Comments on: CHINESE DEMOCRACY: THE SOUND OF EPIC FAIL

By: JWalker

JWalker — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:14:37 +0000

One overproduced, overhyped juggernaut of $hit.
I was 8 when appetite came out and was 12 when UYI came out; CD is just a f u c k head of dogshit.

By: Kevin W Krohn

Kevin W Krohn — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:35:32 +0000

Anyone who has listened to the album more than twice and isn’t completely blown away, just doesn’t like rock music or is too biased against AXL to get past it. I for one, have not been able to take it out of my CD player since the day it came out. I would guess I have listened to hit over a hundred times and it gets BETTER every time…simply amazing album that will get it’s due one day, I guarantee it.

By: What

What — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:18:00 +0000

you’re either completely biased, or out of your fucking mind. album rules.

its 1000x better than anything else out nowadays.

By: david

david — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:10:34 +0000

You missed out it was a bit sh!t, and we all heard it on myspace and went. Nahhh.

By: Richard M. Nixon

Richard M. Nixon — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:27:45 +0000

The album moved like 750,000 copies in 2 weeks.
Geffen got $14 million for 1 CD. Axl made 3 for that cost.
The 14 songs he put out are pretty darn good.

So how did this fail again?

By: Blackthorned

Blackthorned — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:24:28 +0000

Was it even a campaign? I’m not sure whether it was arrogance or if none of the parties involved could really be bothered any more. Almost like they said, I suppose we better just squeeze this thing out and flush.
I actually thinks it’s a shame because there’s some good songs on it but even by Axl’s standards, the no show was a step too far into obscurity.

By: suspect

suspect — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:35:00 +0000

It’s an awesome album, so on that score i don’t really care.

As for why it failed. Geffen got the money from the Best Buy deal up front, so there was no real incentive for them to spend money on promotion. In other countries with no exclusivity, they attempted promotion and the album was more succesful (biggest selling album worldwide last week, outselling AC/DC and Metallica in the UK ect).

By: Elvin

Elvin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:26:55 +0000

nailed

By: Nostradumbass

Nostradumbass — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 15:30:27 +0000

The past is the past and you can’t recreate it. Times have changed and Axl Rose doesn’t matter anymore. When Headbanger’s Ball debuted the “Welcome to the Jungle” video I was floored. So much so that on the following Sunday morning I walked three miles to Wall to Wall Sound and Video to buy the tape. That album was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. Both for the band that made it and the people that listened to it.

It was also a time when there wasn’t an endless amount of musical genres, or genres within genres. Suburban white kids (at least the ones where I grew up) wouldn’t really start getting into hip-hop for another two or three years and the indie rock scene was for college kids, which is why it was referred to as “college music” back then.

As much as their first album meant to me for a couple of years – that thing stuck around for awhile plus it took another year before it’s initial release to even get noticed by most people once they put out the “Sweet Child O’ Mine” single – the following albums mattered less and less. They got so much fame and fortune so fast that there wasn’t any room to go up vs. Metallica who put out four killer albums before they blew up and then started their descent.

I still hold out hope that I’ll be blown away by something like the first time I heard Appetite, Ride the Lightning or Peace Sells but the thing is it has to be a new band that’ll do it, doing something new. Definitely not something that took 17 years to make.

By: Kev

Kev — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 01:22:51 +0000

I’ve solved both riddles. It didn’t sell because it was terrible. Over-produced, over-written, over-sung and just general melancholy music. With the VERY few pro’s to high amounts of cons, I’m unsurprised. Axl Rose is missing because he knows its terrible.

By: vance almighty

vance almighty — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:15:28 +0000

the album is fucking awesome, and that’s all i give a shit about.

By: Sammy

Sammy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 23:21:46 +0000

You know that recent Metalsucks entry about someone stealing your work? Well, um, this commentator has been saying in every one of your GNR posts exactly what your last point said. Of course, 100% of zero is still zero, so my attorney has been called off. ;)

By: shisnoelite

shisnoelite — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:40:00 +0000

I think the cd is pretty good, but Axl is way too late. There aren’t as many GN’R fans now and selling in one store is just idiotic if you want to reach the masses.

By: palinaborted

palinaborted — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:26:58 +0000

True enough. The economy is driven by 14 year old suburbanites of all colors who don’t know their dick and/or vagina from their asshole. Then they grow up and buy the new and improved shit flooding our markets for their children, and so on and so forth. But I’ll be fucked if I would rather live anywhere else. Things are too interesting here to move somewhere else.

By: dthrasher

dthrasher — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:21:04 +0000

A quick addendum, whether or not you thought it was a good album, the fact that Kid Rock has been on the charts for a billion weeks in a row now basically proves that quality has nothing to do with sales.

By: dthrasher

dthrasher — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:18:47 +0000

I think that while there were probably multiple factors, by far the largest was the Best Buy exclusive. Best Buy fucking sucks. There is a reason it’s financially in the shitter and it’s the same reason that compusa went under; shitty employees shitty products = shitty sales.

By: Gary S.

Gary S. — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:04:38 +0000

OK now do one for Scott Weiland’s solo album!

By: mugwump

mugwump — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:43:40 +0000

The album has it’s moments,but for the most part it’s a fucking snorefest.

By: Sean

Sean — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:24:34 +0000

Be careful what you say… Axl might sue ya.

By: Fritz!

Fritz! — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:05:31 +0000

Seems like this whole release was just a way for Axl to get this monster out of his life.