a really great post from an industry insider at the Velvet Rope on the Hall issue and the name issue......

"right" or "justified" depend entirely on whose ox is being gored. Axl is entirely justified in telling the Hall how he wants to be inducted. and whether the ceremony will include him.

again, his method of doing so may sit not well with others. to a large extent, so what? I respect the guy for not bowing to what others think is "best" - and if no other reason than that many of those same people shit on lesser artists all year long.

so, for once, an artist can tell them to go to hell, do it his way, or leave him alone.
and they cant buckle him.

that's a rarity, and I wish more did it. if for no other reason than that Jann has made that Hall a fucking museum of his own personal preferences, not merit. i mean, one of Axl's biggest musical influences, Alice, has to share the induction date w/ first ballot inductees from RHCP and the Beasties. - a real cornerstone of rock music corralled in with MTV drivel.

(imo, while I might lean closer to Mike D's outlooks on life than the Coop's - as artists, these are not equals.)

Originally Posted By: GoodGodyou surely must also know some of the ridiculous demands Axl has put on everyone who has worked for him, in the legal department or not, dating back to the time they exploded.

fair enough but still, one thing about that. I assure you that one of the smartest things Axl did, was to approach ill-guided acts and was clever enough to talk to bands who WISH they had acted to protect themselves before it was too late. While Slash and Duff and Steve were out doping on tour, Axl solicited insights from his elders, and then used their experiences to shape his own so he didn't go through the meat grinder and come up unprotected.

he also smelled bullshit a thousand miles away and as soon as he could, he bid those sort of people adieu. of course, in doing so, you offend people, and then reputations get besmirched, and the rationality of what one is doing is called into question. you need a thick hide to suffer that, and Axl is equipped with such a hide

Originally Posted By: GoodGodWhy should Axl be so special in this case? Can you name a precedent for this demand at any induction to date?

he is sui generis in many respects, and by not following the herd, he has pissed many off, but he also has maintained a lot of integrity in the sense of, he does he he wants, and you know that going in with him.

this is why you have no difficulty recognizing he is consistent. he does not give a shit about anything other than what works for him. and he would rather fail on his own terms than cave to the machinations of others.

I'd like about 1500 other artists like that to emerge any day now.

Originally Posted By: GoodGodAnd we know there was more than money involved in him getting the name. Every one of them involved has told the story, in books yet, except Izzy, who speaks volumes by saying little or nothing...as well as leaving at the beginning of the "Use Your Illusion" tour.

my take on that is he saw these other guys becoming weak in ways that destroy a band. many precedents for that staring them in the face, and he has and had too much pride to give away his juice, or let others water it down.

so he jumped in to protect himself. and that isn't speculation. that is exactly what he was faced with and how he chose to deal with it.

Tommy Stinson doesn't suffer many fools, and in the right moment, will tell you that Axl did what the Mats wish to have done and wanted to do - be successful enough to be left alone and pursue whatever it is that fancied them, and the day they forgot that, was the last day they had any fun as a band.

that's an important perspective often lost in these musings.

Originally Posted By: GoodGodAnyone who thinks GN'R is entering the R&R Hall of Fame based on Chinese Democracy and the current touring unit is batshit. Or sorely deluded.

that's not the question to me. the question is "has Axl rightfully earned and positioned himself so that he can dictate to others, especially when they have their own ideas of what he should be content to accept?"

my answer is, yep, he has. and that is admirable. because very few ever get there, and those in position to do so, often fail to nail it down when and while they can. then live to regret it later.