Guns N' Roses

[Cps235]

Axl Rose's favourite books | Books | guardian.co.uk

[allamericangirl8]

I have a love-hate relationship with the outro of Catcher in the Rye. On the one hand, it's beautiful, has great lyrics, and it's one of the most magical moments on the album. On the other hand, I freaking love Holden Caulfield and The Catcher in the Rye, and I completely disagree with the notion that JD Salinger killed John Lennon. If Ender's Game and To Kill a Mockingbird didn't exist, The Catcher in the Rye would dominate my favorite books list, no competition. I'm sure Salinger didn't sit there and go, "Hmmm. I wonder how I can murder a rock legend decades from now."

Axl WOULD be reading a Zodiac book. There are Zodiac symbols on the back of TSI that say, "F*ck Em All."

[allamericangirl8]

I want Jess to listen to their whole discography just because I wanna read what she has to say about Chinese Democracy. -_-

I love how I'm gone twenty-four hours and neither of the two rock threads have any activity.

So, some notes on Chinese Democracy, which was my favorite album of GN'R's until recently (AFD overtook it). See, I liked it because, well, I was a huge fan of polish. I've noticed lately that I'm going through this devolution in music taste. I'm listening to rawer and rawer music. So AFD is fitting the bill better for me as of late. I still adore Chinese, though.

The title track still doesn't do anything for me, though I would've loved to hear it live (I hate when parents screw you over), and the outro is pretty awesome. Axl sounds great, too.

Every time I hear Shackler's Revenge, I imagine how great it would be live, because it is. I was never there, but according to the proshots, it's the highlight of the show, really. I mean, Bumble's elephant solo with Axl's wailing is just stunning, and it's got a cool atmosphere. You can tell Buckethead had a hand in writing it.

WHY WASN'T BETTER THE LEAD SINGLE WHAT IS I DON'T EVEN. That's like releasing Songs Like This as the lead single from Play On -- yeah, it's fine as a single, but when you have a beast like Cowboy Casanova on your album, you look like an absolute fool for even considering that other song. Better's always been one of my favorite songs. It's super radio-friendly, and it's the catchiest GN'R song since AFD. I mean, just listen to it. It's absolutely infectious. My family isn't a huge fan of GN'R post-UYI, but they all adore Better. It's just too catchy. I'll never understand why it wasn't released as the lead single. Nor will I ever know what happened to the music video. Anyway, that's my little spiel. Great song. Fantastic Finck solo. Cool lyrics. One of my absolute favorite songs.

Before I was ever really a Guns fan, I'd heard a demo of this song. Someone on a vocalist forum was tooting about how Axl's vocals on this track were the bee's knees. I gave it a listen (thinking it was the album cut), agreed that it was pretty good, and added it to my iPod. It wasn't until I physically purchased the album that I realized that it was a whole different beast. Axl's vocals are PHENOMENAL on Street of Dreams (formerly known as The Blues). That's legit his best vocal performance in history, right there. I was trying to sing along to it the other day and just couldn't get past the "AAAAAH What'd I tell ya?" section. It was too hard. Anyway, this is another one of my favorites. I love the way he sings, "As long as this road seems, I know it's called the street of dreams/But that's not stardust on my feet/It leaves a taste that's bittersweet that's called the blues..." Is that Finck soloing or Bucket? I don't know. But it's fantastic. I think it's Bucket. I don't know.

If the World's vocals + Buckethead's flamenco.<3 This song is nothing special, but I still enjoy it. I'd say from this song down (on my list, not the tracklisting) that the listening enjoyment goes down, unfortunately. The top 9 on my list are rock solid, fantastic songs that jump around as my favorites, but the bottom 5 don't have a snowball's chance in hell of overtaking any of the top 9. I don't know why it works out that way. It's like I either manically adore the songs on Chinese Democracy or I think, "That song's okay... nothing special." None of the songs are bad, though.

THERE WAS A TIME. My favorite song when I first heard the album and it's still my favorite off the album. I think, interestingly enough, Paul Huge had a hand in writing this. I don't know how great his contributions were, but I still find it really interesting. The beginning of the song is really cool, but it's the second half of the song that makes it freaking amazing. Not only do you get Axl's wailing, "I would do aaaanything for you, there was a tiiiiiiiime," and not only is that the best Axl moment ever next to Rocket Queen's second half and the IRS scream, but Buckethead's solo is legit the best Guns N' Roses guitar solo in history. My dad hates any GN'R post-Slash, but when I put the song on in the car, he randomly rewound Bucket's solo to give it a few more listens. I was like, "That's right, b!tch," in my head. I don't know. I just love the second half of the song. Absolute perfection. Random fact: Axl spans four octaves in this song.

I've had my spiel about Catcher already, but I just wanted to add that there are only a handful of moments in Guns N' Roses that are just the very definition of magic. The first time it happened was when Axl sang in November Rain, "If we could take the time to lay it on the line, I could rest my head just knowin' that you were mine." Another time is during this song, when Axl sings, "If the cold outside's as I'm imagining it to be." I don't know. The piano, the vocal, the guitar, it just all comes together for me. This kid in my section's all-time favorite song is this one. xD I don't know how I did it. Oh, and I prefer the demo version's guitar solo. Brian May sounded better on this than Bumble. Just saying.

I know a lot of people hate IRS because it doesn't have the best lyrics in the world, but come on, Axl sounds amazing, and the guitar line under the chorus is so cool. I don't know. I love this song. I get chills whenever I hear the, "It's such a CRIME, YOU KNOW IT'S TRUUUUUE," scream. It's one of my favorite moments on the album.

This I Love... why you gotta have such cheesy lyrics? I hate the rhyming scheme. However, the vocals and the guitar solo are so other-worldly. And the orchestration, whoever arranged it is a genius. It's just gorgeous. It's such an emotional song. I catch my mom listening to it from time to time when she's really sad.

And Prostitute. This is the other song that has a truly magical moment. The whole song is exquisite, but damn, whenever I hear the, "I told you when I found you, if there were doubts..." section, I just get floored. Once again, the vocals blow me away, but the lyrics and orchestration are great, too. I remember Tommy Stinson said that it was better than SCOM or something along those lines. I actually agree. I like it more. But the songs are kinda incomparable. I mean, SCOM is about Erin Everly and, well, I know it's speculation, but this song really can't be about anyone else other than Slash, and it always makes me sad to hear the lyric, "Where would you go if I told you I love you and then walked away?" Anyway, one of my favorites. Makes my heart soar. It actually has a chance of overtaking the number one song, dare I say.

1. There Was A Time
2. Prostitute
3. Better
4. IRS
5. Catcher in the Rye
6. Street of Dreams
7. Madagascar
8. Shackler's Revenge
9. This I Love
10. If the World
11. Scraped
12. Riad N' the Bedouins
13. Sorry
14. Chinese Democracy

Man, I love this album. Whenever I hear that piano line at the end of Prostitute, I just wanna listen to the song or album again. It's the perfect album closer. Actually, most of my favorite Guns N' Roses songs are album closers.

[Cps235]

My Chinese Democracy Ratings! Chinese Democracy is my 2nd or 3rd favorite album from GNR.

1. Better 11/10. This song is soooo amazing! The lyrics are on point + Axl famous growl is on notice! I can argue that this song is the best on the album. I am really mad that Geffen didn't follow through by making a video for this song! I was sitting waiting but nothing :/

2. This I Love 11/10. Amazing rifts + the song is a hidden gem despite simple lyrics. Axl's voice shines on this song. So beautiful + heartfelt. You have no heart if you cannot connect with this song, haha

3. Scraped 10/10. One of my personal favorites. I love rocking out to this song. Sometimes I feel like/The world is on top of me/Breakin' me down with/An endless monotony.... Amazing lyrics + totally relate able.

4. There Was a Time 10/10. The song in itself is EPIC! A must download.

5. I.R.S. 9.5/10. Amazing.

6. Catcher In The Rye 9/10.

7. Madagascar 9/10.

8. Sorry 8.5/10.

9. Street of Dreams 8/10. It took me a while for me to really love this song. I don't know what is GNR fans obsession with this song, haha!

10. Chinese Democracy 8/10. Axl at his best with the band! A fun song. (I must admit, this song should be a little higher on my list).

11. Shackler's Revenge 7.5/10 I don't really care for this song but it's pretty good.

12. Prostitute 7.5/10. Again one of those songs that took me a really long time to get into. The chorus is beyond incredible though.

13. Riad N' the Bedouins 7.0/10. I really don't care for this song. It is a filler track in my opinion. GNR could have done better, haha

14. If the World 6.0/10. I think this song shouldn't been on the album.

That said! It is a good album that everyone should give it a few listens. There are songs that will definitely stay with you only by one listen.

[allamericangirl8]

My Chinese Democracy Ratings! Chinese Democracy is my 2nd or 3rd favorite album from GNR.

1. Better 11/10. This song is soooo amazing! The lyrics are on point + Axl famous growl is on notice! I can argue that this song is the best on the album. I am really mad that Geffen didn't follow through by making a video for this song! I was sitting waiting but nothing :/

2. This I Love 11/10. Amazing rifts + the song is a hidden gem despite simple lyrics. Axl's voice shines on this song. So beautiful + heartfelt. You have no heart if you cannot connect with this song, haha

3. Scraped 10/10. One of my personal favorites. I love rocking out to this song. Sometimes I feel like/The world is on top of me/Breakin' me down with/An endless monotony.... Amazing lyrics + totally relate able.

4. There Was a Time 10/10. The song in itself is EPIC! A must download.

5. I.R.S. 9.5/10. Amazing.

6. Catcher In The Rye 9/10.

7. Madagascar 9/10.

8. Sorry 8.5/10.

9. Street of Dreams 8/10. It took me a while for me to really love this song. I don't know what is GNR fans obsession with this song, haha!

10. Chinese Democracy 8/10. Axl at his best with the band! A fun song. (I must admit, this song should be a little higher on my list).

11. Shackler's Revenge 7.5/10 I don't really care for this song but it's pretty good.

12. Prostitute 7.5/10. Again one of those songs that took me a really long time to get into. The chorus is beyond incredible though.

13. Riad N' the Bedouins 7.0/10. I really don't care for this song. It is a filler track in my opinion. GNR could have done better, haha

14. If the World 6.0/10. I think this song shouldn't been on the album.

That said! It is a good album that everyone should give it a few listens. There are songs that will definitely stay with you only by one listen.

It's amazing how different two people's lists can be. We have a few commonalities (we both adore Better, find TWAT perfect, and IRS, Catcher, and Madagascar), but otherwise, they're pretty different lists. See, that's one thing about Guns N' Roses -- people always talk about how they're a hit-and-miss band, but they always cite different songs. I've seen people say UYI should've just been one album, but whenever a tracklist of which songs to leave on is generated, there's never a consensus (except Estranged).

I'm surprised Street of Dreams had to grow on you. For me, I was just in awe of it, and then I overplayed it. Same with This I Love, I suppose. Songs like Madagascar, Prostitute, and Catcher had to grow on me, and because of that, they're my favorites.

I wouldn't leave off If the World solely for Bucket's guitar work. xD But it is pretty weak in comparison to the other songs. Oh My God reworked should've been attached as a bonus track or something. I mean, have you heard the rehearsals for Oh My God from this past tour?

How would you rank the other albums?

[Cps235]

It's amazing how different two people's lists can be. We have a few commonalities (we both adore Better, find TWAT perfect, and IRS, Catcher, and Madagascar), but otherwise, they're pretty different lists. See, that's one thing about Guns N' Roses -- people always talk about how they're a hit-and-miss band, but they always cite different songs. I've seen people say UYI should've just been one album, but whenever a tracklist of which songs to leave on is generated, there's never a consensus (except Estranged).

I'm surprised Street of Dreams had to grow on you. For me, I was just in awe of it, and then I overplayed it. Same with This I Love, I suppose. Songs like Madagascar, Prostitute, and Catcher had to grow on me, and because of that, they're my favorites.

I wouldn't leave off If the World solely for Bucket's guitar work. xD But it is pretty weak in comparison to the other songs. Oh My God reworked should've been attached as a bonus track or something. I mean, have you heard the rehearsals for Oh My God from this past tour?

How would you rank the other albums?

Personally, I am glad that the two albums weren't one album! I think if it was one album, then the follow-up which is UYI II would be just as amazing!
Lol, no I haven't heard the rehearsals for Oh My God. I am about to find it on youtube now!

I am going to give ranking for the other albums in the next couple of days.

btw, the GNR fans I've talked to can never agree with some of the songs on Chinese Democracy. I think with CD is concern, GNR fans are split just because of the whole controversy that surrounds that album. Some are critical just to be critical. It's just a whole mess lol.

[allamericangirl8]

It wouldn't even be able to fit onto one album. I mean, they can't leave out November Rain, Estranged, or Coma, and that's a half hour of material right there.

Look for it! Oh My God was amazing in its own right, but this arrangement sounds really cool. Now if only Axl's vocals were on top of it.

Yeah, people are really hung up on the name of the band and judge the album with a closed mind. For shame.

Someone on myGNRforum asked me to list my top ten favorite Axl vocals. Since he didn't specify, I did. I put in terms of entire song:

1. Rocket Queen
2. Prostitute
3. Breakdown
4. IRS
5. Think About You
6. Civil War
7. Perfect Crime
8. Sailing
9. Human Being
10. Dust in the Wind

And in terms of isolated sections:

1. Rocket Queen coda
2. There Was A Time wails
3. IRS "It's such a CRIME, YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE."
4. Estranged second half
5. Civil War "My hands are tied" until "I don't need your Civil War."
6. November Rain "We've been through this" 'til the guitar solo.
7. Sweet Child O' Mine coda
8. You're Crazy "Said boy, where ya comin' from, where'd ya get that point of view?/When I was younger, I KNEW A MOTHERF*CKER LIKE YOU."
9. Don't Cry (alt.) "And when you're in need of someone, my heart won't deny you" to the end.
10. Patience coda

But I keep thinking of other moments that should make the list, but I can't take any out. xD

[allamericangirl8]

This is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen:



Bah, I wish I was in on this. It looks like it was done by people who aren't regulars on the forums. -_- Curses.

I really love the one that says "All we ever wanted was for you to know that we care." I think that really says it all, and I hope Axl sees that we really mean it.

On the other hand, "I wish I could be a part of you by tattooing your skin..."

[Cps235]

^^Awwww! His birthday is tomorrow! I cannot believe he is turning 50!!!!!!!!

[allamericangirl8]

^^Awwww! His birthday is tomorrow! I cannot believe he is turning 50!!!!!!!!

I was gonna say that it's actually in two days, but then I realized that I'm from the west coast and I'm laggin' it.

Anyway, I know, right? Sunday will be the last day I have a crush who's under the age of 50. xD

So, I read in Slash's book that originally, there were two "And when you're high" sections in Welcome to the Jungle, but the second section was cut out during the AFD sessions, and I was curious as to how it sounded back then. Then I found this:

[allamericangirl8]

Make sure you tweet Axl happy birthday. I'm tweeting him when I wake up, since he's in LA right now, so it won't be his birthday until midnight here.

[Carrieflattsfan]

You're in love with a 50-year-old? You're not even in college, right?

He sure doesn't look 50. Dang.

[allamericangirl8]

Indeed. Actually, I'm officially in love with a 50-year-old and a 53-year-old. The 53-year-old turns 54 August 7th. I'm a senior in high school.

[Cps235]

My Appetite for Destruction Ratings! One of the greatest debut albums in music history.

1. Welcome to the Jungle 12/10. A classic song! Even Etta James cover this song! This song made Guns N' Roses one of the greatest rock bands of our time. The lyrics are beyond amazing! Timeless! The song could be out today + it will definitely sound fresh.

2. Sweet Child O' Mine 12/10. Carrie Underwood is responsible for making me love this song wayyyyyyyyyy more than I thought I would! A classic love song! A killer track. I believe GNR are responsible for bringing a wave of hard core rock songs + then having one or two songs about a "girl" lol. the riffs are amazing and the lyrics are superb. You cannot help but fall in love with the voice and the lyrics of this song.

3. My Michelle 12/10. I cannot tell you how many times my rock station here in NYC plays this song! They play this song like crazy. It is a classic hard rock song! I believe it is one of the greatest/heaviest song on the album. Personally, one of my absolute favorites. Fav. Lyrics: Your daddy works in porno/Now that mommy's not around/She used to love her heroin/But now she's underground

4. Nightrain 12/10. Seriously, one of their best songs ever. I cannot tell you how much I overplayed this song back in the days lol. Slash solo on this song is beyond incredible! I can see why people in rock music hail him as one of the greats because this song demonstrate his talents so well

5. It's So Easy 12/10. A phenomenal song.

6. Rocket Queen 12/10. Amazing! Amazing! Amazing! 6:15 isn't enough lol. A great way to end a fantastic album! One of my favorites on this album!

7. Paradise City 12/10. Carrie Underwood made me love this song even more. A classic GUNS N' ROSES SONG! Phenomenal!!!!!! Just a urchin livin' under the street/I'm a hard case that's tough to beat/I'm your charity case so buy me something to eat...Those lyrics couldn't get any more better than that but it does!!!!!! One of the greatest ever!!!!!!! I love seeing GNR perform this song live.

8. Think About You 11/10. A great song! A beautiful song with an incredible ending! GNR rules

9. You're Crazy! 11/10. The lyrics always make me smile! A classic song. I feel that I prefer this version more than the acoustic version. That's just me. Although, many GNR fans love the acoustic version much better! Oh well. A great, great song...Genius!

10. Mr. Brownstone 11/10. Great riffs! Amazing song! Again, one of those songs that get overplayed on my local rock station in NYC. Axl Rose voice shines on this song.

11. Out Ta Get Me 10/10. Superb!

12. Anything Goes 9/10. My least favorite song on the album but Axl Rose makes it impossible for me to completely discard this song lol.

Overall, an amazing album! One of the must listen to albums before you die! Every song is EPIC! Every song tells a story! Every song stands on its own! This album makes me appreciate '80s music in general but most of all, this album led the way for my infatuation with rock music as a whole

[allamericangirl8]

My Appetite for Destruction Ratings! One of the greatest debut albums in music history.

1. Welcome to the Jungle 12/10. A classic song! Even Etta James cover this song! This song made Guns N' Roses one of the greatest rock bands of our time. The lyrics are beyond amazing! Timeless! The song could be out today + it will definitely sound fresh.

Absolutely! There's a reason it's so popular.

2. Sweet Child O' Mine 12/10. Carrie Underwood is responsible for making me love this song wayyyyyyyyyy more than I thought I would! A classic love song! A killer track. I believe GNR are responsible for bringing a wave of hard core rock songs + then having one or two songs about a "girl" lol. the riffs are amazing and the lyrics are superb. You cannot help but fall in love with the voice and the lyrics of this song.

I would find the lyrics really cheesy if anyone else wrote them, but when you get the background of Axl writing it as a poem in the spur of the moment and then later deciding to use it as a song, to me, that's just wow. Like, when you write a song, something that plans on getting heard, you're gonna embellish the lyrics. But when you write a poem, you're basically just writing what you feel. And that's how Axl felt about Erin.

Well, when he loves, he loves, and when he hates, he hates. Most extremely emotional guy I've ever seen.

3. My Michelle 12/10. I cannot tell you how many times my rock station here in NYC plays this song! They play this song like crazy. It is a classic hard rock song! I believe it is one of the greatest/heaviest song on the album. Personally, one of my absolute favorites. Fav. Lyrics: Your daddy works in porno/Now that mommy's not around/She used to love her heroin/But now she's underground

I want your rock station.

I won't talk about every song you did. Anyway, I see you really love the album. It's great, isn't it? I don't understand the rocker guy I'm friends with who heard the album and literally said, "I hate Guns N' Roses." His friend got freaked out and sent him Civil War, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Don't Cry, November Rain, etc., and STILL he doesn't like them. I asked him, "Have you heard Chinese Democracy?" He said, "No. It's not Guns N' Roses without Slash."

He's not even a Guns N' Roses fan and he won't listen to Chinese Democracy because Slash isn't on there? WTF? People are ridiculous.





@Karly Dude, I just realized you said he doesn't look his age. I hope you realize that the pictures I've been posting are Axl from the '90s, when he was in his late 20s and early 30s. xD Honestly, today, he looks a lot older than he actually is. The problem is that when you just look at his face, it looks exactly the same as it did in 1992 (when he was 30), but then he went and grew a handlebar 'stache and started wearing baggy clothing, and now he looks older than 50! What is I don't understand. I get so annoyed. When you photoshop his 'stache off and put his picture beside a '90s picture, you can scarcely spot a difference.

Wrong picture. Let me find the right one.

ANYWAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AXL ROSE! It's amazing to think that I was just reading an article from the '90s saying that Axl wouldn't live to be 40, and now he's turning 50.

Did you guys read the Dublin article about GN'R performing there? Axl said he owed Dublin a concert after the shenanigans of Dublin '10, but honestly, I'd kill to have Dublin's show. Sure, Axl moped the whole time, but he's never sung Street of Dreams this well:



Because he was moping, his vocals were top notch.

Anyway, Axl's going onstage on time (scheduled time, not Axl time), he doesn't get pissed off onstage anymore, doesn't kick people out, he's apologizing and going out of his way to do a show in Dublin, he's telling funny stories about Slash, he's talking to Duff, Izzy, Steven, and Matt... it seems like he's finally found some peace of mind, he's comfortable in his own skin. It's really nice. I mean, he just looked so happy during all the '11 shows.

[allamericangirl8]

But everything I've ever known's in this thread... I never want it to dieeeeeeeeeee.

Anyway, this performance is just pure class.



Move to the City is so underrated. Great tune. Axl just sounds so venomous, and the 976 horn section. I wish I was in it. Too bad I wasn't born yet.

So I was reading this Rolling Stone article. It was an interview with Axl. I've read it before, but rereading it makes me sad and really relieved to see the tide turning for Axl in recent months.

Only a few minutes ago, Axl Rose, sprawled on the floor of his Las Vegas hotel villa, mentioned his lack of privacy. Now, as if to prove his point, someone knocks on the door. Rose gets up to answer it, peering out into the darkness to find two breathless, carefully made-up fans who've somehow breached Guns n' Roses' security. "I hope you know we went to a lot of trouble just to say hello to you," the first girl says. "I'm only here because she dragged me here," says the second. "I'm not a very big Guns n' Roses fan or anything."
"Given Rose's reputation as a hothead, the predictable reaction would be irritation -- or at the very least a wry, "see what I mean" smile. But Rose greets the giggly pair like a homeowner welcoming a group of trick-or-treaters. He invites them in and, smiling, begins asking them questions: Do you live here? What are your names? How did you find out where I was? As the story unravels -- it turns out the two posed as call girls to extract his room number from a tight-lipped hotel clerk -- Rose seems genuinely charmed. As do his visitors. They stick around for nearly an hour, and Rose is the perfect host -- cracking jokes, offering them dinner, even laughing off their occasional barbs ("So, are you going on on time tomorrow, or what?"). By the time they leave, they've been made to feel as if it were the most natural thing in the world to barge in uninvited on a total stranger.
It's the evening before a sold-out show in late January, and Rose is in an extremely good mood. Catching the singer in this frame of mind at the scheduled time for an interview can seem like a blessing from above if you've ever been around him in the other mood. When Rose is feeling pressured or angry, talking to him is a lot like dodging bullets. He tends to rant, barely stopping for breath, and even the most innocent of comments can set him on edge. It is a distinctly uncomfortable feeling to be in a room alone with Axl Rose and see storm clouds suddenly gather on his face because of something you've just said. It is a feeling of wanting to get out, fast.
But Rose can be a disarming -- and formidable -- conversationalist if you catch him at the right time. When he is relaxed, he seems to delight in the challenge an interview presents, and it is all but impossible to rattle him. Tell him that much of the public views him as spoiled, and he'll surprise you by agreeing. Inform him that a character in Stephen King's latest novel describes him as an asshole, and he'll ask, ever hopeful, "Was it a good character or a bad character?" The thornier the issue, the more conviction Rose displays in offering his opinion.
During this conversation, Rose covered some especially rocky terrain. He talked about rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin's resignation from Guns n' Roses late last year. He addressed his tardiness to shows, his ongoing war with the media, his reputation as a misogynist, a homophobe, a bigot. Rose also talked in detail for the first time about childhood traumas that likely played a large part in shaping his volatile nature. He spoke about some highly disturbing memories involving his biological father that were dredged up in regression therapy and also leveled serious charges at his stepfather. (Rose's natural father could not be found for comment on the issues raised in this story; his relatives believe him to be dead. Rose's brother, his sister and a family friend corroborated the allegations concerning his stepfather. Rose's mother and stepfather declined comment.)
In talking about his early years, Rose grew soft-spoken and contemplative, displaying the rarely seen vulnerability that once prompted Sinead O'Connor to remark that Rose made you want to "bring him home and give him a bowl of soup." Perhaps more than anything else, it is this surprising air of fragility, coupled with the hair-trigger temper that has all but become Rose's personal trademark, that makes him such a compelling figure.
The same evening this interview took place, Roses's sister, Amy, strolling through the Mirage Hotel, stopped to look at the royal white tigers the hotel keeps on display. She remarked how fascinating it was that a creature could be at once so ferocious and so gentle.
"Just like Axl," someone said absent-mindedly.
Amy laughed, realizing that she had unintentionally described her brother as well.

What do you think people are thinking about you these days?


I know it's a love-hate thing. There are people that are big fans and people that really hate me.

Do you get a sense that public opinion of you has changed?


A majority of what's in the press is negative. But I think that we're also gaining more fans, people of all different ages that really like what we're doing. There's a really good vibe in the crowd, a warm vibe.

What about St. Louis After the riot, Rolling Stone got letters from people saying that they were fed up with your attitude and that you don't care about your fans anymore.


And that's why the riot happened? Is that what they're saying?

No. But I think the riot was a turning point in terms of public opinion of you.


Well, I think that the way the media covered it made me look completely responsible for it. I don't think I was the last straw. I think that the people who decided to start throwing stuff were the last straw. We have a big problem with the people that were at that concert. We gave them a ninety-minute show. We gave them what we were contracted to do, and we gave it good. They wanted more, and they felt that they could just have it, regardless of what happened to us or how we felt about it. When we say, "**** St. Louis," we're talking about the people that tore up the place. They know who they are -- we're not talking about anybody else. Whether I jumped off the stage for a camera or not, that's not a good enough reason to tear the place down. It was announced that we would come back onstage, and they were more into the riot than even the band playing.

One thing that has people exasperated is the late show times. Why do you go on so late?


I pretty much follow my own internal clock, and I perform better later at night. Nothing seems to work out for me until later at night. And it is our show. I don't want to make people sit around and wait -- it drives me nuts. That hour-and-a-half or two-hour time period that I'm late going onstage is living hell, because I'm wishing there was any way on earth I could get out of where I am and knowing I'm not going to be able to make it. I'm late to everything. I've always wanted to have it written in my will that when I die, the coffin shows up a half-hour late and says on the side, like in gold, SORRY I'M LATE.

What goes on before you take the stage? What actually makes you late?


The chiropractor we work with on the road tapes my ankles professionally. I kept twisting my ankles during shows, and it still happens now and then. I have weak ankles, always have. I used to run cross-country, and that was one of the things that got in the way of that. So I work with a chiropractor. I work with a massage therapist, because I put a lot of stress in my lower back, and with what I do onstage, there's a lot of rebuilding that has to be done. There's operatic voice exercise. And I started therapy in February (1991) and, Jesus, I'm right in the middle of stuff. I mean, if a heavy emotional issue surfaces and you've got a show in four hours, you have to figure out how to get that sorted out really quick before you get onstage so that you're really quick before you get onstage so that you're not in the middle of "Jungle" and have a breakdown. The pressure of having to do the show when whatever else is going on in my life is hard to get past. We did a show in Finland where I just couldn't understand why I was doing what I was doing. I sat down while I was singing "Civil War," and I was kind of looking at my lips while I was singing and looking at the microphone and looking at the roadies, and everything just shut off. Well, that doesn't make for a very good show. We're out there to win at what we do. And if that means going on two hours late and doing a good show, I'm gonna do it. I take what I do very seriously.

Do you think that your fans take your problems seriously? Sometimes people relate to celebrities not as people but as objects or possessions--admiring the music or art isn't enough anymore. People have to feel as if they own you.


Yeah. That's a strange beast. And they don't like it when I let them know that they don't own me. Sometimes I don't even own myself (laughs).

Let's say a fan stopped you on the street and said: "Listen, I bought all your records, but I'm sick of your bull****. I come to show and you're two hours, late, and I have to work the next day. You don't give a **** about me."


If I didn't give a **** about them, I'd come out and do a ****ty show. I'd come out and tell 'em to **** off. I'd sit down, sing the songs off-key and just not care. But I do care, and I also care too much about myself to do that. It's confusing to me that people go, "Well, I have to work in the morning." If you were getting laid, you wouldn't be so worried about what time it was. I know it's complicated, but so is getting onstage. And I'm sorry. I try to make it up by coming out and doing a good show and explaining as much as I can about what was going on in my head and why we weren't there.

Does it ever bother you, when you're onstage talking about something that's really eating at you, to think that the crowd would respond the same way no matter what you were saying?


Yeah. I approached it a bit differently when we did the first show in Dayton, Ohio. We'd been told we're the perfect house band for David Duke's America. And it's like, **** David Duke, I don't like being associated with that. I asked the crowd: "Is that what you get out of this, that we're racists and you're supporting it? 'Cause if that's the case, I'm gonna go home. That's not why we're here." I asked the crowd about those things. I got some real interesting responses. The way they reacted was a little bit different than normal. There was silence in different places and cheering in others. You could tell that they were thinking for a minute.

A lot of people think: "Axl is incredibly rich and famous and pampered. He shouldn't have anything to complain about, but he's throwing a tantrum every time you see him. He's a spoiled brat."


That's true.

You think so?


Sometimes, yeah. Yeah, I'm real spoiled. I've spoiled myself. I'll get better at dealing with that, though. I mean, it's still new. Then again, there are a lot of things I complain about that everybody else complains about but won't do it publicly.

Like what?


Like having somebody thrown out who is causing a commotion and basically obstructing the show. Most performers would go to a security person in their organization, and it would just be done very quietly. I'll confront the person, stop the song: "Guess what: You wasted your money, you get to leave." If a person is trying to egg me on, like "Come on out here, mother****er, I'm gonna kick your ass," it's like "No, you're not going to kick my ass, you're going to go home. We're doing a show, there's 20,000 other people here, and you're not going to ruin it. You're leaving." Because if I jump in and get in a fight and then there's no show, the crowd's gonna love that.

Why would you feel you had to jump in? Why couldn't you just ignore it?


Why should I ignore it?

Why should you give someone like that the time of day?


Why shouldn't I deal with it? And why shouldn't I deal with it publicly? It's a distraction. I don't go see a band just because they suck. And if someone comes to a G n' R show for that, it's like "Go home, we don't want you here." I mean, if you throw a party at your house and somebody comes to your party just to tell you you suck all night, you are going to ask them to leave your house. And while we're onstage, that's our house and those are our guests. I've been accused of thinking my **** doesn't stink. And it does, and maybe sometimes it stinks a lot worse than other people's. But I'm not gonna say I'm wrong until I'm shown I'm wrong. Just because someone else believes they're right doesn't mean that they've shown me I'm wrong.

You told me recently that you hate performing.


I just think it's a really weird job. I'm not saying it's a bad job, I'm not saying it's a great job. But you know, it's just the work that goes into being that athletic. I mean, do you want to go out every night and jump off, like, your car? And have to do that? It's like it becomes your job. That doesn't take away the sincerity or the honesty of it, but it is a job. And sometimes I'd rather be doing something else.

You obviously have to be getting something out of it to keep doing it. What do you get out of it?


The release of the energy. Being able to express myself as I choose. There's a certain pride in knowing that you achieved what you came to do. Sometimes there'll be a little flicker of communication between you and somebody that you never really communicated with. One night when I was bummed, Matt (Sorum, G n' R's drummer) came around and put his hand on me: "It's all right, man." Those little things are really special. With the new band and the new people, it's the first time I've really felt at home. It used to be just the five of us against the world. Now we've brought some of the outside world into the band. The first night we played with the new band, I was sitting at the piano during "November Rain," just looking at this and feeling really glad that I was a part of this thing.

I've talked to people who liked the band better when it was stripped down. You've added the horn section and the backup singers and a second keyboard player--the shows are becoming a lot more professional and polished.


But I don't think it's losing any of its energy. There's a lot more energy now. I think that before, people were seeing the potential.

There are purists who prefer the raw vibe that bands like the Sex Pistols had and that Guns n' Roses had in the early days.


Yeah, well, there are people who like a girl that had the same haircut she had ten years ago, too. I understand that. I understand that a lot. But it's like, we're evolving, and it's us. I read a quote where David Bowie was saying that Pink Floyd was Syd Barrett to him. I'm like "Yeah, but to deny anything that Pink Floyd's done after that?" Certain elements of our music and our performance and our attitude are still there, but we're not the same people we were then. Maybe it would've been best for the purists if we'd died or broken up. Then they'd get to keep it the way they liked it.

We haven't talked about Izzy. Why did he leave the band?


To get a clear answer, you'd have to ask Izzy. My personal belief is that Izzy never really wanted something this big. There were responsibilities that Izzy didn't want to deal with. He didn't want to work at the standards that Slash and I set for ourselves.

Can you give me some examples?


He didn't want to do videos.

Did he say why?


He just wasn't into it. Getting Izzy to work on his own songs on this record was like pulling teeth. When Izzy had 'em on a four-track, they were done. I mean, I like tapes like that, but we'd just get destroyed if we came out with a garage tape. People want a high-quality album. And it was really hard to get Izzy to do that, even on his own material. Izzy's songs were on the record because I wanted them on the record, not because Izzy gave a **** either way. If people think I don't respect Izzy or acknowledge his talent, they're sadly mistaken. He was my friend. I haven't always been right. Sometimes I've been massively wrong, and Izzy's been the one to help steer me back to the things that were right. But I know that I wanted to get as big as we possibly could from Day One, and that wasn't Izzy's intention at all. I think he's ready to do like an X-Pensive Winos (Keith Richards's band) thing. So maybe the world'll get another really cool band. I know that I'll be trying to get an advance tape, just like everybody else.

Can you really fault someone for getting out of something if he didn't feel it was right for him?


No, not at all. But I can fault someone, in the same way someone can fault me, for being an asshole about the way he went about it. A comic book says how Izzy comes to me and says, "You know, I just don't feel I'm up to this," and I go, "Yeah, and you're scared, too, aw, ****." Well, that ain't the way it went down.

How did it go down?


We were filming "Don't Cry," and he had to be there. Instead, he sent a really short, cold letter and didn't show up. We got this letter saying, "This changes, this changes, and maybe I'll tour in January." And they were ridiculous demands that weren't going to be met. I talked to Izzy for four and a half hours on the phone. At some points, I was crying, and I was begging. I was doing everything I could to keep him in the band. There were stipulations, though. If he was going to do like the old Izzy did, he wasn't going to make as much money. It was like "You're not giving an equal share." Slash and I were having to do too much work to keep the attention and the energy up in the crowd. You're onstage going, "This is really hard, and I'm into it and I'm doing it, but that guy just gets to stand there."

But there's a certain charisma to that. It was just one more thing to get off on about Guns n' Roses. There were five distinct personalities on the stage.


That's okay. But when the guy's getting up at six thirty in the morning and riding bicycles and motorcycles and buying toy airplanes, and he's donating all this energy to something else, and it's taking 100 percent of our energy to do what we're doing on the stage, we were getting ripped off. I'm hoping Izzy's new album rocks. But at the same time, it'll be like "Why couldn't he do that with us?" He wouldn't do anything.

So you're angry with him because he didn't want to be what you wanted him to be?


No. That's not it. I'm angry with him because he left in a very ****ty way, and he tries to act like everything's cool. He put his trust in people that I consider my enemies. People like (former G n' R manager) Alan Niven, who I think is his manager now. I don't need Alan Niven knowing jack **** about Guns n' Roses. Everybody has a lot of good and bad, and with Alan, I just got sick of his ****ing combo platter. It's like "If you're involved with these people, we can't talk to you."

Let's move on. The media contract that was put into effect before Guns n' Roses started the tour outraged a lot of journalists who felt that you were trying to control what was printed about the band. And I think that's a legitimate gripe on the part of the press.


Yeah. But I don't think they understood what we were trying to do. We were trying to cut down on our exposure. There is such a thing as overexposure. We were also trying to weed out the assholes from the people who were gonna be cool. You know, if you were willing to put your ass on the line and sign the damn thing, then we pretty much figured you weren't gonna try and screw us. There were people who agreed to sign it and then we told them they didn't have to.

Can you understand why even a reporter who wasn't out to get you would refuse to sign something like that?


I don't know. I guess only if they thought that we wanted everything to look peachy keen.

That's the way it came across, because the contract gave you the right of final approval over everything that was written by anyone who signed it.


I'm not that way. I want the real story. I never wanted "Steven Adler's on vacation." I wanted "Steven Adler's in a ****ing rehab." (Adler, G n' R's former drummer, was fired from the group for excessive drug use.) I wanted the reality. Maybe I'd like it a bit optimistic, but I've always been more into the reality of the situations, because that's what I wanted to read about the band. I can see where it would look like we just wanted everything to be right about us. But it was also trying to find a way to work with certain metal magazines. There are a lot of kids who collect those, and we'd rather they have real stories than bull**** stories. I haven't done an interview with Hit Parader or Circus in three or four years.

You've said you can't trust them to print what you actually say.


Yeah. And it's not that what they print is so bad. It's just that when someone puts corny little words in that you didn't say ... like Slash saying something about "Well, we're gonna just shake it up and see what happens." Slash would never say that, and it made him feel really dorky. Looking back at it and reading it, it may not be that bad. But we know that we would've come off a lot better if it had been what we really said. I think I've got a pretty good track record of not lying.

When you were in New York recently, you took offense at a review Jon Pareles wrote in the 'New York Times' and invited him to come onstage to talk about it. (Pareles, reviewing a December G n' R show at Madison Square Garden, described the audience as "oddly restrained." Pareles was invited to come to the following night's show and "tell the crowd why they weren't having a good time.")


I was actually just going to sit down and talk. I wasn't going to make him look like an ass.

Still, he would've been walking into a minefield. No matter what he said, they'd boo him and cheer you.


He didn't have the balls to stand behind what he wrote, and he got exposed.

A lot of people would say that in inviting him to talk about that on your turf, you were the one who didn't have the balls. Why didn't you call him and talk about it personally on neutral territory?


I'm not gonna make the New York Times any more money. It was an obnoxious piece. It was **** journalism. He could've written: "I didn't like the show, personally. I think they suck." Okay, fine. Cool. You can think we suck, and I can think you're an asshole. But don't just try to make it look like nobody enjoyed it.

Couldn't he have been just calling it like he saw it?


Then that's a person with some severe ****ing personal problems, and he has no business being there writing about our show. It's a different crowd at a G n' R show now than it used to be. He didn't understand it. Most people that have been into G n' R for years don't understand it, but they can feel it. Having a nice time is weird for people that don't have nice times in their lives. When you don't really know what a nice time is, a nice time is for pussies.

Where do you think that nice feeling is coming from, being that most of the songs can't really be described as "nice" songs?


Because that's the truth underneath all of it. It's the underlying message. We'll do a certain song because we want to express that anger, get that feeling out. "We did it, okay, now I can deal with the person that I just called an asshole." You know, that's healthy. But that's not how the world works. The world doesn't want you to do that.

Does it bother you that so many people think you're misogynous, homophobic and racist?


It can bother me. But the racist thing is just bull****. I used a word that was taboo. And I used that word because it was taboo. I was pissed off about some black people that were trying to rob me. I wanted to insult those particular black people. I didn't want to support racism. When I used the word faggots, I wasn't coming down on gays. I was coming down on an element of gays. I had just heard a story about a man who was released out of the L.A. county jail with AIDS and he was hooking. I've had my share of dealings with aggressive gays, and I was bothered by it. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not judge," and I guess I made a judgment call, and it was an insult. The racist thing, that's just stupid. I can understand how people would think that, but that's not how I meant it. I believe that there's always gonna be some form of racism -- as much as we'd like there to be peace -- because people are different. Black culture is different. I work with a black man every day (Earl Gabbidon, Rose's bodyguard), and he's one of my best friends. There are things he's into that are definitely a "black thing." But I can like them. There are things that are that way. I think there always will be.

People are afraid of things that are foreign to them.


It's that way with everything, you know? It's that way with people who are of the same race or same gender. Maybe now and then they'll reach a point where something happens, and they bond, and they're really close. But they're always going to have their differences. The most important thing about "One in a Million" is that it got people to think about racism. A lot of people thought I was talking about entire races or sectors of people. I wasn't. And there was an apology on the record. The apology is not even written that well, but it's not on the cover of every record. And no one has acknowledged it yet. No one.

What about the songs that are perceived as misogynous? A lot of people see songs like "Back Off *****" and "Locomotive" as a reflection of your current views on women.


Yeah, and that's wrong. I can understand that, 'cause the records just came out. But "Back Off *****" is a ten-year-old song. I've been doing a lot of work and found out I've had a lot of hatred for women. Basically, I've been rejected by my mother since I was a baby. She's picked my stepfather over me ever since he was around and watched me get beaten by him. She stood back most of the time. Unless it got too bad, and then she'd come and hold you afterward. She wasn't there for me. My grandmother had a problem with men. I've gone back and done the work and found out I overheard my grandma going off on men when I was four. And I've had problems with my own masculinity because of that. I was pissed off at my grandmother for her problem with men and how it made me feel about being a man. So I wrote about my feelings in the songs.

That anger has to have put a damper on your relationships.


I've been hell on the women in my life, and the women in my life have been hell on me. And it really breaks me down to tears a lot of times when I think about how terribly we've treated each other. Erin (Everly, Rose's former wife) and I treated each other like ****. Sometimes we treated each other great, because the children in us were best friends. But then there were other times when we just ****ed each other's lives completely up. And so you write about that in your frustration. The anger and the emotions and stuff scare people, and it's good that people recognize these things as dangerous. I don't think our music promotes that you should feel this way, and if people are getting that, that's not right. We're saying you're allowed to feel certain ways. Now, if you want to hold on to something that you know is bad, that's your problem. I don't want to. I've already left most of the lyrics behind. I'd already grown past a lot of the things by the time I started working on my therapy in February. It takes a lot of work to slowly dig that out. And I've been doing this while I'm on the road. Some of this stuff is coming out at four in the afternoon, when you don't expect it.

Show time!


(Laughs) Yeah! Show time, the show must go on. But ... I love women. I remember the last time in ROLLING STONE, saying that I liked seeing two women together, and there were letters from lesbian organizations saying, "How disgusting." I can be as disgusting as the next person, but it wasn't meant to be disgusting. I think women are beautiful. I don't like to see people used. If I'm looking at a men's magazine and I just look at the surface, I might be able to enjoy it. But if I know that this person is really messed up and that person's messed up and they're being used by the person who set up the photo session, then it'll turn my stomach.

Do you want to talk about your childhood in a little more detail?


Sure.


What's your earliest memory?


My earliest conscious memory was of a feeling that I'd been here before and that I had a toy gun in my hand. I knew it was a toy gun, and I didn't know how I knew. That was my first memory. But I've done regression therapy all the way back, just about to the point of conception. I kind of know what was going on then.

Can you talk about what you've learned?


Just that ... my mom's pregnancy wasn't a welcome thing. My mom got a lot of problems out of it, and I was aware of those problems. That would tend to make you real ****ing insecure about how the world felt about your ass. My real father was a pretty ****ed-up individual. I didn't care too much for him when I was born. I didn't like the way he treated my mother. I didn't like the way he treated me before I was born. So when I came out, I was just wishing the mother****er was dead.

Talking about being conscious of things that happened before you were born might throw a few people.


I don't really care, because that's regression therapy, and if they've got a problem with it, they can go **** themselves. It's major, and it's legit, and it all fits together in my life. Everything is stored in your mind. And part of you is aware from very early on and is storing information and reacting. Every time I realize I have a problem with something, and I can finally admit it to myself, then we go, "Okay, now what were the earliest stages?" and we start going back through it.

What have you figured out?


I blacked out most of my childhood. I used to have severe nightmares when I was a child. We had bunk beds, and I'd roll out and put my teeth right through my bottom lip -- I'd be having some violent nightmare in my bed. I had these for years.

Do you remember what the nightmares were about?


No, I only remember one dream. I dreamt I was a horse. You ever see those movies of wild mustangs running and how heavy that looks? I dreamt about that. I dreamt I was caught and then put in the movies. And in some really stupid movies. And it was totally against my will, and I could not handle it, and I freaked. I didn't understand the dream. Back then, I was like "I was a horse, they tried to put me in the movies!" You know, all I could think of at the time was Mr. Ed or Francis. But I always remembered that dream, and now I understand it real well. I didn't know what my nightmares were about. My parents had always said something really tragic and dark and ugly happened. They wouldn't say what happened--they always just freaked out whenever anything was mentioned about my real father. I wasn't told I had a real father until I was seventeen. My real father was my stepdad, as far as I knew. But I found some insurance papers, and then I found my mom's diploma, with the last name Rose. So I was never born Bill Bailey. I was born William Rose. I am W. Rose because William was an asshole.

Your mother married your biological father when she was in high school?


Yeah. My mom's eyes actually turn black whenever it's brought up how terrible this person was. And what I found out in therapy is, my mother and him weren't getting along. And he kidnapped me, because someone wasn't watching me. I remember a needle. I remember getting a shot. And I remember being sexually abused by this man and watching something horrible happen to my mother when she came to ge me. I don't know all the details. But I've had the physical reactions of that happening to me. I've had problems in my legs and stuff from muscles being damaged then. And I buried it and was a man somehow, 'cause the only way to deal with it was bury the ****. I buried it then to survive -- I never accepted it. I got a lot of violent, abusive thoughts toward women out of watching my mom with this man. I was two years old, very impressionable, and saw this. I figured that's how you treat a woman. And I basically put thoughts together about how sex is power and sex leaves you powerless, and picked up a lot of distorted views that I've had to live my life with. No matter what I was trying to be, there was this other thing telling me how it was, because of what I'd seen. Homophobic? I think I've got a problem, if my dad ****ed me in the ass when I was two. I think I've got a problem about it.

Yeah, I would imagine so. What happened later?


After I was two, my mom remarried, and I was really upset by that. I thought I was the man in her life or something, because she got away from this man and now she was with me. You know, you're a baby.

She was yours.


Yeah. And then she married someone else, and that bothered me. And this person basically tried to control me and discipline me because of the problems he'd had in his childhood. And then my mom had a daughter. And my stepfather molested her for about twenty years. And beat us. Beat me consistently. I thought these things were normal. I didn't know my sister was molested until last year. We've been working on putting our lives together ever since and supporting each other. Now my sister works with me. She's very happy, and it's so nice to see her happy and that we get along. My dad tried to keep us at odds. And he was very successful at some points in our lives.

Where is your real father?


His brother called me right around the Stones shows, and I had my brother talk to him. I didn't talk to him, 'cause I needed to keep that separation. I haven't heard from him since. But I confronted my mom, and she finally talked to me a bit about it, and they told me that he was dead. It looks pretty much to be true that he is. He was pretty much headed for that anyway. A very unsavory character. I've had a problem with not wanting to be him. I had to be macho. I couldn't allow myself to be a real man, because men were evil, and I didn't want to be like my father. Around the Stones shows, some paper in L.A. wrote this piece about how "The truth will come out about Axl's anger," and they were making it look like I was trying to hide something. I wasn't trying to hide it. I didn't know what had happened to me. I wouldn't allow myself to know. I wouldn't have been able to handle it.

How do you deal with knowing now?


It's not about going, "Well, I can handle it, I'm a man." And it's not about going, "Well, I forgive them now." You have to reexperience it and mourn what happened to you and grieve for yourself and nurture yourself and put yourself all back together. And it's a very strange, long chain. Because you find out your mother and father had their problems, and their mother and father had problems, and it goes back through the ages.

How do you stop the cycle?


I don't know. It's finding some way to break the chain. I'm trying to fix myself and turn around and help others. You can't really save anyone. You can support them, but they have to save themselves. You know, you can live your life the way you have and just accept it, or you can try to change it. My life still has its extremes and ups and downs, but it is a lot better because of this work. I'm very interested in getting involved with child-abuse organizations. There's different methods of working with children, and I want to support the ones that I believe in.

Have you talked to anyone yet?


I've gone to one child-abuse center. When I went, the woman said that there was a little boy who wasn't able to accept things that had happened to him and to deal with it, no matter how many children were around him who'd had the same problems. And apparently he saw something about me and childhood problems, and he said, "Well, Axl had problems, and he's doing okay." He started opening up, and he's doing all right. And that's more important to me than Guns n' Roses, more important to me than anything I've done so far. Because I can relate to that more than anything. I've had such hatred for my father, for women, for ...
Yourself?
Yeah. Myself. And it's just made me crazy. I'm working on getting past those things, and the world doesn't seem to be too tolerant of me doing that in public. It's like "Oh, you got a problem? You go away and take care of it." All these relatives knew little pieces of this puzzle, and nobody helped me with ****. I'm angry about that. I can't sit and think about Uncle So-and-So and enjoy it much. And if you're talking with any of these people, they try to get you to just tolerate it and take things back to the way they were: "Let's not get it public." My family did everything they could, thinking they were doing what was right, to bury it all. My stepfather was just adamant that he was going to protect Mom and himself: "Your real father does not get brought up." And he was also trying to cover his own tracks for what he did.

Why are you talking about this publicly


One reason is for safety's sake. My stepfather is one of the most dangerous human beings I've ever met. It's very important that he's not in my life anymore or in my sister's. We may be able to forgive, but we can't allow it to happen again. There's a lot of reasons for me to talk about it publicly. Everybody wants to know "Why is Axl so ****ed up?" and where those things are coming from. There's a really good chance that by going public I'm gonna get attacked. They'll think I'm jumping on a bandwagon. But then it's just gonna be obvious who's an asshole and who's not. There are probably people that are jumping on a bandwagon. But I think it's time. Things are changing, and things are coming out.

It's only been in the last few years that people have really been talking about what constitutes abuse. I'm not talking about molestation but emotional abuse.


All parents are going to abuse their children in some way. You can't be perfect. But you can help your child heal, if he's able to talk to you. Then he can say, "You know, when I was five, I saw this." I wear a shirt onstage sometimes that says, TELL YOUR KIDS THE TRUTH. People don't really know what that's about. Up until early this year, I was denied what happened to me, who I was, where I came from. I was denied my own existence, and I've been fighting for it ever since. Not that myself is the greatest thing on earth. But you have a right to fight for yourself.

If you don't have a sense of your own identity, everything's going to seem like a losing battle.


My growth was stopped at two years old. And when they talk about Axl Rose being a screaming two-year-old, they're right. There's a screaming two-year-old who's real pissed off and hides and won't show himself that often, even to me. Because I couldn't protect him. And the world didn't protect him. And women didn't protect him and basically thought he should be put out of existence. A lot of people out there think so now. It's a real strange thing to deal with on a consistent basis. I'm around a three-year-old baby now and then, and sometimes after a few days it's just too overwhelming for me. My head is spinning because of the changes it's putting me through.

You mean Stephanie's son?


Yeah. Stephanie (Seymour, Rose's girlfriend) has been very supportive in helping me deal with all this. People write all kinds of things about our relationship, but the most important thing in our relationship is that we maintain our friendship. The romance is a plus. We want to maintain our friendship and be really protective of how our relationship affects Dylan. Dylan gets priority over us, because he could be greatly damaged, and I don't want that to happen.

You were talking about Dylan last night.


Oh, man, they jump off things and stuff. It scares me. It's like they could break at any time. It scares the **** out of me. I've been with Dylan and he'll be upset about something, and I'm trying to help him, and he gets mad at me, and I've been offended. I've thought, "The only way I can deal with this is 'Okay, he's just being a jerk right now.' " But it was pointed out to me that he's not being a jerk, he doesn't know. What he needs is love. I thought about it, and I was like "Yeah, because I was told that, too." About my music, which is pure expression and honest emotion and feeling. I mean, I'll be singing something and know "Man, they're not gonna like this" and "This isn't right." But it's how I feel. The way I've been attacked has been strange. The press has actually helped me get my head more together. You know, my stepfather helped me, too. I learned a lot of things. That doesn't mean he wasn't also being an asshole. It's not quite fair to bring a two-year-old into the realities of who's an asshole and who's not. There's a part of me that's still two and getting a little better every day.

That would explain a lot.


One thing I want to say is, these aren't excuses. I'm not trying to get out of something. The bottom line is, each person is responsible for what they say and what they do. And I'm responsible for everything I've said and everything I've done, whether I want to be or not. So these aren't excuses. They're just facts, and they're things I'm dealing with. And if you've got a real problem with it, don't come to the show. If you gotta be home at ****ing midnight, don't bother. Do yourself a favor. I'm not telling you to come -- I don't think that I'd want to. If you've got a problem with me trying to deal with my **** and doing the show the best I can, then just don't come, man. It's not a problem. Just stay the **** away. Because you're getting something out of it, but I'm also there for myself. I've got a lot of work to do. A lot of work to do. I've done about seven years' worth of therapy in a year, but it takes a lot of energy. And Guns n' Roses takes a lot of energy. It's a weird pressure to try to deal with both at the same time. And I'm gonna do it the best I can when I can and how I can. And I'm the judge of that--not anybody in the crowd.

How do you think all of this will affect your songwriting?
I really think that the next official Guns n' Roses record, or the next thing I do, at least, will take some dramatic turns that people didn't expect and show the growth. I don't want to be the twenty-three-year-old misfit that I was. I don't want to be that person.



Who do you want to be?
I guess I like who I am now. I'd like to have a little more internal peace. I'm sure everybody would.

[Cps235]

My ratings for my favorite album of all-time!!!!!!!!! Use Your Illusion II

1. Knockin' on Heaven's Door 20/10. One of the best covers I have ever heard in my life. Axl's voice captures the essence of the song. Emotionally, the songs digs deep into the soul.

2. Get In the Ring 20/10. Axl's at his best. Callin' the "media" out + maybe Motley Crue? lol. Pure genius! Seriously, one of my favorite songs of all-time. Why do you look at me when you hate me?

3. Estranged 20/10. EPIC!!!!!!! A classic GNR song! Definitely one of my favorites! I probably play this song more than once a day. Lyrically, a masterpiece. Slash shines with his guitar solos on this song!

4. Don't Cry (Alternate Lyrics) 20/10. Amazing! Times that you took in stride/They're back in demand/I was the one who's washing/Blood off your hands. Beautiful, Haunting Lyrics! One of their best. Gosh, Nicole is making me fall in love with this song more and more each day, haha

5. You Could Be Mine 20/10. The Terminator 2???? Izzy + Axl wrote a classic GNR song! Lyrically one of the best. A fun + rockin' song!

6. Civil War 20/10. One of my absolute favorites. I don't need your civil war/It feeds the rich while it buries the poor. Lyrically, Axl is a genius!

7. Yesterdays 20/10. Amazing! Very underrated IMO. This song has helped me through a lot! Yesterday, there was so many things
I was never told/Now that I'm starting to learn/I feel I'm growing old.

8. 14 Years 20/10. Izzy is surprisingly a great singer! One of my favs. Addictive + Catchy. That's saying a lot since Axl took the back seat on this one. Haha ;p

9. Breakdown 20/10. Beautiful! This song is clearly about depression! Lyrically, Axl wrote a compelling song that captivates me in so many ways! Truly one of the best. Slash does a great job with his solos as well! Amazing!Amazing!Amazing!

10. Pretty Tied Up 20/10. This song is dedicated to bondage lol. Nevertheless, an amazing song! I cannot help but laugh sometimes! The lyrics are amazing!

11. So Fine 20/10. Amazing!

12. Locomotive 20/10. Super catchy!

13. Shotgun Blues 20/10. Amazing!

14. My World 5/10. (My least favorite on the album) I guess Axl was trying to be funny lol.

Overall, one of my favorite albums! I will never get tired of listening to it! Have you notice most of the songs are 20 out of 10. I love this album that much! The songs on here are beyond incredible

[allamericangirl8]

I love how KOHD and Get in the Ring were totally, like, at the bottom of my list, and Pretty Tied Up, Breakdown, and Locomotive were near the top, and here, your list is reversed. If it weren't for Estranged and Shotgun Blues, shucks, I'd think your list was upside-down. xD

Don't Cry (alt) is freaking AMAZING. Glad to see you're enjoying it, too. I like the meter better, the lyrics better, and damn, that last verse. I think it's more fitting. And Axl himself said he preferred it even though he sang the other one more often.

UYI2 really is a fantastic album, though. It's got some clunkers, but its highs are way higher than any of the other albums, and perhaps any album ever.

[Cps235]

I love how KOHD and Get in the Ring were totally, like, at the bottom of my list, and Pretty Tied Up, Breakdown, and Locomotive were near the top, and here, your list is reversed. If it weren't for Estranged and Shotgun Blues, shucks, I'd think your list was upside-down. xD

Don't Cry (alt) is freaking AMAZING. Glad to see you're enjoying it, too. I like the meter better, the lyrics better, and damn, that last verse. I think it's more fitting. And Axl himself said he preferred it even though he sang the other one more often.

UYI2 really is a fantastic album, though. It's got some clunkers, but its highs are way higher than any of the other albums, and perhaps any album ever.

I completely agree. xD. Yeah, the highs overshadows the lows but still a phenomenal album! I prefer this album more than UYI I.

It's funny too because even though we are complete die hard fans of GNR, we have our own liking to different songs more than the other. I find it really cool + intriguing!!!!

[allamericangirl8]

Indeed. It's because they have such a diverse catalog. I mean, there are just so many different types of songs. And there's so much going on in every song. I mean, you'll never hear another song in the world like Madagascar, for instance.

My favorite Axl speech, bar none: