6 things you didn't know about one in a million

[sidman69]

I'm sure people will love the Axl Rose is love fact

 

 

[31illusions]

This has been discussed hundreds of times. It's a good song. Love Slashs' guitar solo. It's just told from Axls' point of view as a young kid moving to LA, having no money, living on the streets and writing about what he sees in daily life. There's nothing wrong with talking about Homosexuality and disapproving of it, because a lot of people think it's a sickness. Describing Black people selling stolen good on the streets, because that never happened right? Even today the Immigrant situation is still a hot topic. It's honest, strait forward song (maybe to honest) but that's real life and these are the issues that some people go through.

[AxlRoseCDII]

Don’t dislike it for being controversial but dislike it since it feels like one of the most generic Guns songs ever.

[Silverburst80]

Well i couldn't help but think of this Chapelle skit when "Marys Danish" gave their opinion of the song.

 

[RONIN]

I don't think Axl is racist, homophobic, or hates immigrants. But I think he definitely exercised bad judgement by slamming those groups in OIAM - and not explaining it properly to the press. That song tainted GnR as some hilbilly band to certain people and it opened him up to getting skewered by guys like Kurt Cobain. 

I think what hurt Axl and this song the most is that he didn't do a good job defending it in the press. His explanation for why he wrote those lyrics was unconvincing and so his credibility took a hit. All he had to say was that it was a third person perspective of LA based on someone arriving from small town USA. But the minute he uses reasoning like "well black people use the n word, why can't I" - instant loss of credibility in the eyes of others. That's why aside from NWA, he was slammed by just about everyone for OIAM.

Then you've got these fucking morons in the KKK thinking we're behind them because of one song [One In A Million].” The decision to put One In Million on GN’R Lies, their 1989 mini-album - with its denigrating lines about ‘Immigrants and hooray for tolerance!s’ coming to ‘our country’ to ‘spread some fuckin’ disease’ – was typical of the skewed thinking that now pilots the GN’R flagship alone. “That’s a song that the whole band says: ‘Don’t put that on there. You're white, you’ve got red hair, don't use it’. You know? ‘Fuck you! I’m gonna do it cos I’m Axl!’ OK, go ahead, it’s your fucking head. Of course, you're guilty by association. [But] what are you gonna do? He’s out of control and I’m just the fucking guitar player…” - Izzy Stradlin'

"It’s interesting to me that Axl Rose would write a song like that and then back down in the press and not be able to defend his statement," he says. "If you’re going to have the balls to make that kind of statement, then you should be able to back it up. So I figure I’ll say it and then show him how it’s done properly. These people really don’t know how to do anything right!" Manson huffs. "I have to take up all their slack for them. I’m not doing it because I agree with their statements, but because someone needs to do it properly." - Marilyn Manson

[HOOSIER GUNZ]

Of course, you're guilty by association. [But] what are you gonna do? He’s out of control and I’m just the fucking guitar player…” - Izzy Stradlin'

[k12]

has "One in a Million" and "Look at your game girl" been removed from newer copies of "Lies" and "TSI?"

 

it says in that video that in 2000 Axl was going to have it removed but I did not know if it was

[EvH]

13 hours ago, k12 said:

has "One in a Million" and "Look at your game girl" been removed from newer copies of "Lies" and "TSI?"

No.

[killuridols]

On 6/11/2017 at 1:55 AM, RONIN said:

I think what hurt Axl and this song the most is that he didn't do a good job defending it in the press. His explanation for why he wrote those lyrics was unconvincing and so his credibility took a hit. All he had to say was that it was a third person perspective of LA based on someone arriving from small town USA. But the minute he uses reasoning like "well black people use the n word, why can't I" - instant loss of credibility in the eyes of others. That's why aside from NWA, he was slammed by just about everyone for OIAM.

He didn't do a good job defending it because he MEANT IT when he wrote it and he was so ignorant at the time that he thought that by being brutally honest he could get away with it.

Being brutally honest about being racist does not make you non-racist. I mean, if you are racist and you don't hide it, you are still racist and by the things he said in that song I think he "was". Not sure if he still is or how he thinks about those subjects nowadays but every line in the song is disgusting and I dont care if its the description of what was going on in L.A. in the 80's.... he talks to the n***** and f***** in first person when he tells them to not sell him gold chains or start mini-Irans.

The way those lines are written do not do the automatic job of self-explaining when you listen to it for the first time, neither when you listen to it for the 100th time. You have to look for interviews and read tons of shit in order to understand a little bit of what he wanted to do and not even then it is very clear, as I am pretty sure he was racist, homophobic and xenophobic by the time he wrote it.

[-W.A.R-]

Going from Lafayette Indiana to Los Angeles was a culture shock for Axl.

He had some bad run-ins and he lashed out on this song. Its summed up on the Lies cover.

Edited November 8, 2017 by -W.A.R-

[Tadsy]

If you don't like the song, don't listen to it. 

I think it's rather obvious the reason he wrote the song, and yeah, it's got some seriously racism and homophobia in it and lyrics that are intended to offend. 

I'm hardly getting my knickers in a knot about it now, and as someone else said, the bigger issue for me wasn't what he wrote, but how he explained where he was coming from (or lack of) even though I think that's rather obvious. 

Not my favourite song either, but it is what it is. You won't see anyone putting their balls on the line writing anything anymore for fear of reaction these days which is a great shame, freedom of speech is a thing of the past regardless of what side of the fence you are on. 

[killuridols]

8 minutes ago, Tadsy said:

You won't see anyone putting their balls on the line writing anything anymore for fear of reaction these days which is a great shame, freedom of speech is a thing of the past regardless of what side of the fence you are on. 

Why would anyone want to come out as a racist, homophobe and xenophobic just because?

Being like that is nothing to be proud of and voicing it to the world doesn't have anything to do with freedom of speech or a "fence".

Insulting people and hating on them ONLY based on their race, sexual interest or their ethnicity/nationality is plain dumb, in my opinion. There are assholes and bad people in all races, all countries, sexuality is not relevant when it comes to being good or bad.

I really hope that artists don't write songs like that not because they are scared of the reactions but because they are educated and have realized that denigrating others for things out of their control is bad, it is not cool to be this way

[RONIN]

29 minutes ago, killuridols said:

Why would anyone want to come out as a racist, homophobe and xenophobic just because?

Being like that is nothing to be proud of and voicing it to the world doesn't have anything to do with freedom of speech or a "fence".

Insulting people and hating on them ONLY based on their race, sexual interest or their ethnicity/nationality is plain dumb, in my opinion. There are assholes and bad people in all races, all countries, sexuality is not relevant when it comes to being good or bad.

I really hope that artists don't write songs like that not because they are scared of the reactions but because they are educated and have realized that denigrating others for things out of their control is bad, it is not cool to be this way

Agreed. I think in Axl's case though - he was probably trying to be provocative and I think it came from a genuine place, but the execution was off. Eminem did "Axl" better than Axl. Axl wasn't clever enough to pull off OIAM as real social commentary and his explanation for it only made that more apparent. Lyrics aside, I thought it was a great song. It's a shame that he ruined it with those words but that's just Axl's way.

 

2 hours ago, killuridols said:

He didn't do a good job defending it because he MEANT IT when he wrote it and he was so ignorant at the time that he thought that by being brutally honest he could get away with it.

Being brutally honest about being racist does not make you non-racist. I mean, if you are racist and you don't hide it, you are still racist and by the things he said in that song I think he "was". Not sure if he still is or how he thinks about those subjects nowadays but every line in the song is disgusting and I dont care if its the description of what was going on in L.A. in the 80's.... he talks to the n***** and f***** in first person when he tells them to not sell him gold chains or start mini-Irans.

The way those lines are written do not do the automatic job of self-explaining when you listen to it for the first time, neither when you listen to it for the 100th time. You have to look for interviews and read tons of shit in order to understand a little bit of what he wanted to do and not even then it is very clear, as I am pretty sure he was racist, homophobic and xenophobic by the time he wrote it.

Yeah - we agree here as well. I'd just say that I think Axl was a very confused guy around that time and was evolving from a small town country boy into a more open minded person. He loved NWA and was friends with those guys - he did whatever he could to promote hip/hop groups and had the radical (at that time) idea to bring those groups on a rock tour. His love for Freddie and Elton are well documented.

Without downplaying what was said,  what I suspect was going on here was that Axl was coming from a place of privilege and blasting groups that he felt victimized by - and he didn't understand the enormity of using those slurs - just a young guy talking trash which Axl did very well back then. At the same time, he's influenced by and idolizes black and homosexual musicians - his best friend Slash is half-black - I imagine he was genuinely perplexed by the backlash over OIAM. It's less imho about Axl being racist/homophobic (which he probably was at the time even if he didn't know it) and more about him just being impulsive and not thinking and reasoning his way through it. Ditto with the Charles Manson song - which was intended for Stephanie Seymour - and he wears t-shirts of Manson on tour - and he comes off like a poser for trying to remain edgy and relevant or worse, idolizing a murderer. Yet in his mind, it was a middle finger to Stephanie and the press who he felt was making him out to be a bad guy when people like Manson were the real bad guys in the world. Bizarre reasoning, but the guy's brain doesn't work properly - I think he's genuinely crazy. There are some people in the world who mean well but put their foot in their mouth when they speak, I think Axl is one of those guys. Through his actions, I think he's shown he's a different person than that song portrayed. 

I can't believe I'm defending Axl - what is this world coming to. 

Edited November 8, 2017 by RONIN

[Tadsy]

23 minutes ago, killuridols said:

Why would anyone want to come out as a racist, homophobe and xenophobic just because?

Being like that is nothing to be proud of and voicing it to the world doesn't have anything to do with freedom of speech or a "fence".

Insulting people and hating on them ONLY based on their race, sexual interest or their ethnicity/nationality is plain dumb, in my opinion. There are assholes and bad people in all races, all countries, sexuality is not relevant when it comes to being good or bad.

I really hope that artists don't write songs like that not because they are scared of the reactions but because they are educated and have realized that denigrating others for things out of their control is bad, it is not cool to be this way

Where did I say it was cool? Or otherwise? 🤔

I also didn't say they should come out and be homophobic, racist or whatever "just because". 

I'm not really interested in turning this into an argument either as I can see where your coming from, for me though,  It's simply a 30 year old song, that the artist may or may not regret, and if he had bad experiences then he wrote about them, I can see where the offence is taken and rightly so. 

 

[killuridols]

12 hours ago, RONIN said:

It's less imho about Axl being racist/homophobic (which he probably was at the time even if he didn't know it) and more about him just being impulsive and not thinking and reasoning his way through it. Ditto with the Charles Manson song - which was intended for Stephanie Seymour - and he wears t-shirts of Manson on tour - and he comes off like a poser for trying to remain edgy and relevant or worse, idolizing a murderer. Yet in his mind, it was a middle finger to Stephanie and the press who he felt was making him out to be a bad guy when people like Manson were the real bad guys in the world. Bizarre reasoning, but the guy's brain doesn't work properly - I think he's genuinely crazy. There are some people in the world who mean well but put their foot in their mouth when they speak, I think Axl is one of those guys. Through his actions, I think he's shown he's a different person than that song portrayed. 

LOL, yes, I think you are probably right and certain about the way he acted. The Charles Manson thing is another example of his bizarre reasoning, as you put it.

He seems to live in a different world where he is not much aware of what's going with real people. He believes his secluded and narrowed circle represents the pulse of society.

Not sure he has shown he is a different person through his actions... How? 

I guess not writing another OIAM or performing it live is a sign of wisdom, lol. Silence too 

[Dimezy]

A softy will choose anything they can to sook about, theres like 2 lines who the fuck cares its a wicked tune get over yourself 😂

[Nasty Bronchitis]

On 6/11/2017 at 10:50 AM, HOOSIER GUNZ said:

Of course, you're guilty by association. [But] what are you gonna do? He’s out of control and I’m just the fucking guitar player…” - Izzy Stradlin'

And he laid down a terrific electric guitar track. Moody with lots of attitude. Love how he ends playing along the piano part.

[Jonnyryan]

On 08/11/2017 at 1:14 AM, Tadsy said:

If you don't like the song, don't listen to it. 

I think it's rather obvious the reason he wrote the song, and yeah, it's got some seriously racism and homophobia in it and lyrics that are intended to offend. 

I'm hardly getting my knickers in a knot about it now, and as someone else said, the bigger issue for me wasn't what he wrote, but how he explained where he was coming from (or lack of) even though I think that's rather obvious. 

Not my favourite song either, but it is what it is. You won't see anyone putting their balls on the line writing anything anymore for fear of reaction these days which is a great shame, freedom of speech is a thing of the past regardless of what side of the fence you are on. 

Saying the words hooray for tolerance!s and hooray for tolerance!s are seriously racist and homophobic? They're words. I've never had a problem with the song and/or any movies where the characters say those words. At the end of the day they are just WORDS. Nothing more nothing less. The only reason they carry so much weight behind them in the last few years is because society has made it so. Words are words. There are words designed to belittle, to hate, to insult. And those two words are in those categories. But they are words. You call someone an idiot in a song? Nothing. You tell someone to shut up and sing in a song?  Nothing. The reason ive neber had a problem with that song is because its just a song, and its just lyrics, hence its just words. Forget about the person writing or singing them, its just words.  Its not like by saying hooray for tolerance! or hooray for tolerance! you are lynching a black person or beating up a gay person

Why are the words hooray for tolerance! and hooray for tolerance! blocked here?

[IncitingChaos]

As some have pointed out this song is more about culture shock and coming from the Midwest to Hollywood. 

I’ve never taken it as Axl is a racist..not Bc I’m delusional and want him to be on the right side of issues in the world he just simply isn’t a racist. He’s clearly not a homophobe. He still hates cops, but oh well. 

Most people have forgiven Axl for this or simply not entertained it much. If you hate Axl it’s one reason to pin your hate on but if you don’t care it’s not going to bother you. People don’t go out of their way to make one in a million a anti-gnr statement. People go out of their way to hate Axl. 

Point is this song didn’t lose them that many fans, but it’s not a song that sold a huge amount of records. It wasn’t worth the trouble, it was defended poorly, but all in all it wasn’t a career ender like it may have been today 

[Tonto]

53 minutes ago, IncitingChaos said:

As some have pointed out this song is more about culture shock and coming from the Midwest to Hollywood. 

I’ve never taken it as Axl is a racist..not Bc I’m delusional and want him to be on the right side of issues in the world he just simply isn’t a racist. He’s clearly not a homophobe. He still hates cops, but oh well. 

Exactly, he clearly isn't a racist. I'm a big fan of Axl too and that doesn't really come into it, I'm not searching for ways to defend him but he is NOT a racist. A word, which, by the way, means pretty much nothing these days, since the slightest criticism of anything gets you labelled as such.

NWA had no problem with it, whether they liked it or not, I don't know, but it wasn't just a rant, it was a carefully put together song and there was a point there, but it seems to have got lost. I forget who said it, but they put that down to artistic failure rather than racism. 

Depending on how you look at it, he fucked up here, he didn't defend the song well and it hurt him. I always saw that last verse as an "apology", something not many people mention. That last verse is in a different voice, lyrically, a wiser person looking back, describing himself as a "small town white boy". It's a good track, it says a lot, I don't care if he said some words he's not supposed to say, that's the fucking point.

[Silverburst80]

12 hours ago, Nasty Bronchitis said:

And he laid down a terrific electric guitar track. Moody with lots of attitude. Love how he ends playing along the piano part.

Love the tone, he uses something similar on Double Talkin Jive. Real growly and fuzzy.

Edited November 24, 2017 by Silverburst80

[Gnrcane]

Has anybody ever figured out/confirmed the lyric after "So I thumbed it?"

I've always seen it as "Down to 6th in LA" which makes no sense in the context of that verse.  The next line "maybe a greyhound could be my way" would seem to indicate that "thumbing it" didn't work or that he was thumbing it to a bus station.  That's why I wonder if the line is actually referencing a location of a bus station and is being misheard.

The most controversial verse seems to be a reference to him "getting out of dodge" and not wanting to be bothered and slowed down by hustlers (which he describes using the N word) so he can get his ticket before the cops find him.  "Don't need no bracelets, clamped in front of my back, just need my ticket, 'till then, won't you cut me some slack" is pretty obviously a reference to not getting arrested before he can get on the bus.

The last verse does pretty much say don't use this song to justify racism or other radical ideas.  To me, it seemed like once he exposed himself to the LA scene he realized that the thoughts he had on that journey were wrong and is trying to express that.

 

 

[Manfisman]

On 6/11/2017 at 12:48 AM, Silverburst80 said:

Well i couldn't help but think of this Chapelle skit when "Marys Danish" gave their opinion of the song.

 

A Youtube video of a Youtube video?

This the 'Inception' of Youtube videos. Where are you Di Caprio?