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- Communist China
- Rep: 130
Re: Ron says 'Just Forget About A New Record Until It Happens'
I don't think there's any good reason to think Axl will ever put out music again, frankly.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Ron says 'Just Forget About A New Record Until It Happens'
But this "genius takes time thing" is a creation of fanboys. Star Wars fans used to say the same thing about George Lucas.... and then they got Episodes I & II.
I think he's a genius in the sense that most people can't write songs like Estranged.
Like if you take AFD or UYI and give them some other singer in the creation process, they'd still be good albums cos the guitar parts were good, but it wouldn't be on the level GNR was.
At his prime Axl had untold charisma, an insanely powerful voice, huge vocal range, thoughtful lyrics, strong sense of melody, and a flare for the unusual. These are not abilities that just anyone has....they're unusual talents to have together, and in the depth of them that he has. So he is a genius to me.
As for the "genius takes time argument" - I wouldn't put it like that.
I see it more as "genius does what it does". Like it might take 5 minutes. Axl might wake up and boom something clicks in his brain and he thinks of an awesome melody. Or it might take 3 years of him waking up and nothing comes to mind at all. I don't think it's predictable.
So i'm not saying the wait makes it better or that there HAS to be a wait. But I will say that I can see that the timelines we'd like to impose on him have nothing to do with creativity itself. We want a new album every 3 years or whatever because we're bored. The label wants it because of their business cycles. But who says his mind is able to do that? Maybe it's just outright not how his talent works.
So i'm not saying genius takes time, but it could well be the case that Axl needs time, even when it sucks that he does.
Re: Ron says 'Just Forget About A New Record Until It Happens'
We want a new album every 3 years or whatever because we're bored. The label wants it because of their business cycles. But who says his mind is able to do that? Maybe it's just outright not how his talent works.
You have a point there and that's the Andrew Eldritch argument, who put his band, The Sisters of Mercy, to an indefinite album strike, making themselves pariahs at the record label industry. He came up with the album a few years later (conveniently while detaching the band from their old label), but no-one bought for their heyday price tag, because the labels saw them as a risk. This was years before Kickstarter and ITunes, so doing an indie release wasn't as given as it is know.
The argument is that the record labels have generally been poor to tender their band since the 70's. Even then, there were bands lacking in income for their hard work and talent, but at least we got loads of good music from major performers. Floyd, Led Zep, Sabbath... There lots and lots of bands around that laid the foundation to the music we've had during GNR's era, and beyond. The overall position of the creative artist as a productive member of society is gaining.
Axl is the ultimate pariah. He led the biggest band in the world, the Geffen darling, to be a Universal nightmare. Uni have been given their share of laughs, since GNR (particularly reunited GNR) is still worthy of doing Big Business. The consensus has always been that his album kept the reunion hostage. Now, there's no album, no reunion, but steady touring. Income. But there are no cards blatantly at the table, no public talk about a new album.
Axl could open the CD vaults at his own expense to edit together an album's worth of solid material. He could even give the best cuts to the live band and have them record their own versions. Put in killer Axl vocals, and you have deal. Get label support for an Internet ad campaign, making fun of yourself and showing off the current live band. Tell Ashba to tell anyone interested there's going to be a new album, with a single out NOW. That would do well enough business and help the CD legacy to be remembered for more than 15 songs in as many years.
