Anyone else cringe at the way rock press and guitar magazines suck up to Slash?

[Cosmo]

One thing is certain. Constant praise of an artist can make him fall into "confort" status and not worry much about the quality of his work per se. That kinda worries me 'cause WoF is the least I can expect from someone like Slash. He could do so much more. Hope he raises up the bar again. But if he's praised by that album, it's hard to know if he even knows it's not in level with his previous work.

[dando]

Just to comment, if slash did this he'd be praised and his ass kissed by the media ....Dj Ashba just gave $200,000 of food and money to a local LA homeless shelter/fund, awesome touch and should be praised by all

[maynard]

[dando]

What

[wkuk04]

Still haven't forgiven Slash for leaving yet.

[Bards]

This thread is embarrassing to all concerned. From the obvious cupcake premise, to Manets saying the Beatles didn't focus on albums to the guy who thinks Slash isn't any good because his teacher said so. And those are just quick picks from the den of shitheadery.

Merry f'n xmas everyone.

[SoulMonster]

In truth, the album is the best Slash can potentially make it (for him) at that particular date.

I am afraid you are right. Which is why he shouldn't release an album at that particular date, but take some time and write some more songs and then pick the best of the litter to end up with a record that is much better.

But, I like his work ethics and it could very well be that being busy like this and always being on tour makes it easier to cope with his addiction than if he holed himself up for a long time in LA writing songs. Basically, and this is just a theory, sacrificing some quality in an effort to release frequently and staying active may be a life chose that is healthy for him....Or he might simply think the songs he releases are good enough .

We should get a mad scientist to clone a hybrid of Axl and Slash. If we're lucky we might get someone as productive as Slash with Axl's sense of musicality (not that I was that impressed with CD), but since we're GN'R fans we probably should expect to get a cd of shit songs every 10th year.

[Amir]

we probably should expect to get a cd of shit songs every 10th year.

It's Still The Year 2000 Somewhere.

[jmapelian]

I agree with most of what the original poster is saying. I studied music at the college level, and I remember my guitar instructor commenting how Slash was the most famous top-hat in the industry.

As far as musical knowledge and musicianship goes, my teacher, and many others, can play circles around Slash. He has a marketable image to rock fans.

Congrats to all those nobodies. I look forward to their new albums and seeing them on tour...oh wait. The notion that Slash is just marketable and that's what he owes his success to is fucking asinine.

Sounds like the 40 year old dude who is still claiming be was the best basketball player in high school.....but he didn't make the team because the coach didn't like him and picked his (the coaches) best friends son instead.

All this crazy crap to praise Axl and bash Slash is embarrassing to me as a die-hard Axl Rose fan.

These comments are made by musicians who grew up recording albums and gigging to support themselves and their families. These are the people making these comments. These guys didn't really care one way or the other about Axl or Slash. They are professional musicians, teachers, artists, who supported themselves and their families gigging and recording and teaching. I think they have a little bit of knowledge on the subject.

So did slash. And my guess is slash did a better job supporting his family and gigging and recording.

Miley Cyrus probably makes a lot of money as well, and she is also a great musician.

Good for her.

[Intercourse]

no who gives a shit slash is nothing without axl

everyone knows that

He's so "nothing" that 5 to 15 thousand a night were out to see him on his European tour...

ya thats so much more than when he was with the red head

You said Slash is "nothing without Axl", I told you that 5-15 thousand a night would disagree, we were not talking about comparing numbers from his GNR days.

Make up your mind which part of the story you're trying to be a wise ass on, it could heighten your impact.

[Intercourse]

I agree with most of what the original poster is saying. I studied music at the college level, and I remember my guitar instructor commenting how Slash was the most famous top-hat in the industry.

As far as musical knowledge and musicianship goes, my teacher, and many others, can play circles around Slash. He has a marketable image to rock fans.

Congrats to all those nobodies. I look forward to their new albums and seeing them on tour...oh wait. The notion that Slash is just marketable and that's what he owes his success to is fucking asinine.

Sounds like the 40 year old dude who is still claiming be was the best basketball player in high school.....but he didn't make the team because the coach didn't like him and picked his (the coaches) best friends son instead.

All this crazy crap to praise Axl and bash Slash is embarrassing to me as a die-hard Axl Rose fan.

These comments are made by musicians who grew up recording albums and gigging to support themselves and their families. These are the people making these comments. These guys didn't really care one way or the other about Axl or Slash. They are professional musicians, teachers, artists, who supported themselves and their families gigging and recording and teaching. I think they have a little bit of knowledge on the subject.

As a failed musician myself, who played in wedding bands full of "music teachers" i.e. failed musicians I would advise you to stop listening to the bitter 99% who didn't make it.

Slash can play, that is not in doubt and whether he can play his mixoledian scales is frankly fucking irrelevant to his fans, his musical style and his success.

The problem with technical musicians is that they desperately crave recognition for all the years they spent alone in their rooms learning how to read and play complex music.

What they don't realise is that most people recognise and respond to a good sound and could give two fucks about how long the guy spent doing scales.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Intercourse

[classicrawker]

those who can do, those who can't teach.

how many music teachers does anybody know who are rock icons ?

[EvH]

Joe Satriani.

[Amir]

Joe Satriani.

I wouldn't say he's an icon, though, he's nowhere near as well-known as Slash, Hendrix, Clapton, May, etc.

[DR DOOM]

Joe Six pack isn't going to be able to name a single Joe Satriani song.

edit: or recognise one if played for him

Edited January 1, 2015 by DR DOOM

[EvH]

Joe Satriani.

I wouldn't say he's an icon, though, he's nowhere near as well-known as Slash, Hendrix, Clapton, May, etc.

Indeed, but he's pretty well known among the rock audience. Plus the fact he teached guitar to other well known guitarists -such as Vai and Hammett.

I agree with you though.

[Amir]

Joe Satriani.

I wouldn't say he's an icon, though, he's nowhere near as well-known as Slash, Hendrix, Clapton, May, etc.

Indeed, but he's pretty well known among the rock audience. Plus the fact he teached guitar to other well known guitarists -such as Vai and Hammett.

I agree with you though.

I wonder if he would have drawn in that crowd if he had joined Axl's GNR? I think for most people in the crowd though it would've been weird seeing an older bald guy in Guns N' Roses, probably even weirder than seeing Buckethead in GNR

[Apollo]

A lot of music biz experts on here.

A couple of you should call Slash asap and let him know how he can improve his career. Smh.

This thread is embarrassing to all concerned. From the obvious cupcake premise, to Manets saying the Beatles didn't focus on albums to the guy who thinks Slash isn't any good because his teacher said so. And those are just quick picks from the den of shitheadery.

Merry f'n xmas everyone.

Best post of the entire topic.

[Gracii Guns]

Speaking as someone who knows a bit about the industry, and is familiar with Classic Rock's publisher etc:

In recent years, Slash, Joe Bonamassa and Led Zep are all strong names used to sell magazines. I personally don't trust the reviews in Classic Rock. I'm not saying that they're in the pockets of advertisers, but I don't find their journalism style very helpful as far as making music purchasing choices goes. Classic Rock is a title that exists for the sake of making money. There are other well-established music magazines which will give you a more trustworthy review and have fewer staff up the food chain to pander to.

Classic Rock is the most corporate non-rock n' roll rock publication there is. It's wonderful for great photos of old bands, and a great learning tool to catch up on history, but beyond that I really wouldn't bother.

[BetterDay7]

This isn't a stupid thread imho. It might be that the way the OP phrased the post has made hackles rise. CR DOES toady up to Slash. But the reasons will be many:

1. His iconic status (built on a solid career, I must add).
2. probably they find that when they put Slash on the cover or run a feature on him and his projects they sell more copies of the magazine.
3. Slash has been able to garner fans that span across a number of generations, from oldsters like me down to kids.
4. Most people who have met him in recent years say he is a nice bloke. No-one wnats to work with a jerk, journalists included.

[ZoSoRose]

Slash is THE guitar idol.

Think about the other living legends-

EVH- Only active every 5 or so years and is more known for his health problems now

Eric Clapton- Has become a relatively run of the mill blues man

Jimmy Page- All but retired and when he does something as small as a reissue campaign rock press flocks to him

Keith Richards- Old and really only does the occasional Stones tour

Then you have reliable guys like Joe Perry, Pete Townshend, Alex Lifeson, Santana, etc who are all reliable and dependent but not quite as flashy as those above.

It really is no wonder Slash is who he is right now, but he deserves it! He was in one of the biggest rock bands ever, has the unique image and aurora, and a massive second wind with Contraband and Guitar Hero III, not to mention is solo career has been really successful for a solo rock guitarist who really just started it in 2009.