Where do we go now

[Axlspants]

The days when I would buy Kerrang or Raw or Metal Hammer just to read a tiny comment or article about the band, if they were on the cover....fuck me that was like christmas. I agree that people expect too much these days. The band have been on the road for ages, I guess they are taking some time out. Why do we all have to get our knickers in a twist about that?

As they said when there is something to say, they'll say it. To say that they didn't tell you this in the "right way" is stupid.

[Gavgnr]

I just posted this over at mygnr and felt it worth a mention here.

I began a thread there entitled: 'Generally speaking' - Should we re-assess?

So there's been alot of talk and dismay (?) regarding Guns' latest tweet about the status of a new album, amongst other things. Admittedly when I first read the comment I was disappointed having been fairly optimistic about a potential response from Axl or Guns.

But having had a few days to digest the comment and a few whiskeys tonight having had a shit week at work I thought that maybe we're missing the pretty qualifying comment that is loaded into the Guns tweet. 'Generally speaking' can be way of obviously not being too specific, a way of making a point without being drawn into a definitive and accountable statement.

Look guys, I am aching for new guns music just like you. But contrary to the many comments on here suggesting that this tweet is a major blow for the die-hard fans I would counter that this might be Guns way of telling is to just hang fire for a short while. It stands a damn good chance that plans are afoot and things are moving but until these are near set on stone Guns simply cannot afford to even hint at a possible release. Why? Because if things don't materialise the backlash will be massive.

So in short I say this. Lets try and keep the faith a little. I think the tweet from Guns is as much as they can say at this point in time, and I sincerely feel that the 'generally speaking' comment is key.

[One.In.A.Million]

I think we've got to the point now where a new album is on 80% of the fans minds.

According to my calculations, 200.33% of the fans want a new album!
I think the number might not be accurate... 



You, and some others, seem to have this idea that one thing makes something else impossible. It's like you think the band goes "hey, let's record something, let's book some shows!".
And you think if there's no shows, it must mean they're in the studio.

I don't think it works like that....





/jarmo

I'm not saying that at all jarmo, but recording doesn't seem to be happening at any time, that's how it looks. Axl would be best served by releasing the rest of the Chinese Democracy era tracks, and then focus on a new era with this current line up. To me it seems like Axl is torn between releasing CD2, or recording new material with the current guys. We know that the current band wasn't writing together at all, as of Ron's interview a while back. So Axl just needs to release that album with the CD line up, and tour those with the band. At the end of the day, a new album is due now and if fans can't see any signs of that to progress, they will naturally speculate and get frustrated.

[dolphins]

How does the band stand legally if the current members re-do the instruments on the CD tracks? Having said that would they even want to seeing as they no doubt would much prefer to write & record their own songs than re-do someone elses. It also probably causes problems with the original players on the CD tracks as they will want their royalties, it's very messy. 

As much as I would like them to make another few songs at least, I don't want them to not play some gigs as well so we can see they are still out there. Is it possible to do both at the same time, record an album as well as a few shows here & there? 

So much to do, so many decisions to make & not enough time to please everyone. Just don't disappear for months on end, let us know you're out there so we know something is going on. 

[jarmo]

At the end of the day, a new album is due now and if fans can't see any signs of that to progress, they will naturally speculate and get frustrated.

Says who?


I think this is the core of the issue right here. When fans start thinking like that. That they are due something. An album, an update, shows, whatever.
Nothing new there.


I understand that some have the attitude that fans put musicians in mansions, so they owe the fans. But if a lawyer, a doctor, a CEO or whoever buys a nice house, do people feel the same way? If you buy a car from a certain company, and the company's CEO lives in a nice house, does the CEO owe you something?

In both cases, you are a customer, you buy something. A car, a cup of coffee, a record, a concert ticket, a t-shirt.
Why is it ok to feel owed from one group of people because you liked their product (the art), but not another group (a different product)?

Does this mean artists such as GN'R don't appreciate their fans? Of course not. Just because you don't kiss ass all the time, doesn't mean you don't appreciate your fans (or customers depending on your business).


Some of the fans who feel owed an album, whenever they decide it's time, are also the ones who are quick to dictate what kind of album they are owed. Same kind of people who sit an comment on the shows they want to read about or watch on Youtube.



It's just funny how some people work though. When we got Chinese Democracy, some of the loudest people who had been demanding it were some of the quickest ones to condemn it. Use once and destroy. Kinda like "We want an album"... "We got an album, but we didn't want this!"... "We need a new album!".

Let's be honest here, some of these people won't like anything GN'R puts out or does. Why are they so desperate to get something new?





/jarmo

[carmiedisco12]

At the end of the day, a new album is due now and if fans can't see any signs of that to progress, they will naturally speculate and get frustrated.

Says who?


I think this is the core of the issue right here. When fans start thinking like that. That they are due something. An album, an update, shows, whatever.
Nothing new there.


I understand that some have the attitude that fans put musicians in mansions, so they owe the fans. But if a lawyer, a doctor, a CEO or whoever buys a nice house, do people feel the same way? If you buy a car from a certain company, and the company's CEO lives in a nice house, does the CEO owe you something?

In both cases, you are a customer, you buy something. A car, a cup of coffee, a record, a concert ticket, a t-shirt.
Why is it ok to feel owed from one group of people because you liked their product (the art), but not another group (a different product)?

Does this mean artists such as GN'R don't appreciate their fans? Of course not. Just because you don't kiss ass all the time, doesn't mean you don't appreciate your fans (or customers depending on your business).


Some of the fans who feel owed an album, whenever they decide it's time, are also the ones who are quick to dictate what kind of album they are owed. Same kind of people who sit an comment on the shows they want to read about or watch on Youtube.



It's just funny how some people work though. When we got Chinese Democracy, some of the loudest people who had been demanding it were some of the quickest ones to condemn it. Use once and destroy. Kinda like "We want an album"... "We got an album, but we didn't want this!"... "We need a new album!".

Let's be honest here, some of these people won't like anything GN'R puts out or does. Why are they so desperate to get something new?





/jarmo

One album since 1993.
disputes over why Axl took control over the GNR name and clearly not enough substance to back up the years and years of faith from eternally hopeful fans.
Promises of a new direction and many albums worth of material recorded.
Band members clearly frustrated and vocal about it.


Can you do math???

To say "fans" have no right to be frustrated is more annoying than any politician I've ever heard spin a situation

[GnR-NOW]

I don't think the band members are frustrated. What do you expect them to say when they are asked about a new album? I'm sure they know the deal, they've all contributed to recordings in the past, even though we haven't heard anything, what they haven't done is all get together and record. Maybe they never will either. DJ said he did around 12 songs for the band that have been recorded and demoed. There really isn't much more for him to do I guess.

Don't get me wrong I want new music too, but we can't control it. But if they announce more shows ill still go.

[jarmo]

One album since 1993.
disputes over why Axl took control over the GNR name and clearly not enough substance to back up the years and years of faith from eternally hopeful fans.
Promises of a new direction and many albums worth of material recorded.
Band members clearly frustrated and vocal about it.


Can you do math???

To say "fans" have no right to be frustrated is more annoying than any politician I've ever heard spin a situation

You can be frustrated all you want, but does it make things better?

Even if GN'R had released a new album every 18 months, there'd still be things to complain about. We know that much.
Nobody's fooling anybody by acting like the release of an album is gonna make everything great all of a sudden. We have the past as proof of that.





/jarmo

[Lord Stan]

Nobody's fooling anybody by acting like the release of an album is gonna make everything great all of a sudden. We have the past as proof of that.
/jarmo

Give us something. Anything goes. We don't really know how the fans are going to react if there's nothing to react to.

[GnR-NOW]

I think the common negative reaction would be " we waited so long for this ! That's it!?"

[jarmo]

Of course some would says something like that.

"This isn't the album I wanted". For whatever reason.
It's kinda like some people need something new to dissect and criticize by a regular interval. And when they get it, it kinda seems like they're too afraid to enjoy you, and are just looking for things they can criticize.


/jarmo

[crthiel]

Why does this board always seem to victimize people for just wanting to hear new music from their favorite band?  It's like no one can understand that after waiting like 15 years for a followup to UYI albums that the fans would get antsy waiting for another album. Granted, they owe us nothing but what is the point of this thread or even this message board if we can't wonder when new music will arrive?

[jarmo]

You can wonder all you want, no one is stopping you.

I guess some people wonder/worry if it'll rain the next day while others wonder if the next GN'R album will be out in X months.


But what's wrong with wondering how come the people doing said thing are often the ones who are quick to judge and discard whatever they got?
I think it's kinda ironic that it almost seems like certain GN'R fans spend more time "wondering" than actually listening to the music. 




/jarmo

[dont_damn_me]

I havn't posted on here in a while, but I think the last 10 posts or so have been BANG on, I'v heard this song and dance from Jarmo for so long its getting old, the last few posts on here sum up this thread perfectly.

If GNR released solid albums regularly, people here would not be complaining and criticizing, etc, Jarmo..... Its like imagine this board was around in the late 1980's and early 90's, do you really think people on here would be negative and criticizing, no of course not, they'd be raving about how much they love the music ! and you sure wouldn't have to try so hard to defend the band you love so much because no one would be complaining. Thats why we are here, because we love GNR too, you can't criticize fans for wanting new music and/or updates on whats going on with the band, like come on dude ! I just wonder how long this thread can go on ? Again the last few posts have totally summed up this thread nicely and Jarmo if you don't think a good new album would totally change the attitudes of people on here and how the mainstream casual fan views GNR today, your fuckn crazy.  If they can put out a kick ass album, sky's the limit for GNR.

[Princess Leia]

I havn't posted on here in a while, but I think the last 10 posts or so have been BANG on, I'v heard this song and dance from Jarmo for so long its getting old, the last few posts on here sum up this thread perfectly.

If GNR released solid albums regularly, people here would not be complaining and criticizing, etc, Jarmo..... Its like imagine this board was around in the late 1980's and early 90's, do you really think people on here would be negative and criticizing, no of course not, they'd be raving about how much they love the music ! and you sure wouldn't have to try so hard to defend the band you love so much because no one would be complaining. Thats why we are here, because we love GNR too, you can't criticize fans for wanting new music and/or updates on whats going on with the band, like come on dude ! I just wonder how long this thread can go on ? Again the last few posts have totally summed up this thread nicely and Jarmo if you don't think a good new album would totally change the attitudes of people on here and how the mainstream casual fan views GNR today, your fuckn crazy.  If they can put out a kick ass album, sky's the limit for GNR.

I think back in the late 80?s and early 90?s people would have debated many things as well. For example One In  A Million, Steven Adler, Izzy, St Louis riots, Axl?s rant during the RS shows in 1989, AFD was real and raw while the UYI was not. I think if people want to debate, argue and fight with others they will find a way.

About a new album. Well, many years ago before CD came out. Axl himself during a show spoke about making a second album at the same time while making CD.  Nothing happen with that second album. I don?t want official news that later on for some reason become nothing.

I?m not wating or hoping for news about anything. If they make a new album and more tours of course I?ll be happy. But if they don?t, I won?t be frustrated or angry. For me is not the end of the world if they don?t make a new album.

[jarmo]

If GNR released solid albums regularly, people here would not be complaining and criticizing, etc, Jarmo..... Its like imagine this board was around in the late 1980's and early 90's, do you really think people on here would be negative and criticizing, no of course not, they'd be raving about how much they love the music ! and you sure wouldn't have to try so hard to defend the band you love so much because no one would be complaining.

Maybe the difference is that I don't believe you can please everyone. Not even GN'R fans, and knowing what we've seen in the past, I really doubt some of these people can ever be as happy as you described. Simply because the constant need to find things that are not to their liking seems to be such a big part of their lives that it's not easy to change.

Maybe I'm wrong, but if a person first spent years complaining about no new album and then in 2008 started listing all the things they didn't like about the album, only to move on to "waiting" for the next album, then I kinda doubt those people will be happy with a new album. Or anything GN'R does.

Now, I know that in no way are those people the majority.





/jarmo

[norway]

if you don't think a good new album would totally change the attitudes of people on here and how the mainstream casual fan views GNR today, your fuckn crazy. 

I'd like new music, but who are they you want to change the attitude on? They speshul?

Rock can't be hip or socially acceptable. Axl should just get the mainstream to emorage (drama ) . He's too happy tho, I guess.

[One.In.A.Million]

I don't think it's fair to say that everyone who feels that a new GN'R album is long overdue would have "always found something else to complain about anyway". There are actually a lot of fans who support the band wholeheartedly, who travel all over the world to see them... who also feel the same. There's nothing wrong in sometimes being a tad critical of the band you live for, otherwise you are not a true fan regardless. Part of the passion that makes you sometimes get angry at Axl for not doing something, is all part of the love and diehard dedication you have for the band. Ok, is complaining going to get us anywhere?, maybe not. But it's human nature to show frustration at something you LOVE and hold dear, not fair to regard all of those people as "haters or whiners".

[ITARocker]

Imho Axl probably doesn't feel the need to fill the hole between the new line up and the fans of the band just because there's no "new fans" (read: fans of the new line up) to satisfy. He knows he has nothing to prove to anybody. He's a star, he hasn't to fight to establish himself as an artist anymore. He also knows  that he can tour forever and "old fans" or people who just want to listen to the old songs will sold out almost  all of his concerts. That's it. Proportionally only few people among millions care about a new gnr release. That's why he's not that much concerned on releasing something. It's all about his one man show, he pays people working for him and that's enough. Artistically speaking he doesn't feel to owe something even to bumble dj or whoever (in terms of letting people know gnr is actually a band and not a bunch of session musicians), because just the fact they play under the gnr name it's the biggest spotlight for them and their solo things. Probably if he were starving & begging money on sunset boulevard he would care more  :hihi... but...you know 

[jarmo]

I don't think it's fair to say that everyone who feels that a new GN'R album is long overdue would have "always found something else to complain about anyway". There are actually a lot of fans who support the band wholeheartedly, who travel all over the world to see them... who also feel the same.

I know, and I'm not talking about the real fans.

I'm talking about a small vocal group who are overly negative and very rarely have anything good to say about anything relating to GN'R. Quick to demand things, and quick to belittle the band and its members.




/jarmo