Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Guns N? Roses: Sailing

About five or six years ago out of recreational boredom I wrote a post aptly title ?The Road Ahead?.? It offered my godly opinion on the future of Guns N? Roses.? This is back when boards were filled with countless threads of arguments over the old verse the new,? Buckethead verse Robin, and Slash verse Buckethead .? Axl was prancing around the arena?s of North America looking like he just held up a FUBU outlet.? And any realistic shot of a release date for Chinese Democracy was shot down by Axl?s infamous ?soon is not the word? quote from the 2002 Video Music Awards. Well?.

Who?s going to account for the remarkable history of the fans.? I believe it was in the mid to late nineties at the old GNR MP3 Warehouse where I first became a ?downloadin? motherfucker?.? My Guns N? Roses revival if you will.? I was too young or too restricted by my parents to ever have seen Guns N? Roses live back in the early nineties.? So the wealth of live vintage Guns that could be found on the internet provided a powerful dose of Guns N? Roses history.? From hearing the raw authenticity of a Guns bootleg, to the outspoken and uninhibited rants of Axl, to videos of Slash and Duff falling sideways during live performances.? The draw from an already bound to be fucked up mind was irresistible.? There was a certain carelessness that provoked an extreme conviction.? But with all things that do that, one was left searching for more.? Hell the rarer the boot you could find, the more accomplished you felt after spending mindless hours delving into the Napster community.? But fuck it, you can only listen to a seventh generation copy of Guns N? Roses live at the Music Machine so many times before you start to wonder what the fuck happened.? And as a fan I can only dream that one day that will be answered in a over blown Oliver Stone style double film on the history of Guns N? Roses.? I mean a two part release, showcasing the early days up to the present day with all the history that we know and love about this band.? Anyways, ignore the pipe dream, and allow me to stay focused on the goal at hand, that is probing every sorry ass chain music store, attention whore radio DJ, and know-it-all Rolling Stone journalist for the release date of our beloved Chinese Democracy.? Yeah right.

What I love about this band, is that if you look back, you are still numbed by their history.? And if you look forward you are amazed by the complexity of their future.? I?m sorry to say folks, the world doesn?t rock the way it use too.? A trend I started to notice back in the my college days, students regulating students.? And since these little minds move on to the work force and begin to infect society all around, we (those that give a fuck about rock n? roll) are in trouble.? Unfortunately sitting around and worrying about shit doesn?t really fit the rock n? roll spirit.? So we wait, we wait for days in the middle of May when Guns N? Roses rock Hammerstein Ballroom to the bone.? Mid- September shows at the Hard Rock, and sell outs at the Garden.? Yes, I?ve spent a small fortune on following this dream around this great country.? And honestly it?s the best investment I?ve made.? A fifteen dollar album, ?I?ll take ten of them?.? To be honest, there?s no turn of the century debate left in me, the new Guns has hit it.?

The good news on the horizon is that the rest of the world is starting to catch up.? They may be five or six years behind, but it is still a strong testament to the accomplishment of this band.? There are great reviews that are bleeding out of the current North American Tour.? And these reviews are only in their infancy, some still struggling with absence of original members others still waiting for a second round of Appetite.? But the consensus is that the fans are being treated to rare musical gift.? A spirit of uncorrupted rock n? roll, in a world of American Idol?s and rock star reality shows.? The new Guns portray a dedication to performance and to the art of their craft, that makes most so-called indie bands look like Enron. So to the journalists that talk of a reunion please note the following, I would take a Robin Finck stage dive over a full blown reunion tour in second.? In the history of rock, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, the make up and move on has been done.? At this point it would be a clich? for Axl and Slash.? And it would be a slap in the face to the integrity of the current members of Guns N? Roses. Hell, I would rather wait another ten years for Chinese Democracy than subject myself to forty-five minutes of Contraband.?

Whether or not the time is near for Chinese Democracy is irrelevant.? Chinese Democracy has started.? My prediction for Chinese Democracy, I still believe in this year, I still believe in the Merck?s theory of a surprise release.? But really who gives a shit, eventually Chinese Democracy will come in some twisted mysterious form.? In the meantime Chinese Democracy is happening live all across the country in front of thousands of fans that are finally starting to ?get it?.?

Good post

This should be censored.

I agree with you in many things, good post. Especially this line:

Excellent post!! 

Cheers,
W.R.