Do you still listen to Hard Skool and Absurd?

[Pele]

8 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

Hardschool didn't really need another verse, but the intro and solo went on a bit too long. It should always have been a short, fast rocker, like the CD equivalent of Garden of Eden, Perfect Crime, etc.

They trimmed some of the fat on the single, but it's still a mess.

I'd add Going Down and State Of Grace as evidence there's good songs left in the locker though and if the leaks have proven anything, it's that we don't really have any clue what's in the vault...

It's a weird song - had an intro from seemingly a completely different song, then it bursts into a quick verse, then chorus, then second verse, then meanders into instrumental, then repeats the chorus about 4 times, then more music, then last 2 lines of chorus.

I don't mind it, but it was all over the place.  I imagine it was parked with the view of restricting/finishing, however he decided to do Better/Scraped/Sorry/Shacklers etc instead.

 

Going Down is good but it's written and sung by Tommy.

 

State of Grace is an interesting one.  Excellent song, vocals 90% done in 99.  What the hell happened to it?

Some suggest it morphed into The General.

I'm not sure.  If I could guess, I'd say it was written by someone else and presented to Axl to sing, and left behind when that person left the band.  Pure guess though.

 

 

[Gordon Comstock]

1 minute ago, Pele said:

It's a weird song - had an intro from seemingly a completely different song, then it bursts into a quick verse, then chorus, then second verse, then meanders into instrumental, then repeats the chorus about 4 times, then more music, then last 2 lines of chorus.

I don't mind it, but it was all over the place.  I imagine it was parked with the view of restricting/finishing, however he decided to do Better/Scraped/Sorry/Shacklers etc instead.

 

Going Down is good but it's written and sung by Tommy.

 

State of Grace is an interesting one.  Excellent song, vocals 90% done in 99.  What the hell happened to it?

Some suggest it morphed into The General.

I'm not sure.  If I could guess, I'd say it was written by someone else and presented to Axl to sing, and left behind when that person left the band.  Pure guess though.

 

 

 

Going Down is basically the CD equivalent of 14 Years/So Fine/etc. where another band member brought in the song and Axl just added backing vocals. Might have legitimized the CD "band" a bit, had they released it on CD2 or whatever... but it's a good song.

There's one part in SOG that vaguely sounds like The General, but the same can be said for the instrumental song Billionaire tbh. Given what we know about The General, musically and lyrically, I don't think any parts of SOG were worked into The General. Who knows whether it was stripped for parts and used in another song, though.

[ShadowOfTheWave]

I remember one user saying SOG was probably a Tobias song, since it sounded like another project of his. I might be misremembering.

[Dean]

Hard Skool has gotten a lot more airplay than Absurd in this household, though I got a new sound system and both have been played a lot recently - more so than usual.

The biggest thing for me is the production. For someone that slaved over an album for so long seeking perfection, there is a massive gulf in difference between say something from Chinese and either of the two singles in terms of listening experience. Being at the forefront with going against the Loudness War with Chinese, these two singles do hit me with the assumption that it’s loudness for loudness sake. That said, I think Hard Skool is a great song so the flaws I think it has aren’t really important in the grand scheme of things.

[Gordon Comstock]

2 minutes ago, ShadowOfTheWave said:

I remember one user saying SOG was probably a Tobias song, since it sounded like another project of his. I might be misremembering.

 

Mank Rage is probably the group you're thinking of. I assume Paul had a hand in writing SOG, though I don't think anyone other than Axl wrote the lyrics.

[Pele]

11 minutes ago, ShadowOfTheWave said:

I remember one user saying SOG was probably a Tobias song, since it sounded like another project of his. I might be misremembering.

Very interesting and I believe it.  I think it'e likely the reason it was seemingly shelved.

[Tom2112]

Would love to say yes, but I might have listened both at the start of the month when all the debate over the lyric video was going on... But besides that I don't really have any urge to hear them. I'm not going to leave a concert if they played them but I'll go grab a drink and wait for something off the other 4 albums I liked. Funnily enough I'd probably stay for Absurd because it looks fun live, but no interest in Hardskool... One's not better than the other though, both are very bang average... To my ears, and A LOT of others.

45 minutes ago, Pele said:

It's a weird song - had an intro from seemingly a completely different song, then it bursts into a quick verse, then chorus, then second verse, then meanders into instrumental, then repeats the chorus about 4 times, then more music, then last 2 lines of chorus.

I don't mind it, but it was all over the place.  I imagine it was parked with the view of restricting/finishing, however he decided to do Better/Scraped/Sorry/Shacklers etc instead.

 

Going Down is good but it's written and sung by Tommy.

 

State of Grace is an interesting one.  Excellent song, vocals 90% done in 99.  What the hell happened to it?

Some suggest it morphed into The General.

I'm not sure.  If I could guess, I'd say it was written by someone else and presented to Axl to sing, and left behind when that person left the band.  Pure guess though.

 

 

He didn't throw out ideas of all the others that left the band, don't think he was about to start with SOG.

[Pele]

4 minutes ago, Tom2112 said:

Would love to say yes, but I might have listened both at the start of the month when all the debate over the lyric video was going on... But besides that I don't really have any urge to hear them. I'm not going to leave a concert if they played them but I'll go grab a drink and wait for something off the other 4 albums I liked. Funnily enough I'd probably stay for Absurd because it looks fun live, but no interest in Hardskool... One's not better than the other though, both are very bang average... To my ears, and A LOT of others.

He didn't throw out ideas of all the others that left the band, don't think he was about to start with SOG.

No he didn't - hense my suggestion it may have been a completed song presented by Tobias (or someone else)

 

[Jw224]

Yeah I still listen to them. I'm surprised to say that I prefer HS to the original village version mostly. Silkworms I'm not sure which version I like better. Always loved the sharp sounding synths on the village one. 

Mixing/mastering on both is awful though. Put HS on and it sounds like you're listening to it through a pillow. Need to turn it up to hear properly then when you do it's a mushed up mess with little detail.

Edited December 30, 2021 by Jw224

[Top-Hatted One]

Haven’t listened since they came out. So sad

[AlterL]

The demos? Yes the official releases, once in a while. They're not bad, but they certainly aren't any better for me.

[Sisyphus]

Sure do. Great songs. I prefer Hard Skool but I love Absurd too. I want more.

[StrangerInThisTown]

I don't. I listen to State Of Grace all the time though, that's a song they need to release.

Edited December 30, 2021 by StrangerInThisTown

[axl666]

I like them both as new GNR.

Absurd is a mess though. When you look at how lyrically dense a song like coma or locomotive is compared to this though...real decline in writing.

Hard school is genuinely good and catchy. However needs more variation in lyrics as well.

When you think of everything going on in the world now, writing something like Absurd is a bit uninspired.

[axl666]

Actually do we know if Axl actually wrote the lyrics for absurd? Chris Pittman wrote the music?

[Pele]

2 hours ago, axl666 said:

Actually do we know if Axl actually wrote the lyrics for absurd? Chris Pittman wrote the music?

It was assumed it was written Reed/Pitman as he introduced it as such.

The songwriting credits say otherwise though - I think @Blackstar is the person to ask here. 

[downzy]

Maybe it's me just getting old, but I really don't listen to "new" music after it's been released.  Maybe a week or two, but after that, I've moved on.  Albums are a bit different and might get a spin four to six months out from release. 

But I generally don't revisit music, tv shows, movies, or books much after they've been enjoyed the first little while.

I enjoyed Hardskool the first couple of weeks.  If it came on randomly I would definitely boost the volume, but I'm not making an effort to listen it after hearing it 10-20 times a month ago.  

Absurd was listened to twice.  That was enough of that.  

[Gibson87]

I listen to them at least once a day. They're both good workout songs 

[themadcaplaughs]

I listen to them both about the same way I listen to all Guns music these days; if it pops up on the shuffle of songs by my favorite bands, I'll listen and enjoy. "Hard Skool" popped up on my Amazon Music shuffle the other day and really enjoyed it removed from all the hype and in-depth analysis. 

[Tom-Ass]

Haven't listened to either since they came out...  These releases were just a big turn off and pretty much confirmed the band will never release anthing worth listening to again.. Not that I really thought this lineup could pull it off anyway..

[Panda2]

Of Course, i'm listening right now, i m a northkorean  GNR fan, 

I listen Absurd (my only complain is just a lil bit repetitive and short, but ey i listen twice ,i fckin  love that song )in a daily basis , right next to Tenderness(Duff), the winner combo, 

And Hardskool goes whit SOYL, 

[CubanSkies Dummy]

Beaven's mix of "Silkworms" ftw

[Nintari]

I do not. I don't know if it's the lyrical content feeling sort of disjointed from reality (or rather, my reality), or what... but there just wasn't anything all that deep about them. They sort of felt like appetizers. Not meals. Not snacks. Just a couple crackers with some imitation cheese slices folded over to quell an appetite that came right back five minutes after I'd ingested them.

Edited December 31, 2021 by Nintari

[History2010]

I have them on my GN'R playlist so I hear them every once in a while. 

[h2sublime]

I like them both. Great to have them releasing at least something!