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Use This Illusion, Pal
By briantologist | February 24, 2005
I seem to vividly recall, from the depths of my drug-addled fortnight on the couch, a conversation with my boon companion Max Power, who luckily enough is generally available for conversations during the day, as he’s got some job or another where he doesn’t actually, in the traditional sense of the word, “go to work.”
We were, quite naturally, talking about Guns N’ Roses, and Axl’s descent into the weird nook of deeply paranoid, fake-dreadlocked, botoxed-yet-bloated celebrity he’s ended up in. This quite naturally led back to a discussion of the exact moment he started to go wrong, which as any astute observer of the group can tell you was the moment somebody decided it was okay for him to release the double album “Use Your Illusion I and II,” rather than encouraging/forcing him to pare the goddamn thing down to one good CD, instead of the mix of quality and bloat it ended up being. I’m of the opinion that Axl could’ve been saved from the downward spiral by a treatment similar to the one a perpetually misbehaving young Ned Flanders gets on “The Simpsons,” where a psychologist bends him over his knee and spanks him for eight months. Axl would have gotten slapped, not spanked, but the principle’s the same.
I digress. The point of all this was that Max and I decided that I needed to take the “use Your Illusion” albums and pare them down into that one good album, and by god, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I haven’t listened to it all the way through in one sitting yet, but my hopes are high. Some songs were difficult to cut, but from what I understand, difficult cuts are kind of what you’re supposed to do when you’re assembling an album by the biggest rock band in the world. (At the time.)
Anyway, if you want a copy, e-mail me and I’ll drop one in the mail for you. Serious inquiries only, please. I’m not made of blank CDs, y’know.
Topics: Exciting, Possibly | 10 Comments »
February 24th, 2005 at 4:10 am
You’re such a tease, B. Aren’t you gonna give us a tracklisting??
February 24th, 2005 at 8:13 am
Okay, LOVE the Popeye photo of you. I’ll pass on the disc, though. Axl grinds my last nerve.
February 24th, 2005 at 8:21 am
Axl does have that effect on people. It’s his winning personality and personal grooming habits.
And Greg, a track listing would totally spoil the Illusion. But e-mail me your address and I’ll send you a copy; I think members of the wedding party are entitled to a freebies.
February 24th, 2005 at 10:23 am
You better already have one on it’s way to me. Not to be threatening, just you know I want it.
February 24th, 2005 at 5:16 pm
Now, all my illusions are shattered. I thought you *were* made of blank CDs.
February 24th, 2005 at 5:34 pm
Damn, that’s a Popeye shot? I thought for sure that was a bearded Stanley Tucci shot as well, any number of Stanley Tucci roles the past 5 years.
February 24th, 2005 at 7:18 pm
UM HELLO WHO STILL SLEEPS IN YOUR GNFNR SHIRT? Hit me!
February 25th, 2005 at 12:35 am
Ooh! Me! If I’m permitted…
February 25th, 2005 at 8:55 am
“Permitted.” My god! Of course you’re permitted!
And Sarahbrown … Fer real. Natch.
If that picture were larger, it’d show the green felt poodle skirt I wore that night, and that the shirt was tied over my gut. Good times.
February 25th, 2005 at 4:00 pm
a track listing would be divine for those of us lurkers….