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The Ten Definitive Guns N’ Roses Moments

Posted Mon Nov 24, 2008 12:32pm PST by Rob O'Connor in List Of The Day

Chinese Democracy, the long-awaited (to put it mildly) new Guns N' Roses album, is commercially available this week. Now, whether or not an album featuring only one original member of the band, one W. Axl Rose, should be considered an actual Guns N' Roses album is a fair debate for another time and place. For now, List of the Day wishes to consider these 10 moments that define the Guns n' Roses legacy. You undoubtedly have your own memories. Please share them in the comments section conveniently supplied by the kind cyborgs that run this mysterious Y! Music site.

10) "November Rain" Video: Just when you thought there was no way that MTV would ever play anything so long and involved, they not only play this "November Rain" video once, they play it constantly until everyone on earth has seen it and understands how much rain can mess up your plans. And weddings aren't just for Bridezillas.

9) Riot In St. Louis: What would Guns N' Roses be without Axl's insistence on fighting with his audience and bringing about a riot? This does take audience participation to a new extreme. Almost  makes Jim Morrison seem tame by comparison. Ride the snake, baby, ride the snake...

8) Waiting For Chinese Democracy: Actually releasing this album has to be anti-climactic. I mean, c'mon! The anticipation is always better than the real thing. Has there ever been a Christmas that's lived up to its hype? As a kid, I waited for Santa to bring me all kinds of great things and I got socks. Every year. Thanks for nothing, fat man.

7) Controversy Over "One In A Million": By calling people out with inflammatory words, Axl Rose was deemed a potential racist. I prefer to think he's just a challenged linguist. Just as I would not be a worthy lead singer for a hard rock band, Axl would probably not be such a fine, astute blogger beloved to utter millions.

6) The Dual Release Of Use Your Illusion I And II: Nothing kicks up your self-importance more than releasing two albums at the same time. They pressured Bruce Springsteen to do the same. And then that guy in Smashing Pumpkins did a double album. And it makes you wonder if this is actually making things better? Or just more expensive?

5) Kicking Out Drummer Steven Adler For Doing Too Many Drugs: This is pretty amazing. Adler should probably be considered the "ultimate" member if he actually forced the other guys to draw the line and get rid of him because he was doing too many drugs. Was there a rule in the band that you could only pass out once during a performance?

4) Izzy Stradlin: Sure, Axl and Slash were the focal point. And Duff looked pretty solid standing there all tall and proud with the bass, but the word has always been that it's Izzy Stradlin's songwriting that brought this band to their true heights. And let's face it, you can look the part, you can buy the loudest amps, you can hire the coolest art department and you can come up with the best song titles, but if you don't have the songs you're just another lousy band with a tireless publicity company backing you.

3) Most Of The Band Forms Velvet Revolver With Scott Weiland: This almost feels like a game of "Ditch ‘Em." How difficult must Axl Rose be if the members of his old, very successful band would rather play with Scott Weiland, who spends much of his time going in and out of rehab?

2) "Civil War": Everyone has their favorite Guns N' Roses tune. Everyone. Even my father said before he died that if he had to choose one Guns N' Roses song to be played at his funeral it would be "Civil War." Or as he put it to me at the time, "If you're going to be a jerk and play some horrible music at my funeral, at least make it something like that song about the ‘Civil War'." I took that to mean, he really wanted to hear it from his casket. And if the uptight priest hadn't been so uptight, it would've happened. We settled on some old gospel spiritual instead. Life is so full of "compromises."

1) Appetite For Destruction: Who can argue this? This was the album that made their reputation. Without this, all the antics, all the poses, all the ups and downs don't add up to anything. But here we were Welcomed to the Jungle with a "Sweet Child O' Mine" and warned about dancing with Mr. Brownstone and told to keep an eye on "My Michelle" out in "Paradise City" while we're at it. That was 21 years ago! If that doesn't make you feel old, you must be sitting in a vat of Ben-Gay as we speak. So turn up your hearing aid and rock on, old man!

126 Comments

1. Lyndsey Parker -
If I could have one GNR song played at my funeral it would have to be "Don't Cry." It's not my favorite song by them--but I wouldn't wanto to people crying at my funeral, so it would be sort of instructional...

2. Trin -
November Rain is the very first video I saw as a kid

3. irlandese -
My daughter's first concert was Metallica opening for GNR at the Rose Bowl 10/92--in utero. Metallica rocked, GN'R sucked. Best let the band RIP, Axl.

4. DUDE -
Buckethead has fired from the "new" G-n-R for "erratic behavior"....Imagine being fired by Axel Rose for acting wierd.

5. scott -
guns n roses are SO washed up. long live a true band...........SLAYER

6. David A -
how about when James Hatfield stepped into the fire in Montreal and GNR refused to finish the show, insighting a riot again

7. david -
Bruce put two albums out before GnR dumbass

8. R.! -
for once you finally got a list right

9. Ryzek M -
It's not Guns N Roses with Axl as the only original member. That's like saying Wings was the Beatles.

10. Andrew Montgomerie -
Axl was and is GNR. No one else matters..he was all the talent to begin with...Velvet Revolver sucked, and whoever backs him is irrelivent - AXLis the MAN. He can do no wrong. Trusty me.

11. Cynthia -
Sweet Child O' mine and Paradise City still hold places in my heart; I remember where I was when I first heard Welcome to the Jungle.That song is what turned me on to GnR. I had the biggest crush on Slash...I thought he was so SEXXXY. IF IT AINT THE ORIGIONAL LINE UP, IT JUST AINT GUNS N ROSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. Amy -
to the person who wanted to know what #3 meant check out an album by velvet revolver you'll see gnr without axel, scott weiland took over lead vocals when stone temple pilots disbanded, sad but unfortunately true. both were great bands but don't expect the original gnr to get back together in this or any other lifetime.

13. PHILIP -
rob o'conners comments adn list are just plain retarded. so the 2nd most definitive GNR moment is that you couldnt play Civil War at your dads funeral?
LAMEWAD....if youre gonna make lists on best or worst events in music history leave out your personal issues. YOur tramatic times have nothing to do with the events of music past.

14. Max Power -
G'n'R is what rock is all about. Loud, hard, and volatile. They're not stable, you never knew what was coming next from them (still dont), and thats why they were head and shoulders above all those poppy hair bands of the 80's.

15. Yahoo! Music User -
hiring a guy with a f*cking KFC bucket on his head and then firing him for being "erratic".... half the band not even being on stage and the other half practically falling down drunk while opening for Aerosmith... the list goes on

16. Nick Nautious -
i would have to agree with the Izzy comment, if you look at most of the song credits most of the great songs are written/co-written by him, and he is very under rated

17. Suresh G -
Chinese Democracy is awesome and so is Axl Rose.

18. carpetdave -
No mention of the riot in Montreal? James Hetfield was practicall burnt to a crisp, and cry-baby Axl can't perform because his mic was feeding back, and instead starts a riot?

19. Yahoo! Music User -
GNF'NR!! I feel like a kid in the middle of a divorce, I wanna hear the new album, but I despise the fact he kept the name... Kudos for the nod to Izzy, no one seems to realize that..

20. Teresa -
By "that song about the Civil War," your dad may have meant "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down", by The Band -- thanks to that fateful phone conversation he had with Prof. Greil Marcus back in the winter of '89, when CREEM was hungry and half-alive.
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