You are not logged in. Please register or login.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
- tejastech08
- Rep: 194
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
I think I agree 100% with the commentary below. My only hope is that somehow we get new studio material featuring Axl's voice.
http://classicrock.teamrock.com/feature … in-waiting
“Just say no to corporate cash-grabs.”
Are three-fifths of GN’R about to make a horrific mistake? Classic Rock’s Ken McIntyre thinks so...
This is not easy to say. I mean, I was eighteen in 1987, and I contend that Appetite For Destruction is the greatest rock album of all time. Undisputed. And sure, I’m willing to fight about it. I have. So it’s not like I’m not a fan. That album runs through my veins. It’s in my blood, like a curse. So I have just as much stake in Guns N’ Roses’ legacy as they do. And that’s why I just gotta say no to this Axl/Slash/Duff thing.
First of all, no Izzy, no deal. Slash liked Deep Purple when this band got together. Axl was some Midwestern podunk zero. Duff was a directionless punk rocker. Izzy’s unwavering dedication to rock’n’roll’s slithery underbelly is what shaped GN’R’s sound. He was the chief architect in this psycho circus and when he pulled out, it was over. If he’s not coming back, we shouldn’t even be discussing a reunion. But since we are, let’s be honest about it. There will be no glory in attending one of these shows. It will not make you feel young again. You will not tell your grandchildren you spent a week’s pay to see a megalomaniac thirty years past his prime bicker with his old bandmates for eight million dollars a night. If you do, then all hope is lost. You blew it. 1987 was all for nothing.
Appetite For Destruction resonated so deeply because it was outlaw music made by actual outlaws, and you could smell the stink of authenticity from miles away. That’s why they shrivelled before that tour was even over. Rot set in as soon as money and success came their way. Give a street-punk a mansion and he’s not a punk anymore, he’s just another boring rich asshole. You waited seventeen long years for Chinese Democracy, and what did you get for it? You got fucking Chinese Democracy, man.
And don’t kid yourself, Axl is still in charge. Slash and Duff are just extremely well-paid hired guns. If it goes pear-shaped, he’s still got Buckethead on speed-dial. And what if he insists on keeping the legacy of the ‘new’ Guns alive? Are you prepared to see Slash rip out a solo on Shackler’s Revenge? Imagine that horror. If anything, the very idea of these shows should serve as a billowing red flag that all is not well in the kingdom of rock. The bleeding has to stop somewhere, and perhaps this is it.
Just say no to corporate cash-grabs. Instead, take that $200 or whatever and spend it on your local rock scene. I guarantee you there are young Guns bashing away in garages, basements, and dive-bars in your neighbourhood right now, and they deserve your attention more than this. For one-tenth of a faux-GN’R reunion ticket, they will hang from the ceiling, kick holes in the bass drum, sell you a hand-drawn cassette demo for five dollars, and pass out face-first in an alley. All the things you got into this game for in the first place. Rock’n’roll is alive and well if you look in the right places, but this ain’t one of them. After all, if it’s not good enough for Izzy Stradlin’, why would it be good enough for you?
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
I've talked about the point of diminishing returns in regards to seeing them play together. Yes it will be awesome, but it's not going to be that much more amazing than what I've already seen "nu" GnR play live. The Missus agrees. Do the ticket prices justify the end result? I guess we'll have to see. If no new music comes of it, then I'd say probably not. I'll see this once, pay the prices once, and that's enough. Izzy could be contributing to new music from the sidelines, which I'd imagine he would. But he's right, Axl probably still is in charge, which doesn't necessarily make me feel all warm and fuzzy about all of this. Currently my excitement level is a 6/10.
- Mama's Good Boy
- Rep: 25
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
It will really come down to how well Axl can sing.
Can he return to some semblance of what he did in 2006? Sounded amazing.
I've seen some pretty sad clips from 2012-2014.
If fans pay $250+ for tickets and he comes out sounding shitty a la that bridge street show, its going to look like a joke to the media and public.
I've been a huge Axl supporter, always will be. That's why I hope he is working with a vocal coach and working out to get in the best shape of his life.
I will be there regardless.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
And what if he insists on keeping the legacy of the ‘new’ Guns alive? Are you prepared to see Slash rip out a solo on Shackler’s Revenge?
Imagine that horror.
I might be alone on this but I would LOVE to see the old band take on some of the Chinese Democracy material.
To me those songs feature some of Axl's best parts (when viewed in isolation) and what makes then jarring for a lot of people was the extent of the production and that many of them have elements of electronica mixed into the rock (eg the infamous "masturbating robots" of better).
However it's noticeable to me how much rockier the tracks became live. Check out IRS at Rock Am Ring 2006, or have a look at the boots of Scrapped from Osaka 2009.
I think the same tracks delivered as "rocky covers" from Slash and Duff would have a lot of potential...Chinese Democracy, IRS, Street of Dreams, Catcher, If the World, There Was a Time, Madagascar and so on would be immediately transferable without even a whole lot of style changes. Admittedly stuff like Riad and Shackler are outside of Slash's normal style of playing (pedal heavy etc) but I'm sure a rock cover of them would be interesting.
Just say no to corporate cash-grabs. Instead, take that $200 or whatever and spend it on your local rock scene. I guarantee you there are young Guns bashing away in garages, basements, and dive-bars in your neighbourhood right now, and they deserve your attention more than this. For one-tenth of a faux-GN’R reunion ticket, they will hang from the ceiling, kick holes in the bass drum, sell you a hand-drawn cassette demo for five dollars, and pass out face-first in an alley.
I've tried to do this but found my local scene uninspiring. To me i'll find people who either play styles I don't like at all like metal-core - or the ones that play in classic rock and metal styles are entirely derivative. I'd rather pay $2000 and see the real Axl even if he's too old than see some girl who thinks she is Axl rose but has 1/10000 of the talent.
The only thing about calling this tour a corporate cash grab i'll agree with - is that - as I've said elsewhere - at this stage to me the pressing concern in an ideal world would be recording more material. For a band of it's calibre and importance GNR has such little material. Even if the band kicks ass replaying AFD - at the end of the day it's just the 10,0001st time Axl and Slash have played Jungle or whatever...but writing some new songs would really change history.
That said, I still wish I could go.
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
I think the above article is kinda missing his own point.
This has nothing to do with GN'R selling out or cashing in.
It has to do with the industry putting a lack of faith or financial investment into the rock scene, and so they put it into brand names, because it's stretched thin, no different than the movie/TV industry.
They NEED brand names to make a profit. It's just smart business. And none are bigger in rock than a Guns N' Roses reunion.
Here we go
- tejastech08
- Rep: 194
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
I think the above article is kinda missing his own point.
This has nothing to do with GN'R selling out or cashing in.
It has to do with the industry putting a lack of faith or financial investment into the rock scene, and so they put it into brand names, because it's stretched thin, no different than the movie/TV industry.
They NEED brand names to make a profit. It's just smart business. And none are bigger in rock than a Guns N' Roses reunion.
Here we go
You're not wrong. It just seems that GN'R was the definition of a youth band, kinda like the Sex Pistols. It's amazing that the GN'R guys are still alive, but it's also very strange and something will not feel right about watching them onstage in their 50's. And something stinks very much knowing that you pay $250-300 to watch them now when you could have paid 5-$10 to watch them in their absolute prime.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
Speaking as someone who never got to see them in my youth, I'll happily go and see this line-up. Because I'm not reliving my fucking youth, I'm creating new and exciting memories.
- tejastech08
- Rep: 194
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
Speaking as someone who never got to see them in my youth, I'll happily go and see this line-up. Because I'm not reliving my fucking youth, I'm creating new and exciting memories.
I wasn't even 2 years old when Appetite came out, so I never saw them either. I am against a reunion simply because they don't need to shit on their legacy together. It's bad enough that Axl actually toured and released music under the GN'R name without everyone else, but there was something legendary about how GN'R exploded onto the scene and then completely imploded in a short period of time.
The only thing I hope that comes out of this is a release of studio material with Axl's voice. He has wasted his talent for a long time.
- Mama's Good Boy
- Rep: 25
Re: Just say no to corporate cash grabs
All tours are cash grabs. That is why bands tour. This one is an especially huge cash grab.
And again, the success is all on Axl at this point, so its wouldn't be surprising if he is avoiding discussing this publicly because of anxiety.
Speaking as someone who never got to see them in my youth, I'll happily go and see this line-up. Because I'm not reliving my fucking youth, I'm creating new and exciting memories.
Exactly. It will have somewhat of a blast from the past feel, but its impossible to recreate 1987 anyway. I'm with you there.
I might be alone on this but I would LOVE to see the old band take on some of the Chinese Democracy material.
To me those songs feature some of Axl's best parts (when viewed in isolation) and what makes then jarring for a lot of people was the extent of the production and that many of them have elements of electronica mixed into the rock (eg the infamous "masturbating robots" of better).
However it's noticeable to me how much rockier the tracks became live. Check out IRS at Rock Am Ring 2006, or have a look at the boots of Scrapped from Osaka 2009.
I think the same tracks delivered as "rocky covers" from Slash and Duff would have a lot of potential...Chinese Democracy, IRS, Street of Dreams, Catcher, If the World, There Was a Time, Madagascar and so on would be immediately transferable without even a whole lot of style changes. Admittedly stuff like Riad and Shackler are outside of Slash's normal style of playing (pedal heavy etc) but I'm sure a rock cover of them would be interesting.
Agree with so much of this. You aren't alone in this.
IRS has such an awesome energy live..
Agree that a few of the songs like Shackler really would not make great fits.. but most of your list I agree. Although I can't imagine we get more than 2 or 3, if we are lucky.
I think of The Blues and Chinese Democracy as GnR staples at this point.
What would be even more awesome is something brand new. But that is just wishful thinking.. lol
