but I would not be deterred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Although CD was like a precursor to bands taking more time between records, it highlighted the main pitfall, don't let the back story over shadow the music.With all the leaks by the time it came out it never got it's time in the spotlight. When Better leaked, that buzz was the buzz that should have surrounded the release. But the band had broken up in 2004, when Bucket left?It was kind of the internet era and CD is kind of the ultimate internet album. No album had as many leaks or speculation?They should put Catcher out as single now with a video. Probably go top 10 on the Hot 100. Accept didn't Axl accuse Billboard of having a vendetta against him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coma16 Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Is there any merit to the "no one buys CDs" argument? Sure, people don't buy them as much but how did CD compare to other band sales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magisme Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) 1. Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne 2,874,000 2. Viva La Vida, Coldplay 2,144,000 3. Fearless, Taylor Swift 2,112,000 4. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock 2,018,0005. Black Ice, AC/DC 1,915,000 6. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift 1,597,000 7. Death Magnetic, Metallica 1,565,000 8. Paper Trail, T.I. 1,522,000 9. Sleep Through the Static, Jack Johnson 1,492,00010. I Am...Sasha Fierce, Beyonce 1,459,000That's only the US market, and just through the end of 2008. These are the Nielsen Soundscan numbers. The latest number I saw for CD was 614,000, and that was through 2011. Edited December 30, 2013 by magisme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussTCB Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 1. Tha Carter III, Lil Wayne 2,874,000 2. Viva La Vida, Coldplay 2,144,000 3. Fearless, Taylor Swift 2,112,000 4. Rock N Roll Jesus, Kid Rock 2,018,0005. Black Ice, AC/DC 1,915,000 6. Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift 1,597,000 7. Death Magnetic, Metallica 1,565,000 8. Paper Trail, T.I. 1,522,000 9. Sleep Through the Static, Jack Johnson 1,492,00010. I Am...Sasha Fierce, Beyonce 1,459,000That's only the US market, and just through the end of 2008. These are the Nielsen Soundscan numbers. The latest number I saw for CD was 614,000, and that was through 2011.The biggest indictment on CD in your post is number 5 there. It's another record by a classic band that was an exclusive at one retailer in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts