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#201 Re: Guns N' Roses » Axl's back on his feet again (sort of). » 475 weeks ago
Question, can you understand German as a Flemish speaker?
This is getting awfully off-topic, but anyway... 
. I can usually get the gist of what is being said, but I really need to concentrate. I'll also often get the intended tense wrong.
Do you happen to know from which part of Flanders these people were? Even within our very small region, there's enormous variation in accents (we often subtitle people that speak their native dialect on TV that live no more than 100km from the most populous area). I'm going to go out on a limb and say there were either from West-Flanders (the area near the coast, which has the thickest, most pronounced and specific accent), or from Limburg - close to the German and Dutch borders, where they speak something that resembles a bit of a mix (more sing-song than German - like the Dutch -, but for certain things - like 'mich' and 'dich' - they abuse actual German words by giving them a slightly different meaning).
How do you perceive the difference between Dutch and Afrikaans then?
*edit* Interesting historical tidbit, but German, Dutch (and Flemish) stem from a late medieval language called "Diets" (which in itself derived from "Frankisch". Diets is most immediately responsible for the development of Flemish and the dialect spoken in West-Germany, the two of which developed first from it. Dutch developed from Flemish, with 'Northern' (Frisian and Danish) influences. Afrikaans in turn was derived from a mix of early Dutch and Flemish (although the latter to a lesser extent). "Diets" is also the reason why the different languages have such confusing names when translated:
"Dutch" = "Nederlands" in Dutch, but "German" = "Deutsch" in German. Both "Dutch" and "Deutsch" come from "Diets", etymologically speaking. Need to be more confused? Pennsylvania Dutch, as spoking in Amish country in the US is actually German, not Dutch... and Yiddish too is closely related.
Check out the middle graphic in this image to see how the accents overlap the borders: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ … enelux.PNG
The yellow and green parts in the upper graphic (Nederfrankisch and Nedersaksich) make up the parts that constitute what we today call "Dutch" (including Flemish).
#202 Re: Guns N' Roses » Axl's back on his feet again (sort of). » 475 weeks ago
I'm confused. I met some Belgians on holiday and they said they spoke flemish, which to me was very close to German. It definitely wasn't Dutch as I meet hollanders every week through work. I see on wiki only 1% of the country speaks German (I assume the protestants), and these folks were definitely not that.
Impressive that you were able to hear the vocals.
Flemish is Dutch with a different accent (that might be more reminiscent of German to some, we use same G and R sounds as the Germans, which is different from the G and R sounds used in the Netherlands.). The part of the Netherlands north of the river Maas is what's usually refered to when Dutch people speak of Holland, and their accent is distinctly different from the southern part of the Netherlands, which gets more extreme as you go into Flanders.
I'd say the difference in accent between Dutch and Flemish is about as extreme as the difference between Scottish and 'proper' English, so much so that if you don't speak the language you might not be able to notice that their one and the same.
Furthermore, the Dutch have a much thicker, more recognizable accent than the Flemish when speaking English.
#203 Re: Guns N' Roses » Lenny Kravitz on opening for GNR » 475 weeks ago
I know everyone has seen this a million times, but this belongs in this thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2GiayIXvXo
They can't not do this when Lenny opens for them.
#204 Re: Guns N' Roses » Axl's back on his feet again (sort of). » 475 weeks ago
Also, I have to say I was really frustrated that I hadn't bothered picking up one of those returned tickets (there were 2000 left, in the end). I live about 20 miles away from where the festival grounds are and I could hear the songs in my back yard (not very well, mind you, but still). I could hear the drums and bass (as is usually the case), but this time I could also make out the vocals (very unusual). It really felt like he was rubbing my nose in the missed opportunity!
GNR better swing by these parts soon, and he'd better bring his A-game then as well!
#205 Re: Guns N' Roses » Axl's back on his feet again (sort of). » 475 weeks ago
The reviews in the Belgian newspapers are very good (for those that read Dutch):
http://www.demorgen.be/muziek/ac-dc-in- … -be357a53/
http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20160517_02291944
I think the title of the first article says it all, but it's worth mentioning that they specifically point out that Axl was often hit and miss in the last 10 years, but that this show he sounded better than they've heard him in a long time (first time GNR performed in Belgium was in '93).
The second article starts with the following sentence: "Axl Rose kwam, zag en deed wat hij moest doen ten dienste van een AC/DC dat moeiteloos de wei van Werchter inpakte.", or in English: "Axl Rose came, saw and did what he had to do in service of an AC/DC that effortlessly blew away the audience at Werchter's festival grounds." (that "blew away" is a loose translation, taken literally it says that AC/DC "effortlessly wrapped up the audience", it usually means something very similar to "wrapping someone around your finder" or "having someone eat out of the palm of your hand").
#206 Re: Guns N' Roses » New Guns N Roses member Melissa Reese » 479 weeks ago
She's even wearing Duff's old pants...
#207 Re: Dust N' Bones & Cyborg Slunks » "I quit the oldies band" - Chris Pitman » 479 weeks ago
If he's right and they are planning to go for the nostalgia cash grab only...
Then still fuck him, if anyone has the right to do so it's the guys that wrote the fucking songs...
#208 Re: Guns N' Roses » What's left that the we want added to the set-list? » 479 weeks ago
Don't Dame Me
Breakdown
Locomotive
Torn between these three, but if I have to choose one, I'd go for Don't Damn Me...
#209 Re: Guns N' Roses » Axl Rose vs. Bruce Dickinson: who's the best? » 479 weeks ago
Except for the part where he moves around on stage a lot more than others. He could have stood there like a statue and pretty much nailed every song perfectly if he wanted back in the day. That said, there is some bone-chilling stuff from him in the earliest GN'R bootlegs on YouTube (Don't Cry in particular).
The running-around-like-a-madman doesn't necessarily elevate the performance for me, but that's personal, I guess . But check out that Come Together video I posted above, he's standing completely still there. Sure, his voice was shot at the end of that tour, but that's my entire point: inconsistent.
#210 Re: Guns N' Roses » Axl Rose vs. Bruce Dickinson: who's the best? » 479 weeks ago
Axl Rose is the best rock singer to ever take a stage.
He's really not, if anything he's terribly inconsistent live. Compared to guys like Maynard James Keenan, Robert Plant, Chris Cornell, ... or even more modern guys like M. Shadows, Corey Taylor, etc... who consistently bring live (and raw, powerful) rock vocals that match the records almost note for note...
I absolutely love Axl's voice, but let's not be blind for his weaknesses now...
*edit* I was trying to remember which classic song it was that he croaked through back in the day, and I found it:
This, on the other hand, is pure gold:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN94_bL3hUI
