Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Here's how they tell the story about how they put the coin on the cover. But they don't know it's a coin from the Pinochet Era.....one of the most brutal dictators ... They just saw the coin around somebody's neck and thought hey cool...
what they don't know is how disturbing it is for someone to use that coin as a necklace... sort of like wearing a nazi necklace or something



http://www.lenonline.nl/070513_-_Toronto_Canada_-_EDGE102_1.mp3

About the Pinochet era is not important, Velvet Revolver only use the coin as aesthetic resource

They knew it, there are some quotes, but I don't have time now for the research.

^ Same here, they know about it and I think I've read that's the very reason they chose to use it : the opposition of its meaning with the album's title :)

I think VR members know perfectly the history of that coin... as well as Weiland knew perfectly the meaning of that SS hat he used to wear...

Just a little of (what they think is) harmless provocation...

But, of course, that's just my opinion...

does the coin offend you? it doesnt offend me

No, it doesn't. But somehow the hat did. Especially at the Live 8 gig.

Well, I dont know if ''offend'' is the word, but I was born in Argentina, bordering with Chile, and my country has suffered several dictatorships. The last one coincides with Pinochet's regime in time and in methods. Here in Argentina there were 30.000 ''dissapeared'' people and you dont see people in the streets wearing t-shirts with emblems from that period. My father was persecuted for years and every person in my country has at least one friend/familiar that was killed by that dictatorship. From time to time, a new concentration camp or a place with buried people appear in my country, and there's a collective consensum about not making jokes with that subject. We need justice, not more and more provocation.

I dont consider ''funny'' any icon from any dictatorship. Now, imagine if a major band releases an album with a swastika as artwork... well, this is the same, with the ONLY difference that the whole world knows what the nazism was, and nobody knows argentine and chilean dictatorships besides argentine/chilean people.

Some other singers had the same hat, didn't they?

well they were in my country, england. We have much worse things around in this country to worry about a hat, notice it got NO media attention (him wearing it at live 8 )

People are allowed to burn the union jack in our very country and protest against its very people, they also get police protection to do so, so i dont think that hat is a big deal.

What other singer wore an SS hat?

most likely johnny rotten or someone in the 70s

David Bowie?

Lemmy?

im pretty sure it wasnt Johny Rotten

Didn't Axl used to wear the exact same hat? I think Pete Doherty wore it at Live 8 too, or something similar

Nazi imagery wasnt uncommon during the outset of punk rock:

(http://www.punk77.co.uk/graphics/nazi1.JPG)
(http://www.punk77.co.uk/graphics/damnedswastika.JPG)
(http://www.punk77.co.uk/graphics/sidswastika.JPG)
(http://kurtsoldier.zip.net/images/rotten.jpg)

Marilyn Manson has used plenty of Nazi-inspired imagery as well...

To me, it strictly boils down to intention and execution.  I dont know if the band intended the artwork to have any significant political irony, but Im fairly certain that its not an endorsement of the Pinochet regime.  I find the dumb pride in the Confederate flag of some southern American bands to be a bit more offensive.

Axl wore a Police hat. Theres a difference.

he just made a complete ass of himself at live 8

Are both "gay and not rock?"

who cares if that's an endorsement of the Pinochet regime or not? Either if you decide to show this coin or a nazi symbol, you're trying to say something, you're trying to provoke in one way or another. Who can believe that they've chosen this coin as artwork ''just because they liked the coin design''?

There are certain things that must be treated with respect or not treated. Persecution and a brutal ditactorship like the ones that occured in Southamerica are some examples. The only and immeadiate effect after seeing ''Libertad'' artwork is the memory of the state terrorism that all southamerican people have suffered (me included). Does another thing come to your mind with that picture?

I am absolutely against censorship (a constant in all dictatorships), but lots of other artworks were censored with less ''merits'' than this one.

This can mean nothing for american or english people, because Pinochet's regime occured in ''one of the countries of the 3rd world bag'' but it does means a lot to us. I dont find it funny at all.

I can.  Im sure plenty others can as well.  And I already explained why I dont have a problem with it. 


Were you as offended with the 1999 live "Welcome To The Jungle" video, with all of its depictions of real-life catastrophe?  With the Sex Pistols?


Who said it was funny? 

 ??? ??? ???

I dont know what that has to do with this subject. Anyway, I previously stated that I dont care WHO does the thing, a nazi symbol is a nazi symbol anyway, no matter who wears it.

If you're implicitely asking me if I would feel as offended if GN'R uses the chilean coin for CD artwork, I would say YES without doubts.


I dont know anything about Sex Pistols. But I find that Rotten picture with a swastika very offensive in general, not only  for the jewish, but for anyone worried about human rights.

Im not implicitly asking you anything, I asked you an explicit question about that video.  Im curious to know where your line on whats offensive is.  Is the videos footage of Columbine, the Challenger explosion, etc. just as offensive to you?  If not, explain. 

I'd say Nazis are pretty damn offensive. If you had been there you wouldn't be trying to compare that evil regime to informative news coverage. Most of the evilness the nazis carried out wasn't filmed.............but I can show you some pictures.  >:(

Fair enough that you want to have a serious debate on this, but.........

The band obviously know exactly what the imagery means.  The connotations of it (to me) are more about the struggle for freedom and challenge to regimes than being celebratory, and I think anybody in their right mind can clearly see that.

So youre saying GNR used that footage to inform their audience?

Yeh, wanna be educated?? or can't you watch?

correction: Latinamerican people :P , and people who read and like to expand their culture.

al contrario del poco 'e "petisos" q rondan por estos rumbos... ;)

that thing you wrote in spanish doesnt have sense at all...

Who cares about a stupid coin, its just the artwork of a cd, get over it.  :hihi:

it's 'make' sense...but I know you were thinking about' no tiene sentido'..... no me joda "che" ,use la cabeza,  que de fijo hablo mejor que "vos".