THE GENERAL - MONSTERS - Official Discussion Thread. NO LINKS OR ASKING FOR LINKS

[Carlson-online]

He said said "The General is a Monster", he was definitely toying with us. ie: "I know something that you don't, so I'm going to secretly reveal something to you, without you realising/"

[Towelie]

They need to put all the singles out on one vinyl. 

1. Absurd 

2. Hard Skool

3. Perhaps

4. The General

6. Monster.

7. Atlas Shrugged

^^^ I'd pay good money for that vinyl.

[SoulMonster]

5 minutes ago, 2020_Intensions said:

Well we've had many arguments over the years about whether or not Axl was being honest about saying he recorded the vocals for Soul Monster back in 2005. I lost faith, but I stand corrected.

And I can't remember any of them, buddy  This is not a slight to you, I just argue with so many so frequently, I can't keep up. Nor do I ever take anything personally, or intend anything personally.

[saint_seiya]

the leaks are the final version

[Alejandro GNR]

5 minutes ago, Towelie said:

They need to put all the singles out on one vinyl. 

1. Absurd 

2. Hard Skool

3. Perhaps

4. The General

6. Monster.

7. Atlas Shrugged

^^^ I'd pay good money for that vinyl.

+ Oh my God and a finished version of State of Grace that's fucking GREAT

[Pingouino]

7 minutes ago, Towelie said:

They need to put all the singles out on one vinyl. 

1. Absurd 

2. Hard Skool

3. Perhaps

4. The General

6. Monster.

7. Atlas Shrugged

^^^ I'd pay good money for that vinyl.

Indeed I totally see a vinyl release by GNR/TB camp with the song 5 missing

[Blackstar]

34 minutes ago, Lio said:

I don't think it's a leap. Do you think it's mere coincidence he called it a monster? If he'd called it straight out Monsters, it wouldn't have made any sense at the time. Now everyone just thought he meant it was a monster of a song. It sounds like the thing Fernando would find funny.

 

Right now, I'm going with the theory that Monsters was to be the hidden track, not one song with The General. Hopefully we'll still get it at some point. I'm still wondering about who leaked it all though. It must be someone very close to the band. As I believe it's Slash on it, I don't think it's something the hoarders have had for years. I think if they had, we would've heard of the Monsters title before this. No one had it. And it wasn't until Blackstar found the credits that we first heard of Monsters at all. And lo and behold, a few days later, everything leaks, right after the delay, on the day we should've gotten The General (and Monsters?) and a week later, they do The General live. I know people have been called morons on here for thinking the band was involved, but until further notice, I still believe it's someone associated with the band who leaked it. Just because I think no hoarders had it, and I don't see a random studio guy leaking it.

I think hoarders didn't have even earlier versions of either song, as it seems that everyone, including "insiders", thought that Monsters from the cell phone recording was The General.

Probably it was leaked by someone associated with the band, but not necessarily with the band's permission.

[Towelie]

1 minute ago, Pingouino said:

Indeed I totally see a vinyl release by GNR/TB camp with the song 5 missing

It's been a long day.... 😄

[dave94]

Now they’ve played it live is there any reason they can’t just put it on Spotify

[Blackstar]

36 minutes ago, 2020_Intensions said:

I owe @SoulMonster an apology. Axl really did finish the vocals for Soul Monster. I still don't think songs like Zodiac, Dub Suplex, Tonto, etc have finished vocals though 

I think, if we consider that screenshot of the alleged CD2 track list real, all tracks included in it have vocals. Tonto and Nothing are in there (which maybe means that Axl finished Nothing at some point), and there's also "Monstrocity" and "4 Heavens", whatever these are (I don't think 4 Heavens is KOHD as many people believe).

[Sweersa]

7 minutes ago, dave94 said:

Now they’ve played it live is there any reason they can’t just put it on Spotify

Maybe they are waiting to play Monsters before releasing both tracks.

[Voodoochild]

7 hours ago, uzi your illusion said:

For the guitar players on the board, how close is Slash's live solo vs. the leaked version of the song?

5 hours ago, 22frets said:

Not this again 

It's not unusual for Slash to improvise his solos live. He hardly plays his solos note-for-note. What he played today followed a similar theme to the one in the recording and was only missing all the shreddy parts. He probably recorded it so long ago that he couldn't remember the exact notes and just winged it on the spot. 

This. I'm not sure if he forgot to start at the right time (the solo starts before Axl finishes the chorus), or if just waited because the chorus would lost a bit of power if he stopped playing rhythm. 

But from what I could hear from that rehearsal video, it's clear to me that Slash is improvising on top of the general (no pun) theme of his solo. Which is fine, I loved it. 

Another thing to notice: some people thought he was using his talkbox effect for the riffs. It's just his wah pedal with lower gain.

1 hour ago, Jw224 said:

Has it leaked basically posted the fake 4chan post again. I know they legitimately do have contacts but I think they were duped this time around. 

They did say it wasn't from a 4chan post. I honestly don't doubt. 

[jamillos]

55 minutes ago, Lio said:

I don't think it's a leap. Do you think it's mere coincidence he called it a monster? If he'd called it straight out Monsters, it wouldn't have made any sense at the time. Now everyone just thought he meant it was a monster of a song. It sounds like the thing Fernando would find funny.

 

Right now, I'm going with the theory that Monsters was to be the hidden track, not one song with The General. Hopefully we'll still get it at some point. I'm still wondering about who leaked it all though. It must be someone very close to the band. As I believe it's Slash on it, I don't think it's something the hoarders have had for years. I think if they had, we would've heard of the Monsters title before this. No one had it. And it wasn't until Blackstar found the credits that we first heard of Monsters at all. And lo and behold, a few days later, everything leaks, right after the delay, on the day we should've gotten The General (and Monsters?) and a week later, they do The General live. I know people have been called morons on here for thinking the band was involved, but until further notice, I still believe it's someone associated with the band who leaked it. Just because I think no hoarders had it, and I don't see a random studio guy leaking it.

No I believe he did a little inside joke alright, but I don't think he was actually trying to tell us that TG is actually M. After all, nobody would have understood what he meant back then anyway. But who knows what's going on in that head...

[twainwreck88]

20 hours ago, Eric Cantona said:

God it’s nice hearing GN’R songs in full for the first time, what a feeling

Any chance we get a release on Spotify tonight?

[Blackstar]

19 minutes ago, jamillos said:

No I believe he did a little inside joke alright, but I don't think he was actually trying to tell us that TG is actually M. After all, nobody would have understood what he meant back then anyway. But who knows what's going on in that head...

I think it was about both: that it would be The General AND Monsters and also that what we thought was The General was Monsters. The second hint in the joke wouldn't make sense without the first one.

It's the kind of inside joke Fernando would make so that he could go back and say "I told you it was a monster" etc.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Blackstar

[Rovim]

15 minutes ago, jamillos said:

No I believe he did a little inside joke alright, but I don't think he was actually trying to tell us that TG is actually M. After all, nobody would have understood what he meant back then anyway. But who knows what's going on in that head...

not very much if I had to guess. I think he was totally trying to tell us without really telling us and it made him feel good about himself that he knew something we didn't.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Rovim

[The Natural]

I'm not asking for links because I know that's against the rules..... BUT if they happened to appear in my inbox I wouldn't be upset.

[DTJ80]

Monsters is just all kinds of awesome. Give it a killer video and release it on its own as a single and I think it does well. Very well.

I don’t think it’s impossible to have an Atlas Shrugged / Monsters release at somepoint which would give us 6 songs. I can absolutely see there being more now that we just don’t know about….will they compile it as a single release though? I hope so.

[Rovim]

1 minute ago, DTJ80 said:

Monsters is just all kinds of awesome. Give it a killer video and release it on its own as a single and I think it does well. Very well.

I don’t think it’s impossible to have an Atlas Shrugged / Monsters release at somepoint which would give us 6 songs. I can absolutely see there being more now that we just don’t know about….will they compile it as a single release though? I hope so.

I think it's like Axl said it was: CD ll, ie the second half of Chinese was completed since at least 2007 probably. An album's worth of material with complete vocals and Axl, for whatever reason, decided to sit on it.

 

[jamillos]

32 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

I think it was about both: that it would be The General AND Monsters and also that what we thought was The General was Monsters. The second hint in the joke wouldn't make sense without the first one.

It's the kind of inside joke Fernando would make so that he could go back and say "I told you it was a monster" etc.

 

29 minutes ago, Rovim said:

not very much if I had to guess. I think he was totally trying to tell us without really telling us and it made him feel good about himself that he knew something we didn't.

Possible, possible, makes some sense, but I’ll still maintain certain scepticism here. But yeah, when you think about it, something in this (him enjoying that he knows something we don’t and therefore being able to be all mysterious and totally laconic as usual) does ring a bell. 

[JimiRose]

2 hours ago, jamillos said:

I'd say you've done quite a leap there. I mean, "The General is a monster" vs. "The General is Monsters". I don't know, man. Gramatically, it doesn't really quite click. 

I'd say he said it like that because 'the General is Monsters' would have meant nothing to us. His way made sense but is also cryptic and a play on words

[Voodoochild]

How would you feel if they release The General on vinyl and Monsters digital only?

I'm with @Blackstar, I still feel like those two songs are tied somehow. 

[Rovim]

3 minutes ago, jamillos said:

 

Possible, possible, makes some sense, but I’ll still maintain certain scepticism here. But yeah, when you think about it, something in this (him enjoying that he knows something we don’t and therefore being able to be all mysterious and totally laconic as usual) does ring a bell. 

I think Fernando could do better when it comes to interaction with the fans, but it seems like he always picks the less respectful attitude if it means he can get something from it which to me is stroking his ego, but maybe I'm wrong, idk. Definitely doesn't have to be this way, even if I'm sure what he can share is limited.

1 minute ago, Voodoochild said:

How would you feel if they release The General on vinyl and Monsters digital only?

I'm with @Blackstar, I still feel like those two songs are tied somehow. 

I just want these two songs officially released. Let's start there. 

[Mikey Whipwreck]

3 minutes ago, Voodoochild said:

How would you feel if they release The General on vinyl and Monsters digital only?

I'm with @Blackstar, I still feel like those two songs are tied somehow. 

Would be a mistake. They should release them together on vinyl.

The whole drip feed thing seems like an exercise in laziness, cash grabbing and fear of criticism.

Releasing the songs one or two at a time gets the few fans who still care about new music to spend $15-20 on the single multiple times instead of $15-20 once. And there's no real criticism from the wider world. An album or even 6 song EP would attract more scrutiny.

Yet it's counterproductive. The General reminds me of the kind of song you find on many concept albums. As a standalone it's kind of weird and off putting. But as a part of a larger theme or narrative it works. It really is enhanced by having it lead in to Soul Monster, regardless of whether or not they're directly connected. 

[StrangerInThisTown]

22 minutes ago, Mikey Whipwreck said:

Would be a mistake. They should release them together on vinyl.

The whole drip feed thing seems like an exercise in laziness, cash grabbing and fear of criticism.

Releasing the songs one or two at a time gets the few fans who still care about new music to spend $15-20 on the single multiple times instead of $15-20 once. And there's no real criticism from the wider world. An album or even 6 song EP would attract more scrutiny.

Yet it's counterproductive. The General reminds me of the kind of song you find on many concept albums. As a standalone it's kind of weird and off putting. But as a part of a larger theme or narrative it works. It really is enhanced by having it lead in to Soul Monster, regardless of whether or not they're directly connected. 

I don't agree that an album or even EP is necessary in 2023, it's no longer an album oriented music world and it hasn't been for years now, all you need is a new single every now and then to keep your fans interested. Albums are so much work and they are quickly forgotten and fall off the charts very fast a few weeks after they're out, it's not like it used to be, where albums would only get bigger after they're released.

But I agree the one-two punch of The General followed by Monsters is awesome to listen to, they should keep that. Especially for the fans who confused Monsters to be The General all these years.

Edited November 3, 2023 by StrangerInThisTown