The General being released (perhaps B-side)

[jarmo]

Really, guy?  YOU want to go down this road?  You, of all people?

Yes guy. I will admit that I don't understand this obsession some have with their own credibility and image when they are all posting on fan forums. The fucking hint it in the description if you ask me. Do you go to a fan forum to hear credible opinions?

OK.  Here is what I mean.  Since you asked.

We all have favorite bands, favorite shows, favorite directors...what have you.  Not everything is super awesome.  Way of the world.  As I said, no one bats 1.000.

And I said, not every song released has to be your favorite. Didn't I? One can be a ten, one can be a seven etc.


I'm fortunate enough to be able to enjoy everything GN'R has put out. Some songs, I listen to less than others. And then some songs come back into rotation again. That's quality of you ask me.

So if a person find themselves in a spot where you can't bring themselves to say anything critical out loud, they lack credibility.  And I am not even talking outright shitting on things.

Look at my last post.  I said I loved 'Perhaps', think 'Hard Skool' was very good.  The other 2 were misses, to me.  I do not consider that out of line.  Nor would I think anyone out of line if they had different opinions on which of the 4 were good and which of the 4 were not.  Different tastes.

But my man, I've known you over 10 years now.  If you were asked to utter even a *mild* criticism such as that with a gun to you head...your brains would be all over the wall.  Because you could NEVER say such a thing.  Never seen ONE thing you didn't defend like your own child.  And chastise the hell out of anyone that dared.

Slightly disturbing.

There are those of us on this planet who, if we dislike something, we move on.

If band X puts out new songs for decades and I don't like them, I'll listen to the old stuff. This happens! I don't go on their fan forums and post about how they haven't done anything good since 1993!

I do not claim a eidetic memory.  But I would feel pretty confident betting green money that no one here could recall a situation where you said something even as mild as "yeah, that one didn't land."  Or, "yeah, not their finest moment."

I don't feel like I have the need to point out things I don't like as much as something else or look for faults in order to seem credible among people who I never met. I just don't care to be honest, about what people think about me. I do see the humor in all this. People taking themselves seriously to the point where they feel they need to find something they don't like to have credibility. I mean, if that's important in someone's life, good for them I guess.

Do I have favorite songs? Yes! Is there something wrong with them? I don't know. I like the songs. Why do I need to find something wrong with them? Do I have songs I don't enjoy as much? Yes. What's wrong with them? I don't know. I just don't listen to them as much as others.

I like the song. I do think Monsters is vastly superior, but The General has definitely grown on me. My biggest issue is the failure to follow through and carry the momentum on any of these releases. The music video for Perhaps was an awesome and completely unexpected surprise. But there was nothing done to follow up on that and all the excitement kind of died. I get that they toured for 7 years and that certainly pays the bills. I’m not necessarily expecting them to make endless TV & radio appearances, but a little something would be nice.

The General is currently #1 on the iTunes rock chart, but any hype is going to wear off quick. Maybe I’m misguided and extra work and promotion from the band wouldn’t make much of a difference, but it’s frustrating that they don’t even try.

There's no music video for the song.

I think the fact that the holidays are coming might have something to do with it. So hopefully there'll be a video of some kind coming out in the future.




/jarmo

[jarmo]

I think it's a great GN'R track. A modern classic GN'R track. Axl's vocals and lyrics. Slash and Duff plus orchestration.


Plus the orchestration reminds me of the 2006 shows when it was used as an intro.





/jarmo

[DeN]

the song moving me deeply.
I love every part of it and in fact it's one of my all time fave GNR tune.

we should appreciate having songs of this level of quality at this point in the band's career.

how many bands can achieve that?

great job guys


(except for the artwork, it sucks, next time call me )

[thomas]

Cue all the negative ninnies and armchair music critics of the Internet who think the know everything who will complain:
GNR isn’t the same since Steven Adler left!
This sucks cuz it doesn’t sound like Appetite.
Axl stinks and I don’t like him.
Since this isn’t better than November Rain, it’s the worst thing ever!
It’s over produced!
The productions sucks!
Where’s Izzy!?
It’s too different!

Calm the fuck down. Just give it a few listens and see what they’re doing. Writing songs about strippers and booze in you 60s doesn’t work. Sorry.

i agree with you

[Ignatius]

Any new GNR song is welcomed.

I woke up this morning at 4 am and the first I did was play the song.

Every time GNR puts out a new song, I always get excited. I still remember in 1999 when they released Oh My God. I played it like 20 times in a row!

Great to hear is the #1 on the iTunes rock chart though, but as Faldor pointed out, it'd be awesome if they followed through every time they release a new song. With Perhaps with the cool video, the momentum was high that first week, but it died out quickly.  I guess they just want to let the music do the talking, but it'd be nice if Axl/Slash did some sort of interview to support any release.

I like The General alright. Not my favorite of the 4 "new songs". Basically verse, bridge and chorus repeat. I like the lyrics, but I was hoping to hear different lyrics on verse #2.

The intro melody reminds me a bit of the chord progression in Madagascar and Better. Maybe I'm completely clueless here, didn't Robin Finck write the music for those tracks? I didn't see him credited for this one, so I could be totally wrong.


I can't wait to hear Atlas and Monsters. Both vastly superior to The General.

[Eppe]

I absolutely love the song!

Very different, but in a good way. Can't stop listening to it. Masterpiece in my opinion! I know it´s not exactly like classic GN'R, but it still sounds like GN'R.

[stvyrayvhn]

Congratulations Guns N' Roses!  So happy to hear new music!

[cineater]

Reviews are interesting.  More like announcements than giving an opinion.  Leaves you wondering if the author even listen to the song.  Guess we'll see what it does on the charts.

[faldor]

I like the song. I do think Monsters is vastly superior, but The General has definitely grown on me. My biggest issue is the failure to follow through and carry the momentum on any of these releases. The music video for Perhaps was an awesome and completely unexpected surprise. But there was nothing done to follow up on that and all the excitement kind of died. I get that they toured for 7 years and that certainly pays the bills. I’m not necessarily expecting them to make endless TV & radio appearances, but a little something would be nice.

The General is currently #1 on the iTunes rock chart, but any hype is going to wear off quick. Maybe I’m misguided and extra work and promotion from the band wouldn’t make much of a difference, but it’s frustrating that they don’t even try.

There's no music video for the song.

I think the fact that the holidays are coming might have something to do with it. So hopefully there'll be a video of some kind coming out in the future.




/jarmo

I hope so. I know the delays were probably a factor. It would’ve been great if The General & Monsters could’ve been released in October. Not that they’re Halloween songs per se, but the dark vibe fits Halloween much more than the Holiday season. Not that it would have made a huge difference, but it could have gotten a jolt.

I’m all for letting the music do the talking, but it’s hard to stay at the forefront without putting in that extra effort. Have to ride that wave before it comes crashing down. That being said, it’s still holding the top spot on the iTunes rock chart, holding off Tom Petty and Sebastian Bach. What year is it?

[shaundix]

To me, the General sounds like the love child of Live and Let Die (illusions version) and IRS

[MrMojoRa]

Nobody's opinions weigh more than mine.....in my world. I don't give way for reviews of others. The General is my favorite of the 4 songs released since Slash & Duff returned.

I've read what many are saying about The General. "It's brickwalled (whatever the fuck that means)....."the mix is terrible"......."only one chorus, the bridge this, Axl's vocals that".......NONE of that means anything to me.

I LOVE IT. The lyrics, the tone....Axl's vocals are FANTASTIC! It's new and wow is it different. It's like he's singing out of the darkness he existed in when he was living as an abused child.

My ranking of the 4:
The General
Perhaps
Absurd
Hard Skool

I recognize MOST GN'R fans would have a different ranking.

The opinions of others don't change how I feel about music, life, anything.

So, just my 2 cents which at the end of the day might be worth 1 cent.

[jarmo]

All that matters is, do you enjoy listening to it....

There might be other songs you enjoy more etc. But if you don't, hopefully there are songs in the universe that you enjoy listening to.


So many experts on song writing, guitar playing, singing, recording, mixing, mastering etc. on the Internet.




/jarmo

[GNR4LIFEJD]

So finally hearing the official audio version of the song. This feels like Oh My God Era GNR like had GNR come out with an album in 98/99 this fits right in with that era doesn't have as much of Chidem era song. First run through im not sure how i feel yet but Im gonna continue listening to it and see how it grows on me. Perhaps at first i was eh on but have since grown to really like that song. Hopefully ill feel the same about this.

[GNR4LIFEJD]

Nobody's opinions weigh more than mine.....in my world. I don't give way for reviews of others. The General is my favorite of the 4 songs released since Slash & Duff returned.

I've read what many are saying about The General. "It's brickwalled (whatever the fuck that means)....."the mix is terrible"......."only one chorus, the bridge this, Axl's vocals that".......NONE of that means anything to me.

I LOVE IT. The lyrics, the tone....Axl's vocals are FANTASTIC! It's new and wow is it different. It's like he's singing out of the darkness he existed in when he was living as an abused child.

My ranking of the 4:
The General
Perhaps
Absurd
Hard Skool

I recognize MOST GN'R fans would have a different ranking.

The opinions of others don't change how I feel about music, life, anything.

So, just my 2 cents which at the end of the day might be worth 1 cent.

I would rank them Hard Skool, Perhaps, The General, Absurd

[Sillything]

Its painful and beutiful. In intent, it 's all I love since Appetite
Raw honesty to be a savior by sharing,brave,courage, stamina, love to humanity.

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

I enjoy it, though I prefer Axl  vocal without effects, as a whole the song is interesting and growing on me.

[axlroses]

I love the song and also the fact that the 4 songs that they have released since getting back together are different.  I look forward to future releases.

[MrMojoRa]

I love the song and also the fact that the 4 songs that they have released since getting back together are different.  I look forward to future releases.

Great point. I hadn't realized that. All 4 incredibly different.

[AdZ]

Love this.

The drums go so fucking hard - craziest fills on any GNR release?

[DeN]

Love this.

The drums go so fucking hard - craziest fills on any GNR release?

Brain is a beast, best drummer they had