What set Guns N' Roses apart?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Uly Gynns, Dec 9, 2015.

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  1. Stephen J

    Stephen J Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Appetite for Destruction. It was because when you added up the amazingly catchy songs, songs that had perfect pop appeal but sounded "organic" not studio light-weight pre-fab rock manufactured by Desmond Child or Mutt Lange, and the nasty 70s Aerosmith image at time when glam rock blow dried aqua-net dominated, well, they were the closest thing to an American Led Zeppelin (i.e., the Holy Grail) that we've ever produced.

    That's really what sent a shudder down the spines of American rock fans in 1988 - that even moreso than Aerosmith from 1973-1977, AC/DC in 1980 or Van Halen from 1978-1984, "Appetite" sounded good enough to think that there really was a possible second-coming of Zeppelin in terms of overall God-Like Rock Awesomeness.

    And it has stood up. I don't know if Appetite is the GOAT rock record. But I do know (IMO of course) it's the "Greatest Since" -no record released after it has been as good.
     
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  2. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I have the same exact experience. I think it's down to if you like well-produced music or if you prefer it raw. Nirvana were a lot more raw and primal than PJ, except for the mixing on Nevermind. The people I know who prefer PJ will listen to metal as long as the production is clean, but they won't listen to old punk or Stooges and similar music. It has to have a friendly sheen.
     
  3. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    Motorhead is a British band. Guns 'n Roses is the first American band to breakthrough with the anarchic spirit of The Sex Pistols.
     
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  4. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    The OP is the only person I've ever heard referencing Nirvana as a hipster band, too funny. Probably it's down to personal experience, like he tried to join the poetry club in college but was denied membership.
     
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  5. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Maybe since the Pistols, but the MC5, New York Dolls and Iggy & The Stooges were all there beforehand I'd guess.

    The Pistols had publicity, a degree of infamy and some killer headline grabbing tunes though which the others, who were all more underground with a cult fanbase didn't have. Plus they crested a movement at the right time.

    For me Bodies is the one. Brutal lyrics and a killer riff.
     
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  6. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    Too much credit to the Pistols
    America was never in thrall with Punk like the Euros
    [​IMG]
     
  7. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    The Sex Pistols invented punk with their anarchic spirit. That's what made The Sex Pistols groundbreaking. You can't have punk without anarchy. There isn't anything special enough about their music otherwise. GNR latched onto that anarchic spirit and laughed all the way to the bank.
     
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  8. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Sorry, punk was up and running ahead of the Pistols. They crested the wave for sure, but the movement had been going for some time.
     
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  9. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    No other band invoked anarchy like the Pistols, sorry.
     
  10. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Not talking about anarchy, we're talking about punk. Sorry.
     
  11. redsmith7887

    redsmith7887 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
    I don't know why or how they attained the popularity they did and can only speak about my personal experience. I was somewhat into metal in the early 80s - Raven, Venom, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Diamond Head - lots of the NWOBHM stuff and other noisy things. I guess it was around 85 or 86 that albums like Turbo, Theater of Pain, Ultimate Sin and a whole host of seemingly lightweight records by a number of other bands turned me off the scene pretty much completely (save for a couple old warhorses). Then I heard Welcome to the Jungle one afternoon it grabbed my attention. I bought the record and thought it rocked in a way those other guys failed to and had an edge that a number of other bands I used to dig had lost. It burned quickly for me though - I have the two Illusion records but have no time them now or then. I will stand behind the statement that AFD is one hell of a rock record. How and why they were everywhere? No idea - if I had the answer I'd get my own band on the road and recording.
     
  12. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    We can't talk about punk unless we're talking about anarchy.
     
  13. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    So much Punk was reactionary and humorously tongue in cheek, esp the Sex Pistols.
    The anarchy bit was prefab.
     
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  14. JimSpark

    JimSpark I haven't got a title

    I want to thank you for weaving the most creatively funny sentence I've ever read. :righton:

    :cheers:

    :edthumbs:
     
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  15. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    I think you'll find you can. The London punk scene had a whole host of people involved long before Never Mind The Bollocks came out. It was attitude, Anarchy was a badge, a fashion trend that looked cool and wasn't Pink Floyd, Genesis or Fleetwood Mac, albeit most of the 1977 punks I knew had a grudging acceptance publicly, and a secret stash of LPs privately, for said acts.

    Siouxsie, Vivienne Westwood, Cock Sparrer, Subway Sect and many many more lived and breathed long before the poster child turned up.

    You might think the Pistols equals punk, good luck with that. The reality is much deeper and over a far longer period before.
     
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  16. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    But the US had Never Mind The Bullocks. It's been referenced here dozens of times, must be one heck of a record.
     
  17. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    This is the part that interests me. GNR was able to survive grunge (although not themselves). When Nevermind hit, the rock world quickly realized who was "real" and who was "posers". GNR, Metallica and Aerosmith (although all 3 softened their sound) remained wildly popular, while the lightweights lost their record deals.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2015
  18. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    And they are great albums. What's your point?
     
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  19. Luke The Drifter

    Luke The Drifter Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I don't see the hate for UYI. I almost think it has become cool (not accusing you of this) to like Appetite and bag UYI.

    As with every double album, it would be much better as a single album. But those albums have incredible material on them.
     
  20. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    Agreed. It wasn't about anarchy as much as it was about iconoclasm.
     
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  21. segue

    segue Psychoacoustic Member

    Location:
    Hawai'i
    I did not know that. Thanks.
     
  22. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    I was there, we thought GNR, Metallica and Aerosmith were toast too. They just happened to hang around on life support for a bit longer, but Metallica and GNR were spent as creative forces & Aerosmith started making music for soccer moms.
     
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  23. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    Sure, but it didn't herald the start of punk. It's the punk album for sure, if you want something that defines a genre for instance, but it wasn't the first out the traps.

    If anything, punk was nearly done in 77. By 78, New Wave was the big rider in town.
     
  24. I was there as well and I don't recall anyone thinking Metallica and GnR were anywhere near toast, since neither band was part of the ubiquitous glam metal scene. I mean, Metallica came out of the thrash scene, which had some of the same audience as grunge, and GnR had already set themselves apart from the glam/hair bands they often got lumped in with. They ultimately took themselves out, but that's a different story.
     
  25. tkl7

    tkl7 Agent Provocateur

    Location:
    Lewis Center, OH
    Guns N Roses were most certainly part of the ubiquitous glam metal scene, since they were the standard bearers of said scene. Metallica had gained a lot of fans with the Black Album, but they lost quite a bit as well. Thrash had basically peaked in 89-1991 - by 1995, Metallica was full on post grunge.
     
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