Noted personal-finance columnist Duff McKagan gets his first New York Times byline via this week’s installment of the paper’s business-travel column, although the Gray Lady’s policies have forced him to use his mom-given name: “The musician and songwriter Michael McKagan, known as Duff, recorded and toured with the rock band Guns N’ Roses. He now performs with Velvet Revolver and his own band, Loaded,” says the credit. During the course of his musings on bribing South American officials and not wanting to talk about music, he reveals a key detail about his travel preferences: He enjoys sitting next to people who are crossword enthusiasts. All I’m going to say is that I’ve almost finished the Times Saturday puzzle twice in the past month… [NYT] MORE »
Posts Tagged ‘guns n roses’
rebrandings
collaborations
Izzy Stradlin has been laying down tracks on the forthcoming solo album by his ex-bandmate Slash. “There is an unmistakable sound that me & Izzy’s guitars make when performed together,” the former Guns N’ Roses guitarist noted last night from the studio. Guys… what if Izzy became the new Velvet Revolver singer? That would be a way to actually make the project kind of interesting, you have to admit. [Twitter] MORE »
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Axl Rose Types “Get In The Ring” Into AOL’s Keyword Box
Another interview with formerly reclusive Guns N’ Roses mastermind W. Axl Rose has debuted on the Internet, and this one is kind of a doozy: It’s a lengthy chat that appears on AOL’s Spinner between Axl and his longtime confidant/road manager/video-trilogy inspirer Del James. If you think that the end result isn’t an interview as much as it is a series of questions designed to allow Axl to get some long-gestating beefs out into the open, well, you’re right! MORE »
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Five People Who Are Probably Not The New Lead Singer Of Velvet Revolver
Yesterday, bassist and emergent finance pundit Duff McKagan told Rolling Stone that his somewhat-supergroup Velvet Revolver was “weeks away” from announcing its new singer, after a lengthy search that attracted demos from some 400 hopefuls who were, for whatever reason, interested in being the next Scott Weiland. Said Duff of the pick: “It’s not like Chris Cornell or one of those guys… We just want someone that fits. It can’t just be good. It has to be amazing or we won’t do it.” I guess “better than Audioslave” is a pretty low bar to want to leap over, but good on the VR guys for at least trying. Five people who definitely aren’t in the running, after the jump! MORE »
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The Top Five Quotes From Axl Rose’s Big “Billboard” Interview
In his first interview with a U.S. publication (and not a message board in some nine years, Axl Rose engaged in an e-mail chat with Billboard’s Jonathan Cohen in which he talked about his frustrations with his label (”at least in regard to the U.S., for the most part I don’t look at it like we have a record company”), the media, the leaks of rough Chinese Democracy mixes over the summer (”Having someone jeopardize your efforts so cavalierly is pretty much a nightmare”), and the difference between then and now (”It was just as ugly in old Guns, regardless of our success”). Speaking of the old days, he also noted that he’s willing to work with Izzy again (yes!), and maybe do some sort of one-shot deal with Duff. And there’s more! A rundown of the juiciest bits after the jump. MORE »
Duff McKagan, having expanded his punditry empire… MORE »
Duff McKagan, having expanded his punditry empire… MORE »
Welcome To The Jungle: We’ve Got Fun, Games, And Some Brightly Colored Mushrooms
I remember when Beck decided it would be cool to… MORE »
80 '08 (And heartbreak)
80 ‘08 (and Heartbreak): Announcing Idolator’s Year-End Extravaganza
What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We’re happy to announce 80 ‘08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator’s year-end overview. The list is below the jump. MORE »
80 '08 (And heartbreak)
Heartbreak No. 7: Axl Rose Finally Brings Democracy To China
I was never much of a Star Wars fan, so the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments that accompanied the forever-awaited release of The Phantom Menace passed by me at the time. But when I finally sat down with Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy—a long-awaited follow-up to a cultural moment that, for better or worse, defined my adolescence—I finally got what my Star Wars friends were all up in arms about, namely the casting of a newer, harsher, and daresay aged light on a once-cherished talisman. MORE »
