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Thread started 05/19/10 12:22pm

Identity

Axl Rose Claims Chinese Democracy Was Sabotaged



May 19, 2010


Axl Rose has filed a $5 million lawsuit against his former manager, Irving Azoff, saying that he sabotaged sales of Guns N’ Roses’ comeback album and lied about a potential “super tour” with Van Halen (which Mr. Azoff manages) as part of a plan to force Mr. Rose to reunite with his estranged former band members.

Mr. Rose, the lead singer and only remaining original member of Guns N’ Roses, says in his suit that Mr. Azoff failed to promote his 2008 album, “Chinese Democracy,” and deliberately mishandled concert dates, “forcing Rose into a position where he would have no choice but to reunite with the original members of Guns N’ Roses for a reunion tour.”

It is a response to another lawsuit filed in March by Mr. Azoff – who in addition to being a leading artist manager is also the executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment — which said that Mr. Rose owed him $1.9 million in unpaid management fees. Mr. Azoff became Mr. Rose’s manager in early 2008, and “Chinese Democracy” was released in November through an exclusive retail deal with Best Buy.

Mr. Rose also accuses Mr. Azoff of name-calling. “Out of spite and vindictiveness to cause Rose emotional distress and harm,” his suit says, the lawsuit Mr. Azoff filed in March uses Mr. Rose’s adopted name, William Bailey, instead of his legal name, W. Axl Rose. “Azoff knew that the name William Bailey carries significant emotional damage.”

When asked to comment on Mr. Rose’s suit, Mr. Azoff said in a statement on Tuesday: “On advice of counsel I cannot respond at this time, but will discuss in my upcoming book, ‘My Life With William Bill Bailey.’”


http://artsbeat.blogs.nyt...on/?src=mv
[Edited 5/19/10 12:23pm]
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Reply #1 posted 05/19/10 12:41pm

unique

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so that's who wrote the shitty songs and made them sound shitty on the album, so no-one bought it? bastard
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Reply #2 posted 05/19/10 2:10pm

ernestsewell

Hey Axl, your album SUCKS.
Your attitude SUCKS.
Your face lift SUCKS.
Your lack of humanity with former band members SUCKS.
Your cornrows SUCK.
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Reply #3 posted 05/19/10 2:12pm

Timmy84

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Reply #4 posted 05/19/10 2:38pm

zaza

ernestsewell said:

Hey Axl, your album SUCKS.
Your attitude SUCKS.
Your face lift SUCKS.
Your lack of humanity with former band members SUCKS.
Your cornrows SUCK.

He's a dick for sure, but that album is much more better and INTERESTING than Slash's solo album.
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Reply #5 posted 05/19/10 3:00pm

ReddishBrownOn
e

Identity said:



May 19, 2010


Axl Rose has filed a $5 million lawsuit against his former manager, Irving Azoff, saying that he sabotaged sales of Guns N’ Roses’ comeback album and lied about a potential “super tour” with Van Halen (which Mr. Azoff manages) as part of a plan to force Mr. Rose to reunite with his estranged former band members.

Mr. Rose, the lead singer and only remaining original member of Guns N’ Roses, says in his suit that Mr. Azoff failed to promote his 2008 album, “Chinese Democracy,” and deliberately mishandled concert dates, “forcing Rose into a position where he would have no choice but to reunite with the original members of Guns N’ Roses for a reunion tour.”

It is a response to another lawsuit filed in March by Mr. Azoff – who in addition to being a leading artist manager is also the executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment — which said that Mr. Rose owed him $1.9 million in unpaid management fees. Mr. Azoff became Mr. Rose’s manager in early 2008, and “Chinese Democracy” was released in November through an exclusive retail deal with Best Buy.

Mr. Rose also accuses Mr. Azoff of name-calling. “Out of spite and vindictiveness to cause Rose emotional distress and harm,” his suit says, the lawsuit Mr. Azoff filed in March uses Mr. Rose’s adopted name, William Bailey, instead of his legal name, W. Axl Rose. “Azoff knew that the name William Bailey carries significant emotional damage.”

When asked to comment on Mr. Rose’s suit, Mr. Azoff said in a statement on Tuesday: “On advice of counsel I cannot respond at this time, but will discuss in my upcoming book, ‘My Life With William Bill Bailey.’”


http://artsbeat.blogs.nyt...on/?src=mv
[Edited 5/19/10 12:23pm]


Bit paranoid, aren't we Bill?


Anyone else think that Axl looks like the bastard ofspring of Mick Hucknall and Stevie Wonder in that pic?
It's been too long since you've had your ass kicked properly:


http://www.facebook.com/p...9196044697

My band - listen and 'like' us, if you please
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Reply #6 posted 05/19/10 3:10pm

Timmy84

ReddishBrownOne said:

Identity said:



May 19, 2010


Axl Rose has filed a $5 million lawsuit against his former manager, Irving Azoff, saying that he sabotaged sales of Guns N’ Roses’ comeback album and lied about a potential “super tour” with Van Halen (which Mr. Azoff manages) as part of a plan to force Mr. Rose to reunite with his estranged former band members.

Mr. Rose, the lead singer and only remaining original member of Guns N’ Roses, says in his suit that Mr. Azoff failed to promote his 2008 album, “Chinese Democracy,” and deliberately mishandled concert dates, “forcing Rose into a position where he would have no choice but to reunite with the original members of Guns N’ Roses for a reunion tour.”

It is a response to another lawsuit filed in March by Mr. Azoff – who in addition to being a leading artist manager is also the executive chairman of Live Nation Entertainment — which said that Mr. Rose owed him $1.9 million in unpaid management fees. Mr. Azoff became Mr. Rose’s manager in early 2008, and “Chinese Democracy” was released in November through an exclusive retail deal with Best Buy.

Mr. Rose also accuses Mr. Azoff of name-calling. “Out of spite and vindictiveness to cause Rose emotional distress and harm,” his suit says, the lawsuit Mr. Azoff filed in March uses Mr. Rose’s adopted name, William Bailey, instead of his legal name, W. Axl Rose. “Azoff knew that the name William Bailey carries significant emotional damage.”

When asked to comment on Mr. Rose’s suit, Mr. Azoff said in a statement on Tuesday: “On advice of counsel I cannot respond at this time, but will discuss in my upcoming book, ‘My Life With William Bill Bailey.’”


http://artsbeat.blogs.nyt...on/?src=mv
[Edited 5/19/10 12:23pm]


Bit paranoid, aren't we Bill?


Anyone else think that Axl looks like the bastard ofspring of Mick Hucknall and Stevie Wonder in that pic?


spit He does! lol
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Reply #7 posted 05/19/10 3:12pm

zaza

Timmy84 said:

ReddishBrownOne said:



Bit paranoid, aren't we Bill?


Anyone else think that Axl looks like the bastard ofspring of Mick Hucknall and Stevie Wonder in that pic?


spit He does! lol

lol
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Reply #8 posted 05/19/10 4:10pm

rmartin70

I thought the album was great. It definately should have sold more copies than it did. Axl may not be the most level headed guy, but he is one of the best rock and roll singers I have ever seen.
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Reply #9 posted 05/19/10 4:10pm

lastdecember

avatar

Well once again the points are missed.

1. this album was doomed anyway, its been out for a decade already, did anyone see how many copies the "black album" sold when it came out on WB in 1995, it didnt even go copper, let alone gold.

2. Guns N Roses are done, im tired of hearing about this fucking band that had 2 strong albums and then OK albums the rest of the way, case fucking closed on them.

3.This album was put out at Xmas time, WTF?? just what i want under the tree, axl fucking rose, hes not exactly the gift giving idea, so again stupid plans.

4. Irving Azoff is a fucking weasel and this is not the first time nor last that shit is coming out on him, he's got more "faces" than fake ass backstabbing phony motherfucker Benny Medina, the two should start a group called "weasels".

"We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F
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Reply #10 posted 05/19/10 7:02pm

elmer

lastdecember said:

Well once again the points are missed.

1. this album was doomed anyway, its been out for a decade already, did anyone see how many copies the "black album" sold when it came out on WB in 1995, it didnt even go copper, let alone gold.

2. Guns N Roses are done, im tired of hearing about this fucking band that had 2 strong albums and then OK albums the rest of the way, case fucking closed on them.

3.This album was put out at Xmas time, WTF?? just what i want under the tree, axl fucking rose, hes not exactly the gift giving idea, so again stupid plans.



Only 4,5 or so songs leaked around 2003, the best ones at that.

What do you expect? they were commercially the biggest rock act of the early 90's and still enough of a cash cow to preclude any closed book on them. Chinese Democracy was still a decent record despite the overcooked production, had a better marketing plan been in place, even a single and video, it would have shifted more copies.
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Reply #11 posted 05/19/10 10:00pm

shipoffools

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Axl and Guns 'N Roses is the most overrated acts I've ever heard. I mean, what's so great about them?

I bought Chinese Democracy, and honestly couldn't see what the big deal was. It certainly wasn't an album worth 15+ years worth of recording.

Axl needs to take lessons from a band called Modern English. They just released their first album in 14 years, and it's honestly one of their best/strongest. Either that, or he needs to get a new hair stylist.
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Reply #12 posted 05/19/10 10:19pm

Cerebus

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Yeah, but Axl has been certifiably nuckin' futs since like, 1997. So, whatever. I wish he would have just stayed away. Chinese Democracy is the biggest anti-climax in the history of music. Just, thud.
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Reply #13 posted 05/20/10 4:01pm

lastdecember

avatar

Cerebus said:

Yeah, but Axl has been certifiably nuckin' futs since like, 1997. So, whatever. I wish he would have just stayed away. Chinese Democracy is the biggest anti-climax in the history of music. Just, thud.


Very much like Prince's "Black album" all this hype of masterpiece and it was just a record like any other, the best thing for both would have been to never have been put out, Prince's "Black Album" sounded so dated in 1995 i wondered how i ever liked the thing to begin with, one of his worst efforts

"We went where our music was appreciated, and that was everywhere but the USA, we knew we had fans, but there is only so much of the world you can play at once" Magne F
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Reply #14 posted 05/20/10 4:39pm

elmer

CD's far better than the Black album.

This is an amazing performance of the nihilistic Perfect Crime shortly before they became bona fide caricatures of themselves without any sense of irony.


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Reply #15 posted 05/20/10 6:13pm

Cerebus

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Damn. They were SO good right up through the tours for the Use Your Illusion albums. Then, I don't know. Maybe Axl was possessed by the spirit of Manson when they covered one of his tunes on Spaghetti Incident. He's been a complete douchenut (new word, douchenut) ever since.

Hey, how did you embed the video. I tried the other day and totally failed. It used to be easy, but new YouTube is confusing me. Stoopud Fox.
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Reply #16 posted 05/20/10 6:41pm

elmer

That was from the first leg of the US tour, they played cool songs like Right Next Door to Hell and Don't Damn Me in those shows, but once they got to europe it was a predictable setlist of the singles augmented with the 'Axl rant' which he's plying to this day.


hit quote
[Edited 5/20/10 18:42pm]
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Reply #17 posted 05/20/10 7:15pm

JesusFreak

avatar

ernestsewell said:

Hey Axl, your album SUCKS.
Your attitude SUCKS.
Your face lift SUCKS.
Your lack of humanity with former band members SUCKS.
Your cornrows SUCK.

For the record, he got rid of the cornrows. Thank heavens.
Too bad he didn't get rid of the attitude and resentment.

unique said:

so that's who wrote the shitty songs and made them sound shitty on the album, so no-one bought it? bastard

to me this all looks like a mega excuse on Axl's part.. just blame it on Azoff!
[Edited 5/20/10 19:17pm]
"Not to sound cosmic, but I've made plans for the next 3,000 years," he says. "Before, it was only three days at a time."
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Reply #18 posted 05/20/10 7:20pm

xlr8r

avatar

lastdecember said:

Cerebus said:

Yeah, but Axl has been certifiably nuckin' futs since like, 1997. So, whatever. I wish he would have just stayed away. Chinese Democracy is the biggest anti-climax in the history of music. Just, thud.


Very much like Prince's "Black album" all this hype of masterpiece and it was just a record like any other, the best thing for both would have been to never have been put out, Prince's "Black Album" sounded so dated in 1995 i wondered how i ever liked the thing to begin with, one of his worst efforts

Prince didn't spend 15 years making it though lol.
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Reply #19 posted 05/20/10 7:20pm

elmer

Ahh, Tall Poppy Syndrome at play in non-U2 thread.
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Reply #20 posted 05/20/10 7:21pm

JesusFreak

avatar

zaza said:

ernestsewell said:

Hey Axl, your album SUCKS.
Your attitude SUCKS.
Your face lift SUCKS.
Your lack of humanity with former band members SUCKS.
Your cornrows SUCK.

He's a dick for sure, but that album is much more better and INTERESTING than Slash's solo album.

Yeah what's more interesting than listening to an album that's been raped with autotune, 50 guitars, vocal layering, pro tools and synths? Underneath that mess I would like to believe are actual songs that hold credibility for I know Axl's a mad musician. Anyone who could write a song like Estranged has my support.. but he TOTALLY went off the deep end with CD. I now understand why Izzy, Duff, Steven, and Slash jumped ship... it's a miracle they were onboard for as long as they were. Everything I thought and believed GN'R stood for was destroyed thanks to him.

At least Slash stayed true to his roots and treats his fans well and for the love of God carries a positive attitude.
[Edited 5/20/10 19:26pm]
"Not to sound cosmic, but I've made plans for the next 3,000 years," he says. "Before, it was only three days at a time."
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Reply #21 posted 05/20/10 7:27pm

elmer

JesusFreak said:

zaza said:


He's a dick for sure, but that album is much more better and INTERESTING than Slash's solo album.

Yeah what's more interesting than listening to an album that's been raped with autotune, 50 guitars, vocal layering, pro tools and synths? Underneath that mess I would like to believe are actual songs that hold credibility for I know Axl's a mad musician. Anyone who could write a song like Estranged has my support.. but he TOTALLY went off the depend with CD. Everything I thought and believed GN'R stood for was destroyed thanks to him.
At least Slash stayed true to his roots and treats his fans well and for the love of God carries a positive attitude.
[Edited 5/20/10 19:23pm]

Give over....there's no autotune on CD and the Slash album smacks of desperation what with some of the singers who appear on it.
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Reply #22 posted 05/20/10 7:30pm

NoVideo

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I thought Chinese Democracy was a snoozefest personally. I agree Appetite for Destruction and the Use Your Illusion albums are among the best rock records of the last 25 years. But they fell apart and none of them have amounted to anything since.

The one exception being their version of "Ain't it Fun" on The Spaghetti Incident which is really excellent.
* * *

Prince's Classic Finally Expanded
The Deluxe 'Purple Rain' Reissue

http://www.popmatters.com...n-reissue/
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Reply #23 posted 05/20/10 7:52pm

xlr8r

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CD is a great album.
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Reply #24 posted 05/20/10 7:55pm

lilgish

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lastdecember said:

Well once again the points are missed.

1. this album was doomed anyway, its been out for a decade already, did anyone see how many copies the "black album" sold when it came out on WB in 1995, it didnt even go copper, let alone gold.



Yeah, the demos and the live stuff sounded better than the album. The production sucked, but the songs were great.
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Reply #25 posted 05/20/10 8:24pm

PurpleJedi

avatar

lastdecember said:

Cerebus said:

Yeah, but Axl has been certifiably nuckin' futs since like, 1997. So, whatever. I wish he would have just stayed away. Chinese Democracy is the biggest anti-climax in the history of music. Just, thud.


Very much like Prince's "Black album" all this hype of masterpiece and it was just a record like any other, the best thing for both would have been to never have been put out, Prince's "Black Album" sounded so dated in 1995 i wondered how i ever liked the thing to begin with, one of his worst efforts


omfg

The Black album was the shit. Gimme a break. If it had been released in '88 then his career would've kept going strong and it's safe to surmise that music as a whole may have shifted in a different direction (OK, a little bit of exaggeration there...the 18yo fanboy in me just leapt out of my skin)...anyway you can't compare the two. Prince created Black in a short span of time, & hid it away while he sabotaged his legacy with Batdance & Graffiti Bridge, then it gets released to minimal fanfare almost a decade later. No one was expecting Black to top the charts.

Chinese Democracy is one of the most expensive albums ever made and is not even a G-&-R album (It's like if Prince right now re-named his band the Revolution and put out an album under "Prince & The Revolution" without Wendy, Lisa, Z, etc.).
By St. Boogar and all the saints at the backside door of Purgatory!
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Reply #26 posted 05/20/10 9:18pm

Cerebus

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Quite a few people heard the Black Album long before 1994. In fact, a lot of people heard it when it was originally supposed to be released. Even then I don't think it's 1/10 as interesting as Sign O The Times, Lovesexy, or even Batman. OK... maybe it's as good as Batman. lol But it doesn't compare to the other two!

GnR's Lies is also great. For me, everything they did up to the release of Use Your Illusions was flawless. After the release of the the Illusions things started to get weird. Like the giant out of control videos with Axl jumping off ships n' stuff. lol

Chinese Democracy failed for me for several reasons. First, it just took too long. By the time it was released saying "Guns N Roses - Chinese Democracy" was like the punchline to a joke. Next, for an album that took over a decade to produce, it's just not very impressive. It far too slick and overproduced. The multi-tracking on some of the songs is so deep that I bet you there's parts in there the producers and musicians don't even know about anymore. Also, it just doesn't sound like GnR. It's this weird old rock, nu-metal, industrial hybrid and it just didn't work for me. Lastly, it's not a band. So many people were in and then out of the studio during the time it was created that it should have been called something other than GnR. I'd almost respect him more if he'd released it under is own name... with a different title. lol Like, "Axl Rose - This Took Forever, But I Swear I'm Really Not An Egomaniacal Douchenut"
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Reply #27 posted 05/20/10 10:18pm

VinnyM27

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I won't even listen to the slamming of "The Black Album". I found "Chinese Democracy" fine, but certainly not great. It was certainly full of itself. I find it amazing that Axl only blames....the manager for it not doing well. I mean....where the hell was he?
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Reply #28 posted 05/20/10 10:23pm

Cinnie

confuse But I know someone who saw "Guns 'N Roses" in concert, which was really Axl 'N Friends, in 2009.
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Reply #29 posted 05/20/10 10:24pm

Cinnie

Cinnie said:

confuse But I know someone who saw "Guns 'N Roses" in concert, which was really Axl 'N Friends, in 2009.


And all they said was that no one knew or cared about the new songs bheart
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