Comments on: Axl Rose: Taking Questions, Taking Names

By: Maura Johnston

Maura Johnston — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:09:39 +0000

@okiedoke: pet sounds!

By: okiedoke

okiedoke — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:48:32 +0000

C’mon, now. How many albums get recurring presence in a Doonesbury strip? That’s some core audience market targeting there … oh,wait. Well, newspapers sure are popular these days … oh, wait again. At least the dedicated fan is a Vet back from the war. Even though he’s brain damaged. Sorry.

By: dsven

dsven — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:27:54 +0000

@King of Pants: GnR were HUGE from 88-92. Hell, even their greatest hits released in 04 sold a couple mil.

I don't think the comparisons to AC/DC are entirely without merit. AC/DC promoted the shit out of Black Ice. Axl did nothing...no vid, no exclusive interview, NOTHING.

That, plus the small,little fact of no new material for 15 years, ensured the album's failure.

By: Captain Wrong

Captain Wrong — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:26:35 +0000

@King of Pants: Meeeeehhhhh...could be. (Was Axl "an insane obsessional recluse" in the Use Your Illusions days though?)

By: Al Shipley

Al Shipley — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:21:45 +0000

big lols @ WSJ’s “Who’s Got The Biggest Sales Of Them All?” infographic

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:42:25 +0000

One hit album? wikipedia-

Appetite for Destruction - worldwide sales in excess of 28 million
G N' R Lies - 12 million copies worldwide to date
Use Your Illusion I & II - Both albums have been certified 7x Platinum

Granted AC/DC have sold 42 million copies of Back in Black alone, but still. GnR had more than 1 hit album.

By: King of Pants

King of Pants — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:12:41 +0000

No, wait, wait, now I'm just getting started! It also couldn't be because AC/DC is a long-running band with three decades-plus of experience and a solid record of hits, including one of the best-selling albums ever made, along with a bank of goodwill from which to draw fans, whereas Guns & Roses had one hit album before their frontman turned into an insane obsessional recluse? But hey, if it's Facile Comparison Day, who am I to object?

(Ahh, journalism!)

By: King of Pants

King of Pants — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:01:17 +0000

I don’t suppose it’s because a) every track on that album sucks and b) when you string people along for fifteen years, people stop caring?

By: Audif Jackson Winters III

Audif Jackson Winters III — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:40:17 +0000

I think even more than the press AC/DC did to promote BLACK ICE, what made that release successful was the ubiquity of a pretty catchy lead single. In the run-up to the release, you heard “Rock and Roll Train” seemingly everywhere. In particular, I recall it being used in all kinds of bumpers during sports telecasts, and on some CBS shows. Where could you hear the GNR single besides internet leaks and a few token radio spins?