cd's failure was the result of a perfect storm

the most significant factors as i see them in chronological order of appearance

the ideals of a fan base grown up

gnr lost a lot of it's once devoted followers when it reformed without any original members after word got out, true or not, that axl was to blame for the break-up. like dominoes many more dropped along the way due to the lack of activity, little to no communication with fans, and an overall dysfunction as a band.

kids today

kids spend more money on music than anyone else and cd, whether you like it or not, wasn't going to appeal to the masses in a time when radio was dominated by britney spears.

a Hardcore reality for the music and it's fans

although gnr's best cd ever wouldn't have made a huge difference to the masses in 2008, a cd with 14 twats would've been unanimously proclaimed as brilliant by the hardcores. after 14 years we got 1 twat and no tour and few of us were screaming from the mountain tops about that. the power of a happy fan base to change a few minds cannot be overlooked.

a struggling best buy's exclusive and a free stream for the curious yielded the punch line

after several failed attempts to be released before finally finding it's day, cd had become a joke and gnr was completely irrelevant to modern music. most of what was left of the curious gave but a short peak at cd for free on myspace rather than paying for it in a store they probably never entered. nobody, seriously considering buying it, would listen only to the first two songs with the rest at their finger tips (all for free) and then decide not to buy it based on those two songs and curiosity does not always equal intent to invest. axe the free stream and do a wal mart exclusive and cd then becomes a possible impulse buy for millions more with differing levels of curiosity and no way to know for sure other than to buy.

the curiosity factor did very little for cd's sales in the end

because

gnr chose the deal that offered money in the bank rather than the one geared towards marketing their product 

and that is in consistency with the direction the band has taken since

blaming genes is something fat people do. but i agree with dck's general sentiment. stress is harsh and we don't know for sure what, how much and why. i will say that if he wanted to be in better shape he could be and therefore probably doesn't really care. if he ever gives it another run - album/tour i'd be willing to put money on him trimming down for performance and endurance reasons alone and id expect a different look as well.

is the chat room an option?

people that want to get it on could go there and it would get taken care of more quickly than by posts or messages.

might be kind of fun too.

if not, yes, let's jsut be mature here and respectful.

i wasn't referring to childish behavior and it was my bad that i said that

more or less the excess of crap to talk about

who cares who likes what or who thinks what is better.
you guys sound like my kids.