Being Axl Rose a book

[GNFNRAXL]

i think it`s interesting how obsessed some people are with axl......? it`s a phenomenon.?

i mean fans are often obsessed (...idiots ), but axl is in some ways special i think. i`m definitely interested in those mails.

and well....? people who believe everything they read have to blame themselves

I still say that the woman who is stalking him should be reported.  And yes if people were dumb enough to believe this was really Axl then.....  they deserve what they get.  Now I'm going back to writing an email to Elvis.  Not only is he still alive but he comes HERE and is a fan of Guns N' Roses.  Who knew!   

[ppbebe]

Or Maybe they didn't believe the wanker at all and played a joke on him with such bs mails?
No one can tell if all the letters are real. the writer might have made them up.

I didn't read the opening post after the second paragraph tho.

[Natasha23]

I think this is such a boring, unoriginal idea for a book. ?Put aside the fact that this guy committed fraud and will now profit from it in the guise of a "social experiment." ?I'm just not sure what the point is. ?Why did he choose Axl Rose? ?He could have chosen Madonna, or George Clooney, or any other celebrity with hard-core fans out there. ?Every celebrity is going to have die-hard fans, crazies, and haters.
The whole idea really pisses me off. ?I hope he doesn't find a publisher, and if he does, I hope Axl sues him.
And as for this being a "social experiment", that's just a term this guy is using to make himself sound like some a pseudo-intellectual. ?He's just another fan looking for a way to get Axl's attention. ?He probably fantasizes that Axl's going to contact him about this, and they'll develop a relationship of some kind. ?He's probably more obsessed with Axl than anyone.

[JimMorrison4]

I don't see the big deal. It may help people understand *why* others obsess over famous people.

[dizzy68]

i think it`s interesting how obsessed some people are with axl......? it`s a phenomenon.?

i mean fans are often obsessed (...idiots ), but axl is in some ways special i think. i`m definitely interested in those mails.

and well....? people who believe everything they read have to blame themselves

  I have an Ex who is highly delusional when it comes to the band. She wouldn't even listen to a song by Velvet Revolver because she felt that it would be disloyal to Axl. She did a lot of things to make me think she was unstable, but her obsession with Guns n Roses was way over the top. She's a perfect example of someone who will buy into any load of crap that she reads. If Axl lived near her she would be the first one outside stalking him.

[DunkinDave]

The majority of GNR fans are obsessive idiots like the people that e-mailed this guy.

Sad, but true.

[dizzy68]

The majority of GNR fans are obsessive idiots like the people that e-mailed this guy.

Sad, but true.

 I don't get it. Why are people obsessive? Perhaps I'm just not one to get star struck, therefore I can't comprehend. I've met and talked to plenty of celebrities who I've liked. I even e-mail back and forth with some now. But I never felt anything all that different than when I talk to anybody else. I still tell them to shut the fuck up when they annoy me. Maybe if I was a giddy little school girl I would understand better.?

[Natasha23]

The majority of GNR fans are obsessive idiots like the people that e-mailed this guy.

Sad, but true.

 I don't get it. Why are people obsessive? Perhaps I'm just not one to get star struck, therefore I can't comprehend. I've met and talked to plenty of celebrities who I've liked. I even e-mail back and forth with some now. But I never felt anything all that different than when I talk to anybody else. I still tell them to shut the fuck up when they annoy me. Maybe if I was a giddy little school girl I would understand better.?

I don't think it's about the celebrity themselves.  I think people feel so badly about their own lives that they get caught up in the whole celebrity obsession.  And I'm not talking about the truly delusional crazies... but the people who worship celebrities.  I think people get so excited about them because they think fame validates you, and it makes you chosen and special.  Also, I think when people meet other famous people, it makes them feel good about themselves, like "so-and-so took the time to talk to me.  I must be worthy."
I think who have healthy, fulfilling productive lives don't get caught up in all this mess.  If you're excited about what you're doing in your own life, I don't believe you'd get obsessive about someone else's.

[Evil Ash]

The book is for sale now!

http://www.lulu.com/wintergallery
http://www.lulu.com/content/460624

 'Have you seen Axl Rose?' is a collection of emails sent to a fake Axl Rose address over a period of one year. This is a project of the London/Cornwall based artist Daryl Waller. 

[Elrothiel]

Actually, what he did is no different to all the fake Axl MySpace pages...

Don't buy the book, just go visit a random Axl MySpace page and read all the comments! Most likely it'll be no different...

[slash-b]

I bought the book after reading about it on this forum and it turned up a few days ago. It a REALLY great read, very interesting... I read it in almost one sitting and strangely it reads like a normal book in a way, with a beginning, middle and end... the end it heartbreaking.
Someone has already written a small review of the book on the lulu website and summed it up for me:-

"This is a really original and unusual book. It explores notions of identity theft, our obsession with celebrity, and the way people use the internet to communicate with each other. Reading it is a completely funny/disturbing/interesting experience and I can totally recommend it".

This book is totally worth getting... and doesn't compare to the myspace fake pages... this has some drawings by the artist as well...

Wonderful stuff!

B.

[Evil Ash]

I bought the book after reading about it on this forum and it turned up a few days ago. It a REALLY great read, very interesting... I read it in almost one sitting and strangely it reads like a normal book in a way, with a beginning, middle and end... the end it heartbreaking.
Someone has already written a small review of the book on the lulu website and summed it up for me:-

"This is a really original and unusual book. It explores notions of identity theft, our obsession with celebrity, and the way people use the internet to communicate with each other. Reading it is a completely funny/disturbing/interesting experience and I can totally recommend it".

This book is totally worth getting... and doesn't compare to the myspace fake pages... this has some drawings by the artist as well...

Wonderful stuff!

B.

You are the author aren't you? 

[Crowebar]

Actually, what he did is no different to all the fake Axl MySpace pages...

Don't buy the book, just go visit a random Axl MySpace page and read all the comments! Most likely it'll be no different...

You mean like this one here? - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=96611678


    

[polluxlm]

Or Maybe they didn't believe the wanker at all and played a joke on him with such bs mails?
No one can tell if all the letters are real. the writer might have made them up.

I didn't read the opening post after the second paragraph tho.

You can easily tell that they're real by the difference in writing style and the fact that nobody will bother writing 10 page long biographies and theories if they don't believe it's real.

And only reading 2 paragraphs in a thread makes it pretty stupid to answer, no?

[scar2d2w]

i think that people are too hard on this guy.  i mean, he played w/ people's emotions?  come on...he didn't hurt anyone.  if you actually are that naive and/or obsessed that you would write an autobiography and send it to a celebrity, like he or she would actually give a shit, then something is off.  as for mental illness, it's sad that some fans will stalk axl or find other ways to obsess over him, but again how is that the author's fault?  i think it's an interesting idea for an experiment, that may hold up an uncomfortable mirror to all of us.  after all, in every fan there's a hint of "if i met ****, he/she would want to know more about me too".

[Zerocool2]

While yes I think it is wrong to impersonate someone, I still think that letters such as th crazy girl give us more of an insight into the kind of life that Axl leaves and perhaps we could all have more of an understanding and restraint in our own personal actions toward him and members of the band.  Per haps now we can all respect his decision to be private for so many years and now give him the privacy he deserves.  We all wondered why he was so reclusive and for lack of a better adjective " a jerk" to people, now we know why.  He wasn't being a jerk he was being human.  His whole is lived out in the front page.  He deserves to have some part of it to himself and was just trying to regain that.  I remember awhile ago on this board there was a guy who toured all of the spots that GNR used to hang out at Rainbow room from "Novermber Rain", Roxy from "Etranged" and other spots and even included himself in front of Axl's house.  These people are real and a threat.  Perhaps now the world can see where he's coming from and give him the space he asks of us.  It's the least that we can do for someone who has worked so hard for so many years to give us "chinese democracy"

[badobessionwithaxl]

Nuckin futs.

I want to readddd it. =)

[Just_Me]

Incidentally we talked about the laws controlling this sort of thing in my psychology class.? It is actually perfectly legal to conduct an experiment involving people who don't know what you're doing as long as they do know what will be required of them and they're doing it voluntarily.? So as long as he didn't force them to write the emails its fine.? Its also fine to profit from that experiment, a lot of psychologists make a living doing this sort of thing.

The part where it gets complicated is that legally he has to have not only told them what was going on (which he did, wether they chose to believe it or not) and gotten their permission to use their letters.? I assume he did, if he had any kind of experience with sociology or psychology or anything he will have known to do it but I can't find anything explicitly saying so.

But either way I don't see anything that wrong with what he did.? Most these people don't tend to keep these things esspecially quiet and private, most the fans I've met who are obsessive to that degree will tell anyone and everyone about their obsession at every possible point, including seemingly embaressing and private details like how they believe they're destined to be with their chosen celebrity and they're convinced that the second he/she sees them they'll fall in love instantly.

If you want an example of a really fucked up psychological experiment check out the Stanford Prison Experiment or Milgrams Obidience Experiment.

Edit: Another way to look at it: Remember the address on the cover of Lies?  The one suggesting you can write to Axl with your problems?  That wasn't genuine, the letters would never reach Axl and it was there because people already did write to him with their problems.  Was Axl taking advantage of them as well?

[jarmo]

Edit: Another way to look at it: Remember the address on the cover of Lies?  The one suggesting you can write to Axl with your problems?  That wasn't genuine, the letters would never reach Axl and it was there because people already did write to him with their problems.  Was Axl taking advantage of them as well?

Wasn't that the GN'R fan club?

The whole GN'R Lies cover art is making fun of tabloids..... So I guess they put their fan club info under the Can Axl Help You? headline to make fun of similar help sections in the papers.....




/jarmo

[gangs_n_robbers]

if somebody posts on the internet that they are axl rose and give a email address, and you seriously believe it is him, whatever happens to you, you deserve.

its the friggin internet! what do you expect.