#Appetite for Democracy
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longliverockback · 5 months ago
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Guns n’ Roses Appetite for Democracy 2014 Geffen ————————————————— Tracks: 01. Chinese Democracy 02. Welcome to the Jungle 03. It’s So Easy 04. Mr. Brownstone 05. Estranged 06. Rocket Queen 07. Live and Let Die 08. This I Love 09. Better 10. Motivation 11. Catcher in the Rye 12. Street of Dreams 13. You Could Be Mine 14. Sweet Child o’ Mine 15. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) 16. November Rain 17. Objectify 18. Don’t Cry 19. Civil War 20. The Seeker 21. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door 22. Nightrain 23. Used to Love Her 24. Patience 25. Paradise City Interviews 26. Dizzy Reed 27. Tommy Stinson 28. Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal 29. DJ Ashba —————————————————
Daren Jay Ashba
Frank Ferrer
Richard Fortus
Chris Pitman
Dizzy Reed
Axl Rose
Tommy Stinson
Ron Thal
* Long Live Rock Archive
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rocketqueen1989x · 2 months ago
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stop flirting axl 🙄
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oldsoulgunsnrosesgirl · 7 months ago
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Ok This Is Fr So Me I Love All These Albums So Much😭😍I love these men so much
instagram
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nerdwelt · 1 year ago
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Guns N' Roses veröffentlichen endlich neuen Song 'Vielleicht'
Guns N’ Roses haben endlich ihre lang erwartete und kürzlich verschobene Single ‘Perhaps’ veröffentlicht – hier könnt ihr reinhören. MEHR LESEN: Slash spricht über Glastonbury, Guns N’ Roses und den blutigen Horrorfilm ‘The Breach’ ‘Perhaps’ sollte angeblich letzte Woche veröffentlicht werden (11. August), wurde jedoch aus unbekannten Gründen verschoben. Vor der Verschiebung erschien kurzzeitig…
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View On WordPress
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animalb0y · 2 years ago
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My way, your way Anything Goes tonight!! 🎶
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a-god-in-ruins-rises · 13 days ago
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cleoselene · 10 months ago
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so many people are failing so hard at the most basic fundamental question of democracy that faces as voters in 2024:
fascism or nah?
democracy or nah?
authoritarianism or nah?
but the way some of you talk about Joe Biden it makes me think you wish that he was more authoritarian. I choose to believe people simply don't understand the legal separation of powers, I choose to believe it's a civics failure
but more and more I think there's just an appetite for authoritarianism. I think that's what draws people to Trump, actually. I think that's where you get dummy leftists saying "Why didn't Biden just sign an executive order to [insert thing that the courts would CERTAINLY immediately overturn here, like student loan cancellation, which is exactly what happened]?" and you're like "well, the courts" and they're "why didn't Biden just stack the courts" and you're like "well, the Senate" and they're like WHY DOESN'T HE STEAMROLL THE SENATE and it's like BECAUSE HE FUCKING CAN'T IT'S AGAINST THE LAW. And why isn't the senate better? because stupid fucks don't vote
people just want a benevolent dictatorship without realizing that such a thing has always been a fucking fantasy. a dictator is a dictator is a dictator.
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rocknrollflames · 1 month ago
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Day Twenty-two: Your Favorite Picture of Your Favorite Band
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30 Day Band Challenge
This was like pulling teeth. I am seriously behind on the 30 Day Band Challenge because I've been stuck on this one. I finally decided I would select one picture for every album they released. That was going to be ... six in total. One for AFD, LIES, UYI 1, UYI 2, SPA, CD. Then I decided that I would also allow another photo for Live Like a Suicide (I know and don't care that it was an EP and that those songs were later released on LIES - it's still their first release and that matters). Then I wondered if it was okay to add another photo for The Greatest Hits. But wait - Live Era is far more important than that! Hmm ... Live at the Marquee ... Does that mean I should add one for Locked and Loaded? The AFD Box Set? And the UYI Box Set too? There are tons of bootlegs ... lol.
(I finally just settled on these. I have included one photo for: Live Like a Suicide - their first release, Appetite for Destruction - their first LP, GNR Lies - second LP (Don't try and tell me that it isn't an LP because it is. Any album longer than five songs is long play - five songs or less is extended play.), Use Your Illusion I - third LP, Use Your Illusion II - fourth LP, Spaghetti Incident - fifth LP, GNR Live Era 87 - 93, The Greatest Hits, Chinese Democracy - sixth LP, Locked N' Loaded: The Appetite for Destruction Box Set, and The Use Your Illusion Box Set!)
But I of course have so many more faves, lol. My mouth ...
Your favorite picture of your favorite band ... yeah, right.
Edit: I had to. I added one more photo. I had to. So, let's just say it's in honor of the album, Live at the Marquee, lol.
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evergardenwall · 18 days ago
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a few things i've been doing and that you should do to help with feelings of anxiety/doom:
1) first, literally, disable notifications from news outlets apps, and stop watching live 24/7 tv news. like. at least, for me, it helps, because this shit triggers so much anxiety in me, and makes me spiral; i much prefer looking up the news from my own volition. even if it is also anxiety-inducing, it is not as overwhelming and i feel like i have some control/can process information better
2) spend time with your loved ones irl. hug them, talk about what you're feeling if this can help, or do an activity together that can distract you! back in april 2022, between the two rounds of the french election, i was having a full mental breakdown, and my mum took me on a day out, visiting local villages and just. getting out of the house and visiting other place and breathing fresh air helped a lot.
3) kind of a followup to 2) but, go on a walk ! pace around, breathe the outside air—i cannot stress it enough, it helps with calming down racing thoughts, at least for me :)
4) if you are having difficulty to eat/have no appetite, please, eat a little something anyway; having an empty stomach does not help. go for something easy to prepare and/or a safe food. i just had a banana and a bowl of cereal for lunch—not the most conventional lunch, i know, but at least, i ate something even though i wasn't feeling hungry and nothing motivated me to eat :')
5) if you are feeling intrusive thoughts, feeling like you are responsible for the outcome of this election, and feeling guilty for not doing enough — please, please, don't guilt-trip yourself. you did what you could. this is something way bigger than us, an accumulation of many things, including structural racism, inequalities in access to voting, the gradual rise of fascism, and the system being deeply flawed, all the harmful shit that stayed from the orange man's first term and which long-term consequences built up to this.
6) please, remember that your vote wasn't worthless. i promise. you did the right thing by getting out of your house, going to the polling station, waiting in line for hours to make your voice heard, and i am deeply thankful you did it. genuinely. and remember that this election was going to be close. i'm not saying that there isn't criticism to be made about people who refused to vote, or voted third party — they have a huge responsibility —, but you, the average person worried about the democracy, who showed up and voted blue? i do not want you to feel like your vote was useless and give up. please.
7) remember that very bad things have happened in the past too, yet we're still here. hang on this fact. we're alive, and we're here.
8) repeat of 2 but: you should hug your loved ones. and i am sending you hugs, too—especially if you're from a vulnerable demographic (a racial minority, LGBTQ+, etc.) 🫂 you are not alone!
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mrhaitch · 4 months ago
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Hello, Mr. Haitch
You mentioned before in one of your answers that "climate and social justice are inextricably linked." Do you mind saying how so?
Thank you!
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Our current geological age - the Anthropocene - is inextricably linked to the history of capitalism, no matter how you date it. The three main theories are that it began in 1945 at the close of the second world war and the international trade agreements and advent of nuclear testing; that it began with the industrial revolution; or (and this is the theory I subscribe to) it began between 1492 and 1610 with European colonialism in the Americas.
The anthropocene is defined as an age of globalised human control and impact on the earth's environment, ranging from climate change to biodiversity, and the early history of Europe's colonisation of the Americas fits the bill pretty well. Beginning in 1492 the indigenous population of the Americas collapsed by 95% (population estimates run from 60 million to 120+, the loss represents about a 10% global population loss), along with vast amounts of infrastructure including cities, towns, trading outposts, road networks, irrigation systems, and so on - all in an area (especially equatorial America) where the local flora grows rapidly. The deaths of so many with so few colonisers to replace them saw a rapacious period of reforestation, creating a massive carbon sink which drew down an estimated 13 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, ushering in The Little Ice Age. Global temperatures fell for the first time since the agricultural revolution, and put huge stress on an already fracturing feudal system. Over the course of 200 years Europe went through fits of social and political revolution, where the aristocracy were (sometimes violently) deposed by an ascendant merchant class ushering in our current age of liberal democracy, the enshrining of private property, and fixation on trade and prosperity.
The population collapse also provided a rationale for the Atlantic slave trade, as the enslaved workforce the Europeans had been using up until then were pretty much all dead.
With me so far?
Since the industrial revolution our economic system has been reliant on exponential growth, leading to an ever increasing appetite for raw materials, land, and cheap (or free) labour. The environmental and human costs have increased in lock step with one another - both crises borne of the same root. We cannot address one without addressing the other.
This is a very condensed version of the argument and I'm glossing over a lot here. If you're interested I'd recommend tracking down the following texts (usually available at libraries, particularly University ones):
The American Holocaust, David Stannard
The Human Planet, Lewis and Maslin
The Problem of Nature, David Arnold
The Sixth Extinction, Elizabeth Kolbert
History and Human Nature, RC Solomon
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rocketqueen1989x · 3 months ago
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i need them inside of me
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hollywoodroses · 10 days ago
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Hello, Amy! I have a few GNR questions I thought would be fun to ask 🧡 What is your…
. favorite song?
. favorite album?
. fave song from each album?
. favorite cover?
. favorite music video?
. favorite Axl era?
Wow, thank you for this. I had to do some research before publishing this because I am still new to the fandom and haven’t explored everything.
Favourite Song: Perhaps
Favourite Album: Appetite for Destruction
Favourite Song from Each Album:
Appetite for Destruction - Welcome to the Jungle
Use Your Illusion I - Live and Let Die
Use Your Illusion II - Don’t Cry
G N’ R Lies - Patience (Axl’s vocals are 🥺)
Chinese Democracy - Prostitute (Axl’s vocals here, omg! 😩🥰)
The Spaghetti Incident - New Rose
Favourite Cover Song: Sympathy for the Devil (it’s the only reason why I watch Interview with the Vampire)
Favourite Music Video: Paradise City
Favourite Axl Era: Appetite era and current era.
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iaketpauet · 17 days ago
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A guide to Robin Finck in Guns n' Roses for people who can't stand Axl Rose
I've spent months reading, watching and listening to all things regarding Robin's time in Guns so you don't have to.
*extremely long post*
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L to R: Chris Pitman, Bryan "Brain" Mantia, Robin Finck, Tommy Stinson, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal. At Download Festival, June 11, 2006.
From Cirque to Guns
In the beginning of 1997 Cirque du Soleil was touring Los Angeles and Axl Rose went to see the show. Matt Sorum (GnR's drummer until then) pointed out to Axl that 'Robin from Nine Inch Nails' was playing the guitar.
"I told Axl to see him and he said, 'That's our guitar player,' I said, 'Bring in Robin to play alongside Slash', but Axl said, 'I want him to play lead.'" - Matt Sorum, 1999.
Robin got a call from Axl and then he started to jam with the band (already without Slash) every Monday, his day off (circus' dark day). In April, Chris Vrenna also joined for a few sessions before he split to focus on his Tweaker project, and Robin brought Billy Howerdel (former guitar technician for NIN) to help him program his sounds, but wound up staying for two and a half years with them.
In June, Robin quit the circus and joined the band.
2 years contract (August 1997 to August 1999)
Over the year of 1998, the band took shape, consisting of Robin and Paul Huge Tobias on the guitar, Tommy Stinson on bass guitar, Dizzy Reed on keys and percussion, Josh Freese on drums and Chris Pitman helping them with writing and engineering. Although Axl was contributing with ideas, he wasn't laying many vocal tracks at that time, as he was allegedly suffering with writer's block.
They wrote at least half of the Chinese Democracy album along with other still unreleased songs and many instrumentals in this period, including parts/ideas Robin had previously come up with during his circus days. Some sources had said they were working on 35 tracks.
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Robin and Josh Freese in 1998 (from Josh's Instagram)
They also re-recorded Appetite for Destruction, which was never released but a segment of Sweet Child o'Mine was included in the closing credits of 1999's Big Daddy movie. Axl's intention was to use the entire song, but Slash and Duff didn't allow it, so they made a hybrid of the old version with their new one. You can listen to their segment starting at 2'58, with the second part of the main solo and the last one played by Robin:
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It was rumored that Robin recorded an uncredited overdub of backing vocals for the track Mr. Brownstone in the Live Era '87-'93 compilation album. You can listen to it below, around 1'25 min.
Just in time for NIN's Fragility tour v1.0, his contract came to an end in August and soon he went to Bahamas with Nine Inch Nails to begin with their tour rehearsals.
Atlas Shrugged
"I have respect for Axl Rose, I wish him all the success that he deserves and if his album sounds a little industrial, I will take it like a compliment... On the other hand, when we played MTV awards, he made pass a press release announcing that it would cut of his disc all the parts of guitars played by Robin Finck and I find that a little ridiculous, it is a whim of star." - Trent Reznor, 1999.
"And they just said, 'Come over and do some stuff.' It's a long story to be honest and I won't bore you with all the details, but Axl was feeling that he was in a difficult place because the guitarist that he'd been working with on this new album had sort of replaced Slash, because they fell out, sadly. [...] The guitarist that had done most of the tracks had departed and Axl had a real emotional attachment to what he'd done, and yet he didn't want him on the album - and I hope I'm not saying too much here - he didn't really want him to stay on the album because he'd disappeared, you know - so he's feeling a kind of divided loyalty and he said: 'Brian, can you come and do stuff which I WILL LIKE, (laughing) and I won't feel too bad about ditching this other stuff?'" - Brian May, 2000.
While Axl was trying to cut Robin's work out of Chinese Democracy, hiring high-profile guitarists such as Dave Navarro and Brian May to lay guitar tracks, he started recording vocals for some of the songs, like HardSchool (now Hard Skool), Catcher in The Rye and The Blues (now Street of Dreams). Among them, the still unreleased Atlas Shrugged has lyrics which are allegedly about Robin.
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An excerpt from Atlas Shrugged lyrics.
Whether it's about him or not, the lyrics go along with feelings of "following his heart" Robin expressed through interviews from that time.
"It was a difficult decision to make because I was so wrapped up in what I was doing at the time and I was proud of the work I'd done. But when it came down to it, I couldn't imagine NIN going out without me or with somebody else. I'm in a good place right now." - Robin Finck, 1999.
Prior to quitting the band to form A Perfect Circle with Billy Howerdel, Josh Freese helped Axl getting in touch with Buckethead. In early 2000 Buckethead was convinced to join in.
3 guitars lineup
"Originally it was gonna be a two-guitar player group. I split forever so I thought and went back to Nine Inch Nails. In my absence they were looking to replace me and Josh Freese, the drummer at the time, had brought Buckethead in to essentially fill the slot I had left. They really liked him but he's kind of a stunt guitar player. He does a very specific thing and he has a real genius sensibility about him. But he rarely plays the same thing twice ever and when you're trying to cruise through 'Nightrain' that just makes it a little (laughs) too different. So they needed someone to anchor the songs. They kept Buckethead to do what Buckethead does and they needed someone else to play alongside." - Robin Finck, 2014.
In late 2000 Robin returned to Guns for the upcoming gig as headliner act of Rock in Rio III Festival. As a sort of warm-up show, the band was booked for a New Year's Eve gig at The House of Blues in Las Vegas. It was the first time Robin performed live with Guns n' Roses.
Robin and Buckethead playing Paradise City at The House of Blues, January 1st, 2001.
With two lead guitarists, rumors that Robin and Buckethead weren't getting along very well began to emerge. And it seems that Axl encouraged competition between them.
"So it's taken a long time to pull these guys together and then have them develop a chemistry with themselves. When we first did our first show in Vegas, Robin and Buckethead didn't know each other at all, and you've got two lead guitar players trying to kill each other. You know, with their abilities. It's like when I tried to bring Zakk and Slash together. That didn’t go too well. (...) It was fun to watch." - Axl Rose, 2002.
Although neither Robin or Buckethead talked about it, years later Tommy Stinson showed his disdain for Buckethead on interviews and soon-to-be a member Richard Fortus has talked extensively about how difficult it was to make a lineup with three guitarists work. I'll return to this topic later.
Skullet
For these shows, Robin appeared with an extreme form of the mullet hairstyle, the skullet. Differing from his previous tours with Nine Inch Nails, this time he maintained the same haircut for the whole touring cycle: from the few performances in 2001 until their last gig in 2002. The only difference is that he straightened his hair in 2002.
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At The Joint, Las Vegas, December 31st, 2001. Photo by Robert John.
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From their US leg of the tour, 2002. Photo by George Chin.
Better
Between his comeback and early 2001, Robin came up with a song working titled 3 Dollar Pyramid, which turned out to be Better, the only song released with credits attributed exclusively to him and Axl Rose.
"[Better] was brought in after Josh [Freese] and was written by the band. It was Robin Finck’s song. We jammed it for a couple weeks and then went into the studio and recorded it." - Bryan "Brain" Mantia (GnR's drummer from May 2000 until June 2006), 2009.
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Better without vocals
Richard Fortus
In 1999 Richard auditioned for Robin's place. He wasn't the chosen one but became good friends with Tommy. When Paul Tobias stepped out of his role as rhythm guitarist, Tommy called Richard to replace him for the 2002 tour.
Soon Richard and Robin formed a strong bond, which could be seen on as much as offstage throughout Robin's tenure, with Richard stating several times how much he loved working with him afterwards.
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Richard and Robin during Nightrain at Allstate Arena, Chicago, November 18th, 2002.
Refusing to leave
After the 2002 tour being cancelled halfway through and "Guns' inability to complete an album", Buckethead quit in late 2003. In spite of the uncertainty of their situation as a band, Robin preferred not to leave them this time to tour with Nine Inch Nails. According to Reznor, his choice was driven by greed.
"Robin Finck [was] getting paid loads of money to hang out with Axl Rose and his house was getting paid for. You know what, f*ck you." - Trent Reznor, 2005.
Robin has never touched on this subject, but there are two things that need to be stressed: The album was very close to be finished and Guns was planning to perform in late 2005 - which only became reality in 2006 - so his decision might have been because of it.
2 guitars lineup?
"As far as I know, he [Buckethead] hasn't been replaced, but we already have enough guitarists". - Tommy Stinson, 2004.
"At the moment, Robin Finck and I are the only guitarists in the band. We switch off between lead and rhythm." - Richard Fortus, 2005.
They kept rehearsing as a duo until a few weeks before their warm-up gigs for the European tour at the Hammerstein Ballroom in May 2006.
"It was just Robin and myself, and we were doing rehearsals and Brain, and it was phenomenal, I mean, absolutely amazing. And literally, I think it was two days before we were supposed to do our first show, the energy was palpable. [...] Axl came down, he was like, 'This is the band I've always wanted.' The next day Bumblefoot comes in, and I guess, they found this guy and he came in, and the whole dynamic just completely shifted." - Richard Fortus, 2020.
Bullying Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Tommy had stated that they weren't doing auditions for a new guitarist, but Axl's team contacted Ron in 2004. Although nothing happened from it, in April 2006, Axl called him to "jam" with the band while they were rehearsing for their tour. Ron became Buckethead's replacement and stayed with them until 2015. In the beginning, he wasn't treated well by "some" members.
"Well, when I first joined the band, they did not want me in the band. And it’s not me - they just didn’t want a third guitar player. 'Cause at the time they had worked it out for two guitar players. Then suddenly the old manager at the time hits them up one day, and the tour was, like, two weeks away. He said, 'your new guitar player is coming down'. And they’re like, 'what the hell - who the fuck is this?', and I showed up, and they wouldn’t even look at me. For that first tour, you know, I was treated like shit. Like absolute shit. They wouldn’t really talk to me. If I spoke, they’d roll their eyes and walk out of the room. I was made to feel as unwelcome as possible. Until, finally, I had to get a little violent. And then they started realizing that I’m not gonna leave. They’re gonna get hurt. Physically. Then they realized that they couldn’t bully me, and that I was gonna fight at a level they weren’t prepared for. [...] ‘Cause I didn’t know why they were so cold to me, and I realized that they would have treated anybody that way. It was a set of circumstances, a lack of communication from the management that was there at the time, that set it up so it was almost like a stranger thrown into a crowded cage." - Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, 2013.
Note: By "physically", he meant he "tried to stab three people on stage at a show in 2006", as he told WickedInfo in 2010.
Extreme makeover
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Robin playing the main solo of Sweet Child o'Mine in Chicago, 2002 (left) and in Los Angeles, 2006 (right).
"A third guitarist stood apart from the others both visually and sonically, effortlessly tearing through every riff and solo like a man possessed; think Jimmy Page on ecstasy. Even after Rose introduced the bearded, sunglass-wearing phenomenon by name, dressed like a cross between Jim Morrison and Chris Robinson, I still couldn’t believe I was looking at Robin Finck. [...] Exuding a confidence no amount of posturing can imitate, he brought a searing intensity to each Guns song with impassioned intricacy and soul. [...] Finck was great before his apparent bohemian awakening, but this was something else entirely. He was essentially running through a gallery of world-renowned portraits and landscapes, the best of their time and sacred to many, casting his own colors and impressions onto each canvas. Somehow, blasphemy be damned, he made improvements." - Antiquiet review of Guns N' Roses' performance at Gibson Amphitheater, December 16th, 2006.
Robin's definitive departure
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On April 4th 2008 NIN.com broke the news that Robin was back to the fold with a picture of him at the studio. Without knowing for sure Robin's position, Axl showed being open for a return.
"Last I was aware, he had some interest in touring, though I can't say what that means until then. In our opinion, he's made things a bit awkward publicly, but that's just his way." - Axl Rose, 2009.
Unfortunately, even with the Chinese Democracy's release in the end of that year, Robin didn't come back afterwards.
One night reappearance
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The guitarist had a surprise appearance on March 12 2012 at House of Blues venue in Los Angeles to perform his song, Better, and that was the last time he got up on stage with Guns.
That's it, most of the info and rumors here I've gotten from GnR forums: MyGnRforum.com, a-4-d.com and GnRevolution.com, so a big thank you to everyone.
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acti-veg · 8 months ago
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could england ever rejoin the EU?
We could, but the barrier to doing so is very much on our side. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has expressed support for the UK rejoining. The problem is that there is little appetite for it at home, Labour have ruled it out and the Tories certainly have.
That said, as time goes on the argument for a referendum will get stronger, as our economy gets worse compared with similar nations who are inside the EU, and as our influence on the world stage shrinks. There is also the fact that more and more people of voting age will not have been old enough to vote in the EU referendum, and many the older voters who did vote leave will be dead or no longer politically active. That isn't to say they won't be replaced by the rise of right-wing politics in younger men in particular.
On top of that, many who voted to leave now regret doing so, particularly those in the manufacturing and farming industries. Many wanted to ‘take control of immigreiton’ and have had their pretty unrealistic illusions shattered. Farmers are overwhelmingly conversative in Britain but the industry has been hit hard by the lack of access to seasonal EU workers, and on the inability to export or compete in the EU market. The same is true of manufacturing.
Even on the left though, there is this bizarre prevailing opinion that you vote on something once it’s decided forever, so you never put it to the public again, and that is somehow what democracy means. A UK return to the EU is not impossible but most commentators agree it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon, at least not until the political landscape changes pretty radically.
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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 year ago
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'Jubilee Procession in a Cornish Village' by George Sherwood Hunter
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Leonard Cohen’s thoughts on democracy (from a 1993 interview) are especially relevant today: "Democracy is the great religion of the West – probably the greatest religion because it affirms other religions; probably the greatest culture because it affirms other cultures. But it’s based on faith, it’s based on appetite for fraternity, it’s based on love, and therefore it shares the characteristics of a religious movement. It’s also like a religion in that it’s never really been tried.“
[Wait-what?]
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the-garbanzo-annex-jr · 6 months ago
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By: Mariam Memarsadeghi
The Iran regime’s role in the October 7 attack is fundamental and a manifestation of its daily “Death to Israel” chants and call to wipe Israel off the map. The Biden administration, however, has chosen to minimize the fact that Hamas has been developed and directed by Tehran, deflecting scrutiny from the world’s top state sponsor of terror. This appeasement mindset helped Tehran to believe it could get away with a massive terror attack on Israel in the first place. The Biden foreign policy is predicated on a worldview that seeks to end American presence in the Middle East region, has little interest in aiding democracy movements to topple authoritarians, rejects as the Obama administration did the post-9/11 vision to link democratization with security and sustainable peace in the region, sees appeasement of the ayatollahs as means to minimize instability and its own involvement in the region, and so has lifted the Maximum Pressure placed on the regime by the Trump administration. But feeding the crocodile has resulted in only a bigger appetite, as the delisting of the Houthis, a first move by the Biden administration to show its willingness to please Tehran, quickly proved. On the nuclear file, too,  Iran’s regime has taken advantage of Washington’s overtures and willingness to turn a blind eye on sanctions to up its enrichment.
The October 7 attack on Israel is part and parcel of the Islamic Republic’s larger, multifaceted war on the West and liberalism. It has resulted in suffering and insecurity for the Israeli people, rising antisemitism across the globe, and moral confusion within democracies. Terror that should have been met with global condemnation and solidarity with the Israeli people instead resulted in the proliferation of the hate projected by Iran’s regime. Any policy truly designed to prevent Islamist terror and cultivate peace for the region must begin with a strategy to bring down that regime, but as evidenced by messages of condolences on the passing of the mass executioner Raisi, Western governments remain determined to appease it.
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