Better voted 3`best song of the naughties in classic rock magazine

[thesloth]

People can digest this album possibly now for it's quality of music rather than the just the expectations. The timing IMO is perfect to tour behind the album now, these recent comments about better are more than welcome. There are multiple dynamics in terms its breadth and balance of "Chinese" that you can listen to at different levels....it just grows on you. The last week I have been listening to the album just for the drum lines.

Agreed.  Way to many people care to much about who is now in the band instead of just listening to the songs.  I think 20-30 years from now the album will be considered a underground masterpiece.  I can tell you my Son who is 5 loves CD and he has no idea about who GnR were and are now. 

[thesloth]

I think a lot of the general public were waiting to hear singles and see videos before deciding on picking up the album. They never really came, so it passed 'em by.

As for reviewers...well, I guess rags like NME and Kerrang just decided Axl wasn't 'in' this season. All in all, a sizable portion of the fans were happy with the album and thats what matters - the reaction that the new songs got in Japan sounds great. Its reputation's gonna grow over time, organically, now that people aren't seeing things through their own expectations.
[/quote]

It is far more basic then that.  Magazines are going to pump up bands who kiss their feet and play the game.  Axl ignored them so they ignored GnR.  It is no different then NIN.  Once NIN went indie, rolling Stone and other magazines stopped talking about NIN. 

Look at GnR's last show there was no coverage regarding the fact they played for 3 hrs and 37 min, no coverage about the new stage etc.   Personally I love GnR's and Axl's new approach which is just talk to the fans and the people and screw the middle man (reporter) who often will write lies or take phrases out of context etc.  This is nothing new and happens all the time but now bands can do their own self promotion and this scares old media.

[BlowUpYourVideo]

Not to go too far off-topic, but I think a main reason why GNR might not get a lot of coverage from some media is less to do with them "not playing the game", and more due to these magazines or whatever thinking that not a lot of people want to read about the current GNR. Which, unfortunately, may very well be true. Magazines aren't gonna talk about things they think few people will be interested in....


But back on-topic, CR has usually been fairly positive about GNR and CD.

[jarmo]

Don't kid yourselves.

Magazines love to write about Axl.

When there's something real to write about (like the tour in Asia), they ignore it, but when there's nothing, they make shit up and rehash old interviews/quotes from years ago....



/jarmo

[D]

The media are vultures though and the scum of the earth.. if u do something to piss them off.. they do all they can via the power of the pen to pay you back.

its bullshit how the media has turned from doing their job, to recklessly and ignorantly printing garbage and bullshit.

[russtcb]

Don't kid yourselves.

Magazines love to write about Axl.

When there's something real to write about (like the tour in Asia), they ignore it, but when there's nothing, they make shit up and rehash old interviews/quotes from years ago....



/jarmo

Yep.

I wonder why that bias exists. There's a website called Fark where people submit stories about Music, Movies, Etc and whenever something negative goes on with GN'R it's always right on there.

It's all user submitted then it has to be approved and placed on their website. I've submitted 4 different stories about how awesome the Asian Tour has been thus far and they haven't approved one.

[Lou]

Don't kid yourselves.

Magazines love to write about Axl.

When there's something real to write about (like the tour in Asia), they ignore it, but when there's nothing, they make shit up and rehash old interviews/quotes from years ago....



/jarmo

So true. I guess the negative stuff sells more magazines 

On a better note (excuse the pun!), I'm absolutely loving the live video that CR posted a link to 

[The Hinge]

It took over 12 months and a rerelease for SCOM to reach no.1.... hopefully Better can follow this trend. It would need a video and a little promotion though.

[Bodhi]

3. Better ? Guns N? Roses
From the 2008 album Chinese Democracy. After waiting seemingly centuries for the album to be released, wasn?t it inevitable that everyone would be initially disappointed with the results? Then you start to go back and discover this gem such as this, and slowly it dawns on you that Axl?s actually made a classic ? but we?ve been too prejudiced to give it a chance

Exactly. Certain people didn't give the album a fair chance......
/jarmo

maybe they would have if the album had some promotion perhaps.......

nah promotion had nothing to do with people who hated the album before they even heard it.  I have never seen an album released and receive so much negative press and blatant cheap shots as "Chinese Democracy." Even the completely useless media like  Perez Hilton has been relentless with any type of Axl related news.  Although I think his negative view on all things Axl has a little more to do with a 1988 GNR song than it does anything else.  I doubt he even listened to "Chinese Democracy", but has plenty of negative things to say about it.  And that goes for the rest of the negativity, but thats the best thing about Axl, I doubt he gives a fuck, GNR just continues to tear the roof off places when they play and put out classic albums.

[demo23nz]

What utter bollocks.

Better is #3 behind "Random AC/DC Song That Sounds Like Every Other AC/DC Song" and The Darkness.

I know.
It's a bitch when not everybody shares your opinion, huh?

[GNRreunioneventually]

i know old topic, Sue me


i know it had promotion hell it was all over the internet which obviously we're on all the time but other people aren't on HTGTH or search for G'n'R on google. i never once saw a comercial or even an add in the paper until a week before its release in a bestbuy add in the CD section.

when i read they were going to promote the album (i know i read that some one from the G'n'R camp said that somewhere) i was thinking of apperances on Leno or Letterman or conan or coverage on MTV (far fetched i know and if it was on MTV i wouldn't know cause i don't watch that fucking channle) but non of that. in my opinion it wasn't promoted as much as they said it was going to be or should've been? Was Axl even interviewed? on TV talking about it or anything?

[LunsJail]

Most of the media has an agenda to tell an interesting story and sell magazines, ad space, etc. The story that Axl took all these years and all this money to make a bomb that has none of the original members on it is the story they've chosen to go with. Once that crap starts getting circulated, it's hard for the actual music to even get a fair shake.

[ppbebe]

I never wanted you to be someone afraid to know themselves
I only wanted you to see things for yourself

[audjon]

so what do you think, will we get the Better video soon?

[suntorytime]

I think I saw the Better video at the concerts.

- the reaction that the new songs got in Japan sounds great.

Esp Better and Shacklers seemed to be anticipated by the crowds. There was a stir as soon as the intro of each osng started.

As for the media, althogh it's not so different from other parts of the world in general, as their sources are almost same.
when the album was released, the representative of Rockin' on, a jp rock magazine publisher, who's known for the non flashy but rather curt reviews lavished praise on it at his radio show on NHK FM (a nationwide network).
http://worldrocknow.blog93.fc2.com/blog-date-20081205.html

"After 17 years since the last (original) album, here it is, out for real.
I thought it couldn't be so good but it turned out to be superb.
It came out with the title that hadn't changed from the start, which alone is terrific.
Perhaps the original idea of the album never wobbled throughout the 14yrs of making and that resulted in this high intensity of the album (= the album carries the initial vigour as is).
Each and every song reveals that the years were diligently devoted to the album.
Whether or not it had to take 14 year long (to complete it), it's no way an album you can make in a couple of years or so.
A very well-made album, fulfilled to the minute details, I say. "


Too bad he didn't review the album in the magazine but left the work to other writers.

[One.In.A.Million]

It's a bad thing that we as GN'R fans are almost shocked that someone from the media has said something positive for a change. We have been so used to journalists saying negative comments about the band that we are almost surprised when something like this happens. It's been the same since day one, they are never going to be happy because they know axl doesn't crave the spotlight. Which means basically he's not going to dance to their tune like so many people do in this day and age.

Get used to Chinese Democracy being praised in lists such as this, because when people start to listen to the actual music they will realise that they've missed something special.

Lee

[wight gunner]

It's a bad thing that we as GN'R fans are almost shocked that someone from the media has said something positive for a change. We have been so used to journalists saying negative comments about the band that we are almost surprised when something like this happens. It's been the same since day one, they are never going to be happy because they know axl doesn't crave the spotlight. Which means basically he's not going to dance to their tune like so many people do in this day and age.

Get used to Chinese Democracy being praised in lists such as this, because when people start to listen to the actual music they will realise that they've missed something special.

Lee

I agree, I'm sad to say it, but CD will get the recognition it deserves when CD2 comes out. It is seen by the music press as an "Axl solo project" and this group that is on tour are being accepted as GN'R mkII, which in the cold light of day it is, but hired Guns they ain't. Together, this band will need new material to concrete that status, as the latter day members influence on CD is minimal (re-recording parts being viewed as "tokenism" as opposed to being part of the creative process) CD2 will replace that line of thought by the doubters.

[ppbebe]

may not be the full recognition it deserves yet but i think the album is gaining it right now with the tour.

see, soon critics will start to pretend that they knew it was a great album on the release.

[wadey]

i was watching Kerrang Tv's top 50 of the noughties the other day and realised that Gn'R wouldnt be on because there was no fucking video release

songs like better, cd, street of dreams, shacklers, etc etc are miles better than most of the shit they picked but with no video they wont play em'

for the album to get the recognition it deserves then i think by releasing a music video is the only way its gonna happen
the only GnR music on tv is the pre 93 stuff because there is no video for anything released after then