Chinese Democracy

WARNING: If you are coming here to read a happy, fantastic review of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy, you may want to leave now. What I'm about to write is not for the faint of heart.

The bar wasn't set too high for this album. Well, at least my bar wasn't set too high. The anticipation of waiting well over a decade for the new Guns N' Roses album was enough to give this album legendary status before it even hit the masses. But I wasn't ready to give in to all the hype just yet...and thank god I didn't because I would have faced some severe disappointment.

To describe this album as tragic is the understatement of the century. After only hearing the first three songs on my way home from Best Buy, I was screaming at my stereo at the top of my lungs...literally. I was screaming out of shear horror and anger. Could this album be this bad? Really? I thought my initial reaction might be a little harsh, so I wasn't going to let my first taste determine the entire outcome of my opinion.

Upon my second,third, and fourth listen, I still wasn't that impressed, but I was a little less angry...just a little.

My first big beef, like I stated in a previous blog, is that this should NEVER have been labeled a Guns N' Roses album. It's the Axl Rose Project, and that's all there is to it. I wanted to give Axl the benefit of the doubt. He worked long and hard for this, so I hoped that he would stick to the original Guns N' Roses recipe at least a little bit. Sure, he was going to change up the ingredients a little, but I thought the flavor would remain the same or even similar. Not so much. He threw out most of the old ingredients and came up with some concoction of experimental, electronic, pop rock. There are trace amounts of Use Your Illusion era GnR here and there, but not enough to make me feel like this is a Guns N' Roses album. All the electronic bullshit effects, the drum machines, the weird Casio keyboard sounds, and the effects on Axl's voice are completely distracting. It almost sent me into convulsions because it was so damn irritating.

The second major complaint I have with this album is Buckethead. The whole "I'm going to be mysterious and wear a bucket on my head" gimmick annoys me enough, but his guitar playing sends me over the edge and is enough to make me slit my wrists. There are a couple songs on the album that might have potential, and then Buckethead comes in and ruins everything. As if it wasn't obvious, I'm not a fan of his weird, offbeat, new wave guitar playing. It's just not my bag baby. Thank god for Robin Finck. His guitar playing may be the only saving grace for this album.

Listen, if you're looking for a Guns N' Roses album, this is not it. Everything you have grown to love about Guns N' Roses as a band is nowhere to be found on this album. If Slash, Duff, and Steven Adler/Matt Sorum were playing on this album, it might actually work. But since there are a myriad of players, there is no consistency and no flow and it just doesn't work for me. With every listen, it just left me with my head cocked and with a quizical look on my face because I just couldn't wrap my mind around what was going on.

However, if you look at this album in a different light, like it's Axl Rose's new project, it all tends to work a little better. Why? Because you're not walking into it expecting to hear classic Guns N' Roses. That's why. It's definitely something a little different, something you might not expect from Axl, but it's interesting. It's the Axl of the new millenium, and he's trying something new. That being said, I still wish he would have let his legendary voice shine through a little more instead of singing weird or using effects.

Was it worth 14 years (or 15 years or 17 years or however long it took) of hype and anticipation? Absolutely not. Am I disappointed? That's an understatement. Do I regret buying it? No way. It's Axl Rose and I will always love him. I'd probably buy a turd if he wrapped it up and packaged it. Oh wait...I did.

So much for keeping my opinions to myself! ;)

Deep Thoughts...

Normally, I would get on here to write about a select musician or band who has done this, that or the other to piss me off for the day. That's just the eternal pessimist in me. On a very rare occasion, I'll actually scribble down something happy or slightly positive. Or maybe I'll attempt to keep you, my very special readers, in the know about the latest breaking music news. There are no doubts in my mind that you don't come to this blog first for that news because there are a couple blogs that I read on a daily (and that you can find listed to the right) that do a much better job at that. Regardless of why you have found yourself here or why you keep returning to read my rants (a very big, deep, heartfelt thank you for that), I hope at the very least that my blog keeps you mildly entertained.

For me, this blog is all about venting about one of the longest, most emotional, most fulfilling relationships I've ever had. My better half in this relationship is music. Whether it was sifting through my father's hundreds of vinyl records or running home from school every day to see the video for Home Sweet Home or playing the violin for the first time or knowing instantly that my fiance was "the one" because he knew who Badlands was, music has always played an essential role in my life. It is always there when I need it the most. It picks me up when I'm down. It sits there with me patiently as I wallow in my own misery. It puts a smile on my face when nothing else can. It understands me completely for who I am. It is one of the very few constant positives in my life.

Sometimes I add writing to my musical relationship for a menage a trois, just to spice things up a little bit. Even though writing is one of my greatest passions in life, my relationship with it is a little more volatile. Writing is definitely there in my time of need when I'm so angry, hurt, frustrated or happy that I must get the emotion out of my body and onto paper, but sometimes it falls short and doesn't deliver. That damn writer's block is like a chastity belt sometimes; it keeps all the goods locked up tight so my desire can't come to fruition. And sometimes my lust for writing comes and goes only because I've got so much going on in my life that it's difficult to get a moment to sit down and make it happen (or my brain just feels empty and there's nothing coming out of it). Regardless of how long I stray from my writing, I can always pick it back up and it feels like no time has passed between us.

Recently, I was incredibly frustrated with my life and my writing and the direction it was going...or not going. It's been a struggle from the beginning to get to where I want to go in my journalistic career (no thanks to you Wright State University for NEVER offering the media writing classes I needed!). I lucked out here and there and actually got my writing published, but it never developed into anything else. Eventually, I just sort of gave up on journalism as a whole and moved on with trying to find some way to support myself, and then my writing turned into a hobby, and eventually I ended up here with a blog.

After religiously reading a certain blog, I finally got fed up with myself. Said blog is fantastic, well written, humorous, read by many, and has actually been nominated for awards. The writer is adorable, married, tattooed, a mom to a toddler and still manages to work, go to school (recently graduated), and keep up her kick ass blog. She has a pretty stellar resume to boot. So I stopped and asked myself, "Christine, what the hell is wrong with you? You can do this. You can really do this. You can be successful at writing. Don't be scared anymore." So I gave myself a pep talk, and hopped onto myspace to add as many people to my blog profile friend list as possible.

While I was cyber stalking on myspace, I happened to run into the profile of someone I never thought I'd run into. A hero. My hero. One of my journalistic heroes. Let's just say that my hero, who will be referred to as Hero from here on out, has spent a ridiculous amount of time in the music industry, is a legendary music journalist, and has such a knack with the written word that reading his work makes me want to break keyboards and break my fingers so I can write ever again. So of course I send him a friend request with a little note that says something like, "I'm an aspiring journalist. You're my idol." Never expecting to get a response from him in my life, I clicked the "Add to Friends" button and moved on to the next sucker I was going to add.

But to my surprise, Hero responded. I didn't even know what to do with myself. I was stunned. It was a simple, inquisitive response, but I was honored that he actually wanted to know more about me. And from there, we had a few email converstations back and forth. What he wrote to me were probably the most genuine, inspirational, motivational words I have ever read. To have your hero give you the pep talk to end all pep talks is flattering to say the least. Sure, my friends and family have said kind words to boost my ego and have said some pretty inspirational things to me, but it's not the same. Not that their words don't mean as much, but it's almost as if they are required to feed my self esteem because they love me. Hero doesn't know me from the next guy and still felt the need to try to give me a back bone.

Thanks to Hero, I have a new found faith in myself and in my writing. There's more determination flowing through my veins than ever before. I have a fire to perfect my craft, to drive it in a new direction, to turn it into a less volatile relationship.

There are new plans brewing in this brain of mine. For my blog, I want to expand my readership somehow,some way. And as hard as it's going to be for me, I'm going to try my best to put out more substance and less opionion. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know. It's easier said than done, but I'll take baby steps and still put in my two cents when I deem necessary.

My ultimate goal is to write a book. That's right. I said it. I'm going to write a book. It's a lofty goal, I know, but one I'm sure I can accomplish one day. I've been trying for years to write a book but have never been able to come up with a worthwhile idea or worthwhile content. But now, I've got it. There's an idea, an outline, a plan, and eventually the content will come. Researching for the book, writing random articles, and writing in my blog will prepare me and train me to fulfill my dream. And yes folks, my book idea definitely revolves around music. It may never get to Barnes & Noble or Amazon. It may never leave the city I live in. Hell, it may never get published, but as long as I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write it out for myself, my mission will be accomplished. And that my friends is fulfillment.

So thank you Hero. Thanks for lighting the fire under my ass. Although you typed only a few chosen words to me, they opened my eyes.

Are You Ready for Chinese Democracy?

Can you believe it? Finally after what feels like an eternity, there is finally an actual release date for Chinese Democracy: Sunday, November 23, 2008.

Don't get me wrong, I won't be surprised if there's some huge catasrophe that blows up the warehouse holding all of the millions of CDs, which will in turn delay the release of this album again. But at least there is a glimmer of hope, a light at the end of the tunnel, and a chance for free Dr. Pepper in my future.

The title track was released a few weeks ago, and I have to say that it wasn't too bad. I'm not saying it's great, but it doesn't suck nearly as much as I had expected it to. After 17 years in the making, there's A LOT of hype to live up to. Although I know that nothing will ever compare to Appetite, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Axl's sake that this album is as good as he has made it out to be.

It's hard for me to rally around this album and say it's the newest Guns N' Roses album because for me, it's not Guns N' Roses at all; it's Axl with a bunch of random dudes playing back up. There's no Slash. There's no Duff. There's no Steven Adler, or Matt Sorum for that matter. Even though this situation is grim for me, I'll still support it because it's Axl Rose's new album. And no matter what anyone says, he's legendary.

Ted Nugent for President!!!!!!

On the eve of one of the biggest presidential elections we may ever see in our lifetime, I would like to encourage all of you to get out and vote tomorrow (if you haven't already)! I don't care who you vote for, just do it!!!

Ted Nugent is the man I would truly like to cast my vote for this election but unfortunately, that won't be happening. Why Ted Nugent you ask? Let me tell you (in case I haven't mentioned it in a previous blog).

Although he may seem like a bizarre and unlikely choice, I truly believe that he would do this country more good than either of the two men who will fill the position come January 2009. He's brutally honest, and I think we as a country need that more than anything right now. Uncle Ted won't feed me lies or tell me what I want to hear. He'll shove the truth down my throat whether I like it or not. He's incredibly stubborn, determined, and passionate. He won't take any shit from anyone, and he'll be the first to tell you he's an asshole. That's exactly what we need in office! A no nonsense, no bullshit kind of guy!

There are a million other reasons why I love and respect the man, but overall, I really believe he'd make a great president. And although I tend to be a little liberal at times and I know that Ted and I would disagree on a few things, I'd still vote for him!

Nugent 2012!!!!!