What songs has vocals after 1999

[Pele]

23 minutes ago, Sweersa said:

They were not directly talking to me, but you never know.

Who were they talking to?

[Pele]

26 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

His own songs were some of the first ones he finished though, Prostitute, Madagascar, etc. He had an album of completed songs before Tommy even submitted Going Down... and then he added backing vocals to Tommy Demo #1 instead.

I don't know, it seems the most likely answer is that it wasn't intended to be on the first album - which might explain why it was never mentioned, despite being pretty much complete. I assume it was one of the "32 songs" he was working on in the mid-2000s.

Strange the way it didn't make the list of possibilities for CD2, which included Going Down, Perhaps, Nothing etc.

1 hour ago, Jw224 said:

Axl legit said when asked years ago that Silkworms was gonna be released and would be on the next album, quite a few times. Acting like him releasing it means anything other than he's always wanted to and has said so repeatedly doesn't make much sense to me. 

Probably because he knew he was struggling to come up with anything else.

[Sweersa]

23 minutes ago, Pele said:

Who were they talking to?

Everyone here.

[Pele]

17 minutes ago, Sweersa said:

Everyone here.

What, some 'insider' came on the forum and said he has Seven with vocals and you believed him?

[Sweersa]

Just now, Pele said:

What, some 'insider' came on the forum and said he has Seven with vocals and you believed him?

No.

[Pele]

40 minutes ago, Sweersa said:

No.

What happened then?

[Jw224]

5 hours ago, Pele said:

Probably because he knew he was struggling to come up with anything else.

Or because he's always liked the song and has clearly always wanted to release it. As he has stated many times over the years. 

[Pele]

2 minutes ago, Jw224 said:

Or because he's always liked the song and has clearly always wanted to release it. As he has stated many times over the years. 

Why not put it on Chinese then?

It's utter, utter garbage and was omitted from the album for good reason.  Unfortunately, he has barely written anything since those they've had to resurrect it.

Same will happen with Shrugged.

[Ixtlan]

On 9/30/2021 at 2:00 PM, Pele said:

Not this fucking bet again.

Ok, I'll bet $5000 or whatever it was with a stranger, both (and everyone reading) knowing that neither party will pay.

I 100% believe what I am posting.

There would have to be some goodwill in the bet - 'no new songs' doesn't cut it.  We've already seen he's now resorted into pasting moans from old demos into other old demos in a further attempt to record.

I can envision this guy patching the 'woo-woo' from Quick Song, adding some 'Blood in the Water' and pasting it over Oklahoma and claiming it's new.

He's probably recorded a cover or two.

 

I'm saying you'll never hear any of the below with full lyrics/vocal.

Quick Song
Eye on You
Nothing
Soul Monster
Cuban Skies
Prom Violence
Thyme
PRL
Mustache
Zodiac
Real Doll
Billionaire
Dub Suplex
Devious Bastard
Dummy
Circus Maximus 
D-Tune
Curly Shuffle
As It Began
The Rebel

I'd bet that for sure.

 

I agree. These songs will never be paired with lyrics/vocals. The band may release an album, but that feels unlikely at this point. 

[Ixtlan]

8 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

To sane people, the fact that Axl has worked on Absurd on numerous times over the last 20+ years, that it was one of the first songs he debuted in 2001 when he had other songs finished, and that it was the first single released after CD when he still has other songs finished, suggest the song means a lot to Axl. To you, it all means Axl has run out of music 

Well, it’s possible it has meaning to Axl because he doesn’t have many other full songs in the tank. 

[Pele]

15 minutes ago, Ixtlan said:

Well, it’s possible it has meaning to Axl because he doesn’t have many other full songs in the tank. 

Exactly.  He likes it, and continues to get each lineup of his band to re-record it, simply because it exists in full.

 

[CubanSkies Dummy]

Aaaggh.... Pele... Nooooo agghhh! You're so mean about ittt!!

For me, these are the finished and completed (LEFTOVERS) songs:

• Absurd! (RELEASED)
• Hardskool (RELEASED)
• Oh My God (RELEASED)
• Atlas Shrugged
• Perhaps
• State Of Grace
• The General
• Cuban Skies
• Elvis
• 7
• Thyme
• Going Down

"Light My Fire", "Tonto", "Monstrosity" unsure if finished.

"Zodiac", "Berlin", "Nothing" and "Quick Song" were abandoned for sure.

 

@Pele "Thyme" is a finished song.

Edited December 31, 2021 by CubanSkies Dummy

[Jw224]

3 hours ago, Pele said:

Why not put it on Chinese then?

It's utter, utter garbage and was omitted from the album for good reason.  Unfortunately, he has barely written anything since those they've had to resurrect it.

Same will happen with Shrugged.

Yes, Axl planned to say he wanted to release silkworms several times over the years. It was all a part of his plan to say that because he only has three songs left and he wants everyone to think otherwise. 

[SoulMonster]

4 hours ago, Ixtlan said:

Well, it’s possible it has meaning to Axl because he doesn’t have many other full songs in the tank. 

When they debuted Silkworms at the House of Blues on January 1, 2001 - together with Oh My God, Street of Dreams, Chinese Democracy and Riad N' The Bedouins - Axl chose Silkworms over other finished songs at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, Madagascar and I.R.S. Why? Well, maybe he just felt for playing Silkworms that night. Or maybe he really likes the song.

Then, two weeks later, they played at Rock In Rio III, and again, they played Silkworms - together with Oh My God, Chinese Democracy and Street of Dreams. They also debuted Madagascar, but still didn't play any of the other songs that were finished at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, and I.R.S. Why? Maybe he again just felt for playing Silkworms. Or maybe he really likes the song.

The next show was at the Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) on December 29, 2001, about a year later. AGAIN, Silkworms was played (together with Oh My God, Madagascar, Chinese Democracy, and Street of Dreams). Now it wasn't just because they had played it 2 weeks earlier and it was easy to play it again; this was almost a year later. 

Then two nights later they again played at the Joint, and again played Silkworms together with a small number of obviously specially selected finished songs, while all the other finished songs were not played. 

Then for the tour in 2002, Silkworms was not played. Yet after Richard joined the band in July 2002, he talked about his gear for when he was going to play Silkworms live, and alluded to the song coming on the band's album [Classic Rock, February 2003]. So obviously, Axl thought highly of the song.

By 2005, though, Dizzy stated it would not be included on the new album and in 2006, when the band started debuting more songs that would later end up on the album, it was also not played. Based on this it seems like Axl in 2006 chose to play songs that would be on the album, and had decided Silkworms (and Oh My God) wouldn't. Still, Dizzy said he was sure the song would be "up at some point" [madagascar88, September 26, 2005]. Again, suggesting it wasn't a song abandoned by Axl.

In 2008, Chris would discuss the song and say that it concept-wise didn't fit on the album but that he hoped it would be released in the future with other similar-sounding songs [Leith FM 98.8, October 23, 2008]. In other words, the decision to exclude it from the album wasn't that it was a "lesser song", but that it sonically didn't fit. It either had to be included on a record with other similar songs, or had to be re-worked to be more of a rock song.

And that's exactly what Axl said had happened to the song when he talked to fans in December 2008. Axl then said the song "has a lot of guitars, lots of different drum the chorus is gone" [chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008]. So obviously the band had continued to work on the song, and made it more of a rock song. Likely because the wanted to release it at some point.

To return to your suggestion that the song has meaning to Axl because he doesn't have many other songs: Axl has chosen to work on this song and play this song, over many other songs throughout the years. This doesn't mean he hasn't worked on other songs as well, we know Atlas Shrugged, Scraped, Sorry, Better, The General, The Soul Monster etc has been worked on, and he has also debuted Hard Skool. As for options to release a single in 2021, he could have chosen Atlas Shrugged, The General, The Soul Monster, Going' Down, Perhaps, State of Grace (assuming a better vocal take exists), or any of the other songs that likely exist. He wasn't forced to release Silkworms because it was his only option, as a few people seem to think. 

And let's just compare it to Hard Skool which was also finished back in '99-'01, and which most fans seem to like a lot more than Absurd a dn which has a much more classic GN'R sound than Absurd: He decided to play Silkworms live on these four first shows, not Hard Skool. And when it came to release the first new music with the "reunion lineup" - the first new music from Axl and Slash! - he chose Absurd over Hard Skool. 

OBVIOUSLY, Axl likes the song. And I don't think he cares really much about whether fans don't ;). I know people struggle with that concept, but don't let your personal preferences make you stupid.

Edited December 31, 2021 by SoulMonster

[SoulMonster]

Another thing. Sometimes the band just does things because it's fun. We fans tend to overanalyze every little thing, trying to find some supreme meaning behind every decision, piece of lyric or delivery. Everything needs to be a profound epic. A master piece. Some serious deep music. And although Axl can be extremely serious about his music, the band also has a history of just having fun and not taking itself and everything they do as serious. We super fans tend to be more fans of the band than they are. And at some level it even scares them  

[rumandraisin]

2 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

When they debuted Silkworms at the House of Blues on January 1, 2001 - together with Oh My God, Street of Dreams, Chinese Democracy and Riad N' The Bedouins - Axl chose Silkworms over other finished songs at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, Madagascar and I.R.S. Why? Well, maybe he just felt for playing Silkworms that night. Or maybe he really likes the song.

Then, two weeks later, they played at Rock In Rio III, and again, they played Silkworms - together with Oh My God, Chinese Democracy and Street of Dreams. They also debuted Madagascar, but still didn't play any of the other songs that were finished at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, and I.R.S. Why? Maybe he again just felt for playing Silkworms. Or maybe he really likes the song.

The next show was at the Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) on December 29, 2001, about a year later. AGAIN, Silkworms was played (together with Oh My God, Madagascar, Chinese Democracy, and Street of Dreams). Now it wasn't just because they had played it 2 weeks earlier and it was easy to play it again; this was almost a year later. 

Then two nights later they again played at the Joint, and again played Silkworms together with a small number of obviously specially selected finished songs, while all the other finished songs were not played. 

Then for the tour in 2002, Silkworms was not played. Yet after Richard joined the band in July 2002, he talked about his gear for when he was going to play Silkworms live, and alluded to the song coming on the band's album [Classic Rock, February 2003]. So obviously, Axl thought highly of the song.

By 2005, though, Dizzy stated it would not be included on the new album and in 2006, when the band started debuting more songs that would later end up on the album, it was also not played. Based on this it seems like Axl in 2006 chose to play songs that would be on the album, and had decided Silkworms (and Oh My God) wouldn't. Still, Dizzy said he was sure the song would be "up at some point" [madagascar88, September 26, 2005]. Again, suggesting it wasn't a song abandoned by Axl.

In 2008, Chris would discuss the song and say that it concept-wise didn't fit on the album but that he hoped it would be released in the future with other similar-sounding songs [Leith FM 98.8, October 23, 2008]. In other words, the decision to exclude it from the album wasn't that it was a "lesser song", but that it sonically didn't fit. It either had to be included on a record with other similar songs, or had to be re-worked to be more of a rock song.

And that's exactly what Axl said had happened to the song when he talked to fans in December 2008. Axl then said the song "has a lot of guitars, lots of different drum the chorus is gone" [chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008]. So obviously the band had continued to work on the song, and made it more of a rock song. Likely because the wanted to release it at some point.

To return to your suggestion that the song has meaning to Axl because he doesn't have many other songs: Axl has chosen to work on this song and play this song, over many other songs throughout the years. This doesn't mean he hasn't worked on other songs as well, we know Atlas Shrugged, Scraped, Sorry, Better, The General, The Soul Monster etc has been worked on, and he has also debuted Hard Skool. As for options to release a single in 2021, he could have chosen Atlas Shrugged, The General, The Soul Monster, Going' Down, Perhaps, State of Grace (assuming a better vocal take exists), or any of the other songs that likely exist. He wasn't forced to release Silkworms because it was his only option, as a few people seem to think. 

And let's just compare it to Hard Skool which was also finished back in '99-'01, and which most fans seem to like a lot more than Absurd a dn which has a much more classic GN'R sound than Absurd: He decided to play Silkworms live on these four first shows, not Hard Skool. And when it came to release the first new music with the "reunion lineup" - the first new music from Axl and Slash! - he chose Absurd over Hard Skool. 

OBVIOUSLY, Axl likes the song. And I don't think he cares really much about whether fans don't ;). I know people struggle with that concept, but don't let your personal preferences make you stupid.

Dont forget in 2013 he was asked by a fan what happened to Silkworms and he said they were thinking of putting it out as a single soon, i think its just a fun simple rocker that he likes. 

[JimiRose]

20 hours ago, Pele said:

Haha - what a horrible and weird co-incidence.

If they do have completed songs, imagine how bad they must be to release Silkworms ahead of them.

 

My belief on what's left over (with vocal) and why:

• Perhaps - had potential.  Only 1 verse, intention may have been to complete it and release
• Silkworms - likely considered not good enough for Chinese, with other options preferred
• Atlas - likely considered not good enough for Chinese, with other options preferred
• HardSkool - had potential.  2x verses and 5-6 choruses, with a seemingly unrelated piece of music as intro, intention may have been to re-work it and release
• Quick Song - unfinished
• Nothing - unfinished
• Eye on You - unfinished and hopefully buried
• The General - we won't know unless we ever hear it.
• Blood in the Water - no idea, I'd speculate it may be a line form The General or another incomplete song/idea

 

State of Grace is interesting - huge potential.  Mystery as to why it was omitted from Chinese when it seemed so close to completion.  We may never know.  I speculate the overall reason may be one of the following:

• Written completely by an ex-member who since left the band
• Re-worked into The General somehow
• Axl felt it was hard to sing, wouldn't be able to pull it off live and abandoned it for something else

State of Grace is definitely the best GnR song written since the illusion albums. A buckethead solo before the outro vocal verse and with a fully mastered vocal and that song would have been great. baffling if it isn't on the next album

[Pele]

14 hours ago, CubanSkies Dummy said:

Aaaggh.... Pele... Nooooo agghhh! You're so mean about ittt!!

For me, these are the finished and completed (LEFTOVERS) songs:

• Absurd! (RELEASED)
• Hardskool (RELEASED)
• Oh My God (RELEASED)
• Atlas Shrugged
• Perhaps
• State Of Grace
• The General
• Cuban Skies
• Elvis
• 7
• Thyme
• Going Down

"Light My Fire", "Tonto", "Monstrosity" unsure if finished.

"Zodiac", "Berlin", "Nothing" and "Quick Song" were abandoned for sure.

 

@Pele "Thyme" is a finished song.

I noticed you've been listing El Hernano in other places for about 3 years now?

How on earth did you come up with that one?

[Pele]

11 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

When they debuted Silkworms at the House of Blues on January 1, 2001 - together with Oh My God, Street of Dreams, Chinese Democracy and Riad N' The Bedouins - Axl chose Silkworms over other finished songs at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, Madagascar and I.R.S. Why? Well, maybe he just felt for playing Silkworms that night. Or maybe he really likes the song.

Then, two weeks later, they played at Rock In Rio III, and again, they played Silkworms - together with Oh My God, Chinese Democracy and Street of Dreams. They also debuted Madagascar, but still didn't play any of the other songs that were finished at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, and I.R.S. Why? Maybe he again just felt for playing Silkworms. Or maybe he really likes the song.

The next show was at the Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) on December 29, 2001, about a year later. AGAIN, Silkworms was played (together with Oh My God, Madagascar, Chinese Democracy, and Street of Dreams). Now it wasn't just because they had played it 2 weeks earlier and it was easy to play it again; this was almost a year later. 

Then two nights later they again played at the Joint, and again played Silkworms together with a small number of obviously specially selected finished songs, while all the other finished songs were not played. 

Then for the tour in 2002, Silkworms was not played. Yet after Richard joined the band in July 2002, he talked about his gear for when he was going to play Silkworms live, and alluded to the song coming on the band's album [Classic Rock, February 2003]. So obviously, Axl thought highly of the song.

By 2005, though, Dizzy stated it would not be included on the new album and in 2006, when the band started debuting more songs that would later end up on the album, it was also not played. Based on this it seems like Axl in 2006 chose to play songs that would be on the album, and had decided Silkworms (and Oh My God) wouldn't. Still, Dizzy said he was sure the song would be "up at some point" [madagascar88, September 26, 2005]. Again, suggesting it wasn't a song abandoned by Axl.

In 2008, Chris would discuss the song and say that it concept-wise didn't fit on the album but that he hoped it would be released in the future with other similar-sounding songs [Leith FM 98.8, October 23, 2008]. In other words, the decision to exclude it from the album wasn't that it was a "lesser song", but that it sonically didn't fit. It either had to be included on a record with other similar songs, or had to be re-worked to be more of a rock song.

And that's exactly what Axl said had happened to the song when he talked to fans in December 2008. Axl then said the song "has a lot of guitars, lots of different drum the chorus is gone" [chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008]. So obviously the band had continued to work on the song, and made it more of a rock song. Likely because the wanted to release it at some point.

To return to your suggestion that the song has meaning to Axl because he doesn't have many other songs: Axl has chosen to work on this song and play this song, over many other songs throughout the years. This doesn't mean he hasn't worked on other songs as well, we know Atlas Shrugged, Scraped, Sorry, Better, The General, The Soul Monster etc has been worked on, and he has also debuted Hard Skool. As for options to release a single in 2021, he could have chosen Atlas Shrugged, The General, The Soul Monster, Going' Down, Perhaps, State of Grace (assuming a better vocal take exists), or any of the other songs that likely exist. He wasn't forced to release Silkworms because it was his only option, as a few people seem to think. 

And let's just compare it to Hard Skool which was also finished back in '99-'01, and which most fans seem to like a lot more than Absurd a dn which has a much more classic GN'R sound than Absurd: He decided to play Silkworms live on these four first shows, not Hard Skool. And when it came to release the first new music with the "reunion lineup" - the first new music from Axl and Slash! - he chose Absurd over Hard Skool. 

OBVIOUSLY, Axl likes the song. And I don't think he cares really much about whether fans don't ;). I know people struggle with that concept, but don't let your personal preferences make you stupid.

Lol, you've gone crazy waiting for your prince to deliver all of these secret masterpieces you think he's got written and recorded.

You've actually built up a scenario in your head where he has Seven, Zodiac, SoulMosnster, Tonto, Berlin and a load of other epic masterpieces, and he's waiting for the perfect time to release them.

You're ignoring the reality that he had to resort to dusting of 20 year old demos that we'd already heard to release their 'new' material.

 

You're going to be so triggered when the next result is Atlas Shrugged with 99 vocal 

 

Stop quoiting interviews, that include several things that didn't come true (such as follow up albums).

What do you think they are gonna say if asked about their boss's song?  "Oh, it's a terrible song so he didn't release it"?

And yes, in 2008, of course he dusted it off and intended to release it at some point!  What else was he gonna release!?  He knew he 'needed' it at that point.

 

For the 2021 single considerations you list:

• No, he couldn't have picked Going Down.  It was written and sung by someone who left the band
• I don't think he's got completed vocals for Soulmoster
• I don't 'assume a better vocal exists' for State of Grace
• We have no idea what state The General is in
• He could have picked Atlas - but it's not much better than Silkworms and he probably needs it for his next obligated release
• He could have picked Perhaps - probably needs it for his next obligated release

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Pele

[SoulMonster]

43 minutes ago, Pele said:

You've actually built up a scenario in your head where he has Seven, Zodiac, SoulMosnster, Tonto, Berlin and a load of other epic masterpieces, and he's waiting for the perfect time to release them. 

Except that I have never mentioned any of these songs except Soul Monster. 

[Pele]

13 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Except that I have never mentioned any of these songs except Soul Monster. 

So what do you think then, without saying "I Don't Know"

You passionately argue that I'm wrong, but when asked, refuse to commit to what you think will happen.

You have absolutely no confidence in Rose releasing an album of new material in the next 12 months - admit it.

[SoulMonster]

14 minutes ago, Pele said:

So what do you think then, without saying "I Don't Know"

You passionately argue that I'm wrong, but when asked, refuse to commit to what you think will happen.

Oh, I have said this before: I believe we will get another record within five years. I believe all songs will be from CD sessions with Slash and Duff contributions. As for exact track list, I don't know. Likely some songs from the Village leaks and some songs we haven't heard of. 

[Pele]

25 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Oh, I have said this before: I believe we will get another record within five years. I believe all songs will be from CD sessions with Slash and Duff contributions. As for exact track list, I don't know. Likely some songs from the Village leaks and some songs we haven't heard of. 

Within 5 years from now?

So within about a decade of them re-uniting?

And that decade will have produced CD leftovers overwritten by Slash and Duff?

 

Yet you think I'm so wrong in everything I say?

We're not actually that far off.

I think within a decade of the re-union, they'll have released Silkworms, HardSkool, Perhaps, Atlas and maybe OMG - so we are only in disagreement in 6-7 songs.  

 

To be in disagreement over 6-7 songs over a decade of opportunity isn't too bad 

[SoulMonster]

3 minutes ago, Pele said:

Within 5 years from now?

So within about a decade of them re-uniting?

And that decade will have produced CD leftovers overwritten by Slash and Duff?

 

Yet you think I'm so wrong in everything I say?

We're not actually that far off.

I think within a decade of the re-union, they'll have released Silkworms, HardSkool, Perhaps, Atlas and maybe OMG - so we are only in disagreement in 6-7 songs.  

 

To be in disagreement over 6-7 songs over a decade of opportunity isn't too bad 

Ok

[Ixtlan]

15 hours ago, SoulMonster said:

When they debuted Silkworms at the House of Blues on January 1, 2001 - together with Oh My God, Street of Dreams, Chinese Democracy and Riad N' The Bedouins - Axl chose Silkworms over other finished songs at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, Madagascar and I.R.S. Why? Well, maybe he just felt for playing Silkworms that night. Or maybe he really likes the song.

Then, two weeks later, they played at Rock In Rio III, and again, they played Silkworms - together with Oh My God, Chinese Democracy and Street of Dreams. They also debuted Madagascar, but still didn't play any of the other songs that were finished at the time, including Tommy's two songs, Atlas Shrugged, Perhaps, State of Grace, Hard Skool, Prostitute, There Was A Time, Catcher in the Rye, If The World, and I.R.S. Why? Maybe he again just felt for playing Silkworms. Or maybe he really likes the song.

The next show was at the Joint (Hard Rock Hotel) on December 29, 2001, about a year later. AGAIN, Silkworms was played (together with Oh My God, Madagascar, Chinese Democracy, and Street of Dreams). Now it wasn't just because they had played it 2 weeks earlier and it was easy to play it again; this was almost a year later. 

Then two nights later they again played at the Joint, and again played Silkworms together with a small number of obviously specially selected finished songs, while all the other finished songs were not played. 

Then for the tour in 2002, Silkworms was not played. Yet after Richard joined the band in July 2002, he talked about his gear for when he was going to play Silkworms live, and alluded to the song coming on the band's album [Classic Rock, February 2003]. So obviously, Axl thought highly of the song.

By 2005, though, Dizzy stated it would not be included on the new album and in 2006, when the band started debuting more songs that would later end up on the album, it was also not played. Based on this it seems like Axl in 2006 chose to play songs that would be on the album, and had decided Silkworms (and Oh My God) wouldn't. Still, Dizzy said he was sure the song would be "up at some point" [madagascar88, September 26, 2005]. Again, suggesting it wasn't a song abandoned by Axl.

In 2008, Chris would discuss the song and say that it concept-wise didn't fit on the album but that he hoped it would be released in the future with other similar-sounding songs [Leith FM 98.8, October 23, 2008]. In other words, the decision to exclude it from the album wasn't that it was a "lesser song", but that it sonically didn't fit. It either had to be included on a record with other similar songs, or had to be re-worked to be more of a rock song.

And that's exactly what Axl said had happened to the song when he talked to fans in December 2008. Axl then said the song "has a lot of guitars, lots of different drum the chorus is gone" [chinesedemocracy.com, December 13, 2008]. So obviously the band had continued to work on the song, and made it more of a rock song. Likely because the wanted to release it at some point.

To return to your suggestion that the song has meaning to Axl because he doesn't have many other songs: Axl has chosen to work on this song and play this song, over many other songs throughout the years. This doesn't mean he hasn't worked on other songs as well, we know Atlas Shrugged, Scraped, Sorry, Better, The General, The Soul Monster etc has been worked on, and he has also debuted Hard Skool. As for options to release a single in 2021, he could have chosen Atlas Shrugged, The General, The Soul Monster, Going' Down, Perhaps, State of Grace (assuming a better vocal take exists), or any of the other songs that likely exist. He wasn't forced to release Silkworms because it was his only option, as a few people seem to think. 

And let's just compare it to Hard Skool which was also finished back in '99-'01, and which most fans seem to like a lot more than Absurd a dn which has a much more classic GN'R sound than Absurd: He decided to play Silkworms live on these four first shows, not Hard Skool. And when it came to release the first new music with the "reunion lineup" - the first new music from Axl and Slash! - he chose Absurd over Hard Skool. 

OBVIOUSLY, Axl likes the song. And I don't think he cares really much about whether fans don't ;). I know people struggle with that concept, but don't let your personal preferences make you stupid.

I love the song. I miss the chorus, though.