When Guns 'N' Roses debuted with the masterpiece "Appetite For Destruction" it seemed like this was a band destined to attain legendary status. Unfortunately the legend goes something like this; drummer gets booted for hogging all the heroin, band shows up late for gigs or not at all, follow-up album sucks hind teat, lead singer gets a God complex and we're left with the wreckage of what might have been something truly special.

"Chinese Democracy" has been on its way to record store shelves for over a decade now, and even though we know it's not really GNR any more than Velvet Revolver was, it's still Axl screaming and he still does it well.

What he doesn't do well is everything else. Basic things like co-existing with his band members, treating other people with respect, realizing he's really not the greatest thing since Our Savior The Lord, and learning the simple direct act of compromise. The reason this album has taken so long to arrive (and still hasn't, technically), is because Axl cannot cede total control. He's a power-mad douchebag.

It was inevitable that this album would be leaked by some disgruntled grunt involved in the production process - and this is no bootleg. These songs are mastered, high-quality and will likely be exactly what you'll get if you're stupid enough to buy this album, which will just encourage him. Don't buy it. Just take it for free. All hail BitTorrent.

The song I'm dropping here is called "Better" and it's the first song on the leaked release, although where it finally ends up probably won't be settled until the day the CDs are pressed, since I'm sure Axl wants the mix to be His and His Only.

What a tool.

Left-click to play the song in a new browser window, or right-click and save to your computer.

'Better' from Chinese Democracy

...little patience, mm yeah, ooh yeah,
Need a little patience, yeah
Just a little patience, yeah
Some more pati... (ence, yeah)
I've been walking these streets at night
Just trying to get it right (Need some patience, yeah)
It's hard to see with so many around
You know I don't like being stuck in a crowd (Could use some patience, yeah)
And the streets don't change but maybe the name
I ain't got time for the game
'Cause I need you (Patience, yeah)
Yeah, yeah well I need you
Oh, I need you (Take some patience)
Whoa, I need you (Just a little patience is all we need)
Ooh, this ti- me....

As we boarded the elevator he continued, not skipping a beat and just as we reached the 7th floor, the doors opened and he finished the song. I smiled, and said, "Have a nice day." He smiled back and said, with the conviction of a pope, "Have a nice life."

"While Tim was performing at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Washington last night, he watched a man rush to the front of the stage. This overly aggressive fan attacked a female fan and Tim witnessed this incident. Tim called for security, but when they could not respond quick enough Tim and several crew members removed the fan from the audience where he was then turned over to the local authorities."

That dude is no small emo boy, either, quite a sizable redneck. Tim handled it rather well, all things considered.

Now, here's how you handle an unruly fan, a classic demonstration by Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns'N Roses. During a show in St. Louis in 1991, Rose became irate because a fan in the crowd was taking his picture. Rose asked security to remove the fan and or camera, and when they didn't move quick enough, he jumped into the crowd to handle the situation. You can see a few blows exchanged, and then the situation just goes haywire.

Je reste toujours dans le registre musical que j'aime pour donner un hommage. En l'occurrence ce titre: Madagascar par Guns N Roses. Un extrait:

No, I...
Forgive that they teared down my soul
Bless them that they might grow old
Oh, and free them so that they may know
That it's never too late

Ohh, et puis comme c'est jour de candy-eye: I'm still loving former Axl Rose look :-D

He did own up to talking to Slash about jamming together and working on another project — and he has sworn to secrecy on that one.

Is Bach being honest with the press?

Bottomline: Scott Weiland is going to be hard to replace.

And she’s been that way for 2 months – with Guns ‘N Roses lead singer Axl Rose

BRENTWOOD, CALIF. - JUNE 25, 2008 - It started back in April, amid all the hoopla over the sale of a painting by her sister, Elle, and it sort of got heavy, and kind of got out-of-control, and one thing led to another, and she kept it to herself, and she lived on a little pink Cupid-cloud in her own little world. In other words, she fell in love.

But like most things in 14-year-old Dakota Fanning’s life, love didn’t follow any predictable patterns – unless you count the can’t-eat, can’t-sleep, can’t-think-about-a-whole-lot-else business, which she says she can live with.

“Me and some of my friends were hanging around my house one day,” Dakota says, “and one of them said, ‘You know who you look like?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, me,’ and she said, ‘No,’ and I said, ‘If you say Elle, you’re going home,’ and she goes, ‘No, you look like that Axl Rose guy.’ This particular friend, who I’ll leave nameless, has a lot of personal issues, so I just ignored her. I didn’t even know what an Axl Rose was.”

But the friend was convinced of the similarity between Dakota’s and Rose’s looks, so to appease the friend, Dakota got permission from her mother, Joy, to go on the Internet. The friend pulled up some photos of Rose, one of the most notorious, hell-raising bad boys in the history of rock music, and one look was all it took.

“I was at a loss for words, if you can believe that, so you know it had to be deep,” Dakota says, throwing her hair back over both shoulders. “I was shocked – not because he looks like me, which he only did a little bit when he was younger, but because he’s soooo cute! Okay, I know he’s like 30 years older than me, but so what?”

Dakota learns about Axl

As soon as all her friends went home, Dakota called her agent, Nan Slater, and said, “Tell me everything you know about Axl Rose.” Slater said, “Who?” Dakota said, “Axl Rose, the Guns ‘N Roses guy.” Slater said, “Why do you want to know about him, Dakota?” Irritated, Dakota said, “Why do you want to keep being my agent, Nan? Or am I mistaken and you’d rather handle some generic talent like Abigail Breslin?”

Slater quickly fed Dakota the following tidbits:

• Axl grew up in Indiana and came to Los Angeles in his early 20’s to become a famous rock star.

• He’s known for wearing skin-tight Spandex shorts, bandanas, leather jackets and hi-top sneakers on stage.

• He’s now a vegetarian and has quit all of his vices, including alcohol and tobacco, and he meditates and practices yoga every day.

• He lives in a mansion in Malibu.

• He got into trouble in the 80’s over the song “One in a Million,” which included the words "niggers" and "faggots."

• He was arrested more than 20 times as a youth for crimes that included public drunkenness and assault, and authorities in Lafayette, La. wanted to have him locked up as a habitual criminal.

• He was arrested in Stockholm, Sweden in July 2006 over allegations that he bit a security guard.

“I didn’t care about the arrests and the nasty words – the part about the Spandex did it for me,” Dakota says. “I just daydreamed about him all the time. It put me in a fairly unusual state, but that was okay, because my whole family was all nutso about Elle selling a painting for almost three million dollars, so I had a little space to play with it. The infatuation, I mean.”

She began to daydream and nightdream about Axl. Every time she was in a store or at a newsstand, she’d frantically flip through rock magazines, hoping to get a glimpse of him. When visiting friends’ houses, she would get on their computers and read everything she could about the singer.

“He looks a lot different nowadays than when he looked like me, but even with his corn rows and beard, he’s still just awesome,” Dakota says. “He’s just a beautiful person who needs someone to take care of him. Someone around his age, I mean.”

Dakota hears some Guns 'N Roses music

Then one of her friends swiped her father’s copy of the Guns ‘N Roses album Use Your Illusion II, and Dakota fell even harder.

“The music just totally spoke to me,” she says. “I never knew music like that even existed, because my mom would never let me listen to it. That song ‘Yesterdays,’ it was like the story of my life: ‘Prayers in my pocket, and no hand in destiny, I'll keep on movin' along, with no time to plant my feet.’ That’s exactly how I feel, so obviously there’s a connection between us.”

Dakota says she loved every song on the CD, even Axl’s vitriolic, threatening tirade against Bob Guccione, Jr., Mick Wall and Andy Secher called “Get in the Ring,” but her absolute favorite song, one she just knows was written for her, was “Fourteen Years,” even though the song was released two and a half years before she was born.

“My mind was effectively blown – like it was about to implode,” she says. “It totally sounds like my life. It says, ‘Bull**** and contemplation, gossip's their trade, if they knew half the real truth, what would they say? Well I'm past the point of concern, it's time to play, these last four years of madness, sure put me straight.’”

She takes a breath. “You know, with the Hounddog stuff and people saying I’m a has-been and all that. It just makes sense. It’s like destiny. I wonder if he had teeth problems when he was a kid.”

Dakota says she realizes that because of their age difference and “like about twenty other factors that would be fairly important to my mom,” she and Rose, who is 46, could never be a real couple. And she did manage to forget him during the horrific ordeal with Elle last week. But on Monday, when that ordeal seemed to be fully over, she called Slater again and told her to arrange a meeting with Rose.

Dakota and Axl meet

“Nan found out that Axl was doing an appearance the next day – which was yesterday – like the song – at the Tower Records over the hill on the Boulevard, so we had no time to lose. I told her to get me there at all costs. Nan called my mom and said she wanted to take me shopping for some new music. Nan does these things for me because she really wants to keep being my agent. My mom said fine, because she and Elle were still busy working on the upstairs refuse heap, otherwise known as Elle’s new bedroom. Nan picked me up at nine-thirty, and off we went.”

Rose was standing in a corner of the store, talking with several men in suits. Dakota says she recognized him right away "in a joint full of normal people,” and she walked up to him and was about to say something, when she completely blanked.

“I was so nervous, I was about to die,” she says. “I was sweating in places I didn’t even know I had places. So I just stared at him, and he said, ‘Hi,’ and I said, ‘Hi,’ and I just kept staring, and he laughed a little and said, ‘Have we met?’ He said have we met! To me! My heart was all flip-floppy. I said, ‘No, not really,’ and he said, ‘So who are you?’ and I said, ‘I’m Dakota Fanning,’ and he looked me all over – he looked me all over – all over my body! – and he said, ‘So who’s Dakota Fanning?’ He didn’t even know who I am! Can you believe it! Isn’t that awesome?”

One of the men in suits knew who Dakota was, and introductions were made, and it turns out Axl had watched her film Dreamer numerous times and considered it one of his favorites.

“I almost died! He watched it all the time, and he didn't even know I was in it! He told me he used to watch it all alone in his house in Malibu with all the curtains closed and the doors locked, and he was so depressed he wanted to slit his wrists with the bottom of a Jack Daniel’s bottle – whatever that is – and Dreamer made him feel happy again.”

Dakota takes a big breath and lets it out slowly. “So you see, this is how it works in life. We all help each other in our own ways. Me and Axl talked for about twenty minutes, then he had to go, and that was fine, because I was so perplexed by all these feelings I was having. Me and Nan went to Panda Express, but I was still pretty weird. I’m still weird right now. I guess I’m just weird.”

Am reusit sa ascult 9 piese pe youtube si pot spune ca nu sunt de loc impresionat. Perfect de acord ca piesele nu suna rau iar unele sunt destul de reusite (This I Love este prima care imi sare in minte) dar nu este in nici un caz peste Use Your Illusion si asta este o problema. Este o problema pentru ca un album la care s-a muncit atata amar de vreme nu poate fi unul banal. Sigur vocea lui Axl este la fel ca in vremurile bune anumite pasaje suna ok dar nu am reusit sa gasesc nici macar o singura piesa cu statut de hit. Iar in cazul Guns N Roses asta este o problema. Toate albumele lor au avut macar un hit: Welcome To The Jungle, Don't Cry, November Rain, Since I Don't Have You, Civil War sunt doar cateva dintre cele ce imi vin in minte pe moment. Lipsa unor astfel de piese o sa traga foarte mult in jos produsul final avand in vedere ca hiturile au fost motorul ce a impins Guns N'Roses in fata. Hiturile si atitudinea de bad boys care nu cred ca o sa ii mai prinda la varsta asta.

In concluzie Axl ar trebui sa mai cizeleze piesele astea si sa compuna macar o melodie care sa loveasca din prima. Daca lanseaza albumul cum arata acum o sa se faca de ras. Si ar fi pacat pentru ca Guns N' Roses sunt cea mai reprezentativa trupa a rockului american de la inceputul anilor 90.

Pentru o parere personala:

http://www.youtube.com/user/gnrworlddotcom

Kevin Skwerl, the blogger who last week leaked nine tracks from forthcoming Guns N Roses album ‘Chinese Democracy’, was visited by two FBI agents yesterday (June 23) and questioned about the source of his files.

Skwerl last week posted nine songs from the album on his blog Antiquiet, but immediately erased the tracks after Axl Rose’s attorneys got in touch and requested the removal.

Skwerl, a former employee of Universal Music, was visited at his office by two FBI agents who questioned him for 15 minutes about the source of the files and scheduled a house call to Skwerl’s house this morning, asking to see the original files. Skwerl did not have the files.

After posting the files last week, the blog crashed from the sheer number of visitors to the site and Skwerl was contacted by “a really cool guy from the Gn’R camp that was a middle man between someone who was very angry and me. He was trying to reach out and see if I’d go without a fight, which is more or less what I did,” he told rollingstone.com.

Skwerl is not stressing about any possible legal action that may be taken saying:

“I’m not so worried about that. It’s a legal grey area since it wasn’t for download, it wasn’t a finished product. We aren’t sure who owns the recordings. I feel like I might survive this.”

Skwerl told the FBI that he had acquired these music files from “an anonymous online source.”

Hmnnn. A guy with a patch over one eye, perhaps?

The FBI is still talking to Skwerl. And rightly so. This is serious stuff. Doesn't anyone understand that Axl Rose has to keep this stuff under lock and key? It may be another dozen years before he gets these tracks perfected.

Read the entire article HERE.

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Leia abaixo a íntegra da matéria que saiu no portal TERRA sobre as músicas do Guns n' Roses que vazaram na internet, suspeita-se que elas façam parte do lendário "Chinese Democracy", segue então a notícia, confira!!!

"Músicas inéditas de Chinese Democracy, o novo disco do Guns N' Roses em produção há 14 anos, surgiram num website na última quarta-feira. Das noves faixas, três nunca foram ouvidas antes (Rhiad and the Bedouins, If the World e uma música sem título). Todas soam como se estivessem sido finalizadas e masterizadas".

"Apesar de seis das noves composições já serem conhecidas pelos fãs, as versões escutadas anteriormente estavam incompletas e não apresentavam a produção lapidada das versões atuais".

"As composições exibem as guitarras pesadas características do Guns N¿ Roses, além de arranjos de piano e orquestra e influências de flamenco".

"As músicas foram removidas do site a pedido da banda. A feitura de Chinese Democracy se prolonga desde 1994 e já consumiu mais de US$ 13 milhões. A última data de lançamento de Chinese Democracy divulgada pelo Guns N' Roses - cujo vocalista Axl Rose é o único membro original remanescente da banda - foi a de março de 2007. No entanto, até o momento os fãs não viram nem sinal do disco".

"No início do ano, a fábrica norte-americana de refrigerantes Dr. Pepper prometeu um refrigerante de graça para cada cidadão americano se Chinese Democracy sair antes do fim de 2008".

Semana passada deu na rede: nove faixas do novo disco vazaram. Entre outras eu pude conferir "Chinese Democracy", "Madagscar", "The Blues" (que já circulavam pela internet já tem tempo) e as então inéditas "Rhiad And The Bedouins" e "If The World".

Sinceramente as músicas são uma porcaria, 14 anos de pura enrolação e sensacionalismo fizeram o guns n' roses virar piada no mundo pop, como se a banda pudesse nos dar algo de espetacular de novo, como um Sgt Peppers do século vinte e um.

Axl Rose deveria deixar essa peteca cair logo pra poder gravar novos discos sem a pressão de ter que lidar com a sombra de Slash e Izzy nos áureos tempos do guns n' roses. Ou então reunir a velha turma e voltar a fazer rock and roll. Ou se aposentar de vez, seria uma boa também ...

Procure as músicas "novas" da banda pela internet e depois diga-me se realmente valem 14 anos de espera...

1982 yılında Indiana'dan rüya kent Los Angeles' e göç eden Axl Rose ve Izzy Stradlin beraber kurdukları Rose ve Hollywood Rose isimli gruplardan sonra yanlarına Tracii Guns, Ole Beich ve Rob Gardener 'ı da alarak 1985 yılında Guns N' Roses'ı kurdular. Fakat ilerleyen zamanlarda Tracii, Beich ve Gardener ayrıldı. Tracii Guns da daha sonra meşhur L.A Guns'ı kuracaktı. Daha sonra efsane gitarist Slash, bas gitarda Duff Mc Kagan ve de davulda Steven Popcorn Adler gruba katıldılar. Böylece efsanevi kadro şekillenmiş oldu. Kısa bir süre sonra 1986'da GN'R ilk EP'si olan Live Like A Suicide'ı Uzi Suicide plaktan çıkardı. Albümde Nice Boys ve Reckless Life gibi agresif ve yüksek tempolu ikisi cover olmak üzere 4 parça yer alıyordu. EP sıfır promasyona rağmen bir anda 10.000 adet satınca bu Geffen plakçılığın dikkatini çekti ve hemen sözleşme imzaladılar. Bu sırada GN'R meşhur Hell Tour'u için ABD'yi dolaşmaktaydı. 1986 yılının sonlarından 1987 yılının ortalarına kadar stüdyoda kalan grubun yükselişi de başlıyordu.İlk albümü Appetite For Destruction' u 1987 yılında yayınlayan grup ilk albümüyle muhteşem çıkışını gerçekleştirmişti. Appetite For Destruction dünya çapında 25 milyon kopya satarak çok büyük bir başarı yakaladı. Albümün tasarlanan ilk kapağı vahşet içerdiği için müzik firmaları tarafından reddedilmiş. Daha sonra Axl Rose'un fikriyle bilinen ünlü kapakla yayınlanmıştır. Albüm tüm zamanların en fazla satan debut (bir sanatçı ya da grubun ilk albümü) albümü olma özelliğini taşımaktadır. Albüm tüm dünyada müzik listelerinin zirvesine yerleşirken grupta dünya çapında konserler vermeye başlamıştı. Bugün bir klasik sayılan albüm şuanda bile otoriteler tarafından gelmiş geçmiş en iyi hard rock albümü kabul edilmektedir. Albüm 20 yıl sonra bugün yeni nesil rock müzisyenlerine esin kaynağı olmaktadır. Albüm 1980'lerin en iyi hard rock albümü olmakla birlikte 1980'lerde yapılan en iyi 5 albüm içindedir. Bu albümden çıkan önemli single parçalar Welcome to the Jungle, Sweet Child O'Mine, Paradise City ve Nightrain müzik listelerinde en üst sıralarda yer almışlardır. Albüm Amerika' nın en önemli müzik listesi Billboard Top 100'de 5 hafta 1 numarada kalarak bir rekor kırmıştır. Sweet Child O'Mine ise listelerde 1 numaraya çıktı ve Guns N' Roses 80'lerde şarkısı 1 numaraya çıkan 3 hard rock grubundan biri oldu. Aynı yıl GN'R ozamanların dev grupları Mötley Crüe,Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden ve Aerosmith gibi dev gruplarla beraber çaldı. Guns N' Roses Amerika'ya bomba gibi düşmüş, adeta ortalığı sallamıştı. Tabi 80' lerin en büyük gruplarından biri de Mötley Crüe di. ve artık Guns da onlarla aynı kulvardaydı. 80'lerin popüler gruplarından Ratt ve Poison gibi grupların aksine GN'R glam rock'tan daha farklı olarak daha sert, daha agresif fakat daha duyguluydu. Bu fark hemen anlaşıldı vede bu gruplar hemen ikinci plana itiliverdiler.

1988 yılında Appetite For Destruction dünya turnesine devam eden grup bu yılın sonlarına doğru GN'R LIES albümünü yine Geffen müzik'ten piyasaya çıkardılar. Albüm Live Like A Suicide albümünden 4 şarkıyı ve yeni 4 akustik şarkıyı barındırmaktaydı. Bu albümde de yine Patience ve I Used To Love her gibi büyük hitler vardı. Albüm sadece Amerika'da 6 milyon sattı. Ancak One In A Million şarkısındaki bazı kelimeler Axl Rose'a ırkçı ve homofobik suçlamasını getirdi. Axl Rose ise bu karşı çıkıp, medyayı suçladı. Aynı yıl İngiltere'de Donnington Monsters of Rock festivaline katılan grubun 2 hayranı konser sırasında ezilerek can verdi. Axl Rose konser güvenliğini protesto etti ve bir daha Donnington'a katılmayacaklarını söyledi. 1988 yılının sonlarına doğru Mtv ödüllerinde sahne alan grup aynı zamanda Mtv'den en iyi çıkış yapan grup ödülünü aldı. Milyonlarca albüm satıp kapalı gişe konserler veren grup artık medyanın odak noktasıydı. GNR müzikal başarılarıyla olduğu kadar tıpkı Mötley Crüe gibi skandallarıyla da artık zirvede yer alıyordu.

1989 yılında Guns N' Roses aynı anda 2 albümüyle birlikte Billboard Top 5 listesine giren ilk grup olmuştur. Bu muhteşem bir başarıydı. Aynı yıl Axl Rose 2. kez Rolling Stone'a kapak olmuştu. 1989'da grup Amerikan Müzik ödülleri'nde en iyi hard rock albümü (Appetite For Destruction) ve en iyi hard rock şarkısı (Paradise City) ödüllerini kazandı. 1989 yılında Rolling Stones ile birlikte uzun bir turne yaptılar. 1989 MTV Video Müzik Ödülleri'nde Mötley Crüe' nun efsane vokalisti Vince Neil ile Izzy Stradlin sahne arkasında yumruklaştılar. Olay daha sonra Vince Neil ve Axl Rose tartışmasına dönüştü ve iki superstar birbirlerini televizyonda boks macı yapmaya davet ettiler. 1990 yılının başlarına gelindiğinde ise Guns stüdyonun yolunu tutmuştu. Bu sırada grubun eski dostu Dizzy Reed (Klavye, piyano) Guns N' Roses'a katıldı. Aynı yıl davulcu Steven Adler uyuşturucuyla olan problemlerini çözemediği gerekçesiyle gruptan uzaklaştırıldı. Ondan boşalan koltuğu Matt Sorum devraldı. Daha sonra dava açan Adler grubu 2,5 milyon $ ödemeye mahkum etmişti. Axl Rose komşusuna saldırdığı gerekçesiyle gözaltına alındı. Bu sırada Knockin on Heaven's Door Tom Cruise'un The Days of Thunder filminin müzik albümünde kullanıldı. MTV'nin hazırladığı video klibi ise en çok istek alanlar arasında yer aldı. Grup 1990 yılının tamamını stüdyoda geçirdi. Sadece birkaç tane yardım amaçlı konser verdiler. 1991 yılının ilk aylarını stüdyoda geçiren grup daha sonra bu yılın ortasına doğru Use Your Illusion World Tour 91- 93' ü başlattı. Yine 1991 yılının ortalarında meşhur St. Louis vakası gercekleşti. Axl Rose sürekli fotoğraf çeken bir seyircinin üzerine atladı ve büyüyen olaylarda 40 kişi yaralandı. Daha sonra 1992 yılında Axl bu olay nedeniyle tutuklanacaktı.

Use Your Illuison Dönemi (1990- 1995)

Yaklaşık 2 sene süren bir stüdyo kaydının ardından GN'R müzik dünyasını alt üst etti ve 1991 yılının ekim ayında aynı anda 2 albüm birden yayınlayarak suskunluğunu bozdu. Use Your Illusion I ve Use Your Illusion II. Bu heavy metal dünyasında bir ilkti. Grup zaten albümler yayınlanmadan önce 1991'in mayıs ayından itibaren kapalı gişe stadyum konserlerine başlamıştı. Bu konserlerde o sıralar yeni patlamış olan Skid Row' da Guns N' Roses'a sahneyi açmıştı. Albümlerden çıkan ilk single You Could Be Mine oldu ve Terminator 2 filminin sountrack albümünde yer aldı. Use Your Illusion'lar büyük bir patlama yarattı ve GN'R Billboard Top 100 listesinin ilk iki sırasına yerleşti. Bu daha önce hiçbir grubun yapamadığı bir başarıydı. MTV'de en çok istek alan videolar You Could be Mine ve Don't Cry idi. Artık Guns n Roses tartışmasız olarak dünyanın zirvesine yerleşmişti. Dünyanın en büyük grubu olmuşlardı. Heryerde onlar vardı. Her gazetede, her televizyonda Guns n Roses vardı. Artık anneler kızlarını Axl Rose' dan korumaya çalışıyorlardı. Ama milyonlarca genç kız Axl Rose' a hayrandı. Ama bu kadar şöhrete rağmen Axl Rose ' un gönlüde boş değildi. O zamanların en ünlü mankeni olan Stephenie Seymour ile fırtınalı bir aşk yaşıyorlardı. Aynı zamanda seymour dont cry ve november rain kliplerindede Guns N'Roses'a eşlik etti. Fakat bu beraberlik çok uzun sürmedi ve Seymour kendisini dövdüğü gerekçesiyle Axl' ı mahkemeye vericekti. Ayrıca Guns n Roses bu albümlerle kariyerini sağlamlaştırmıştı. Albümlerin müzik kalitesi rakiplerinin albümlerinin çok üzerindeydi. Yine bu yılın sonlarına doğru grubun kurucu üyesi Izzy Stradlin Guns N' Roses'dan ayrıldığını açıkladı. Onun yerine eski Kills For Thrills gitaristi Gilby Clarke kadroya dahil edildi. Daha sonra çıkan singlelar November Rain, Don't Cry, Live And Let Die, Knockin on Heaven's Door, Yesterdays ve Estranged şarkıları büyük başarılar kazandı ve klasikleştiler. Axl' ın Bohemian Rhapsody' si November Rain gelmiş geçmiş en büyük hitlerden biri oldu. 4 milyon dolarlık klibiyle November Rain yapılmış en pahalı video kliplerden biridir. İki albümde toplamda 18 milyon sattı. 1992 yazında Guns N'Roses/Metallica konserler dizisi başladı. Bu konserlerde Metallica Guns n Roses'ın alt grubuydu ve Guns'a konser açıyordu. 1992 MTV ödüllerinde November Rain en iyi klip seçildi. 1992 ve 1993 yıllarını Use Your Illusion dünya turnesiyle geçirdiler. Bu konserlerde kırktan fazla ülkeye uğradılar. Turne müzik dünyasının en uzun ve en büyüklerinden biri oldu. Turne 1993 yılının temmuz ayında sona erdi. 1993 yılının sonlarında ise The Spaghetti Incident? albümü geldi. Albüm bir cover albümüydü ve grubun çalmayı sevdikleri parçalardan oluşuyordu. Since I Don't Have You ve Ain't It Fun gibi şarkıları barındırıyordu. Albüm Amerika'da 2 milyon sattı ve 4 numaraya kadar çıktı.

1994'ün başlarında Gilby Clarke, gruptan ayrıldı. 1994 yılının ortalarında grup bir single çıkardı: Sympathy for the Devil. Bir Rolling Stones coverı olan parça Tom Cruise' un Interview With Vampire filminde kullanıldı. Şarkıda Rose'un arkadaşı Paul Tobias gitar çalmaktaydı. Yan projelerden sonra Rose ile çalışmaya başlayan Slash, Axl Rose ile anlasamadı. 1996 yılının ortalarında Slash ayrıldıgını acıkladı. Bunu 1997 yılında ise Matt Sorum izledi. 1998'de de Duff McKagan gruptan ayrıldığını açıkladı. Efsane gitarist Slash daha sonra yaptığı açıklamalarda Axl Rose her şeyin kendi istediği gibi olmasını istiyordu diyecekti. Yine bu yıl Geffen Use Your Illusion serisindeki en iyi parçaları bir araya toplayarak bir nevi best of çıkardı: Use Your Illusion

Gerileme Dönemi 1995- 2000

1996 yılına gelindiğinde Axl Rose yeni bir Guns N' Roses albümü yayınlamak için çalışmalara başladı. Bu yıllarda Guns N' Roses cephesinde çok büyük bir sessizlik hakim sürdü. Adeta ortadan kaybolmuşlardı. Slash ve Duff nispeten bazı çalışmalar yaptılar fakat Axl adeta ortadan kaybolmuştu. Bu sessizlik ise 1999 yılının sonlarına kadar sürdü. Yaklaşık 3 senedir ağır kan kaybeden grubu yeniden diriltmek için Axl Rose çalışmalara başladı. Yeni bir kadroyla grubu yeniden diriltti. Ritim gitarda eski arkadaşı olan Paul Huge Tobias, bas gitarda Tommy Stinson(eski The Replacements), gitarda Robin Finck(eski Nine Inch Nails), bateride Josh Freese ve keyboard'da Dizzy Reed bulunuyordu. Grup 1999'da ilk ürünü olan Oh My Godı bir Arnold Schwarzenegger filmi olan End of Days soundtracki için yaptı. Bu 8 sene sonra çıkmış ilk orjinal Guns N' Roses şarkısıydı. Şarkı bilinen GN'R soundundan çok daha sert bir parçaydı. Eleştirmenlerce çok başarılı bulunan parça yeni albümünde lokomotif şarkılarından biriydi. Aynı yıl yeni albümün adıda Chinese Democracy olarak belirlenmişti. Bu arada davula Josh Freeze'in yerine Primus'tan Brain Mantia geçti. Yine bu yıl GN'R hayranlarının uzun bir süredir beklediği konser albümü GNR Live Era 87- 93 piyasaya çıktı. 2 disk ten oluşan albüm grubun muhteşem canlı performanslarını içeriyordu. Bu arada gitara usta virtüöz Buckethead geçti. Robin Finck ile beraber harika bir ikili oldular.

Geri Dönüş Dönemi 2001- 2007

2000 yılını 2001 ' e bağlayan gece 31 aralıkta Las Vegas' ta muhteşem bir geri dönüş konseri veren grup yenilenmiş haliyle ilk kez hayranlarının karşısına çıkıyordu. Axl Rose ise 7 yıl sonra ilk konserini veriyordu. 2001 yılına gelindiğinde grup Brezilya'da Rock in Rio 3 festivalinde 250.000 hayranının karşısına çıktı ve festivalin en iyi grubu seçildi. Madagascar, The Blues ve Oh My God gibi yeni şarkılar çok beğenildi. 2002 yılında dünya turnesini başlatan GNR aynı zamanda 9 yıl sonra ilk kez bir dünya turnesine çıkıyordu. Bu sırada da gitarist Richard Fortus, Paul Huge Tobias'ın yerine Guns N' Roses' a katılmıştı. 2002 yılının ağustos ayında büyük bir sürpriz yaparak MTV ödüllerinde sahne alan grup muhteşem geri dönüşünü kanıtlamıştı. MTV ödüllerinde Welcome to the Jungle ile açılısı yapan grup kapanışı ise konfetiler eşliğinde Paradise City ile yapmıştı. Tüm dünyaya canlı yayınla aktarılan konserde Axl Rose dünyaya geri dönüşünü göstermiş oldu. Bu gösteriden sonra dünya turnesini başlatan GN'R aynı zamanda 9 yıl sonra ilk defa turneye cıkıyordu. Turne oldukça başarılı geçti ve de grup kapalı gişe konserler verdi. Turne çok başarılı gecerken 2002 yılının aralık ayında Amerika Philadelphia'daki konsere Axl Rose un gelmemesiyle birlikte alkollu seyirciler galeyana geldi ve arbede çıktı. Turne sponsoru Clear Channel konserleri durdurdu. Bundan sonra yeniden stüdyoya girdiler ve Chinese Democracy kayıtlarını sürdürdüler.

Hayranlar yeni bir albüm beklerken Greatest Hits albümü 2004 yılında yayınlandı. Greatest Hits çok büyük satış rakamlarına ulaştı vede GNR hem ABD'de hemde İngiltere ve Avrupada tekrar müzik listelerinin zirvesine yerleşti. Sadece Amerika satışları 3 milyonu geçti. Tüm dünya satısları ise 7 milyonu gecti. Axl Rose sonunda rock n roll' u kurtarmaya gelmişti..

4 yıllık bir aradan sonra 2006'da muhteşem bir dönüş yapan Guns N' Roses gitara Buckethead yerine gitar kahramanı Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal'ı aldıktan sonra önce Amerika'da New York'ta kapalı gişe 4 konser verdi ve daha sonrada Avrupa turnesine başladı. Aynı zamanda Axl Rose yeni albümün kayıtları için 13 milyon dolar harcamıştı. Bu haber müzik dünyasına bomba gibi düştü vede Guns n Roses bir rekor daha kırdı gelmiş geçmiş en pahalı albüm. Bu müzik tarihinde bir rekordu. Rekorlara alışık bir grup olan Guns N' Roses ve hayranları için bu çokta sansasyonel olmadı. 2006 yılında pek çok ülkede biletleri günler öncesinde tükenen konserler veren GNR ayrıca Rock in Rio, Gods of Metal, Rock am Ring ve Novarock gibi avrupanın en büyük festivallerinde headliner grup oldu. Merakla beklenen yeni şarkılar Better, IRS ve T.W.A.T çok beğenildi. Şuanda piyasada olan vede her yıl yeni albüm çıkaran gruplar 16 yıldır albüm çıkarmayan GN'R a konser açılısı yaptılar. Busırada eşi dogum yapan baterist Brain Mantia gruptan ayrıldı. Onun yerine bateriye Frank Ferrer geçti. Temmuz ayında İstanbul'a da uğrayan grup yaklaşık 9.000 kişiye Kuruçeşme Arena'da muhteşem bir konser verdi. Bu konserlerdeki en büyük sürpriz ise 1991 yılında gruptan ayrılan kurucu üye Izzy Stradlin'in konuk sanatçı olarak konserlerde yer almasıydı. Turnede ayrıca Izzy Stradlin dışında Kid Rock, Sebastian Bach gibi rock dünyasının meşhur isimleride GN'R'a eşlik ettiler. Ağustos ayının sonunda MTV Video Müzik Ödüllerinde sunuculuk yapan ve The Killers' ı sunan Axl Rose daha sonra kendisiyle yapılan röportajda yeni albümün kesinlikle bu yıl sonunda çıkıcağını söyledi. Ama malesef albüm yine çıkmadı. 2,5 aylık avrupa turnesini bitiren GNR bu turnede 18 farklı ülkede 40 konserde 700.000'den fazla seyirciye ulaştı. Eleştirmenlerden en yüksek notları alan grup bir kez daha en büyük Hard Rock grublarından biri olduğunu kanıtladı.

2007 yılının yaz aylarında Yeni Zelanda, Avustralya ve Japonyada çok sayıda büyük kapalı gişe konserler veren grup daha sonra yeni album çalışmaları icin stüdyoya kapandı. Bu sırada Axl Rose kadim dostu Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row)' ın solo albümünde (Angel Down) 3 şarkıda konuk sanatçı olarak yer aldı. 2007 yılı devam ederken Chinese Democracy kayıtlarını sürdüren grubun yeni albümü sabırsızlıkla bekleniyor..

Grubun Aldığı Ödüller

* 1988 - Yılın en iyi çıkış yapan grubu (MTV VMA)
* 1988 - Yılın en iyi heavy metal grubu (Kerrang Magazin)
* 1989 - En iyi rock single ı Sweet Child O' Mine (Amerikan Müzik Ödülleri)
* 1989 - En iyi hard rock video Sweet Child O' Mine (MTV VMA)
* 1989 - En iyi hard rock grubu (RIP Magazin)
* 1990 - En iyi hard rock grubu (Amerikan Müzik Ödülleri)
* 1990 - En iyi hard rock albümü Appetite For Destruction (Amerikan Müzik Ödülleri)
* 1990 - En iyi hard rock şarkısı Paradise City (Amerikan Müzik Ödülleri)
* 1991 - En iyi hard rock grubu (Kerrang)
* 1992 - En iyi hard rock grubu (Amerikan Müzik Ödülleri)
* 1992 - En iyi video klip November Rain (MTV VMA)
* 1992 - En iyi konser grubu (Hit Parader)
* 1993 - En fazla satan hard rock grubu (World Music Awards)
* 2001 - Rock in Rio festivalinin en iyi grubu

Grup elemanları

Appetite For Destruction Dönemi - (1985 - 1990)

* Axl Rose
* Slash
* Izzy Stradlin
* Duff Mckagan
* Steven Adler

Use Your Illusion Dönemi - (1990 - 1995)

* Axl Rose
* Slash
* Izzy Stradlin (1991'de ayrıldı)
* Duff McKagan
* Gilby Clarke (1991'de katıldı)
* Matt Sorum
* Dizzy Reed

Gerileme Dönemi (1996 - 2001)

* Axl Rose
* Dizzy Reed
* Duff McKagan (1997'de ayrıldı)
* Matt Sorum (1997'de ayrıldı)
* Paul Huge Tobias (2002'de ayrıldı)
* Robin Finck
* Tommy Stinzon
* Buckethead (2000'de katıldı)
* josh Freeze (2000'de ayrıldı)
* Brain Mantia (2000'de katıldı)

Geri Dönüş Dönemi ve Şimdiki Üyeleri (2002- 2006)

* Axl Rose (vokal, piyano, gitar)
* Dizzy Reed (piyano, klavye)
* Tommy Stinzon (bas gitar)
* Robin Finck (gitar)
* Richard Fortus (gitar)
* Ron Thal (gitar)
* Frank Ferrer (davul)

The infamous album is reported to have cost in excess of $13million (£6.5million) to produce but its release is said to have been held up by discussions between Rose and the band’s record label Geffen Records, over rights.

A poster calling themselves Skwerl made the nine songs available on Wednesday, without revealing their source, but the tracks were removed hours later.

The poster wrote: "I always said that the more that Axl and Geffen jerked around trying to figure out how to release this finally finished album that we’ve all been waiting over 13 years for, the greater the chances would be that it would slip out of a pressing plant or office somewhere and wind up in the hands of some asshole with a blog. So…"

Despite the hasty removal of the songs, reportedly after a call from the band’s lawyers, they soon spread throughout the internet, appearing on filesharing sites as well as YouTube.

Once released, the album will be the first original recording from Guns N' Roses since the 1991 releases of Use Your Illusion.

It is rumoured that a Guns N’ Roses reality TV show is set to be broadcast to coincide with the official release of the album.

In reference to the lengthy wait for the album, the California pop-punk band The Offspring announced in 2003 that their next album would be entitled Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze, You Lose).

only 13 years in the making....

Nine 'mastered, finished' tracks from Chinese Democracy, the album that Axl Rose has been working on for the past 14 years, were posted on a little-known rock website, www.Antiquiet.com.

The infamous album is reported to have cost in excess of $13million (£6.5million) to produce but its release is said to have been held up by discussions between Rose and the band’s record label Geffen Records, over rights.

A poster calling themselves Skwerl made the nine songs available on Wednesday, without revealing their source, but the tracks were removed hours later.

The poster wrote: "I always said that the more that Axl and Geffen jerked around trying to figure out how to release this finally finished album that we’ve all been waiting over 13 years for, the greater the chances would be that it would slip out of a pressing plant or office somewhere and wind up in the hands of some asshole with a blog. So…"

Despite the hasty removal of the songs, reportedly after a call from the band’s lawyers, they soon spread throughout the internet, appearing on filesharing sites as well as YouTube.

Once released, the album will be the first original recording from Guns N' Roses since the 1991 releases of Use Your Illusion.

It is rumoured that a Guns N’ Roses reality TV show is set to be broadcast to coincide with the official release of the album.

In reference to the lengthy wait for the album, the California pop-punk band The Offspring announced in 2003 that their next album would be entitled Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze, You Lose).

Source

Alleged new songs that are to be on "Chinese Democracy."  I didn't title the songs, as I'm unsure if these will be the final track names.

Track 1

Track 2

Track 3

Track 4

Track 5

Track 6

Track 7

Track 8

Track 9

Mercury Rev will return with two new records.

Josh Modell finally takes in Raging Bull.

Is Chinese Democracy finally upon us?

Wired has a piece on the Metallica reviews scandal.

Cody Chessnutt could be returning - inspired by Obama.

Chuck Bass in short-shorts.

Weezer adding more to the Rock Band party.

Is bottled water on the way out?

Here's Jim DeRogatis' top ten records of the year so far.

In Treatment has been renewed.

Inglorious Bastards may be split in two.

I fully appreciate Trent Reznor's move to give the fans free music. I've even managed to tape it to a CD and throw it in the car (I prefer the analog terminology for music sharing). But without the true physical artifact (liner notes, artwork, case), I feel lost. I miss the days of being a kid, pulling an album sleeve out and just gazing at all that real estate. It felt like an event, legitimate.

In other slightly related news, the NY Times released a list of music-related books this week. The first, W.A.R. is about Axl Rose.

After years and yeaaaaaars and years of waiting, the record the world has been waiting for has surfaced!! ..well a bit of it has at least. No, the braided wonder hasn't yet decided to come out from whatever rock he's been hanging out under to actually release it and get us all our free Dr. Pepper, but sommmmeone in his little camp leaked 9 tracks from the ever elusive disc to the internet the other day and boy howdy has it caused quite a stir. Reactions have been pretty mixed thusfar from what I can tell, with some GnR loyalists loving every last drop of audio goodness..but for the rest of us objective folks with ears, the story is a bit different. I loooove Guns as much as the next dude for the classic work back in the 80s/90s, but after listening to this new material, the main thought that comes to mind is..'THIS is what you've been working on for 15 years...?' Sure, there are traces of what made us all love GnR so much hidden in this music, but unfortunately that's all they are - traces. Nothing is really the same. Vocally, he can't really do it anymore it seems, and without Slash & crew, why even bother calling themselves Guns n Roses? All of these songs are really unimpressive and underwhelming, most of them sounding like they should be b-sides at the very most and heck, maybe they will be, we don't know. Buuuut with the way Axl has sent out the lawyers, I think it's safe to say this is the real thing. If you wanna hear this stuff for yourself, just search around out there in blogland a little bit, you can probably find what you're looking for..just be prepared to be disappointed.
Such a shame too. Ah well.

Loughborough made up predominantly of tribute bands. Me and Mr JoLucy have been a couple of times now, and this year we roped in friends and family. As well as buying some silly hats, drinking too much and getting blown away, we had a great weekend!

Sadly, we missed Dead Hot Chili Peppers and Guns 2 Roses but I was witness to Axl's white boxers last year and they were a sight to behold! We also missed Maybe Winehouse, but I'm pretty certain that from the distant warbles I could hear, there was no 'maybe' about it, just a flat 'no'.

 Kaiser Thiefs were pretty good and provided a convenient opportunity to introduce the young cousins to the joys of the mosh pit and some hands-in-the-air action for 'Ruby' and 'I predict a riot'. They were pretty good - the kind of band you can imagine wishing they could come up with their own material that would earn them enough to give up the cover bands....

There were plenty of distractions for the boys (and a few of the girls) as well, although we think Just Anastasia could be prosecuted under the trades description act. The look on my brother's face here demonstrates that it was clearly "Just Anastasia's Mum" on stage, not the buxom, pouted...um.... 'lady' in the programme!

Sadly most of our group had run from the weather by the time these commitment girls arrived. Not sure the one on the left knew she looked like she had knicker issues!

The Bon Jovi experience confounded us all by claiming to be "the first" Bon Jovi tribute - made up of all the other previous Bon Jovi tributes...... They were actually pretty good and the lead singer did have a look of 'my darling' Jon about him, and they would have been excellent if they hadn't become a laughing stock because of Jon's dreadful accent, with his deputy dawg style "yeyup" punctuating the whole act. shame.

By far the best act of the weekend for me was Mercury - not least because they were wise enough not to spoil the illusion by talking too much! If you get past the fact that Freddie had gained one or two pounds, the keyboardist had a broken arm (we wondered if he also drummed for def leppard tributes) and Brian was a little, well, not like Brian, these guys were great! I suppose it does help if you have nothing but crowd pleasing classics to cover....

Anyway, we'll be back next year for more "so bad it's good" music and a really good festival atmosphere without the price tag.

This film will never happen, sadly, because no ninety minutes could ever quite capture the twisted insanity of living through the past fourteen years of GNR lies concerning Chinese Democracy. I feel that shortly after all the key players die, someone will write an amazing book chronicling the entire ridiculous saga of this infamously late album. I foresee passages where a wild-eyed and paranoid Sebastian Bach is tearing through the streets of Long Island at three in the morning in an IROC Z, desperately searching for Mike Piazza’s mailbox before Axl calls him again. Meanwhile, the Chinese Democracy expense reports force David Geffen to hire a nurse to check his blood pressure every hour. Blacking out has become a daily routine for the high-powered exec, and he’s considering legal action against Axl for stress-induced medical problems. Shit, I might have to write this book.

There have been all sorts of demo leaks over the years, but this week nine very polished recordings surfaced that experts/insiders/rock pundits claim are from the final version of Chinese Democracy. There’s no way to confirm the legitimacy of these nasty cuts, but to these ears, they sound like the real deal. Still, I’ll be fair to W.A.R. I’ll give these not necessarily real tracks a not necessarily real review. Here now, the thoughts I jotted down the first couple of times I listened to the group of songs I now dub Possible Sixth Album Studio Cuts From A Band Whose Name Rhymes With Puns n’ Hoses:

“Better” – Starts out like some half-baked Linkin Park yazz. Oh shit, there’s our boy Axl, sounding a little older, not necessarily any wiser, but still that screeching parrot we began championing in 1987. I can see this song getting spins on modern rock radio. Not exactly the powerful opener Axl needs to sell the fact GNR is back in full effect, but it gets the job done.

“Chinese Democracy” – A classic Axl scream launches another so-so electro-tinged hard rocker. The solo is pretty hot. Overall, though, this one isn’t lighting a fire under my ass.

“IRS” – The lyrics are kind of dopey (Axl threatening to call various branches of the government), but the melody is kind of catchy and it almost sounds like Slash playing the solo. We’re warming up.

“Madagascar” – The requisite monster ballad. Axl kind of sounds like Joe Cocker on this one. By that I mean I’m not exactly sure what the hell he’s saying. I caught at least one line: “Forgive them that tear down my soul.” Deep, man. Holy shit, there are MLK sound clips in this one! Oh, and a call back to “Civil War!” Snap! Someone get the laptop away from Axl.

“Riyadh & The Bedouins” – Why is every song starting with some dumb electronic noodling? Oh wow, this is the real rocker, the almost-Appetite boogie-woogie bitch-slap everyone and their mama’s gonna be waiting for. Is it wrong that I want to compare this to Velvet Revolver? The sound is pretty close. Take that for what you will. If this was the only song on the album, it might be a best seller.

“This I Love” – Something’s weird with Axl’s voice. He keeps hitting this weird spot in almost every song where he’s almost out of tune. It’s strange. Could be a vocoder/auto tune, but he sounds like he's barely using it. Anyway, this song is mediocre slop somewhere between Coldplay and every not famous song Skid Row ever wrote. Again, though, the solo is ace. I wish I knew who was playing all these great solos – Buckethead or Bumblefoot. God, what stupid names. Dude, the outro is like a minute long. Who does Axl think he is, the Damned?

“If The World (Would End Today)” – This is fucking porn music. This is literally after midnight Showtime no penetration perfect hair and makeup porn music. Awful. It’s making me think of hunky nineties dudes going at it with girls who look like the wife on “King of Queens.” Hope this gets you laid, Axl.

“The Blues” – Ah, a piano. How refreshing. First line: Axl sounds like a scared hobbit. Second line: chainsaw voice. Third line: back to hobbit voice. Fourth line: you guessed it – chainsaw. Not as seamless as you used to be, bro. Melody-wise, this song is searching for a payoff it never finds.

“There Was A Time” – You know, maybe Axl is using a vocoder on all these songs. That or he’s been hanging out with goats too much. He really sells it at the end, but so what? The song has all the catchiness of a whale fart. I’m just not feeling it. Not feeling it, dawg!

Axl, Axl, Axl. I'm getting tired of typing that motherfucker's name, but there's no avoiding it. The focus is completely on him. Chinese Democracy isn’t about the return of the band we used to know as Guns n' Roses. It’s about the vindication of this crazy, braided ginger who drove all his friends out of the greatest sleaze rock band of the eighties, replaced them with ringers, and wasted a decade and thirteen million dollars making one record. Can he pull it off? Will it be worth the wait?

See, that’s the fucked up thing. Currently, the GNR lineup includes former members of the Replacements, Nine Inch Nails, and Primus, three of the most important/interesting/influential bands of the past thirty years. There’s a member of the fucking Replacements in Guns n’ Roses now, but no one cares! Axl’s the pilot of this wayward ship. He handpicked these guys. It would be one thing if they all met in a club and decided to form a band. Nope, Rose went all George Steinbrenner, scooping up free agents to replace the lost talent. Their failure is really his.

So you can’t really listen to these songs and not think entirely about the screechy little Indiana bitch. They really should have dropped the famous moniker and adopted something more appropriate, like the Rockin’ Axl Rose Review or Axl’s Night Train or the Goddamn Freckle Fucks. I can see that last one tattooed on a biker's arm for sure.

Anyway, the songs. Overall, not too bad. The brand new Guns n’ Roses better be sitting on a few real phenoms, though. If the nine tunes I just downloaded really are the bulk of Chinese Democracy, Axl and his Get Fresh Crew are gonna need a couple of honest to God homeruns to clinch this rock n’ roll pennant.

When I say "homerun," I'm talking about something like 1999’s “Oh My God,” the very first offering from the Slash-less, Duff-less, Gilby Clarke-less, and Matt Sorum-less GNR (recorded for the End of Days soundtrack). There was still some magic left in the ol' kilt when they recorded that lean, mean rocker. Everything here sounds bloated and stupid next to it. Bloated and stupid is okay ("Estranged") so long as you have something really ball-smashing to balance it out ("You Could Be Mine").

In the end, I think the most we can hope for from Chinese Democracy is that it comes out this year so we can get our free Dr. Pepper. Don't worry, Slash. I'll pour some of mine out for you.

It was fun while it lasted but this may be the end of the period it has taken for GNR to finally get the legendary Chinese Democracy to the street... legally. Nine finished songs were posted online at the blog antiquiet.com. Six songs had already been making the rounds on the internet, though unfinished. Three new songs: Rhiad and the Bedouins, If the World, and some no-namer, were the real surprises.

That is a hint that it is ready to go. But you never know.

Just think, if Chinese is released this year, you may get a free Dr. Pepper. Earlier this year, Dr Pepper stated that every American would get a free drink if GNR actually released Chinese in 2008. I find this more interesting than the actual release of the album. Plus, I like free things, especially well-caffeinated soda. I'll get the album and be a Pepper, too.