Today, Axl Rose, the king of wailing, bandanna-wearing hard rock, turns 50 years old. It’s been an eventful five decades for Rose, who’s busted up more cars, relationships, and video shoots than most of us will ever see. We’re resisting the urge to pile on the Guns N’ Roses frontman, who has recently taken a beating in the media for everything from his bizarre statements to his appearance, in favor of celebrating with a list of little known Axl trivia, from his crucifix collection to his favorite books. Rock on.
In case you weren’t aware, Friday was National Metal Day, and what a day it was. Black Sabbath announced (after much teasing) that they would be reuniting to headline the Download Festival with Metallica, followed by a worldwide tour. Next, VH1 Classic’s That Metal Show conducted an extensive interview with Guns ‘N Roses frontman and all-around legend Axl Rose — his first interview of any kind in 5 years, and his first televised one in over a decade. We’ve been worried about Axl for a while now, but he sounds much more lucid than we had imagined he might. Click through to watch as he talks about his pre-tour rituals, starting shows late (we heard he was 15 hours late even to this interview), violent fans, and trying to put the Challenger explosion on an album cover, among other things. Read More »
There’s something to be said about dying young and leaving a pretty corpse. While we certainly wouldn’t wish that fate upon anyone, there are some people whose legacies would be a lot better off if they did heed the cliched rock and roll slogan. Take, for example Axl Rose in the following video. We’ve heard karaoke singers that sound more like the real Axl Rose. Between being out of key and completely out of breath, this might be the worst version of “Welcome to the Jungle” that we’ve ever heard. Even the botched guitar solo sounds better than this empty husk of the snake-dancing man of lore. By the time the audio cuts out halfway through the video, you’re actually thankful there is no more risk your ears will start to bleed.
If you are a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jimmy Fallon, David Bowie, or Axl Rose — and even, maybe, if you’re not — get ready for the video that will make your day. It turns out that Gordon-Levitt, who was a guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon yesterday, is a personal friend of the host, and the last time they got together, the guys did some karaoke. Because the experience was too wonderful not to share with the world, they re-enacted it for all of America to watch. First, Fallon performed Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” in the voice of a Let’s Dance-era David Bowie. (In our opinion, it was a real improvement over the original.) Gordon-Levitt responded by showing us what it might look like if Axl Rose covered Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” And finally… no, we’re not going to spoil it. Just watch the video.
1. Facebook head of public policy Tim Sparapani says that the company will roll out new “simplistic” privacy options for its users in the coming weeks. You know, so now we can all feel stupid and violated. [via Wired]
2. So this is how he’d rather spend his time: Flight of the Conchords star Jemaine Clement will play Yaz, the villain in Men in Black III. (If you’ll remember, Jemaine and Bret turned down HBO’s offer of a third season.) [via Deadline]
3. Axl Rose is suing his former manager Irving Azoff for $5 million, claiming that he sabotaged the release of Guns N’ Roses long-awaited Chinese Democracy album and lied about a potential tour with Van Halen. [via ArtsBeat]
4. Get a first look at The Future, Miranda July‘s first film project since 2005′s Me and You and Everyone We Know. [via The Playlist]
5. Ryan Adams has dropped his “sci-fi metal concept album” ORION early; pick up one of the “extremely limited copies” here. [via 24Bit]
In the late 1950s, the Ford Motor Company introduced the Edsel, a car that failed so spectacularly it became synonymous with a corporate cluelessness. For two decades, the Edsel reigned as one of the most boneheaded blunders in all of automotive manufacturing. But in the mid-80s, the Edsel was usurped by an even more disastrous debut: the Yugo. It was an ugly car made cheaply in a communist country. What could possibly go wrong?
Nearly everything. From sub-par craftsmanship and disastrous safety ratings to gross corporate mismanagement and Cold War distrust, the Yugo is remembered best today not for its brief success but for its dismal failure. But if the Yugo was a lemon, Jason Vuic’s surprising page-turner is the lemonade: even though we know how it’s going to end (watch out for the iceberg, Yugo!), we’re held rapt by Vuic’s careful reconstruction of the peculiar history of a terrible idea.
Ulrich Schauss is having the best day ever. Vulture reports that Guns N’ Roses is being sued by the German electronic artist after they illegally sampled two of his songs on a track called “Riad N’ the Bedouins” from Chinese Democracy. Vulture has posted all three songs for you to listen to, making Schnauss’ claim rather hard to debate. Read More »
“Why keep the name? I’m literally the last man standing. Not bragging, not proud. It’s been a f*cking nightmare but I didn’t leave Guns and I didn’t drive others out. With Slash it’s been nothing more than pure strategy and saving face while manipulating the public like he used to me. I earned the right to protect my efforts and to be able to take advantage of our contract I’d worked hard for where Slash’s exact words were that he didn’t care. I get that some like a different version or lineup the same way some like a specific team line up or a particular year of a specific car but because you and I are getting played I’m supposed to throw the baby out with the bath water?”
Posting as “Dexter” on a Guns ‘N Roses message board, Axl Rose rambles off almost 4,600 words (and several odd emoticons) in response to fans’ questions about more than a decade’s worth of rumors.
It’s been quite a few weeks for the world of pop culture smackdowns and the bloggers who love them — maybe it’s a reaction to all of that post-Election earnestness that was in the air. From the irrelevant (Sean Avery versus Elisha Cuthbert?) to the grandiose (are there bigger egos out there than Kanye West and Stephen Colbert?) news of cultural battles has been pouring in faster than 20-somethings to sneak peek screening Twilight.
In case you missed them, after the jump we break down the three biggest brawls from high to low culture, and place bets on our favorite players. Hint: one of them isn’t a person but rather a carbonated beverage.
