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Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
well, the song was only played 3 times in the history, we all know the first performance at RIR3, the other 2 performances were at The Joint 2001.
Was played on 01/01/01, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO8s0oWGE00
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
Both Oh My God and Silkworms had much more verve at the House of Blues show.
The club setting forced Axl to restrain himself and not chase after his halcyon days from stage line to stage line. Brain was in peak form and it sounded as if his drums would tear the building from it's foundations and Axl's electronica spaceship would soon take off into the stratosphere.
That band was built for the clubs. "The electro-industrial art house rock band everyone is buzzing about". "Everyone's new favorite guilty pleasure". Axl quietly yet publicly regains his artistic street cred and vocal footing after a long dormancy. The band coalesces. Then, the album finally appears. A stadium tour is booked. The VMAs. Round one knockout blow. Gotcha.
Alas, time and tide...
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
Was played on 01/01/01, too.
huh, you're absolutely right, I forgot about that one! mismatched the performance with Madagascar, which premiered at RIR3... they played OMG, Rhiad, ChiDem, The Blues and Silkworms at HOB.
and that OMG was actually the first ever live performance of any ChiDem era song 
(altough it was no surprise, the studio version got out 2 years before)
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
I have a fantasy that they do the new guitar heavy rock version of OMG at Rio17 tomorrow...but don't like the chances!
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
Great post.
I think this song is criminally under-rated. It's really classic Axl lyrics - the mixing of metaphors and the way his mind moves around - it's like being in a dream state sometimes - connected thoughts that all make sense but are very unusually linked in places.
I'd love to hear the version with new guitars Axl spoke about.
Also, think i've mentioned this before but I think the transcript of the second verse on this site is wrong...but maybe it's my ears.
I couldn't agree more...
I remember listening to the song the first time and I hated it. But I kept listening to digest it and I listened to it on full blast so the whole house was shaking.
After a handful of listens, the song grew on me exponentially.
I think my expectations were so so far off in a different direction that I was automatically disappointed. It's a wall of industrial sounding music. I was 17 or 18 at the time and believe or not I was just discovering the depths of the illusion records for the first time (being to young to know or care when it actually came out).
I love the song now and the lyrics are poetry to me.
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
In hindsight I wonder how this song would've done in different circumstances. It was a TERRIBLE way to unveil new GNR....but it was a sign of things to come.
Bury the song on a soundtrack with major late 90s stars such as Eminem, Korn, Everlast, etc. Axl talked about it once but other than the movie, it wasn't promoted at all. Radio ignored it completely. If you wanted to hear this song you had to buy the soundtrack.
If Axl was serious about it, OMG needed a video and real promo push. Once it got lukewarm reviews, that's when we were told it was just a demo.
The song never had a chance.
- Voodoochild
- Rep: 3
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
I love the track, I hate the mix. More than the Buckethead work, I'd like to hear Brain's rearranged drums.
And I hate that it's not available on Spotify.
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
Strangely enough, it's on YouTube.
It seems at some point the music industry decided to raise the white flag on YouTube and go with the tide.
In hindsight I wonder how this song would've done in different circumstances. It was a TERRIBLE way to unveil new GNR....but it was a sign of things to come.
I thought it was interesting how Axl was somewhat retreating on the industrial thing in the Kurt Loder MTV interview in 1999.
It's also a shame how vibrant and excited Axl sounds in that interview. Not the guarded, tentative, weary guy who'd pseudo-surface in 2002.
Re: Oh My God and the Thesis of Chinese Democracy
I love the track, I hate the mix. More than the Buckethead work, I'd like to hear Brain's rearranged drums.
And I hate that it's not available on Spotify.
Brain's drums in the newer mix with Bucket and Ron are great but there is just something about Josh's in the demo. Brain has a lot more cymbal crashs combined with the mean drum beat. Josh's drums are so aggressive. The differences between the demo and the new OMG make them almost different songs. Tough to compare!
