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- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
What is denigration to one could be called empowerment to another. It's all in the perspective.
But I don't think these issues are gender specific - good looks favour males as well - every girl I know wants to shag a footballer here called Ben Cousins....he's a former junkie with ties to the mob - but he has great arms and plays a good game of Aussie Rules...have a guess which of those facts matters to an Aussie Girl??? 
I just find it interesting, as much of GNR's music deals with the ugly sides of life - from life on the street circa 1985 in AFD, to the hedonism of It's So Easy, the psychology of estranged or rocket queen or breakdown...hell even my world.....most GNR songs are about the darker side of the mind, and there's plenty of self abuse and masogony to go around as well.
It's facinating to me that a man who is the former manager of the band, and a starting a rock label, doesn't want to sign acts who deal with the very subject matter rock and roll was formed to discuss.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
One of the most empowering things about GN'R is that alot of males, specifically white males, felt GN'R spoke for them and how they felt.
What was denigration to women, was empowering for men, they were taking their role back in It's So Easy.
One In A Million is probably the most interesting GN'R tune to break down on that level. There's nothing racist about that song, and never was. Even though Axl was just being an artist and was misconstrued all the way around, alot of people saw that song as seeing the world through a white man's eyes in 1987-89. The white experience. Was Axl, the character confused, yes, but so are alot of people. You fear what you don't understand, and there's tons of ignorance, totally warranted in that song. How do you understand the gay orientation if you yourself are not gay, or at least bi? How do you, as a natural born white American see the country the same way an immigrant Arab will? How does a white man who fills taxed to death to pay for the poor feel when a black man steals his stereo or tries to sell him a stolen gold watch from another white man? How does the black thief feel who might be a thief to feed two kids at home? How does a non-religious man integrate into a racist, hateful white Christian religion?
There's so much shit going on in One In A Million. And that's just that song. There's tons of others in the back catalog and even CD. Thx Axl.
Always been the ace up Axl's sleeve in the legacy of GN'R. The man sometimes can bring the deepest fucking shit out of you and make you confront it.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
Interesting you mention One in a Million, there is a follow up to the original interview with Niven here and he specifically mentions that song.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
I'm curious what his reasons behind canning One In A Million would be today versus back in the day. Is he comparing OIAM to the GN'R of today or if old GN'R still existed today. There's a big difference there.
If it's just because of the politically correct world, well then that's just pussy. People were just as pissed about it back then as they would be today. Despite everything that's gone on, Mel Gibson is still getting work, so from a business standpoint I couldn't see it as any kind of career suicide.
Obviously I could see issues if a nearly 50-year old Axl penned OIAM today. He would just look stupid, regardless of anything else. If you've hit 50 and you're still not that wise about the world, then you missed a boat or something.
Maybe it boils down to in 1988/89 GN'R were holding all the cards on their future, and could release a song like that. Rock was very much alive and the most popular music format of the time and despite a slow start people eventually warmed to the more edgier sound that GN'R brought and they also came around on Metallica. Suddenly artists like them were seen as more legit, which eventually cracked a back door for grunge to come in.
Now rock is so dead, that if you don't play ball with AOR, you're not even gonna crack the Top-40. I wonder how the fans and business would react in 2010 if Shinedown cut a One In A Million-type song.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
niven nvr woulda had the power to have stopped OIAM appearing - in Great White he had input even into the songwriting but he had nothing nearly as close to GnR or Axl especially in terms of relationship. if izzy nor slash couldn't stop the song appearing niven assuming he could/'ve seems outlandish.
OIAM is a brilliant song poss top 5 GnR.
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
One of the most empowering things about GN'R is that alot of males, specifically white males, felt GN'R spoke for them and how they felt.
What was denigration to women, was empowering for men, they were taking their role back in It's So Easy.
One In A Million is probably the most interesting GN'R tune to break down on that level. There's nothing racist about that song, and never was. Even though Axl was just being an artist and was misconstrued all the way around, alot of people saw that song as seeing the world through a white man's eyes in 1987-89. The white experience. Was Axl, the character confused, yes, but so are alot of people. You fear what you don't understand, and there's tons of ignorance, totally warranted in that song. How do you understand the gay orientation if you yourself are not gay, or at least bi? How do you, as a natural born white American see the country the same way an immigrant Arab will? How does a white man who fills taxed to death to pay for the poor feel when a black man steals his stereo or tries to sell him a stolen gold watch from another white man? How does the black thief feel who might be a thief to feed two kids at home? How does a non-religious man integrate into a racist, hateful white Christian religion?
There's so much shit going on in One In A Million. And that's just that song. There's tons of others in the back catalog and even CD. Thx Axl.
Always been the ace up Axl's sleeve in the legacy of GN'R. The man sometimes can bring the deepest fucking shit out of you and make you confront it.
For the longest time, I thought I was the only one who understood that song! To me, it's quite simple: this is how Axl felt when he was a naive young kid straight off the turnip truck from Indiana, trying to adjust to life in the big city with all these strange people he's never had contact with before. He certainly didn't pull any punches, but because he used the "N" word everyone just labeled him a racist without really reading into the song. And to his credit, at the time Axl didn't back down or apologize for the song.
- mickronson
- Rep: 118
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
Well, he apologised somewhat for the gay reference before taking part in the Freddie tribute.
I couldnt give a shit who thinks what about the song or any words used in it.. people can be pussies
- Mikkamakka
- Rep: 217
Re: Former Manager Alan Niven Talks Guns N' Roses, Great White, VR, Slash
The saddest thing is that a decade later Axl wanted to censor himself and leave off the song the rereleases. I couldn't understand that.
