World Premiere Of "Slither" On BBC Radio

[thegoat77]

Slither is definitely a grower, I liked it when I first heard it but since I have listened to it a few more times, I gotta say I love it!  

Its a great tune, better than YGNR although not better than SMF IMO. I just feel that SMF had a more immediate impact and is a different type of song. SMF compares more to YCBM although not as good (YCBM is my fav GnR song). The drums drive SMF along and the riff is better than Slither.

Slither still rocks though although the lyrics dont really impress me that much. The solo is so class though, one of Slash's best for a while.

Roll on the album!

[Doc Emmett Brown]

My guess: It lends to the songs dark, cavernous imagery and feel

Yeah, here comes the water,
It comes to wash away the sins of you and I
This time, you'll see

cavernous... yeah.  The lyrics are difficult to penetrate, at least for me.  But perhaps the title is meant to be a clue as to how to interpret the song.  

I imagine him writhing in some watery underground as he wrestles with whatever is haunting him.

Kinda spooky, but it doesnt sound like Slash or Duff does it?  I hope they contributed to at least some of the lyrics on Contraband.

[SLCPUNK]

I don't know what song some of you guys are listening to, but this one kicks ass! If the rest of the album is anything like this it is going to be amazing. Axl should show his "big guns" or fold.

[loretian]

I don't know what song some of you guys are listening to, but this one kicks ass! If the rest of the album is anything like this it is going to be amazing. Axl should show his "big guns" or fold.

Well, I feel like I'm being pretty unbiased here, but maybe I'm not.  The first time I heard Madagascar, The Blues, and Chinese Democracy, I was not really a Gn'R fan, but I was almost immediately blown away by them (I think the third listen of Madagascar did it for me).  Slither seems good, but not even in the same class as those songs.  It reminds me more of "Audioslave good" than full-on, perfection in a song Gn'R bliss.

In general, I am biased towards Axl, because the ex-members talk so much shit about him and can never get their stories straight, but I feel like I'm giving the music an honest turn.  It seems good, but not that good.  Slash's guitar is the only part that I really, really like, but the rest just sounds somewhat generic to me.  Scott's vocals just don't do anything for me, and Kushner's experimentation on rhythm is nowhere to be found (unless, by experimentation, they meant what every other modern hard rock band is doing) .  The whole "feel" of the song is cool and expertly made, but there's just hardly anything there for my ears to just soak up and enjoy.

It would be nice to hear a version of it with better audio levels, like, apparently the version OzzyCat prepared.  Did anyone ever get that posted somewhere else?

[darkmonth]

My version does indeed sound kick ass... but at the end of the day, it wont be long before people can hear the real final album version.  The single on that radio broadcast, no matter how much EQ'ing and compression and shit I did to it, has too many frequencies missing, and therefore people have judged it's levels and tone.  It's crazy that people haven't a clue that these things are affected badly by low bitrate MP3 broadcasts...

[jarmo]

My version does indeed sound kick ass...

Are you sure "kick ass" is the best way to describe a song ripped from a low quality online stream?  

If that's kick ass quality, how would you describe cd quality?  


I don't know, seems like it sounds too much like STP.  

Maybe it's Weiland.



/jarmo

[darkmonth]

Actually, it sounds like Velvet Revolver.

Musically, it doesn't sound like STP because none of the players have STP influences.  This whole "it sounds like STP" thing is crap.  It sounds like VR.  Get used to it.  GnR and STP are gone.  Old.  Finished (new GnR doesn't count... different band, different sound).

Fact is, who gives a fuck if it reminds you of a previous band... if that band was fucking shit, fine, but STP and GnR are great bands... so who cares!

[Hung Well]

Pretty good song, about on the level of "Set Me Free."  It's a little dissapointing in that respect, as I was hoping the first single would be better than SMF.  

I don't think it will be a huge hit, but it will get airplay.  Hopefully we'll see a similar pattern to Audioslave.  "Cochise" was a good song, but not a huge hit.  It took "Like a Stone" for them to really break through.

The part where the guitar solo kicks in reminds me a lot of when the SCOM solo kicks in.  Very similar--that's a good thing.

[Doc Emmett Brown]

but I was almost immediately blown away by them (I think the third listen of Madagascar did it for me).  Slither seems good, but not even in the same class as those songs.  

Comparing Slither: a straight-up, no nonsense rocker made for radio to Madagascar which is more personal and emotional (an art song) - I dunno, the comparison doesnt seem fair to either song.  The songs have different intentions.  I appreciate both, but for different reasons.

[loretian]

Comparing Slither: a straight-up, no nonsense rocker made for radio to Madagascar which is more personal and emotional (an art song) - I dunno, the comparison doesnt seem fair to either song.  The songs have different intentions.  I appreciate both, but for different reasons.

Well, compare it to Chinese Democracy, or The Blues, or Madagascar.  Each of those songs has a very unique and colorful appeal to them.  They bring out specific feelings and emotions in me.

For all the talk of Axl overproducing his music, the whole feel of Chinese Democracy is much more raw and fresh.

Set Me Free and Slither both give just about the same feeling - two shades of the same color.   The intensity level is there, but it's a lot lower.  Set Me Free caught glimpses of something greater, but it never really made it there. Slither sounds like a calculated hard rock song: it's good, and it's hard rock, which is very enjoyable to listen to, but, it's still something of a letdown.  At least I'll have a better idea where to put my expectations for this album.

Hopefully, Falling to Pieces will blow me away, and maybe I'll "understand" Slither better because of it.  I really like You Got No Right, and I have high expectiations for that song, regardless.

Btw: What is this "made for the radio" shit?  It's a total copout.  This is the approach VR has chosen to make their music, whatever the scheme behind it may be.  My only consideration is whether the music is good and how many times I can listen to it without the song getting old.

[SLCPUNK]

 The first time I heard Madagascar, The Blues, and Chinese Democracy, I was not really a Gn'R fan, but I was almost immediately blown away by them (I think the third listen of Madagascar did it for me).

I don't know man. I like CD alot. Maddy is good, but not great. And the Blues I just can't get into. I know some people on this board LOVE "The Blues", but I just don't think it's that good.

Slither seemed like a rocker, and flowed very easy. It helps that I really like Weilands voice.

I'm a huge Axl/old and new band fan. And I can't wait to finally have CD in my hand. But I'm slowly getting more excited about VR. I think having a date, and communicating with their fans makes a big difference for me.

[loretian]

I don't know man. I like CD alot. Maddy is good, but not great. And the Blues I just can't get into. I know some people on this board LOVE "The Blues", but I just don't think it's that good.

Well, obviously a lot of it comes down to personal preference.  I guess my point is that each of those songs have a very unique, colorful sound to them, even if you don't like them that much.  I love them   Each song is varied and has a sound that's unique only to that song, The Blues is the only song that seems slightly reminiscent of a few other songs I know.

Slither seemed like a rocker, and flowed very easy. It helps that I really like Weilands voice.

Well, it's definitely a good rocker, and yeah, it flows well.  It sounds like a very good rock song put together by music pros.  I am (was) holding it up to some very high standards, though.  There's just nothing raw or dangerous about the song.  It's so calculated and designed to "get airplay on modern rock stations."  

Set Me Free had a decently memorable riff, but it's not especially great.  Slither doesn't even have that.  Come on, give me some great guitar riffs that I won't forget 3 minutes later!  Give me some lyrics I can sing along too and understand the emotion behind them!

I'm a huge Axl/old and new band fan. And I can't wait to finally have CD in my hand. But I'm slowly getting more excited about VR. I think having a date, and communicating with their fans makes a big difference for me.

I just had high expectations for the band, something with Gn'R greatness, and I haven't found it with either Set Me Free or Slither.   There's still 10 more songs on the album, so I may still be blown away.

I am real big fan of the new Gn'R songs.  They blow me away.  They are the reason I'm still here and waiting on Axl, despite the lack of communication.  That's how it's always been as long as I've been a Gn'R fan and so I don't expect otherwise.  VR's communication is nice, though.

[Doc Emmett Brown]

Well, compare it to Chinese Democracy, or The Blues, or Madagascar.  Each of those songs has a very unique and colorful appeal to them.  They bring out specific feelings and emotions in me.

I dont care much for the Chinese Democracy song, but the other two are impressive in their emotion and style.  But that's why I think it's unfair to compare them to a hard rock song like Slither.  It's somewhat like comparing Its So Easy to Yesterdays.  

For all the talk of Axl overproducing his music, the whole feel of Chinese Democracy is much more raw and fresh.

See, this is where VR communication helps IMO.  Because I have heard (endlessly) that Axl is just chasing trends, goth/industrial, grunge, etc.  That sounds  more calculated than making a decent rocker for radio!

OTOH, we have a good idea about VR's sound thanks to the songs we have heard so far, and the interviews with the bandmembers in which they discuss their musical preferences and style.

Btw: What is this "made for the radio" shit?  It's a total copout.  This is the approach VR has chosen to make their music, whatever the scheme behind it may be.  My only consideration is whether the music is good and how many times I can listen to it without the song getting old.

So how many times can you listen to Silkworms?     I dont even know what to call that song.  Was it made for radio?  Nobody knows...

IMO, the record label may have a scheme up their sleeve with regards to promoting VR, but I am confident that the music will just be plain good.

[loretian]

I dont care much for the Chinese Democracy song, but the other two are impressive in their emotion and style.  But that's why I think it's unfair to compare them to a hard rock song like Slither.  It's somewhat like comparing Its So Easy to Yesterdays.  

It's So Easy has an awesome, memorable bassline.  The lyrics are easy to understand and fun to sing along to.  Slash's playing is superb as always.  Otherwise, It's So Easy is a fairly typical rock song, but these things, along with the all around good playing, set it above and beyond.  I don't hear anything like that in Slither.  Slash's guitar is the only really unique aspect to it, but even then, it's not enough to push the song to another level.

See, this is where VR communication helps IMO.  Because I have heard (endlessly) that Axl is just chasing trends, goth/industrial, grunge, etc.  That sounds  more calculated than making a decent rocker for radio!

Well, I don't care what people talk about.  I care about what I've heard, and none of the new Gn'R songs sound like they're "chasing" any sort of trend, unless you're stuck in 1987 and consider any musical advances made since then a trend.  Even Oh My God was unique with it's distorted sound.  AFD is made up of many previously used elements by other bands (Aerosmith, Van Halen, etc).  Industrial and grunge have been around since the UYI days.   That's hardly what I call chasing a trend.

What you call chasing a trend I call experimentation (they definitely aren't copying one stye alone or making any songs that NiN, or Nirvana, or any other bands from those genres would have made), and that's where much of the best, most memorable rock music has come from.  There's something to be said for the AC/DC approach, but I don't think there's many other bands besides AC/DC that have been able to put out the same song 400 times and still keep it sounding fresh and exciting.

So how many times can you listen to Silkworms?     I dont even know what to call that song.  Was it made for radio?  Nobody knows...

No clue, but I don't mind a band performing "unique" stuff like that in a live setting.  As long as it's primarily good songs, a few "out there" songs don't hurt a concert too much.

IMO, the record label may have a scheme up their sleeve with regards to promoting VR, but I am confident that the music will just be plain good.

Just plain good is a very accurate description of how I'd describe the music too.

[Hung Well]

I don't know man. I like CD alot. Maddy is good, but not great. And the Blues I just can't get into. I know some people on this board LOVE "The Blues", but I just don't think it's that good.

Well, obviously a lot of it comes down to personal preference.  I guess my point is that each of those songs have a very unique, colorful sound to them, even if you don't like them that much.  I love them   Each song is varied and has a sound that's unique only to that song, The Blues is the only song that seems slightly reminiscent of a few other songs I know.

I disagree.  I don't see anything original in Madagascar or The Blues.  They're ballads that sound like they came out of the UYI reject sessions.  

[loretian]

I disagree.  I don't see anything original in Madagascar or The Blues.  They're ballads that sound like they came out of the UYI reject sessions.  

Well, I can see how The Blues is reminiscent of UYI, but reject sessions?  Okay, maybe you don't like the song, but I think it holds up just fine to any of the great UYI epic songs (Estranged, Novemeber Rain, Breakdown, Locomotive, maybe not Coma) but it's a bit more concise.

Madagascar doesn't sound like anything from UYI.  Lyrically, I can't see Axl writing anything like that in that period, and none of the music from the UYI days sounds similar to Madagascar.

Anyway, musically speaking, I can find no fault in Set Me Free, Slither, CD, The Blues, or Chinese Democracy.  They're all well made songs.  The only thing I can rate them on is how original and fresh they sound to me, as well as the emotional intensity.

[metallex78]

Having listened to Slither almost non-stop the last few days  and now I absolutely love the song, I've noticed a few comparisons.

Does anyone esle think there are parts in Slither that sound slightly similar to GN'R's Oh My God?
I think the intro of Slither along with the slow build up part before Slash's solo sounds similar to parts in Oh My God.

Does anyone else notice this?

[Hung Well]

I disagree.  I don't see anything original in Madagascar or The Blues.  They're ballads that sound like they came out of the UYI reject sessions.  

Well, I can see how The Blues is reminiscent of UYI, but reject sessions?  Okay, maybe you don't like the song, but I think it holds up just fine to any of the great UYI epic songs (Estranged, Novemeber Rain, Breakdown, Locomotive, maybe not Coma) but it's a bit more concise.

Reject sessions was a bit harsh on my part.  I actually think The Blues and Madagascar are good songs, with potential to be better.  I'll reserve judgement until I hear the studio versions--but for now, they don't stand up to the UYI balads like November Rain and Don't Cry.

Madagascar doesn't sound like anything from UYI.  Lyrically, I can't see Axl writing anything like that in that period, and none of the music from the UYI days sounds similar to Madagascar.

I think Madagascar would fit right in on UYI.  The synth is a bit different, but Axl's vocal melodies (in particular where he holds the "Ahhhhhs") are very reminiscent of various UYI tracks.  

The lyrics are different, but Axl was all over the board, lyrically, on UYI1&2.  As far as I can tell, Maddy is about Axl's isolation from certain things (or people).  That isn't exactly a new theme for him...

[loretian]

Reject sessions was a bit harsh on my part.  I actually think The Blues and Madagascar are good songs, with potential to be better.  I'll reserve judgement until I hear the studio versions--but for now, they don't stand up to the UYI balads like November Rain and Don't Cry.

Well, to be honest, just from the bootlegs, I really think they do.  I don't know, it obviously comes down to opinion to a certain degree.  I am a relatively new Gn'R fan, and the old songs don't hold any more special place in my heart than any of the new songs do, but I just don't see why The Blues isn't as good as November Rain or Don't Cry.   I actually am not the biggest fan of November Rain (that's a whole other discussion, but quick summary: I love the piano and melody, I love "everybody needs somebody" part of the song, but I can't stand the guitar solos in the middle of the song)

I think Madagascar would fit right in on UYI.  The synth is a bit different, but Axl's vocal melodies (in particular where he holds the "Ahhhhhs") are very reminiscent of various UYI tracks.  

The lyrics are different, but Axl was all over the board, lyrically, on UYI1&2.  As far as I can tell, Maddy is about Axl's isolation from certain things (or people).  That isn't exactly a new theme for him...

Well, obviously the vocal melodies are going to be reminiscent, but the actual lyrics?  Madagascar is about breaking free and persevering and forgiveness.    To say it's about isolation is missing the whole point of the song, I think.

--

Anyway, my point about Slither is that it's not that different from Set Me Free, which wasn't that different from most of the modern hard rock out there..   I don't really have anything else to add in this regard beyond what I've already said, and if you want to debate the merits of the new Gn'R songs, I believe there are already topics for this in the Gn'R section of the board.  Sorry, I don't mean to be a little bitch, I just figured I'd save jarmo the trouble of telling us to get back on topic.

[Syd Vega]

you can't stand the guitar solos in NR ? No more questions here.