To celebrate yet another step-down on my prednisone prescription, as well as the continuning nightmare of side effects from the inhalents, we're doing some good druggy music this morning.
What can you say about Guns N' Roses that hasn't already been said? Born out of Los Angeles' chaotic hard rock scene of the mid80s, GnR had one of the greatest debut albums ever in
Appetite for Destruction, a good follow up in the
Lies EP, then... we got
Use Your Illusion I & II. Epic. Soaring. The videos made no sense. That's when things went off the rails. Axl Rose, who really should have wandered off to Paris to die in a bathtub or something, decided that he was more than just another screaming rock star. No, his music meant something. He fired band members, cut concerts short on the slightest whim, and alienated everyone inside and outside the industry. After 1993's
The Spaghetti Incident? (a cover album that was mostly disappointing) the band basically fissioned. Axl promised a new album to be titled
Chinese Democracy with an all new line-up.
15 years later, and more line-up changes than you can count, the album was released, and immediately tanked. The "tour" lasted about five shows, half of which featured Axl walking off stage. He's still claiming that GnR is a going concern. He should have gone to Paris.
But enough of that, let's go back to the good old days, to
Appetite for Destruction and one of the best songs ever written about addiction,
Mr. Brownstone, live in NYC.
