Chinese Democracy

Note: A few long-time friends contacted me a few weeks ago to get my thoughts on the new Guns N’ Roses album. Apparently they think I am a fanatic G N’ R fan. I have no idea where they got that notion. [Sheepish grin] So, in response I crafted a blog post. But after writing it, I decided that it didn’t really fit on my blog, so I didn’t post it. But I just got another inquiry from a friend, and since this blog has been quiet for a month now, I figure what the hell, an off-topic post is better than no post at all. And like the album, this post is way late and bears no resemblance to my previous work. Enjoy.

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November 19, 2008 – Back when I was a full-time ski racer living in Park City, Utah, I organized a little race series called the International Rollerski Series, ‘cleverly’ referred to as the IRS. I organized (and I use that term loosely) the IRS in 1999, 2000, and 2001. The purpose of the series was two-fold. First it provided a few racing opportunities for me and my training buddies throughout the summer. Second, it was an outlet for me to play around on the web. And while the racing was serious (we even had a future Olympic gold medallist in one race), the race reports and website were rather absurd. To that end, the series had “sponsors,” which basically meant that I would post ridiculous things on the sponsors page. Sponsors over the years included tartar sauce, RollerJam, LobsterMan from Mars, Marshmellow Peeps, the Finnish ski team’s doping program, and Spongebob Squarepants.

Why do I bring this up now? Well, in 2001, one of the IRS sponsors was Guns N’ Roses “Chinese Democracy”. Yes, seven years ago, we were already making jokes about this album. And yet this week, as you may have heard if you are a Dr. Pepper fan, the album is finally coming out this Sunday.

I’m speechless. And torn.

I wrote off G N’ R (the band, not their existing catalog of music) long ago . The band ceased to exist when Slash left. Slash and Axl were the heart and mind of G N’ R. The band needed both to survive. Aside from a morbid curiosity, I’ve had no interest in Chinese Democracy since about 1998. I’d also like to think that my musical tastes have evolved from junior high (though I know many people who will tell me otherwise). And yet, now that Chinese Democracy is finally coming out, I find myself having the urge to buy it.

I try to tell myself that it’s not the same band. And that I’m not the same seventeen-year-old who sprinted directly from school to the Littleton Bookstore on the day Use Your Illusion was released.

But its been hard to let go. After all, I’m pretty sure that Axl named one song “I.R.S.” just to thank me for the sponsorship. So while I know logically that there is no way the album could possibly live up to the G N’ R legend, I still find myself being drawn to it. Will I resist? Or will old habits refuse to die? I am still not
sure.

UPDATE, November 20: Well, I just listened to the album on MySpace (twice). That made the decision a lot easier. I’m not buying it. I was right – Guns N’ Roses died about ten years ago.