Axl and the media

Axl never had a good relationship with the media. Even back in the beginning of GN'R, when the band was tight and fierce, media was on the fence on whether they liked this maniac or hated him. When GN'R and Axl's ego grew, and his mental issues became more apparent, it became a public war between him and the media. They loved to hate him. They criticised and riciduled him for all that was wrong with the band, and much of it rightly, his diva persona and apparent disregard for the fans. And when old GN'R died it was all his fault. He was such an easy target, a crazy passé rock diva completely out of tune with the current music scene, insisting on being dead serious about rock music, insisting on blaming everyone else for everything. He was a remnant from a hilarious time, the 80s rock and roll silliness. A rock star without irony. He could have retreated then, to live a life away from the public, to be forgotten as the media found someone else to mock. That would have been easy. But he chose to continue. Was it to try to prove for history that he was a great musician? To shift focus away from his persona to his music? To get the praise he felt he deserved?

So he struggled on, assembled a new hilariously looking band, got himself a new look with an additional chin, and tried to initiate a new era for Guns N' Roses. He was mocked again. Late starts, weird looks, violence, cancelled tours, bad management, music that never was released. And when the record eventually did come out it was too late and too little. Too late to convince most of the fan base, too late to be relevant, too late to change the media's ingrained perception. It was another easy target for ridicule and mockery. Incohesive art-hardrock with sappy ballads. It got okay critics, even a few great reviews, but not enough to stem the onslaught of riducule. And throughout the coming tours the media would not let him live down his past failures. The media perception of him became a caricature, based on how he had been and myth that evolved freely, largely because he had chosen to not speak out anymore. Instead hiding from public when he wasn't touring. Criticism and myth uncheked. Maybe if he had released a couple more records he would have managed to shift the focus, but he never did that. Was he shellshocked from the process of releasing CD? Had he become disillusioned with the industry and his fans? Did he now doubt his own musicianship? He did change in other way, though, he became a humbler person, more stable, less angry, and more dependable -- but this was all mostly unoticed by the media.

Then two huge surprises. He reformed with Slash and Duff, something everybody had been asking for since ages. And more surprisingly, he offered to step in for Brian in AC/DC to let the band finish their tour. The most ridiculed person in rock (maybe music?) decided to stick his neck out, almost invite the mockery to take a new level, unless, of course, he somehow managed to win them over. What courage! The balls on that man. But he succeeded. Maybe media was finally ready to forgive and forget, maybe they now considered him an underdog they wanted to praise and raise up like media often do, raise and tear down, or maybe his strong vocals and professional attitude made it impossible to continue to attack him for what happened in the past. I don't know, but it means that for maybe the first time in his career he is actually universally praised by the media based on his music and talents as a singer and performer. What a feeling it must be for him, after 30 years, to be undividedly recognized for his skills and finally not be the joke of the media for things in the past. For all of us who have been fans of him for his singing, his music, and his frontman abilities, it is nice to see this god of rock resurrected. He has got a lot of deserved criticism in his time, true. And a lot of undeserved criticism. This new praise just feels right. It is fair. I hope he enjoys this. I hope it gives him happiness. And I hope it lasts.

Well, you wrote this at the right point in time, it seems.

http://www.cnet.com/news/guns-n-roses-axl-rose-is-trying-to-get-a-fat-photo-off-the-internet/

I can't seem to copy the text...
Here's the "tiny" link:
http://tinyurl.com/z5wuv87

Soulmonster wrote:
... He could have retreated then, to live a life away from the public, to be forgotten as the media found someone else to mock. That would have been easy. But he chose to continue. Was it to try to prove for history that he was a great musician? To shift focus away from his persona to his music?

Well, I would guess so.

Soulmonster wrote:
Maybe if he had released a couple more records he would have managed to shift the focus, but he never did that. Was he shellshocked from the process of releasing CD? Had he become disillusioned with the industry ...?

We'll probably never know. But I guess the record company was "reluctant" (to say the least) to release another part of "Chinese Democracy" or even a new album by the touring band of 2009-2014 (at least there was the live recording/video from Las Vegas for posterity).

Soulmonster wrote:
Then two huge surprises. He reformed with Slash and Duff, something everybody had been asking for since ages. And more surprisingly, he offered to step in for Brian in AC/DC to let the band finish their tour. The most ridiculed person in rock (maybe music?) decided to stick his neck out, almost invite the mockery to take a new level, unless, of course, he somehow managed to win them over. What courage! The balls on that man.

Absolutely. Who would've guessed this a year ago?
Axl obviously has reached a new height here. Long may it continue.