Axl Rose speaks!

So goes the headline in this Karrang! interview. The best I’ve read so far. Axl opens up, and it’s a little sad if you ask me. Notice how the band goes thru real hard times songwriting after Izzy leaves.

A little too presumptious and heavy handed

That’s what Jon Bon Jovi said, on WMMR today, it would be if they attempted to write songs from the perspective of a widow. There *will* be music inspired by 9-11 on “Bounce”, their upcoming album. It’s more along the lines of dusting yourself off after taking a hit. Not an exact quote – but you get the idea.

I think you can get the feel by listening to “Everyday”, a new song from the album. It rocks. It’s an anthem.

Here goes news about this Thursday.

The Gone and Forgotten RSS Reader – Carmen’s Headline Viewer

Recently I reminiced about Carmen’s Headline Viewer. A really cool desktop RSS reader from back in the day (4-99 to 7-01!). Doesn’t work so well now that the spec has changed, and it’s no longer being updated. Booting it up, after so long, was rather surprising. For code that’s over a year old, it’s highly competitive. Update: Ben Hammersley remembers Headline Viewer in the Guardian. Thanks Shelley.

Spin’s Metal Issue Not All That Bad

It’s always fun, and inevitably disappointing, to see mainstream magazines try and document something like the metal scene that was occuring in the 80s. Like most attempts, Spin misses alot. 2/3rds of the era aren’t touched as Spin focuses entirely on the LA scene.

What can ya do? Here’s the mag. Judge for yourself.

I’d say we metal heads should work together once and for all to document what was cool and still is great about the music. All of it. Not just glam. Not just thrash. All of it.

One thing that struck me was our changing views of what a “hit” is (naw dude – that’s not a pun!) I mean Britney is being called washed up after selling 4 million albums. Back then – you were big time selling that many.

Another thing is the re-writing of history interms of what kids were listening to in the mainstream.

I heard Duran Duran on the radio. I heard Genesis. I heard way too much Men Without Pants. But – I did *not* hear L.A. Guns. At least until after 10PM. Are we clear? Radio did not support the scene at all. It was word of mouth, the fans, late night MTV, and very late night radio. At least in this neck of the woods.

That kind of movement… it spawned a community. A group of kids that looked at the rest of the world and said – “you don’t get it.”. It looks like no one still does, except for the kids.