"Better" - discuss it in this thread

[Evolution]

What is axl saying in the background at 4:00 thru 4:18?

I think he is repeating " I know better"

He is saying it like this

IIIII knoooowww Bet-tah

I thought it was "allll iiiii waaantteeed"

[GNR estranged]

I only heard the full version of this song once. i have the version thats only half of the song... does anyone know where i can get the full version? i tried limewire but i can never get it.

[BabyGorilla]

Just go to youtube.com and search Chinese Democracy.

[Eazy E]

I thought it was "allll iiiii waaantteeed"

That's what I thought too   

[Steel_Angel]

errmm it sounds like "allll i wannnaaa" seriously.

[GNR estranged]

Just go to youtube.com and search Chinese Democracy.

cool thanks

[ShotgunBlues1978]

This song is insane. It starts off as a pure pop-hip-hop intro with a voice reminiscent of Brittany Spears. That is not a bad thing. It goes amazingly well with the intro. I really like that intro.

It kicks in with a very simple sounding rhythm guitar riff. However, the pattern of the rhythm is very difficult and odd. That's the beauty of this piece. It's so simple, yet the rhythm is the hardest part of the song to catch. A

fter the 2nd chorus, Buckethead owns his guitar with a solo that makes you think "New Age on top of Pantera/Slayer rhythm." At the end of his solo, Buckethead uses his killswitch. That part makes me want to fucking knock somebody out. It's so intense.

After the solo, the head-banging metal part kicks in. It sends an adrenaline riff through you if you're playing drums or guitar along with it, or even when you're just groovin' to the music.

Then the voice kicks in...Axl...screaming with anger...he's pissed definitely because of some heartless bitch.

And finally, Robin's industrial past owns a part of the song. With a 7/8 signature, it really is a reminder of "Oh My God". The two riffs are very similar.

The only off-set of the entire 5 minute long epic song is the computer techno part. I am hoping that they will add a drum fill in place of it.

After that, Buckethead strikes once again with a classical technique of his, slap guitar with a wah-wah pedal set all the way back. (Yes, it's definitely his famous slap-'n'-pop technique.)

Robin's solo is the most emotional part of the song. It makes you really get a feel for what Axl went through. It makes you think about the song. Its meaning, its focus, its point.

The song finally dies down with the same riff from the intro.

All in all, we can definitely tell there are several influences. Industiral, New Age, Hip-hop (if not Rap), Techno, and Metal.

And we can also tell that Buckethead wrote more than half the parts of this song, due to the new age feel and the odd rhythm pattern (in mentioning the pattern of the rhythm, I do not mean the order of the verses and the arrangement or anything, but the pattern of the picking. It's 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3, 1, 1-2-3, and many songs follow ordinary patterns such as 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, so on and so forth).

Nice breakdown although I don't agree with the Britney Spears part 

I also really like the electonica breakdown, I think it's a perfect setup for Buckethead's doodling and R2D2 effects that accompany the following chorus 

[ClintroN]

THIS SONG KIX FUCKIN' ARSE N' WILL RIP THE FUCKIN' CHARTS TA HELL!!!

Guns n' Roses - Better - a fuckin' masterpeice

only heard the short version 'till this arvo when someone posted it!!  n' got canned obviously!!

THANX DUDE!!!   

very moden, it just kix man, GNR will rule once again, i cant wait!!

[veritas55]

I sincerely apologize if someone else has mentioned this (I couldn't make it through all 80 pages), but I think the introduction with "hip hop" beats, the falsetto, and the distorted guitar sound a bit like Radiohead, which Axl specifically mentioned in his 1999 interview with Kurt Loder as a band that used cool hip hop beats in rock (like Airbag, The Bends, etc . . . .).  And Axl was a big fan and went to their shows in 1995 and 1997 in LA.   Whatever the influence, it's a great song.

[veritas55]

I just finally heard the full version . . .  hmmmm, can't say I love what happens after the 2:06 mark.  I dunno: it just seems to become fragmented and unfocused.  I love, love both Buckethead and Robin's solo work but Axl's singing and the tone seem off from the first two minutes, which were really tight and had the makings of a great opening single (and probably a really big hit).  Don't get me wrong - it's still an excellent song and I'm sure it will grow on me, but I think (at this point) that this is an example of a song where "less is more."  I wouldn't be surprised to see a radio edit that takes out the tempo changes, screaming bit and riffing in the middle, and adds a drum beat to the final "no one ever told me" pre-chorus.  That version would be a massive hit.

[dave-gnfnr2k]

I just finally heard the full version . . .? hmmmm, can't say I love what happens after the 2:06 mark.? I dunno: it just seems to become fragmented and unfocused.? I love, love both Buckethead and Robin's solo work but Axl's singing and the tone seem off from the first two minutes, which were really tight and had the makings of a great opening single (and probably a really big hit).? Don't get me wrong - it's still an excellent song and I'm sure it will grow on me, but I think (at this point) that this is an example of a song where "less is more."? I wouldn't be surprised to see a radio edit that takes out the tempo changes, screaming bit and riffing in the middle, and adds a drum beat to the final "no one ever told me" pre-chorus.? That version would be a massive hit.

There is a fan edit that takes out the middle part.

[madagas]

That part in the middle, right after Bucket's solo is waaaaayyyyy to Limp Bizkit for me. Axl's screaming behind the cheesy generic guitar mosh is terrible. I would edit it right after Bucket's solo then go to the squishy squishy keyboard thing then in to the remainder of the song. Just basically take out Axl's screaming part and the guitar parts beneath it. Dave, I would love to here that fan edit.

[veritas55]

There is a fan edit that takes out the middle part.

I would guess that if Geffen A&R has any say (and they probably DON'T) we will see a version like that released to the radio, if this indeed is the first single.  Cut those sections out and reduce it to about 3:45 and you probably have a radio-friendly smash, not that that is the only thing that is important in life (but it would sure help sell a lot of initial copies of CD).

[pilferk]

That part in the middle, right after Bucket's solo is waaaaayyyyy to Limp Bizkit for me. Axl's screaming behind the cheesy generic guitar mosh is terrible. I would edit it right after Bucket's solo then go to the squishy squishy keyboard thing then in to the remainder of the song. Just basically take out Axl's screaming part and the guitar parts beneath it. Dave, I would love to here that fan edit.

IT's one of my favorite parts of the song.

It just plain kicks your ass out of nowhere.

The first time I heard it my exact words were: What the fuck!!??

[madagas]

To each his own.....we'll finish this at the pre party on the 15th!

[pilferk]

To each his own.....we'll finish this at the pre party on the 15th!

DUELING BETTER's!!!



For the record, my wife firmly agrees with you.  She likes the song without that 55 seconds, or so, of "heaviness".

[Saul]

Take OUT the heavy part?! 

Thats insanity. 

[pilferk]

Take OUT the heavy part?!?

Thats insanity.?

I believe the word I used, when my wife suggested the same thing, was:

BLASPHEMY!!

I then proceeded to call her "Outcast UNCLEAN!".  Not being a Thomas Covenant fan, she didn't get the joke....and I didn't get...well....lets just say I learned not to make obscure literary jokes she's not likely to get.

[Saul]

Take OUT the heavy part?! 

Thats insanity. 

I believe the word I used, when my wife suggested the same thing, was:

BLASPHEMY!!

Just so you know .. in the future you could use this as grounds for divorce. 

 

[madagas]

For the record, I love Bucket's solo, it is the next part after that.