the chinese democracy album cover (let's talk about it...)

[saint seiya]

found this pic on a photography site, reminded me of the cover

[Felix da Housecat]

I agree the image of a student standing in front of a tank at Tiananmen Square has great symbolic meaning of the fight for democracy since many students lost their lives in that protest. The image no longer represents a Chinese student defying a tank. Instead, it represents the ongoing struggle for democracy and this meaning is universal, even though it was created in a different culture, time and place. It has the power to evoke similar responses across all cultures and all viewers. However, this CD cover is not the proper conduit nor Axl the right spokesperson. How much political and cultural factors is Axl really incorporating into his work? Is Axl ready to associate with a revolutionary movement? Is he creating an urgency for change? I doubt it. The choice of communication channel transmits meaning beyond the message content. Where else do you envision this image in terms of campaingability? On T-shirts?, bandanas?, keychains?, tour programs? How about a wall clock or zippo lighter? In doing so you trivialize it, taking over others' meanings to one's own ends. Cultural appropriation is the process of "borrowing" and changing the meaning of commodities, cultural products, slogans, images, or elements of fashion. The GN'R brand is not a good lens to understand the Tiananmen Square massacre because it betrays the truthfulness of representation.
jameslofton29, your intentions are sincere, but this image, or related graphic image, should not be used to promote album sales to a popular audience.


As an aside, the record companies didn't really start to get so involved with cover art until Prince's original Controversy cover and bold musical statements got so much mainstream attention. Before that, things were much more interesting. Today, mass marketization of music has led to a sameness/blandness without distinguishing qualities, and the rules governing cover art are more rigidly enforced. Guns N' Roses rely on controversy and attention grabbing antics; I hope they do stir things up with imagination to represent the band.

"Personally, I like the "red" artistic picture. I "see" a lot of layers in that picture that could be interpreted (consciously, sub-consciously, or un-consciously) in many, many ways. For example, the US flag going down in flames, in the upper right-hand corner an "image" that could be interpreted as christ-like, etc...

Careful now, to "see" is a nature process of observing and identification to the world around us. Seeing is something we do everyday in our daily lives. Looking is an activity that involves a greater sense of purpose and direction. To look is an act of choice. Meaning happens in the act of interpretation and you have negotiated an interpretation from the image. As your negotiation is a kind of bargaining over meanings, I disagree and view this work and explanation as imprecise. I still maintain the oppositional reading of too many PhotoShop filters without any real concept.

Plus, the overall image, to me anyways, seems to convey upheaval, war, destruction, those kinds of things. I like it!"

Is this the desired response? Axl's new worldview suggests healthful intentions. The overreaching arch of these next album(s) is about building something positive. We saw glimpses of this in SCOM which searches for the root of innocence, and I expect more growth and development in this direction.

But, many of us uncouth, ruffian(ly) GnR fans might not be sophisticated enough to think on that level, no matter the psychological impact that type of picture MIGHT carry. Plus, I'm not sure if that particular picture is 'universal' enough to carry such a message (to a wider audience).

Rather like being multilingual, the ability to "read" the visual landscape is of primary importance. You must develop a critical awareness. Ask yourself: what are the central aspects of commodity culture and consumer societies?
Images.
Images are central to the construction of cultural ideas about lifestyle, self-image, self-improvement, and glamour. This is not to be pretentious; you have to have the prerequisite information to understand the signs you are presented with.

Of course, I cannot offer an objective analysis on the actual cover until I properly view it. My understanding is that it is a b+w photograph Axl received, so I assume it is not contrived or manipulated, but raw and untouched using existing lighting. Found photography.


and so it was said...

amen (*cough*)

[mentalradio]

So, you're admitting that your interpretation of the bicycle picture is just as subjective as is my interpretation of the 'red' picture? 

[jameslofton29]

I have a question. If Axl actually chose my idea for the cover(the mass murder scene, not the tank), would you like it? Or would you consider it too offensive? I think if he's gonna associate this album with China, he needs to just go all out and do it the right way. None of this bicycle shit. The bicycle cover is not memorable, and will not stand out when its being advertised. It needs to be something that will cause people who walk by it to stop and take a second look. This album has been hyped so much that it needs a cover with maximum impact. The bicycle has no impact.

[Rob]

I'd be very cool with a controversial cover.  GN'R needs to recapture that dangerousness they had back in the day.  That's what the band was all about...not giving a fuck and doing what you wanted.  Velvet Revolver definitely do not posses. that dangerousness, even if they like to think the do.  Axl needs to remind people why he was so cool, and a controversial cover would be one good way of doing that.

[jameslofton29]

Rob, it definitely needs to be controversial. If not, then something that mesmerizes people. You walk into the record store on release day, there's a huge banner advertising CD, and there's a wide variety of people looking at it like, ' Am I really seeing what I think I'm seeing?" An image that makes non GNR fans pay attention to it. There are some recent x ray photos of the Sun that would take your breath away. About a fifth of the Sun is black cause its no longer emitting x rays, like its starting to die. I think it would be an interesting album cover, although it has nothing to do with CD. Maybe Axl could use the Sun cover for his second or third CD. LMAO!