A few weeks ago I wrote about how anticipation can create life-changing events. I said long waits for some of these events may pay off with exciting rewards, such as loads of great memories from a family trip. Or they may lead to the ultimate letdown because expectations are so high the end result could never live up to the hype you give it, like “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
I talked a little about Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” an album that came out Sunday, Nov. 23, only 17 years after the last Guns N’ Roses albums of original material, “Use Your Illusion I and II.” I had high hopes for “Chinese Democracy,” mainly because I was a huge fan of the band as a youngster, but I feared the final product would be a letdown.
Not only is it not a letdown, it’s easily the best rock and roll album of the decade, and it may rival the band’s debut classic, “Appetite for Destruction,” as the best album of all time.
That’s a bold claim – one many hard rock fans will say is sacrilegious – but it’s one I will bravely back, no matter what others may hurl at me.
Why is it so good?
Two words: Axl Rose. As the frontman of the group, and the band’s lone original member, Axl would be what you would get if you created a person using the DNA of Brian Wilson, Robert Plant, Elton John and Freddy Mercury. In other words, he’s a musical genius with the voice of a god, a golden inner melody and the showmanship of a craftsman who knows how to rock a crowd.
Axl employs all of these strengths in “Chinese Democracy.” The album is a no-holds barred, unapologetic testimony of more than a decade’s worth of what must have been a painstakingly meticulous recording process – one that saw Axl surround himself with completely new players and one that probably ended his relationships with a number of people, including former band members, girlfriends, producers, managers and anyone else who didn’t share his vision.
It’s not that Axl doesn’t believe in collaboration – this is a band effort, as current and former members share songwriting credits with Axl in all but one song – but people who wanted to do so had to be thinking in massively epic scales, as nearly every one of the 14 songs on this album go way beyond the ordinary verse-chorus-verse structure perfected by the Beatles.
Starting with the title track, which starts with more than a minute of Chinese banter, similar to the banter on U2’s underrated “Zooropa,” and ending with the slow orchestral fadeout of the final track, the majestic “Prostitute” (that’s probably the first time those two words have been used together), each song on “Chinese Democracy” rewards people with layers of first-rate instrumentation that will provide something new with each listen.
Produced by Axl and Caram Costanzo (who is also responsible for producing Pearl Jam’s best album, No Code), “Chinese Democracy” sounds like it took more than a decade to make. That’s good, because if it sounded like Metallica’s horribly produced “Death Magnetic,” I’d probably be too sick to write this. But that’s not the case, and instead I’m writing about how much I like the album.
The naysayers may say it’s not a true Guns N’ Roses album without the contributions of Izzy Stradlin, Slash and Duff McKagen, three of the other original members. I’ll argue and say they’re not missed.
Listen to Brain’s drums on “Prostitute,” Tommy Stinson’s bass on “Shackler’s Revenge,” Dizzy Reed’s piano on “Street of Dreams” and the guitars by Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Buckethead, Richard Fortus, Paul Tobias and Robin Finck throughout the album, and you’ll find yourself asking “Who’s Izzy, Slash and Duff?”
Once again, Axl’s lyrics make little sense, but it’s fun trying to decipher who he may be talking about. At times, the lyrics act as a metaphor about the process of making this album, but at other times they appear to be songs about a relationship with a girl that may or may not be over.
Personally, I don’t want to know what specifically they are about, because it’s great knowing my interpretation may be different than another’s, and they may all be different from Axl’s intent. That’s art.
I’m happy “Chinese Democracy” exceeded my lofty expectations, especially since I didn’t give it much of a chance to do so. I just hope I don’t have to wait another 17 years for another album by the band, but if I do, I hope it’s as good as this one.
Showing posts with label Chinese Democracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Democracy. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Anticipation can create life-changing moments
I look forward to a lot of things, mainly because it serves as good motivation to wake up happy every day. I look forward to good meals, occasions I know I’m going to see family and friends, fun events such as going to a movie in the theater, the release of a good book or CD, and days reserved just for doing something special with my wife and son.
But a few events have been occasions I have waited what seems like an eternity for, making them “life-changing moments” for me, even if they didn’t necessarily change my life in any way.
Some of these “life-changing moments” have included a family vacation out West when I was in second grade, my first day of college, getting married to my wife and the birth of my son – all typical types of events many people probably share with me.
A few of these moments are the result of long waits, though. When George Lucas announced in 1996 or so he was going to make three more “Star Wars” movies, the fanboy inside of me went nuts with anticipation. I grew up on those movies, re-enacting all of the scenes with my friends in school on the playground, and to see more “Star Wars” movies was a dream I never thought would turn true.
Three years later in 1999 when the first of those movies, “The Phantom Menace,” was released, I was first in line. Initially, I thought it was a great movie, and proceeded to see it two more times in the theater. But with each viewing I saw flaws, lots of them, and soon I agreed with the majority opinion that they weren’t good.
Nevertheless, I still looked forward to each of the next two “Star Wars” movies, hoping Lucas would correct the flaws. He didn’t, and each time I left greatly disappointed.
But a funny thing has happened since then. The sense of anticipation I had in looking forward to what I was hoping would be movies as good as the ones I remembered as a kid disappeared, and I have been able to watch them again without needing them to live up to an expectation they could never have met.
That’s because my 3-year-old son, Braden, absolutely loves the three new “Star Wars” movies. He doesn’t give a rip about my trilogy, the original one, and finds the characters in the new movies more enjoyable and the graphics more appealing. He can hum the theme music, and he knows all of the characters’ names.
I’ve watched the new trilogy with him about a dozen times, and although there are a lot of things I would change about them, Lucas has made a series of movies that appeals to the younger generation. Twenty years from now, when Braden is in his fanboy stage and a new set of “Star Wars” movies is inevitably announced, he’ll be the one looking forward to a life-changing moment, and he’ll be the one disappointed when the new ones aren’t as good as the ones he is most fond of.
On a side note, I had the same life-changing moment anticipation for this past summer’s latest “Indiana Jones” movie, and that one was such a monumental failure in my opinion I probably will never give it a second view.
Another life-changing moment that will be the result of a long wait is next month’s release of Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” an album 15 years in the making.
During the time since Guns N’ Roses’ last album, Axl Rose, the lead singer of the band and the only original member left, went into seclusion, fired his bandmates, hired new ones (and fired some of them) and then spent more than $13 million to record an album that has had so many rumored release dates that next month’s actual release doesn’t seem real at all.
I wrote about my anticipation for this album more than a year ago in this column. Back then I said: “Since the last Guns N’ Roses album, I have graduated from high school, from college, began a 10-year career, got married, bought a house, had a kid and have gone through five different vehicles. I still cling to the hope Axl will return soon. He will release ‘Chinese Democracy,’ and he will show us, at age 45, that he didn’t let anybody bring him down.”
I’m 11 years into my career now, I’ve sold my first house and moved to Plover, and have gone through another vehicle.
My biggest fear is the album will never live up to my lofty expectations, because of the anticipation and long wait. Fortunately, most of the album has leaked over the past two years, and I enjoy the songs from it more now then I did when they first leaked.
My only fear after the album’s release is not having anything major to look forward to. I’m sure all the little things will be there, but my wife might have to get used to me waking up a little bit grumpy. Then again, I could always look forward to the follow-up to “Chinese Democracy.” That should give me another 15 years of anticipation.
But a few events have been occasions I have waited what seems like an eternity for, making them “life-changing moments” for me, even if they didn’t necessarily change my life in any way.
Some of these “life-changing moments” have included a family vacation out West when I was in second grade, my first day of college, getting married to my wife and the birth of my son – all typical types of events many people probably share with me.
A few of these moments are the result of long waits, though. When George Lucas announced in 1996 or so he was going to make three more “Star Wars” movies, the fanboy inside of me went nuts with anticipation. I grew up on those movies, re-enacting all of the scenes with my friends in school on the playground, and to see more “Star Wars” movies was a dream I never thought would turn true.
Three years later in 1999 when the first of those movies, “The Phantom Menace,” was released, I was first in line. Initially, I thought it was a great movie, and proceeded to see it two more times in the theater. But with each viewing I saw flaws, lots of them, and soon I agreed with the majority opinion that they weren’t good.
Nevertheless, I still looked forward to each of the next two “Star Wars” movies, hoping Lucas would correct the flaws. He didn’t, and each time I left greatly disappointed.
But a funny thing has happened since then. The sense of anticipation I had in looking forward to what I was hoping would be movies as good as the ones I remembered as a kid disappeared, and I have been able to watch them again without needing them to live up to an expectation they could never have met.
That’s because my 3-year-old son, Braden, absolutely loves the three new “Star Wars” movies. He doesn’t give a rip about my trilogy, the original one, and finds the characters in the new movies more enjoyable and the graphics more appealing. He can hum the theme music, and he knows all of the characters’ names.
I’ve watched the new trilogy with him about a dozen times, and although there are a lot of things I would change about them, Lucas has made a series of movies that appeals to the younger generation. Twenty years from now, when Braden is in his fanboy stage and a new set of “Star Wars” movies is inevitably announced, he’ll be the one looking forward to a life-changing moment, and he’ll be the one disappointed when the new ones aren’t as good as the ones he is most fond of.
On a side note, I had the same life-changing moment anticipation for this past summer’s latest “Indiana Jones” movie, and that one was such a monumental failure in my opinion I probably will never give it a second view.
Another life-changing moment that will be the result of a long wait is next month’s release of Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy,” an album 15 years in the making.
During the time since Guns N’ Roses’ last album, Axl Rose, the lead singer of the band and the only original member left, went into seclusion, fired his bandmates, hired new ones (and fired some of them) and then spent more than $13 million to record an album that has had so many rumored release dates that next month’s actual release doesn’t seem real at all.
I wrote about my anticipation for this album more than a year ago in this column. Back then I said: “Since the last Guns N’ Roses album, I have graduated from high school, from college, began a 10-year career, got married, bought a house, had a kid and have gone through five different vehicles. I still cling to the hope Axl will return soon. He will release ‘Chinese Democracy,’ and he will show us, at age 45, that he didn’t let anybody bring him down.”
I’m 11 years into my career now, I’ve sold my first house and moved to Plover, and have gone through another vehicle.
My biggest fear is the album will never live up to my lofty expectations, because of the anticipation and long wait. Fortunately, most of the album has leaked over the past two years, and I enjoy the songs from it more now then I did when they first leaked.
My only fear after the album’s release is not having anything major to look forward to. I’m sure all the little things will be there, but my wife might have to get used to me waking up a little bit grumpy. Then again, I could always look forward to the follow-up to “Chinese Democracy.” That should give me another 15 years of anticipation.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Why the world needs Axl Rose
Remember Axl Rose? Probaby not, since he disappeared when Nirvana happened.
He was the volatile lead singer of rock and roll’s greatest band in the world from 1988 to 1991 – Guns N’ Roses. Every guy wanted to be him because every girl wanted to be with him. And every band during that time period tried to imitate the Gunners, even if they were just superb imitators themselves.
Then he disappeared after the vastly underrated punk covers album, “The Spaghetti Incident,” in 1993, only re-emerging briefly to fire the other members of Guns N’ Roses, make an appearance or two at the MTV Video Music Awards, headline a few money-grabbing tours or leak a few songs from the forever-in-progress “Chinese Democracy,” an album that always seems ready to come out but that never does.
As a middle school student in 1988 when Guns N’ Roses released “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” an ode to Axl’s model girlfriend that turned their 1987 album “Appetite for Destruction” into the best-selling debut of the 1980s, I immediately became addicted to Guns N’ Roses. The hard-edge of songs like “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone,” contrasted with the power ballads like “Sweet Child” and “Patience,” along with Axl’s seemingly endless personalities he created by singing in five different voices, was candy to my Midwestern ears.
Never before and never since have I experienced so much dynamic emotion, both anger and love, from a single band. Axl’s voice hit a vein that made my arm hairs stand straight.
His tendency to rant about a variety of issues in concert and interviews made the subject matter of GNR’s songs seem real. People credit Kurt Cobain and Nirvana with bringing raw emotion back to music. Those people are wrong, though. Axl was doing it before them; he just wasn’t as subtle. Need examples or proof. Go to YouTube and type in “Axl rant.” You’ll get dozens of them, including several that started riots.
But to understand why the world needs Axl, you need to know about a specific one from 1992 in Chicago. During a concert there, he spent seven minutes ranting about his family and how they messed him up. Some concert-goers booed him, wanting to hear music instead of a therapy session. He responded by telling them that although they may not have had home lives that messed them up later in lives, the person next to them may have had this life. And he wanted those people to know they should not let others bring them down.
And then he disappeared. It was obvious Axl had emotional issues because of a messed up family life, but it seemed he had overcome them. He fronted the biggest band in the world, he married (and divorced) a supermodel, he earned enough money for him and any future children and grandchildren to be set for life, and he could do anything he wanted with his career because no record executive was going to tell him otherwise. Unfortunately for fans, he went away, only teasing us every once in a while that he was going to come back, making it appear that his emotional issues were a problem still challenging him.
A comeback would show the world, and all those fans who listened to him say they shouldn’t let others bring them down, that life is all about overcoming obstacles. Axl’s emotional issues were the result of a bad upbringing. We need to know, from him, that he beat this barrier.
Since the last Guns N’ Roses album, I have graduated from high school, from college, begun a 10-year career, got married, bought a house, had a kid and have gone through five different vehicles.
I still cling to the hope Axl will return soon. He will release “Chinese Democracy,” and he will show us, at age 45, that he didn’t let anybody bring him down.
He was the volatile lead singer of rock and roll’s greatest band in the world from 1988 to 1991 – Guns N’ Roses. Every guy wanted to be him because every girl wanted to be with him. And every band during that time period tried to imitate the Gunners, even if they were just superb imitators themselves.
Then he disappeared after the vastly underrated punk covers album, “The Spaghetti Incident,” in 1993, only re-emerging briefly to fire the other members of Guns N’ Roses, make an appearance or two at the MTV Video Music Awards, headline a few money-grabbing tours or leak a few songs from the forever-in-progress “Chinese Democracy,” an album that always seems ready to come out but that never does.
As a middle school student in 1988 when Guns N’ Roses released “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” an ode to Axl’s model girlfriend that turned their 1987 album “Appetite for Destruction” into the best-selling debut of the 1980s, I immediately became addicted to Guns N’ Roses. The hard-edge of songs like “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone,” contrasted with the power ballads like “Sweet Child” and “Patience,” along with Axl’s seemingly endless personalities he created by singing in five different voices, was candy to my Midwestern ears.
Never before and never since have I experienced so much dynamic emotion, both anger and love, from a single band. Axl’s voice hit a vein that made my arm hairs stand straight.
His tendency to rant about a variety of issues in concert and interviews made the subject matter of GNR’s songs seem real. People credit Kurt Cobain and Nirvana with bringing raw emotion back to music. Those people are wrong, though. Axl was doing it before them; he just wasn’t as subtle. Need examples or proof. Go to YouTube and type in “Axl rant.” You’ll get dozens of them, including several that started riots.
But to understand why the world needs Axl, you need to know about a specific one from 1992 in Chicago. During a concert there, he spent seven minutes ranting about his family and how they messed him up. Some concert-goers booed him, wanting to hear music instead of a therapy session. He responded by telling them that although they may not have had home lives that messed them up later in lives, the person next to them may have had this life. And he wanted those people to know they should not let others bring them down.
And then he disappeared. It was obvious Axl had emotional issues because of a messed up family life, but it seemed he had overcome them. He fronted the biggest band in the world, he married (and divorced) a supermodel, he earned enough money for him and any future children and grandchildren to be set for life, and he could do anything he wanted with his career because no record executive was going to tell him otherwise. Unfortunately for fans, he went away, only teasing us every once in a while that he was going to come back, making it appear that his emotional issues were a problem still challenging him.
A comeback would show the world, and all those fans who listened to him say they shouldn’t let others bring them down, that life is all about overcoming obstacles. Axl’s emotional issues were the result of a bad upbringing. We need to know, from him, that he beat this barrier.
Since the last Guns N’ Roses album, I have graduated from high school, from college, begun a 10-year career, got married, bought a house, had a kid and have gone through five different vehicles.
I still cling to the hope Axl will return soon. He will release “Chinese Democracy,” and he will show us, at age 45, that he didn’t let anybody bring him down.
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