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Re: One In A Million
What's interesting is maybe the media is more tolerant of non-pc views from musicians than other entertainers.
Eminem raps about murder, rape, bashing gays, killing people, etc etc - and it's just seen as an artistic statement and he earns hundreds of millions of dollars.
Justin Bieber lets his teenage fanbase name his cock....
Don't think you can get away with shit like that if you're a tv host or a movie actor or something.
There was actually a pretty big backlash against Eminem at one point too, I believe for saying faggot. It sort of went away when he performed with Elton John at (I think) The Grammys.
Also, kinda the same deal as GNR, it probably didn't hurt that he was one of the biggest acts in the world at the time.
As far as why Geffen let him do it, probably just "Any publicity is good publicity".
monkeychow wrote:but I guess at the end of the day it's cos being funny is supposed to be fun and something that's family
I'm sorry, but this point is really not true. Greatest comedians ever are Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Those guys were very vulgar, but also told the truth on serious issues that only adults can really understand. They weren't directing their comedy or their philosophical ideas at little kids. And there are countless other comedians out there with similar performance styles (vulgar, over the top, not directed at kids, etc.).
You're right, and one of the biggest things that bothers me about this day and age is that comedians can't just make jokes in comedy clubs without someone freaking out anymore.
That said, the Kramer thing is something all it's own other than controversial comedians. It wasn't part of a bit that was funny or thought provoking it was just him yelling at some people who were talking during his set.
Re: One In A Million
Bono wrote:I think Guns N' Roses were just too damn popular at the time. I also think as lame as the lyrics are Axl did manage to explain them even if his explanation was ridiculous. becaue it doesn't justify the lyrics. Thing is you had the biggest rock band on the planet with arguably the best frontman and guitarist of all time in the same band. A few lyrics weren't gonna derail them.
the sad part about all of it I think is that OIAM is one of their very best songs and in my opinion one of Slash's best solos and it IS Axl's best vocal performance. had Axl pulled his head out of his ass and wrote some proper lyrics the song coudl've beena big hit on radio and would likely be a classic rock main stay today. he didn't even need to chaneg the message of the song all he had to do was word it better. Still one of their best songs too bad it borders on hate speech
I love everything about the song but you make a very good point. There was no need to go that far and it is suprising that David Geffen (a gay man I believe) would let that out.
Yes, he should have taken the time to come up with a different way of expressing his point. Good Post Macphisto.
Bono = nail on head
I completely agree, and it's always been one of the biggest reasons I haven't ever been able to totally get into the song. Axl survived the fallout because GN'R were huge and people just loved him too much (and still do) to not forgive him. The fact most people blame him for breaking up GN'R, yet when he shows up somewhere everyone seems to geek out on him being there (other than other rock stars).
One In A Million i'm sad to say, because of the lyrics is only better than Reckless Life, Nice Boys & Mama Kin on Lies. I rank Move To The City, Patience, Used To Love Her & You're Crazy (in that order) all above it. Sadly it's a great piece by Slash instrumentally, and Axl has a great melody & chorus.
But there just had to be better lyrics out there than that. It might've been a raw, honest feeling from a small town white boy from the mid-west disillusioned with his false world in Indiana and the false world he experience in LA. From that perspective it works. But something about the song feels so dirty and trashy after you listen to it. Like an outtake from Jackyl or something.
Yet somehow i've always felt had Kurt Cobain wrote this song and screamed it over a distorted bass it would've been called "classic teenage angst". 
- Intercourse
- Rep: 212
Re: One In A Million
I LOVE the song BUT
I always got the impression that when Axl sings "police & niggers THAT'S RIGHT, get outta my way"..
the "that's right" always struck me as Axl saying to the listener "yeah, that's right, I fucking said it, I said niggers....what ya gonna do??? You can hear the challenge in his vocal tone..
I do agree that artists are perfectly entitled to play nasty characters in their art...American History X anybody?... but Axl should have gone some way to explain that the song was a snap shot of a time in his life when this was as far as his thinking could go...he didn't do that until the shit had destroyed the fan.
Personally, I would have made him take it out however it is everlasting proof that the rest of the band really had no control over him, his opinions or actions as they remained almost mute on the issue with Slash only saying it made him "uncomfortable".
My little godchild is half black like Slash and if someone called her a nigger to her face I would not be responsible for my actions. Slash obviously had no balls in GNR when it came to managing Axl...
Re: One In A Million
... but Axl should have gone some way to explain that the song was a snap shot of a time in his life when this was as far as his thinking could go...he didn't do that until the shit had destroyed the fan.
i beleive he did....he was small town kid new to the big city and on his way there he had all kinds of flack from all types of people...basically the song is just a fuck off to everyone
as for being a challenge....fuckin right axl was challenging everyone....he was hungry for the success....i think its probably the most emotionally charged song in the entire gnr catalog...whatever the lyrics are...and he touches on and says stuff that alot of people can relate to, whether they want to admit it or not
i guess its just a case of ya get it or ya dont...he probably couldve worded it better to avoid confrontation but that wasnt his style, but its really is a snap shot of the culture of a pre 1990's big mouthed small town hick
it really is a controversial song...this discussion keeps happenign every couple years....after all these years
- Intercourse
- Rep: 212
- tejastech08
- Rep: 194
Re: One In A Million
tejastech08 wrote:Greatest comedians ever are Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Those guys were very vulgar, but also told the truth on serious issues that only adults can really understand. They weren't directing their comedy or their philosophical ideas at little kids. And there are countless other comedians out there with similar performance styles (vulgar, over the top, not directed at kids, etc.).
You're right, and one of the biggest things that bothers me about this day and age is that comedians can't just make jokes in comedy clubs without someone freaking out anymore.
That said, the Kramer thing is something all it's own other than controversial comedians. It wasn't part of a bit that was funny or thought provoking it was just him yelling at some people who were talking during his set.
Richards' behavior was despicable. Racist rant directed at an audience member. Carlin once joked about the n-word while pointing out that the word itself is not the problem, it's the racist asshole screaming it that you need to worry about.
Re: One In A Million
Everything is about inflection and how you use it. I've said nigger several times in my life while discussing a point of view, or reporting a news story. I'm obviously using an informational inflection in a "matter of fact" sort of sense. Kind of like saying the group name 'Niggaz With Attitude', like "I love those dudes" is different from saying the band name, then saying "I love those niggas". Now you're imappropriate.
I don't think even black people (the ones i've been around while using it) really care, because they knew without saying anything I was saying as a matter of fact informational take.
Intercourse said it exact. Axl's "THAT'S RIGHT!" is almost a full confirmation he was saying intentionally to just say it to piss everyone off. I get why he did it, because I do not like AT ALL when someone tries to censor me and tell me what I can and can't say because it might offend. I think that was Axl's point, and also the song was wrote from the perspective of a small town white boy disillusioned with the big city and not quite understanding the world at large, because (and this is still true) the world at large DOESN'T UNDERSTAND HIM. And that was his perspective.
Any of you ever ask yourself that question? We still have that problem. Everyone spends so much time trying to understand the perspective of being black or being gay, that they completely forget about understanding what it's like to be poor and white and American. It's its own thing. Something that is never given any respect as a way of life deserving of observance and Qualitative scientific inquiry, because... I dunno why. I guess no one cares.
This creates a race angst between whites and blacks, completely unobserve and unknown to most blacks. Even Obama himself acknowledged it and criticized the black community for not being more knowledgeable on it when he was running in 2008. And of course Obama tooks TONS of shit from the black community for even mentioning it, being called an Uncle Tom and stuff like that, and he had to remind them he was half-white as well as half-black and understood both perspectives because of it.
I do believe Axl experienced alot of that coming from a trashy, poor, white family from Indiana, and then jumping into LA. And that song was wrote from that perspective.
As for Slash, I don't think Slash is gutless for not challenging Axl on nigger. I think Slash probably didn't have a whole lot of experience dealing with the word. Slash looks hispanic frankly, his mother was black and British (right?) and with that in consideration, Slash also is a rocker who's also pretty anti-censorship. We don't know how Axl explained to Slash his use of the word, but if I remember correctly Slash was okay with it, but was scared they were gonna get in LOTS of trouble with the fans, media, and label.
What i'm stunned as, being in the entertainment industry, even then, that his use of the word faggots (especially with David Geffen around) didn't get him fucking fired or beat to death. Could you imagine Justin Bieber today recording a song that criticized faggots? People would absolutely flip in 2013 in a world that more and more people are coming out, it's more and more okay to live gay, and it's almost celebrated in the artistic scene in LA & NY; with emphasis on the music scene.
Re: One In A Million
I do believe Axl experienced alot of that coming from a trashy, poor, white family from Indiana, and then jumping into LA. And that song was wrote from that perspective.
Being that I'm also a "smalltown whiteboy" from a tiny midwestern town, I can see where he's coming from with the song to an extent. If you'd have plopped me into the LA Greyhound Station at 18 I might have had some similiar thoughts because I didn't know any better/hadn't experienced anything else. At times in my childhood I heard crazy amounts of racism/homophobia from people who had probably never even considered having a conversation with a black or gay person.
That said, Even then I'd have had issues with actually using the language. What's really strange to me about it is that he, as sort of an outcast or at least outsider, in that small town wasn't acutely aware of the problems with the thought process.
For me, the first time as a young teenager that I was in a bigger town (one that actually had black people) and my cousins and I hooked up with some black kids on a ball diamond because neither of our groups had enough to play was that moment. It blows my mind that Axl apparently never had a similar moment, or the clarity to apply what he learned in those moments before releasing the song.
As for Slash, I don't think Slash is gutless for not challenging Axl on nigger. I think Slash probably didn't have a whole lot of experience dealing with the word. Slash looks hispanic frankly, his mother was black and British (right?) and with that in consideration, Slash also is a rocker who's also pretty anti-censorship. We don't know how Axl explained to Slash his use of the word, but if I remember correctly Slash was okay with it, but was scared they were gonna get in LOTS of trouble with the fans, media, and label.
I read Duff's book not long ago, it wasn't only Slash. One of Duff's siblings (I don't remember brother or sister)is married to a black person. He wasn't cool with it either as he had a bunch of half black nieces and nephews by that point. He basically made it sound like both he and Slash just didn't want to tell Axl what to write, because they didn't want to interfere with his artistry.
I would wager there was also a lot of not wanting to deal with whatever the temper tantrum fallout of telling Axl what to do with his lyrics might be.
Re: One In A Million
And if that's the case, fuck him. I mean I can understand Axl coming up with an intelligent, artistic reason to use nigger in his lyrics, but at the same time... i'd bet a year's pay he was a fucking baby about it, and would leap from a moving vehicle to get his way.
