Axl's "Dive in and find the monkey" comment

[jimmythegent]

I've asked the question a few times in various threads and no ones been able to supply a satisfactory answer.

In Axls fax message announcing Slash had "quit" GN'R, he says something like "dive in and find the monkey".
 
Can somebody please enlighten me as to what the hell he's on about??

This has been eating away at me for a long time and I need some closure on this one... please??

[blasphemer]

Maybe its a oxymoron.  As in that statement makes no sense.  As in the reason it made no sense slash left.
And maybe it doesnt, who knows, I dont have a clue. Just my two cents.

[jimmythegent]

Ive asked colleagues, friends, family, trawled the internet, google searches and I cant find one definition of this phrase? Could James Lofton be correct in his assertion that Axl was just speaking incoherent nonsense at that point?

[chineseblues]

I think it has something to do with Slash not wanting to work hard enough on the songs to make them good enough to be put out ex the snakepit stuff. That stuff could have been really really good if it was worked on some more. Thats how I see it anyway.

[jimmythegent]

I think it has something to do with Slash not wanting to work hard enough on the songs to make them good enough to be put out ex the snakepit stuff. That stuff could have been really really good if it was worked on some more. Thats how I see it anyway.

yeah the jist of the statement tends to imply that - you're right, but when looking specifically at "dive in and find the monkey" ,theres no way one could ascertain such a thing from just that??? 

[chineseblues]

I think it has something to do with Slash not wanting to work hard enough on the songs to make them good enough to be put out ex the snakepit stuff. That stuff could have been really really good if it was worked on some more. Thats how I see it anyway.

yeah the jist of the statement tends to imply that - you're right, but when looking specifically at "dive in and find the monkey" ,theres no way one could ascertain such a thing from just that??? 

Well taken in context its kinda like that kids game where they have this huge thing on rubber balls and they put a stuffed monkey in it and blindfold kids and make them jump in and find the monkey. They gotta work hard at it in order to find what they are looking for. Which kinda relates to slash not wanting to work hard on the material.

*this probably doesnt make much sense but its 2 am and im really really tired*

[jimmythegent]

I think it has something to do with Slash not wanting to work hard enough on the songs to make them good enough to be put out ex the snakepit stuff. That stuff could have been really really good if it was worked on some more. Thats how I see it anyway.

yeah the jist of the statement tends to imply that - you're right, but when looking specifically at "dive in and find the monkey" ,theres no way one could ascertain such a thing from just that?

Well taken in context its kinda like that kids game where they have this huge thing on rubber balls and they put a stuffed monkey in it and blindfold kids and make them jump in and find the monkey. They gotta work hard at it in order to find what they are looking for. Which kinda relates to slash not wanting to work hard on the material.

*this probably doesnt make much sense but its 2 am and im really really tired*

there is a game where you do that? If so, you may well have answered the eternal question 

[chineseblues]

I think it has something to do with Slash not wanting to work hard enough on the songs to make them good enough to be put out ex the snakepit stuff. That stuff could have been really really good if it was worked on some more. Thats how I see it anyway.

yeah the jist of the statement tends to imply that - you're right, but when looking specifically at "dive in and find the monkey" ,theres no way one could ascertain such a thing from just that??? 

Well taken in context its kinda like that kids game where they have this huge thing on rubber balls and they put a stuffed monkey in it and blindfold kids and make them jump in and find the monkey. They gotta work hard at it in order to find what they are looking for. Which kinda relates to slash not wanting to work hard on the material.

*this probably doesnt make much sense but its 2 am and im really really tired*

there is a game where you do that? If so, you may well have answered the eternal question 

yeah they have it at the mc donalds near where i live lol.

[jimmythegent]

I think it has something to do with Slash not wanting to work hard enough on the songs to make them good enough to be put out ex the snakepit stuff. That stuff could have been really really good if it was worked on some more. Thats how I see it anyway.

yeah the jist of the statement tends to imply that - you're right, but when looking specifically at "dive in and find the monkey" ,theres no way one could ascertain such a thing from just that?

Well taken in context its kinda like that kids game where they have this huge thing on rubber balls and they put a stuffed monkey in it and blindfold kids and make them jump in and find the monkey. They gotta work hard at it in order to find what they are looking for. Which kinda relates to slash not wanting to work hard on the material.

*this probably doesnt make much sense but its 2 am and im really really tired*

there is a game where you do that? If so, you may well have answered the eternal question?

yeah they have it at the mc donalds near where i live lol.

really? and it's actually called 'dive in and find the monkey'? or does that just describe how the game is played?

and how exactly would that relate to Slash not being willing to work hard on new material? sorry, Im sure you explained that already

Ive heard of 'pin the tail on the donkey' and I know of a game where you hit an animal of some kind (not a monkey that Im aware of) that is filled with sweets etc...

ive never heard of such a game at my local mcdonalds, where you literally dive in somewhere/something to find a monkey? ?

[chineseblues]

Its not called dive in and find the monkey, but that basically describes it. Its this huge tank of balls adn they use it for like kids birthday parties etc.

Well the slash part ive taken from several interviews and that. It seems that during 94-95 whenever they were working on new guns material and something was written slash didnt want to develop it to its fullest potential (you can see it with the snakepit stuff and the vr stuff to a degree).

[michaelvincent]

Guess it depends on who you are willing to beleive. The other side of that story is that Slash brought in the material, Axl didn't want it and so it went to Snakepit. Not long after that Axl decided he did want the material, which of course was long gone by then.

Then again, that Snakepit album sucked and we're probably better off that it didn't end up as GnR material.

[PhillyRiot]

Not sure what he meant in the fax.  However, the fax itself was a major disappointment, and a serious blow to the future of Rock N Roll.

[jabba2]

Basically Slash wanted a stripped down record withouth any bells and whistles of the illusions. Axl still wanted sound effects and new industrial influences to be added to GNR. A difference in oppinion, Slash wasnt being lazy. ?If someone needs to be labeled lazy it was Axl who recorded no vocals or lyrics during this time.

[PJ]

slash was fuckin lazy... he wanted to do the awful snakepit record a gnr record.. that fukcin record was awfull... it didnt propose anything new.. and you have to be seriuos about the context that the music industry was living at that moment.. the raise of alt rock... axl instead insisted to try a reinvent the sound.. to no sound outdated not makin it industrial or grunge or country, just to sound rite with the musical reality of the moment... when slash realized that what axl was doin would be huge... he quit... 

[makane]

Wasn't this threads purpose to find out what that quote ment, not to bash Slash  ?

[dave-gnfnr2k]

I've asked the question a few times in various threads and no ones been able to supply a satisfactory answer.

In Axls fax message announcing Slash had "quit" GN'R, he says something like "dive in and find the monkey".
 
Can somebody please enlighten me as to what the hell he's on about??

This has been eating away at me for a long time and I need some closure on this one... please??

post the whole fax and use it in context

[madagas]

Yea, post the whole fax to show how fucking crazy Axl REALLY is! Axl must still be looking for his monkey because one song in 15 years is a real wild experimental guy! This is the first comment Axl made about putting out a Gnr record without Slash (for those who don't know Axl claims he will put out a Gnr record-12 songs-3 b sides). 1996/97 till now........one song! He's a real visionary!

[marknroses]

Guess it depends on who you are willing to beleive. The other side of that story is that Slash brought in the material, Axl didn't want it and so it went to Snakepit. Not long after that Axl decided he did want the material, which of course was long gone by then.

Then again, that Snakepit album sucked and we're probably better off that it didn't end up as GnR material.

yea, but its a shame that Axl's not working with Slash's material from the last 2 years, because the new stuff would've sounded great with Axl writing the lyrics and signing the vocals. I can just imagine Axl singing "SMF" (different lyrics obviously) & it would've been classic.

MnR

[jabba2]

Yes, Set Me Free is definitely a classic GNR type song, and back in the day would have been huge had GNR recorded it.

[jabba2]

slash was fuckin lazy... he wanted to do the awful snakepit record a gnr record.. that fukcin record was awfull... it didnt propose anything new.. and you have to be seriuos about the context that the music industry was living at that moment.. the raise of alt rock... axl instead insisted to try a reinvent the sound.. to no sound outdated not makin it industrial or grunge or country, just to sound rite with the musical reality of the moment... when slash realized that what axl was doin would be huge... he quit...?

And Axl had the chance to make that huge, modern sounding record when Slash left in 96....No more interference from Slash!!! Perfect right?

 About the "dive in and find the monkey" comment...there is a saying called "more fun then a barrel of monkeys" that people used going way back.