I think that's an oversimplification.

The war on drugs stew has long been simmering in America. The Nixon administration coined the term, founded the DEA, and passed the Control Substances Act. Reagan was the simply the Huckleberry the Republicans were looking for, someone who'd happily bang the "anti-drug / get tough on crime" drum that he'd been pounding on since his days as Governor in California. He no doubt escalated Nixon's policies but I'm like to blame the former for much of this idiocy, even if it's roots go much deeper.

As a side note, American didn't deserve Jimmy Carter. Too ahead of his time.

A completely legal system is a bit of a stretch. I think many Americans have an issue with the role of corporate lobbying in American politics. A smaller subset of that group sees the pharmaceutical industry as very problematic.

As far as who sells the opioids, that's a bunch of makeshift clinics with doctors of dubious merit prescribing the drugs to dealers thinly veiled as patients, exploiting every possible loophole in the process. Some operate illegally, some are perfectly satisfied doing so until they're raided. So you basically have a semi-legal black market.

We don't have a completely legal system that Brian was arguing for and we certainly don't have any compelling education on the issue. It's like any other issue in America with the national discourse is so muddled, it's impossible to have a rational conversation.

Nice job!

Old band isn't my cup of juice but I'm sure a lot of people will dig this.

I'm not much of a gamer these days but Super Mario Odyssey looks great for the upcoming Nintendo Switch.

This is one of my favorite songs on the album.

The great Stanley Kubrick once said that when everything is epic, nothing is. Axl Rose would've done well to heed his words of wisdom, as most of the songs on Chinese Democracy are packed to the gills with bombast and self-seriousness. While the album is overwhelming when taken collectively, songs like the sublime "Sorry" and underrated "If The World" provide a much needed reprieve.

There have been countless articles written praising the work of the enigmatic Buckethead and many others extolling the virtues of the under-appreciated Robin Finck, but little has been written about keyboardist Chris Pitman. Say what you will of his personage, his two main contributions to the album, "Madagascar" and "If The World", both written with Rose, are two compelling arguments for his songwriting ability and do well to complement the reclusive orange-haired one.

The song opens with sweeping flamenco guitar ripped from the "Double Talkin' Jive" outro before a funky groove and light synth line kicks things off proper. It's as if a hipster band set in The Jetsons universe was doing a theme song for a blaxploitation James Bond film featuring Shaft. It's Pitman's work in combination with a hip-hop inspired drum beat that shines here, culminating in a soulful and piercing guitar solo by Buckethead. Rose signs a high-pitched wail overtop the band as if he were a spurned lounge singer pouring his heart out sometime before last call.

The aforementioned combination of Rose and Pitman is an underrated one and makes this commenter wonder if there are more goodies stashed in a vault somewhere in California. Pitman's efforts were regrettably scaled back on the finished version of the album (see: the Catcher In The Rye bridge in the pre-Bumblefoot version) however his psychedelic, alt rock sensibilities are present throughout. Here and on "Madagascar", he builds a convincing soundscape with little more than a couple of extended notes on his keyboard. His work on the 1997 Lusk album "Free Mars" are further examples of his ability to write engaging and diverse music and helps one see why he and Rose were able to get on so well throughout his near 20 year tenure in the band.

It's a Herculean effort keeping track of the who's and why-for's on this monstrosity of an album but it's worth noting that Finck and crew do a good job of adding little flourishes throughout the five minute run time without distracting from the proceedings. It's a glimpse into the brilliance of the 1997-1999 band and further evidence of the "Zeppelin, Nine Inch Nails and Pink Floyd" sound Axl was going for early on. It's also one of the few hip-hop inspired Guns N' Roses songs penned by Rose, the universally loved "Better" being the other.

Extended listening: