Don't Damn Me: Sucky song

[BucketRose]

Am I the only one who thinks this?  I don't like the guitar riff...and I've always hated the way Axl sings the song...it just gets on my nerves.  And with Get in the Ring already on UYI...did the album really need ANOTHER one of Axl's overly-self-conscious, overly-defensive, overly-self-justifying anthems?  These two songs serve as another good example of why UYI should have been one disc.

If C.D. is ever released....I hope that Axl will let the music speak for itself...rather than coming up with trite, unimaginative song lyrics that diss all his critics and naysayers.  It was dull on UYI...and it would be just as dull to hear it on C.D.

I've always felt that whether consciously or unconsciously....Eminem has been influenced by Axl.  His whole "me against the world" mindset is taken straight from the prototype of the redhaired one.  If Axl coulda rapped....he woulda been Eminem back when Marshall was still squeezing zits in front of the bathroom mirror in high school.

Oh well...got off topic...agree or disagree to your heart's content.

[anarchy]

Don't Damn Me is a very good song. It's one of the best on the Illusions.

[madagas]

I absolutely love Don't Damn Me but absolutely HATE  Get in the Ring......."there is a fine line between clever and stupid." Know where that quote is from?? Also, would throw Shotgun Blues in with Get in the Ring. Those two songs just stoop too low. Don't Damn Me has an Out Ta Get Me quality and a great guitar solo. The lyrics, while self absorbed, are much more intelligently written and thought out than Shotgun and GITR. He explains his  frustration with being a celebrity( expectations and misintrepretations of what you write or say) in Don't Damn Me while he attacks others in a very childish manner in the other two.

[Booker Floyd]

"Dont Damn Me" isnt one of my favorites, but its not bad.  I can see what youre saying though, it gets skipped a lot.  A little long, too.  And though I could do without the crowd chants and other nuances (the announcer thing...), I like "Get In The Ring"

I also dont think Eminem was influenced by Axl.  Hes very similar, but Eminem is obviously influenced by Tupacs renegade attitude, which was present in a lot of rap, going back to N.W.A., another large influence on Eminem.  And before somebody points out that N.W.A. was influenced by GNR, its true to an extent, but they were "Niggas With Attitude" before GNR became popular.  

[kockstar99]

i think its a good song... its a nice song against Censorship and i dont really see it as a trite unimaginative song against his critics...

UYI being one disc is a fucking stupid idea...

[LittleFly]

Don't Damn Me has always been one of my favorites.  I feel it is much more of a timeless song then Get in the Ring.  "Ring" has names mentioned in it that people now would have to look up to find out what he's railing against.

It's like a song that I wished at the time that I could make real.  I was always a person who kept everything inside and didn't say anything cuz when I did, either all fuckin hell would break loose or everyone would ignore me.  It was my fantasy to fuckin scream out how I felt and have people actually listen to me.

I don't think the song could have been written any differently.  It's the writing style, a whole lot of GNR stuff is written that way.  It's one of the things I love about it.  It's strong and defiant, the way I wanna be  

[noonespecial]

I love Don't Damn Me...
Get In The Ring...I could do without the chants also, but it's all right

[just_one]

I love Don't Damn Me...
Get In The Ring...I could do without the chants also, but it's all right

the chants is what makes it so fucking cool at least for me

dont damn me its an awesome song

[Skeletor]

Am I the only one who thinks this?

Yes.

And with Get in the Ring already on UYI...did the album really need ANOTHER one of Axl's overly-self-conscious, overly-defensive, overly-self-justifying anthems?

I have NO idea what you're talking about. Don't Damn Me is lyrically one of my favorite GNR tracks, whereas Get in the Ring I've never liked.
Don't Damn Me is intelligent and has substance, whereas Get in the Ring is just dumbass swearing in the vein of "I don't like you / I just hate you / I'm gonna kick your ass / OH YEAH!!!"

How does that compare with
"Don't hail me an don't idolize the ink
Or I've failed in my attentions
Can you find the missing link
Your only validation is in living your own life
Vicarious existence is a fucking waste of time"

By the way, wouldn't it make more sense if that second line was 'intentions'? The booklet says 'attentions', but Google gave 'intentions' more hits.. Pronunciation-wise they're pretty close to each other.

[bolton]

i like both song,especialy don't damn me.
only gnr song which i hate is "my world"

[duga]

Don't damn me - Fantastic
Get in the ring - Great
Shotgun Blues - one of the worst songs on UYI (that means good)

[Skeba]

Right now I feel that Don't Damn Me is propably the best song on the Illusions after Estranged, NR and Coma. (It changes a bit - the top 3 doesn't)

The guitar riff kicks ass, I especially like the little change to it at the end.

"Smoke 'em if you've got 'em..."

[dave-gnfnr2k]

bucketrose  you do know that get in the ring is a duff song and not axl song right?
Get in the rings orginal name was why do you look at me when you hate me.
All axl did was at the middle rant at the media and thats it, the rest is all duff.
So how can you say get inthe ring is one of Axls overly-self-conscious, overly-defensive, overly-self-justifying anthems.

[LittleFly]

In regards to Shotgun Blues....

I actually like this song alot too.  "You say I walk a line...FUCK!...They move it everytime!"  I've felt this way alot  It's another song that you can listen too when you feel betrayed or that someone is "out ta get" ya.  Again, it's a classic sorta GNR song.  

And "Get in the Ring"...

It's just a great song to get aggressions out, even if you don't know the people who he's hating in the song.  "Why do you look at me when you hate me" Cripes, how many times have I thought that when kids in high school were staring at me? "I don't even understand why the fuck you even care" It's an anthem, that's the way I've always seen it.

This is what is great about GNR, you got the beauty of Estranged/Nov. Rain/Coma sorta songs and the agression of Get in the Ring/Don't Damn Me/Shotgun Blues sorta songs.  I feel an album missing either of these elements would be somehow shortchanged    I hope we get both kinds on CD.  And alot of them

[John Daniels]

IMO Don't Damn Me is a very underrated song. I love it.


And about "get in the ring". Doesn't Axl sing the whole song with Duff?

[Izzy]

Its a fantastic song, as is Get in the ring

[Johnnyblood]

Don't Damn Me is not thier best work, but it doesn't suck. Whenever I imagine UYI as a single 65-or-so minute album, Don't Damn Me is always on it because I think great albums need one or two non-descript rockers in between the big "statement" songs like Coma or Estranged. I do think DDM is too wordy, but it's a cool song.

And for what it's worth I have never liked Get In The Ring and I don't even compare it to Don't Damn Me. In my mind Get in the Ring is an embarrassment and the exact moment when Axl revealed, to paraphrase something he once said, his shit stinks too.

[jarmo]

bucketrose  you do know that get in the ring is a duff song and not axl song right?
Get in the rings orginal name was why do you look at me when you hate me.
All axl did was at the middle rant at the media and thats it, the rest is all duff.
So how can you say get inthe ring is one of Axls overly-self-conscious, overly-defensive, overly-self-justifying anthems.

That's true. The song is credited to Slash / McKagan / Rose.

K : How different has it been writing these new songs compared to the way you wrote songs for Appetite for destruction?

A : One reason things have been so hard, in a way, is this. The first album was basically written with Axl comin? up with maybe one line, and maybe a melody for that line, or how I?m gonna say it or yell it or whatever. And the band would build a song around it. This time round... Izzy?s brought in eight songs at least, OK? Slash has brought in an album, I?ve brought in an album. And Duff?s brought in one song - Duff said it all in one song- it?s called ?Why do you look at me when you hate me?? and it?s just bad-assed.

http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=4

--

Maybe he/she means the middle part only?


But I prefer Dont Damn Me to Get In The Ring....



/jarmo

[darknemus]

I love Don't Damn Me.  Both the album release and the demo version.  Its a great song that, in my opinion, expresses Axl's frustration with how he sees other people seeing him.

As a matter of fact, that theme is relatively prevelant in other tracks on Illusions, as well.  Even "Bad Apples" carries the same general theme - a "Look, you may think I'm a god - but I'm just me.. for better or for worse" motif.

-darknemus

[2NaFish]

it's a brilliant song. get a pair of good headphones, pump the volume and pay attention to the excellent guitar work from izzy and slash - absolut magic. I love pouding my head to the opening drum beats. The lyrics are class - it's axl getting shit off his chest and doing it in controlled manner, the solo rocks and 3/4 of the way through it breaks into a wonderfuly "rocket queen"esqe groove. As underrated a gn'r song as i have ever heard. It also fits really well in the album after garden of eden and before bad apples.

To be honest i can't think of one thing i dislike about it.