I listened to the first time in a week+ and it was jarring how questionably mixed this is.

The band jam section is alright, maybe cloyingly loud, but acceptable.

But when Axl comes in, his vocals are flat in both processing and in his level in the mix.

Frankly, it sounds like a demo.

The live version smokes this.

It's possible it's an algorithmic thing based on news stories but that doesn't wash for me for a couple reasons.

Firstly, it would be more or less an instant response. We've had minor rumblings of "Hard Skool" before but it wasn't until this week that bigger sites like Bl***ermouth and Loudw**e picked it up. So that'd be instantaneous turn around for search results being collated.

Second, while it's to a much less degree than "Hard Skool", we've not seen "Atlas Shrugged" generate anything on Spotify, despite being mentioned here and there in the press and among the more mainstream fanbase. I've seen it suggested that it's because GNR fans are naming playlists "Hard Skool". Again this doesn't wash. Are there GNR related playlists with the title "Atlas Shrugged" or just "Hard Skool"? If so, okay, I'll concede but also, why would Spotify weight user playlists so heavily and surely there can't be THAT MANY playlists with "Hard Skool" as the title. It seems to strain credulity...

A couple of final comments then we'll see what happens tomorrow...

As you add or subtract letters, different things will come up, i.e.: "Hard Sko" generates "Shadow Of Your Love" but not the GNR Artist page. I've seen people speculate this is due to the proximal but scrambled letter ordering of "Shadow" but that doesn't particularly wash with me because there are other, already released songs with "Shadow" in it that have more plays than "Shadow of Your Love" on Spotify, i.e. The Killers' "Shadowplay" and Audioslave's "Shadow of the Sun". Why wouldn't their page be associated instead?

And finally, which may or may not undercut my whole theory, the results will appear only if you're based in the US.

IMO, Slash only profits the operation by being a figurehead / poster-boy to sell the record.

It's an Axl solo / side project through and through.

I'd be interested in the alternate universe where Duff, Slash, and Izzy were there to make this record but I doubt half of the stuff would happen. Not because they didn't want to do it but because they'd never think to play something that unique and untraditional.

So far their big brain ideas to improve the CD songs have been to add another intro to Better using a pre-existing section. Brilliant. Gold star.

The only coherent idea/concept is the 2000 Intentions type album.

"I'm sad at my girlfriend. I'm mad at my old band"

A fun mid-tempo, easy listening vaguely electronic and alternative mainstream rock album.

Axl would look mature scaling back the epics and delivering a cool 10-song rock record.

Madagascar
There Was A Time
IRS
If The World
The Blues
Catcher
Atlas
Hard School
Better
Prostitute