Skwerl's GN'R Leak story

[Mr. Dude]

It does seem like Axl is on a "holdout/strike/noncooperation" kick by refusing to release or even talk about new music. Unfortunately, he apparently still hasn't realized that the record company doesn't care, and all he's doing is hurting his current band members, his fans, and most of all, his own career.

Any time I start to get sucked into thinking about maybe the record company is blocking anything, I remember Del's quote (paraphrased) : "the record came out when Axl felt it was done - it's as simple as that."

Yeah, but "the record came out when Axl felt it was done" probably doesn't just mean from a musical and artistic perspective. He's probably considering the business side of that as well- that Axl felt like it was going to be given a decent release, etc. Of course, we know he wasn't happy with that in the end either. I really think most of the new stuff is going to be post-humuous. Obviously I'm just speculating like everyone else, but I don't think Axl thinks he can/will get a fair shake, that the music will get a fair shake at this point. I hope I'm wrong, but I'd be more surprised to hear a new album (while he's alive) then I would be not to.

[Steelfin]

Makes you think - maybe Chinese Democracy WASN'T going to come out, and it was released unfinished and forced out by Universal as a way to combat this lawsuit because the perfect defense would have been that it wasn't a copyrighted material scheduled to release. Is that too underhanded for a corporation?

Been my contention since the day I listened to it . The whole thing reeks. The bulk of the album being the leaks. Axls curious statement at Leeds implying that the songs they were playing were the ones they were not thinking of putting on the album .. the "whole when its run its course then the other one will drop issue.".the underwhelming quailty of the promotion, production and the ensuing years of nothing but touring . Even the Best Buy deal is baffling ...to me that reeked of quick recoup of costs with the money bet being placed on CD not being the huge platnum selling success of its predesessors. PERHAPS KNOWING that it wouldnt go there and Axl not in cooperation with the whole dynamic The plug was pulled and the album was released ... and I for one think it was a game of one upmanship between GNR and the Industry.

in another take Hypothetically speaking:

Ive speculated that it may even have come from within Camp GNR themselves -the leaks- because the industry was dictating and determining what could and would comprise the song list , artwork, touring and in a "fuck you" to the industry ...With GNR armed with the so called" big guns" in their possession.. GNR cleared the decks by floating the leaks ...the industry called the bluff and played their hand and let the album we call CD go public..hence Axls baffling and underwhelming effort to promote it... and for that matter follow up with anything tangible to date as far as new music. Noting that there has been no new songs played in concert that could be like 2001 that did not see the studio versions until 2008 both officially and unofficially probably is a deliberate effort to thwart control issues of those 90+, 40+ songs rumoured to exist somewhere out there. COntract wars going on behind the scenes? holdout/strike/noncooperation by GNR to wrestle control back? possible. If CDs sales have recouped the initial investment.. then it stands to reason that anything from those sessions is nothing but pure profit from here on out...money screams loudly when its not being made.

Pitmans odd statement of there being no need to record a new album...because there already exists multiple albums .

The touring? Moneys to keep the band on retainer and bankroll the employees roster. While this issue gets resolved either through litigation or arbitation. Time being a factor and given the contentious nature of Axl...I could see him doing just that..holding out as hostage until he gets his just say and due in the matter? ITs also possible that the converse is true and the lable is telling him in essence..no go until you play nice with us?

What if? The songs played since 2001 and the leaks were songs NOT being considered and were composed deliberately as concert fillers perhaps for a future EP?

That's some theory. When I listen to CD, parts of it don't sound finished. I hope you're right.

[Apollo]

I will laugh at all the Groghan's over here if my label conspiracy theory is true.

Dude, you and your little group spend WAAAAAY too much time thinking about me.

And lol at "your" label conspiracy theory. It's a pretty common theme amongst those who wonder why Axl hasn't released the CD follow-up.

But that is one difference between the two of us. You'll "laugh" at something like that. But if the opposite is true and you are 100% wrong, and it turns out that Axl hasn't submitted anything.......I won't "laugh" at you. I'll just be disappointed that my favorite singer isn't releasing music.

This guy is something else. You mock and ridicule me every chance you get.

The hypocrisy in killing me.

Who you talking about, Groghan? That dude/chick goes around insulting everyone, calling everyone who disagrees with him, a worshipper or a nutter then acts like he's the one being attacked. I just put guys like him on ignore. Its a lot better not having to sift through 4 pages of his drivel on every single thread.

Sure you do.

Or you just start an alt-account and go that route.

It's funny how you guys say you can't stand me.........but you can't stop talking about me!!!

[Mr. Dude]

Makes you think - maybe Chinese Democracy WASN'T going to come out, and it was released unfinished and forced out by Universal as a way to combat this lawsuit because the perfect defense would have been that it wasn't a copyrighted material scheduled to release. Is that too underhanded for a corporation?

Been my contention since the day I listened to it . The whole thing reeks. The bulk of the album being the leaks. Axls curious statement at Leeds implying that the songs they were playing were the ones they were not thinking of putting on the album .. the "whole when its run its course then the other one will drop issue.".the underwhelming quailty of the promotion, production and the ensuing years of nothing but touring . Even the Best Buy deal is baffling ...to me that reeked of quick recoup of costs with the money bet being placed on CD not being the huge platnum selling success of its predesessors. PERHAPS KNOWING that it wouldnt go there and Axl not in cooperation with the whole dynamic The plug was pulled and the album was released ... and I for one think it was a game of one upmanship between GNR and the Industry.

in another take Hypothetically speaking:

Ive speculated that it may even have come from within Camp GNR themselves -the leaks- because the industry was dictating and determining what could and would comprise the song list , artwork, touring and in a "fuck you" to the industry ...With GNR armed with the so called" big guns" in their possession.. GNR cleared the decks by floating the leaks ...the industry called the bluff and played their hand and let the album we call CD go public..hence Axls baffling and underwhelming effort to promote it... and for that matter follow up with anything tangible to date as far as new music. Noting that there has been no new songs played in concert that could be like 2001 that did not see the studio versions until 2008 both officially and unofficially probably is a deliberate effort to thwart control issues of those 90+, 40+ songs rumoured to exist somewhere out there. COntract wars going on behind the scenes? holdout/strike/noncooperation by GNR to wrestle control back? possible. If CDs sales have recouped the initial investment.. then it stands to reason that anything from those sessions is nothing but pure profit from here on out...money screams loudly when its not being made.

Pitmans odd statement of there being no need to record a new album...because there already exists multiple albums .

The touring? Moneys to keep the band on retainer and bankroll the employees roster. While this issue gets resolved either through litigation or arbitation. Time being a factor and given the contentious nature of Axl...I could see him doing just that..holding out as hostage until he gets his just say and due in the matter? ITs also possible that the converse is true and the lable is telling him in essence..no go until you play nice with us? Axl and band just go live their lives and go on about doing their thing...no fuss or worry ...stay busy doing whatever they do until the situation resolves to GNRs liking? No music gets released...no one makes the big money and GNR stays alive to fight another day by doing just exactly what they are doing now? Its possible. Improbable but possible.

What if? The songs played since 2001 and the leaks were songs NOT being considered and were composed deliberately as concert fillers perhaps for a future EP?

Didn't Axl say that the songs they were playing were the one's that they weren't thinking about releasing as singles? Even then though, they played SOD and CD(?) and those ended up being released as singles. I definitely think its plausible that they just released mostly the material that was already compromised.

That leak article hits on one of the myriad reasons CD is so appealing to me. The backstory and periphery is just endless. There is so much behind it and going on around the making of the record. Whether you like it or not, there is NO other album that has such a wealth of information and such unique (downright crazy) circumstances surrounding it.

[saber_]

It's funny how you guys say you can't stand me.........but you can't stop talking about me!!!

To be fair, you do mention us quite a bit, even in threads we're not participating in.

[Apollo]

Popcorn......it's because I love you guys.

I just think you guys take this stuff way too seriously, and you get personally offended if somebody criticizes Axl. And a lot of your posts aren't "heart felt" messages from you, but just an attempt to piss people off - that's what I don't like.

Like your boy Volcano. I'm glad he loves GnR!!! And I agree that CD is an amazing album, but rock album of the last decade. But don't say that DJ is better than Robert Plant or that Axl should be praised for NOT putting out music or that those crazy ex-wife bitches deserved to get beaten.

I generally laugh at your guy's Axl posts or insult posts or "must hate slash" posts......but it seems like you all get genuinely mad at things that I post. There is no need for that. It's just a rock forum. We are all just fans, chatting about the band.

I think a forum needs all types, it keeps conversation interesting.

I even like a lot of your posts. Especially the ones when you post your real opinion and aren't just being a smartass or trying to piss people off.

************************

Good points Mr. Dude.

Which would lead to the next question.

If SOD/CD/Madagascar weren't considered the "big guys" and songs that would be singles...........that would mean songs like General and Atlas and a few others really are the "big guns."

If Axl and Beta have a vault of 15 songs that would be a much better album than CD, why are they still sitting on a shelf somewhere?

CD sold 3.5 million copies with no promotion from Axl. If Axl turned in an album that was way better than CD, why would the label not want to release it?

If Axl has 15 songs that are overall better than CD, why wouldn't he and Beta want to release it? If they were happy with CD success, why not follow it up with an even better album? If they weren't happy with CD's success level - and you had a BETTER record already completed - why wouldn't you want to quickly put that out?

See what I mean?

If there really is an album full of songs that are better than the 3.5 million selling CD..........wouldn't the label and Axl/Beta be chomping at the bit to get it out there?

Edited January 7, 2014 by Groghan

[DieselDaisy]

There is a really easy to answer that, to why no new music is released. Firstly, Axl has the curious ability to shoot himself in the foot at every given opportunity. 2001, he had the world awaiting Chinese Democracy after Rio 3 and the live leaks, but, again, he screwed it up. 2002, he screwed a tour up and lost his best musician (Bucket) in the aftermath. If putting out new music is the good career move then Axl will do the complete reverse and not put out music. Secondly, the people around Axl - Fernando, Beta, Del - are incompetent sycophants who could not organise a piss up in a brewery.

[wfuckinga]

Don't know about that, then... I know that in the Guns N' Roses Online message board, back on the late 90s Axl was Felix, the Housecat. He went online once and asked everyone what they had thought of Oh My God and everyone talked shit about the song. You guys shattered Axl dreams

And this was the result of that

[wfuckinga]

Makes you think - maybe Chinese Democracy WASN'T going to come out, and it was released unfinished and forced out by Universal as a way to combat this lawsuit because the perfect defense would have been that it wasn't a copyrighted material scheduled to release. Is that too underhanded for a corporation?

seems so by the rush job of the booklet

and the album cover, nothing says most anticipated album in history like a bicycle with a basket.

Well supposedly the bike cover had been one of the official 3 since the show in China in 2002

Before ‘Chinese Democracy,’ Axl explained the title of the album and showed the crowd [on the video screen] the artwork for the new album. The artwork is black and white and features a bicycle, with a wall behind it that someone painted with “Guns N’ Roses!!”

from http://gnrontour.com

[fred_carston]

Skwerls 'Axl/Donut' quote inspires album cover https://twitter.com/MurdochComeback/status/420630577193033729

[wfuckinga]

Shout out to Downliner for falsely accusing Billy Howerdell

Here's my reply posted on Skwerls blog.

For what it’s worth, now that you’ve told your side of the story, I would like to sincerely apologise to Billy (or anyone in the Perfect Circle camp) if they were ever questioned following my sending that one email.

As far as I was concerned at the time, your actions were damaging to my favourite band and I thought I’d stumbled on some info which could be useful. I won’t apologise for supporting and/or trying to assist GNR.

Also, I’d argue that it’s you who is the dipshit here, not me – for being dumb enough to think that you could leak the most anticipated rock album of all time on your own hosting without any repercussions.

Will

Didn't mean for that to come off me sounding like a dick, I didn't think I need to add a in there. Apologies if it came out wrong

Skwerls 'Axl/Donut' quote inspires album cover

fixed but

[Mr. Dude]

I like the cover quite a bit. I love the alternate artwork and covers too.

[wfuckinga]

Coghill needs to go away.

Maribeth?

I like the cover quite a bit. I love the alternate artwork and covers too.

I like the cover too, it's pretty badass imo. But i really love the grenade one

[wfuckinga]

Reading the stuff about MSL trying to help out in the witch-hunt and inadvertently helping his defense was pretty amusing, i must say.

Never happened. Was dealing with a witch hunt of my own for sharing Shackler's Revenge. The same lawyers going after Skwerl were the ones going after me, which is why FBI records have correspondence between myself and that firm. Skwerl has already written *IN THIS THREAD* that he doesn't believe I was trying to help the witch hunt against him. Read your own fucking site next time before you try to throw me under the bus. Thanks.

Why did they throw a bitchfit about Shackler's?

[stonegunner]

great article, I know technically he got away with it but I would say it definitely shows that having leaked tracks is not worth the effort.

it would suck to be hated by a band you love.

[magisme]

it would suck to be hated by a band you love.

That's called being a GNR fan.

[The Sandman]

CD II, III, IV and V start now!

[Mr. Dude]

CD II, III, IV and V start now!

Maybe later

[The Sandman]

CD II, III, IV and V start now!

Maybe later

Might be finished!

[ChineseIRS]

I think its safe to say, no matter what peoples opinions on the album are, Axl could write a book on the Chinese Democracy years alone. Nevermind his entire life ha. And it would be an amazing read. So much of the saga is unknown.

[DangerousCurves]

CD II, III, IV and V start now!

Maybe later

Might be finished!

Definitely maybe.

[Mr. Dude]

I think it'd be cool if the next record was titled CD IV...kinda like an inside joke in the vein of Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II.

[Padme]

I think it'd be cool if the next record was titled CD IV...kinda like an inside joke in the vein of Neil Young's Chrome Dreams II.

Agree about CD IV title, but as the IV part of the CD saga

[axlsalinger]

I think I just figured out Axl's latest cipher code - when he said "Definitely Maybe", he wasn't talking about the possibility of a new album ... he was dropping the title!

[Mr. Dude]

I think I just figured out Axl's latest cipher code - when he said "Definitely Maybe", he wasn't talking about the possibility of a new album ... he was dropping the title!

Definitely Maybe starts now!

or maybe later