Here Today... Gone To Hell!

i'm not sure if this can stay in this section or if it belongs in Dead Horse, but i have been thinking about this particularly for a while and am interested in your perspective. if anyone can help make more sense of this, it'd be appreciated. i wrote this as one of my online journal entries a few weeks ago:

i had some sort of revelation last night, and i couldn't stop thinking about it all day. it's no newsflash that axl rose wasn't a very happy person, but sometimes certain things you thought you understood from the get-go start to promulgate new meanings. in the most unbiased manner i can say this, guns is the greatest therapy one could ever find. being the fundamental part of the band, axl gave us way more than what we bargained for. there really isn't a single uplifting song in the entire guns catalogue, that is if you dismiss their odes to alcohol and drugs. i try and analyze the illusions all the time, and little by little do i find myself interpreting a song to the point where it makes the most sense. for starters, take notice of each song's title from those albums:

UYI I: right next door to hell, dust n' bones, live and let die, don't cry, perfect crime, you ain't the first, bad obsession, back off bitch, double talkin' jive, november rain, the garden, garden of eden, don't damn me, bad apples, dead horse, coma

UYI II: civil war, 14 years, yesterdays, knockin' on heaven's door, get in the ring, shotgun blues, breakdown, pretty tied up, locomotive, so fine, estranged, you could be mine, don't cry [alt], my world

now, i had always felt like they were my only true outlet, and i had also recognized that they fit perfectly with any mood i should happen to be in. i think that this goes to show that i really don't have that wide a range of moods, that i'm just a sad case for a human being. by just reading the titles of these songs, you can already see where it's going to take you and what is going to be shared with the listener. i think that with the variety in guns' music, and the way they still manage to keep that punk rock outlook, it's not so much what mood in general one could be in -- it's a measure or scale of how hurt or pissed off you're feeling.

there are speculations that a lot of the material on the up-and-coming chinese democracy is going to be about stephanie seymour, someone whom axl hasn't shared intimate relations with in over a decade. it's pretty common for people to have trouble letting go of things and moving on, but it just seems axl in particular has never had any luck with that and probably won't. like myself, he was and is an extremely introvertive individual. i think that since he's hid himself from not only the fans, but every person he used to have feelings for, the only way he was or is able to get his point across is strictly through the music. i have this sort of respect for him for not abiding by the record label's requisition, and i so hope that this wait will follow through -- that he does get everything in it's place, whether he's been able to let go of certain things or not.

i'm not entirely sure what point i'm even trying to make, but i'm having writer's block again, and what i just wanted to share is what i had been thinking about, and had been concerned with, recently.

Wow, all that writing and not a single capital letter. Makes it hard to read.

I would say Nightrain was uplifting.

D is one of the most active posters here, and mine was hard to read? haha.

Sweet Child Of Mine

first of all, to the above poster.. like i said, that is if you dismiss the odes to alcohol and whatnot. what i want to know is, what is the meaning behind "where do we go now?" and what does that imply.

yeah, SCOM is uplifting both music and lyrics-wise.

When you're down in the dumps, Estranged is always there for you.

Get in the Ring makes me laugh, so I'd call it uplifting as well.   ;D

 "where do we go now?"
Is referring to where do we go in the relationship.


It's still uplifting.

Patience could be seen as uplifting in some lights.

yeah, it sounds ominous depending on how you see it.? But the song overall has an uplifting feel to it.


It is a comforting song depending on my mood.  thanks to Izzy.

any more insight?

Guns N Roses... was all about sex, drugs, n' rock n' roll... no smiling happy people sh*t (to paraphrase REM :)).  I like GNR because their songs are uplifting in an energetic way.  After listening to a few tracks, I feel as if I am good to go and kick just about anyone's ass.

Music and violence connection??  Huh??  What connection?!! :) 

exactly..

to me, gnr's music isnt supposed to make you put flowers on your head and make you love everyone.. its supposed to get you pumped and, as Eeebs mentioned, kick some ass..

you can make the arguement that the UYI albums were full of sad things and i agree with you.. for example in Bad Obsession when axl's talking about his mother: "I cant stop thinkin 'bout seen you one more time.. But I already left you and you're better off left behind" its very sad.. now, i may sound like a 17 year old pussy but that part of the song really made me sad.. not sad like "aww, he misses his mom.. thats so sad" but sad like it really touched something inside me.. but what also makes the song uplifting is how upbeat the song is.. and i think that goes for almost all of em (except songs such as NR)..  i mean, anybody can bitch about their cocaine addicted girl friend but how many can make it into a badass, get your blood pumping, and if you're drunk enough you'll smash your head into the wall listening to it type of song such as you could be mine..

yes, this is what i mean.. that the music is so brilliant, that the most uplifting song might just so happen to have the most depressing lyrics. still, it just sort of sucks that axl had that much pain to be able to write that much negativity.

and of course i realize he wasn't alone in the songwriting process. i just mean as a whole, since they obviously come out of his mouth on the records and at the shows.

i see what you mean and i completely agree.. and i believe the reason the lyrics are sad like that is because axl writes about what he went through and aside from becoming the world's biggest rock star, he had a very tough life..

but to the casual listener he's just some pompous jerk with plastic surgery.

how the hell did i get brought up in this?


i find estranged to be very very uplifting!

Estranged is just plain Brilliant!
Erin

I don't know if this qualifies, but it has to be one of the most uplifting pieces of music/lyrics GNR ever did. What I'm talking about is the bridge in My Michelle:

Everyone needs love
You know that it's true
Someday you'll find someone
That'll fall in love with you
But oh the time it takes
When you're all alone
Someday you'll find someone
That you can call your own
But till then ya better...

That's the most positive lyrics in any GNR song IMO. PC isn't too negative either. At least chorus-wise...  :peace:

What is that "ever"? He's still out there, you know.

If SCOM isn't uplifting, I don't know what is... I have to listen to it atleast twice a day... VERY UPLIFTING :yes:

that is, if you have a significant other or some one you like.. if not, then its rubbing salt on your wounds.. kinda like valentines day.. its great for couples but for single people its sad..  :crying:

Estranged...awwwww, c'mon now...being single ain't bad...think of all the money your saving :hihi:

Nothing is more uplifting for me then pc... The song is great on a sunny day drive in the car,,

Just to add...these are some of my favorite Lyrics period...From Rocket Queen

"I see you standin'
Standin' on your own
It's such a lonely place for you
For you to be
If you need a shoulder
Or if you need a friend
I'll be here standing
Until the bitter end
No one needs the sorrow
No one needs the pain
I hate to see you
Walking out there
Out in the rain
So don't chastise me
Or think I, I mean you harm
Of those that take you
Leave you strung out
Much too far
Baby - yeah
Don't ever leave me
Say you'll always be there
All I ever wanted
Was for you
To know that I care"

Very uplifting to me...

I think Used To Love Her is an Hilarious song, so I would consider that an uplifting song because it makes you laugh!
Erin

How about "Back off Bitch"?
 :hihi:

Nobody thinks Yesterdays was uplifting?

I guess you'd have to throw Think About You in there.  Personally, I find Madagascar to be a very uplifting song too.

-Axl4Prez2004  :beer:

Actually, no.  Yesterdays is kind of a downer for me...but that's the beauty of music, it can be interpreted 6 billion different ways. 

why are you guys basically ignoring Use Your Illusion?

I find Coma very uplifting

Well, Carrie, I'd have to say that Axl didn't ever write an uplifting song on UYI1 or UYI2. Noticing the pattern of the titles helps out also because nothing makes me want to dance around smiling.

Still makes for kickass music, though.  : ok:

didn't izzy write patience?

yep.? I think he wrote YCBM as well.?


That's the thing with most of the UYI songs - they can either be an upper or a downer depending on your mood going into them.? I wont listen to Estranged if I'm feeling cheery because then it will make me despondent.? Some songs are good for any occasion, such as Breakdown or Civil War.?

I find that Izzy's songs are less attached to a particular mood rather than Axl's.? I can listen to Double Talkin jive, Dust N' Bones, You Aint the First, all the time.? I find Axl's songs to be more extreme in their invocation of emotions.? I wonder if he feels the same way when he writes it.

Yes, Izzy wrote "You Could Be Mine" about an ex-girlfriend of his.

>> I find that Izzy's songs are less attached to a particular mood rather than Axl's.  I can listen to Double Talkin jive, Dust N' Bones, You Aint the First, all the time.  I find Axl's songs to be more extreme in their invocation of emotions.  I wonder if he feels the same way when he writes it.

yes! and i think izzy was also the one who wrote "think about you".

Izzy did write "Think About You", however, it was about drugs and Hollywood decadence.  I think he said something like, "it's a quick love song about drugs, Hollywood glamour, etc".

madagascar is pretty uplifting, i always thought you could be mine was sorta uplifting im sorta strange but ive always found "locomotive" to be pretty uplifting as well!

So, Izzy wrote "I think About You" about drugs. So, he referred to his drug of choice as honey, baby, and darlin'. That's interesting. I always thought it was about a girl he loved. That's art for you.

i just got through watching the VMA's again and yes Madagascar is a very very uplifting amazing song.

VMA's really were only bad in spots, Axl was amazing the first half of wttj until he got winded, Maddy was unfrigginreal and Paradise started out a little flat but kicked ass, axl got on point.

so axl may not write what u would call by the definition uplifting songs, but i find so many GNR songs uplifting cause they always improve my mood someways

Dont Damn me is very uplifting but maybe GNR are just good at stress relief, cause screamin/singin along with axl seems to always make me feel better no matter how bad i feel.

no matter what i ever went through in my life, listening to GNR always gave me hope cause not to sound corny but through his lyrics,rants,videos etc etc it always seemed like no matter how weird or depressed i was, there was at least one other person, that being axl that could relate.

Listening to him and the shit he went through always did and still does give me hope when i feel hopeless.

>> Listening to him and the shit he went through always did and still does give me hope when i feel hopeless.

yeah.. that's true. but maybe i should have worded the topic more like "positive", because obviously he didn't have very many positive things to write about. but in the case of gn'r, i guess that's expected and okay.

Sweet Child 'O Mine, November Rain, and Don't Cry are all very uplifting songs :yes: : ok:

i always listened to Yesterdays for insperation. so dont say it wasnt uplifting :)