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#1011 Re: Guns N' Roses » Pretty cool video interview with Fortus » 668 weeks ago
Of all the songs on CD, Better may be the most 'recent', aside maybe Scraped. 2003-ish, it would appear.
#1012 Re: Guns N' Roses » Pretty cool video interview with Fortus » 668 weeks ago
So that puts Better in the timeline AFTER 2002. Good source for Whispers.
That would put it into 2003.
"Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose wandered into the Crazy Horse Too in Las Vegas Wednesday morning (July 16) and treated the nearly empty strip club to a preview of tracks from his band's long-delayed Chinese Democracy album." (MTV, 07/17/03)
"Our first leaks [presumably Better, There Was A Time and IRS, leaked in early '06] were from using a sound system in a strip club in the early hours when it was basically empty. I went there [in 2003] to play the tracks for someone I was interested in working with. I'd gone there with a guy who worked band security, who was allegedly somehow related to the owners, feeling it was a bit more of a protected environment than it turned out to be." (Axl, Billboard, 02/06/09)
Fits, as Bucket left at the end of the year. Which would go on to suggest the tour did work for them in terms of songwriting.
#1013 Guns N' Roses » Axl Rose: Inside His Private World (minor People.com article, 2012) » 668 weeks ago
- apex-twin
- Replies: 10
Note the caption "People around him don't say anything to him about his appearance."
April 30, 2012 Vol. 77 No. 18
Axl Rose: Inside His Private World
By Kevin O'Donnell
When He's Not Making Headlines, the Guns N' Roses Singer Enjoys a Low-Key Life as a Tech Geek and Animal Lover
For most musicians, there's nothing bigger than becoming a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Axl Rose has another opinion. After years of feuding with his former bandmates, the singer not only opted out of attending the April 14 ceremony in Cleveland where Guns N' Roses was to receive the honor, but he said in an open letter, "I respectfully decline my induction." His alternate plans? The night before the event a source told PEOPLE, "He has every intention of enjoying the California weather."
The headline-making dis wasn't a surprising move for the rocker, 50, who has become increasingly more known for his looks and his behavior than for his music. Sporting cornrows and a taut face at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards! A brawl with Tommy Hilfiger in '06! And yet, after selling nearly 20 million records, he remains a beloved-if elusive (he rarely gives interviews)-pop icon. In fact, at a pre-Golden Globes bash in January, Madonna, Steven Tyler and other guests sought out Rose. "There were all these movie stars, and he was the only person anyone wanted to see," says an observer. The singer likes life out of the spotlight-yet he still lives like a rock star. "He stays up all night playing music ... [and] doesn't get up until well into the afternoon," an industry pal says of Rose's routine. Says a music source: "He enjoys the good life-nice cars and expensive jewelry." Not to mention bowling, exotic animals and fiddling with electronics (see box).
Music, however, is still his priority. Rose's recent Guns N' Roses shows (he's the only original member) have earned raves, and his band kicks off a European tour in May. So what if he doesn't take the stage until after midnight? As his latest behavior proves, "he's Axl," says pal Sharon Osbourne. "He can do what he wants."
More From This Article
5 Things You Don't Know About Axl
1. He's a homebody
Rose owns a reported 2.3-acre Malibu spread (above), where a local notes he gets "lots of [takeout] deliveries." He doesn't throw big parties, but the music source says, "He brings chicks back to his house."
2. He's a tech geek
Rose has learned to build computers. "He's fascinated by how things work," reveals another source.
3. He's an animal lover
"He [told me] he keeps wallabies at his house," recalls photographer Simon Cross, who spent time with Rose in 2007.
4. He's a TV buff
Rose is a fan of Dexter and The Sopranos and "loves when cast members like Drea de Matteo come to his shows," says the source.
5. He's a hero
In 2008, as wildfires ripped through Malibu, he "helped save neighbors' homes in two different fires," says the second source.
What's Up with Axl and Lana Del Rey?
Rose has a history of dating beautiful women, from model Stephanie Seymour in the '90s to Brazilian model Ellen Jabour in 2011. The rocker sparked more romance rumors on April 6 when he was spotted leaving L.A.'s Chateau Marmont with singer Lana Del Rey, 25. A source says Del Rey had actually been on a date with Dole heir Justin Murdoch that night, but it's clear she is a Rose fan: She has a song called "Axl Rose Husband," stepped out in a Guns N' Roses tank top on April 10 and recently told People that if Axl called her beautiful, "I would be in heaven."
Contributors: With Melody Chiu/Los Angeles, Jennifer Garcia/Los Angeles, Jessica Herndon/Los Angeles, Marisa Laudadio/Los Angeles.
#1014 Re: Guns N' Roses » U2 Producer tells Axl story » 669 weeks ago
This one?
"Once I get the next things sorted out with the label, then I feel I can get to that creative place that I've been fighting to get to, and to use Guns N' Roses to do so." -src
He was way more opaque than "start writing".
Fact is, the poor old bastard may just be living, working and looking like he is because he had to hand over the reigns of GNR to his "Mom" so he could keep the only "family" he has known from walking out.
Unless he is a total retard he must see that Team Brazil are crap, but they work at a level just barely capable enough to keep the money coming in to keep him and his "family" living in luxury.
"We decided, 'No more managers,'" said Lebeis a few days after the Seattle concert. "Between me and Fernando and my daughter, we're dealing with the management." Lebeis added that she characterizes Rose as "more than a son to me," and that after Katsis' departure, "I told [Rose] if he hires another manager, I quit." -src
I quit on my "son" if he hires a professional to handle his business affairs. To me, the whole trip Beta was on in that interview is just 
#1015 Re: Guns N' Roses » U2 Producer tells Axl story » 669 weeks ago
When axl got an idea like "I'm too famous to leave my house for 10 years" - someone should have helped him see that's anxiety and challenged him on it.
#1016 Re: The Sunset Strip » The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!* » 669 weeks ago
There be purists in the interwebs who gather to cobble together the original versions in HD quality. I applaud them, really. Don't really care of the saga as much as I did back in the day, but I can understand the additions, at times, have you watch an entirely different film.
Curious George never thought of that nostalgia aspect, with so many peeps who've learned the films frame by frame. You mess with that flow, you're bound to generate some backslash; you don't respond to the pleas to release the original version, they'll vilify you. To him, we play the worlds smallest violin.
#1017 Re: Guns N' Roses » Slash and Paul Tobias » 670 weeks ago
There's the old singer vs band thing, too. The GNR sound was made by anyone but Axl. Let's set aside the occassional tinkering with the piano and focus on who generally plays anything on stage. That's the backing band. They (re)create the music Axl sings to. They have a completely different thing going amongst themselves, they need to figure out a way to work as a unit, to mesh, to create a sonic landscape. In order to make it happen at an appropriate level, you need a lot of trust and respect all around. That's what makes a solid band, I think.
Axl's not there in the rehearsals, yet he appoints his man to play rhythm. Slash, Duff, Matt and Dizzy aren't consulted. They're not obliged to audition him. Paul's just tossed into it with a note, 'Play nice'. And these guys, for many reasons likely beyond us, fail to click with Paul at a human level. It's their band, one that's toured the world and sold platinium. They have every right to feel good about what their musical chemistry has bestowed on them. And now they have this guy, whose past merits include some "Axl songs" and Mank Rage, that Indiana band he's had with Dave Lank. To them, Paul's like a guy from the street that Axl recruited just to have someone in the band and be done with it. That move was begging for hostility.
Had Axl gone, 'Yeah, I'll write with Paul as a duo to get the melodies down', or whatever, and sent the tapes to the band to flesh them out into GNR songs with proper solos and whatnot, it might've gone better. At least there would've been a sense of direction, a loose structure to hone further. Furthermore, the band would've been able to keep up with it without having to deal with an outsider appointed from the above. But Axl acted bossy there, not coming down and sitting down with the band enough, and instead pointing out his hangers-on to deal with it. The others aren't innocent - Slash had a serious substance abuse problem going on at the time - but the Paul thing seems to have been started with the wrong foot, and they never got down to making things right.
#1018 Re: Guns N' Roses » U2 Producer tells Axl story » 670 weeks ago
What I don't understand is why, as an artist he doesn't have a huge desire to get songs like "The General" out there. Those that have heard these songs say they are great so... what's the problem?
My guess? Medication.
Imagine if he finally submitted to pills strong enough to take the edge of out his wrath. He'd feel complacent on his surroundings, his career as of late, his figure. Alcohol would still be effective enough to keep him in a daze, so he'd drink wantonly. He could gear up and do a by-the-numbers show after another, setlists and whatnot firmly rooted in his comfort zone.
The downside would be the loss of ambition, of initiative. There'd be no inner urge for him to do much anything with the music, no matter how much greatness would be stored away on the tapes. I can imagine him having been badly burned with the CD reception on all fronts, on how Azoff played a game on him and how indifferent the record label was. Too much reality. Easier to stay with the programme and soldier on as a nostalgia act.
I have no idea whether that there is what happened, but he's certainly not the person he was some years ago. He could still be jolted back to life, I think, but it would require a lot of heavy lifting on his part, which he has spent a long time running away from anyway. Not working with Slash ever again is one thing, but they could've settled their affairs on a personal level years back, in private, and I have no doubt that relief would've contributed greatly to the inner peace he's been so eager to find.
Unfortunately, it appears this is not to be. Pity.
#1019 Guns N' Roses » U2 Producer tells Axl story » 671 weeks ago
- apex-twin
- Replies: 111
Producer Steve Lillywhite On Axl Rose’s Voice: ‘Like Fingers On A Chalkboard’
Producer Steve Lillywhite has one of the best resumes in rock and roll: he has worked on records by Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, the Dave Matthews Band, Phish, The Rolling Stones and, most famously, U2. One band that isn’t on that list: Guns N’ Roses. He came rather close, though, to getting the Axl Rose experience, but as he told KROQ‘s Kevin & Bean Show, he pulled the plug on that.
Apparently, Lillywhite was one of many producers considered for GNR’s loooooong-delayed Chinese Democracy album (finally released in 2008), and he actually took a meeting with Axl Rose to discuss it.
“I was summoned to Los Angeles to meet with Axl Rose, we went for sushi, and then we went to the studio to listen to some tracks and he played me some instrumentals,” Lillywhite said. “I thought, ‘I can understand why he’d want me to work on this.’ And then I said, ‘Do you have anything with vocals on it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got one song.’”
It was at that point that Lillywhite remembered why working with GNR would be unpleasant (besides Axl’s famously volatile personality).
“I was listening to it and I thought ‘Oh my God, I’d forgotten how much I hate his voice.’ I’m sorry! To some people, Axl Rose is royalty. To me, it’s like fingers on a chalkboard. Now, He was a very nice guy. We finished the evening – he paid – the next morning, the manager called and said, ‘Steve, you’re in. He thinks your fantastic. ‘ I said “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m the right man for this job.” And that was it and I left it at that.”
It’s likely that Rose was upset by this, and the next development in the story reads like a bit of payback. “I wouldn’t be telling this story,” Lillywhite says, “except, the next issue of Rolling Stone came out and it said ‘Axl Rose Turns Down Steve Lillywhite!’ I would have said nothing if he said nothing!”
Lillywhite most recently produced Thirty Seconds To Mars‘ new album, Love Lust Faith + Dreams, which was released earlier this week (May 21).
The curious bit is, this story is fairly recent, while Lillywhite has been mentioned by RS in joint of GNR way back in '98.
"Four producers are being considered for the project - which Goldstein describes as an 'updated nineties-rock sound with a little more technology thrown in' - including Scott Litt (R.E.M.), Steve Lillywhite (U2), Mark Bell (Bjork) and Youth (The Verve)." (Doug Goldstein, Rolling Stone, 02/20/98)
Here's Lillywhite telling the story two years prior, only back then he was to produce Appetite for Destruction.
Imagine that. 
#1020 Re: The Sunset Strip » GNREvolution Top 10 Films of All Time » 671 weeks ago
"10. Stalker (Tarkovsky 1979)"
Never watched it. I assume I should download it.
Stalker is grand, but who am I to say. Tarkovsky's ponderous rhythm of narration requires a bit of adjusting. A lot is given for the imagination, and one should allow to be lulled into a hypnagogic state where the unconscious begins to work the plot out for you. In other words, put your mind at ease and watch the dream logic unfold.
One of the most moving experiences in recent memory for me has been Elem Klimov's Come and See (Soviet Union, 1985). An absolutely harrowing film.
