Spring Break
An 'Appetite' Worthy Of The History Books
The Playlist
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Focus
Twenty years ago, the world was a different place.
The Cold War was still going on, but coming to a close, "The Legend of Zelda" was unleashed on the United States and Michael Jackson was still kind of black on the cover of the "Thriller" follow-up, "Bad." Yes, times were different.
Hard rock and heavy metal ruled the charts, hip-hop was in its gangster phase but wasn't quite the beast it would become and new wave was slowing down. Despite being on top, however, rock n' roll ran into a problem that all popular genres run into at their climax - all the bands began to sound the same.
That is, until a little band out of Los Angeles changed rock music as the world knew it and delivered one of the greatest albums of all time. It was in 1987 that Guns N' Roses released their debut album, "Appetite For Destruction" and left everyone else behind.
While a few of the songs followed the metal mold of the urban pain of L.A. and being a rocker, Guns N' Roses were able to express emotions with endearing lyrics on not just one, but multiple ballads.
Time can do terrible things to something classic, yet despite being an overused anthem for sporting events today, Slash's opening riffs on "Welcome To The Jungle," combined with Axl Rose's howl, still gives me goose bumps. Heralded by Blender Magazine as the greatest song about L.A., "Jungle" was the perfect metaphor for the gritty, big city and "if you got your money, honey, we got your disease" was the best way to describe the ever-present drug problem the city suffered.
But looking beyond the "jungle," one could have caught the "Nightrain" to "Paradise City." One of GN'R's biggest hits, "City" includes one of the greatest guitar solos in music and an undeniably catchy hook. There has long been speculation as to what the song was really eluding to - many guessed heroin - Rose told Hit Parader Magazine in 1998 that the song was actually about being back in the Midwest, as Rose is from Indiana.
The Cold War was still going on, but coming to a close, "The Legend of Zelda" was unleashed on the United States and Michael Jackson was still kind of black on the cover of the "Thriller" follow-up, "Bad." Yes, times were different.
Hard rock and heavy metal ruled the charts, hip-hop was in its gangster phase but wasn't quite the beast it would become and new wave was slowing down. Despite being on top, however, rock n' roll ran into a problem that all popular genres run into at their climax - all the bands began to sound the same.
That is, until a little band out of Los Angeles changed rock music as the world knew it and delivered one of the greatest albums of all time. It was in 1987 that Guns N' Roses released their debut album, "Appetite For Destruction" and left everyone else behind.
While a few of the songs followed the metal mold of the urban pain of L.A. and being a rocker, Guns N' Roses were able to express emotions with endearing lyrics on not just one, but multiple ballads.
Time can do terrible things to something classic, yet despite being an overused anthem for sporting events today, Slash's opening riffs on "Welcome To The Jungle," combined with Axl Rose's howl, still gives me goose bumps. Heralded by Blender Magazine as the greatest song about L.A., "Jungle" was the perfect metaphor for the gritty, big city and "if you got your money, honey, we got your disease" was the best way to describe the ever-present drug problem the city suffered.
But looking beyond the "jungle," one could have caught the "Nightrain" to "Paradise City." One of GN'R's biggest hits, "City" includes one of the greatest guitar solos in music and an undeniably catchy hook. There has long been speculation as to what the song was really eluding to - many guessed heroin - Rose told Hit Parader Magazine in 1998 that the song was actually about being back in the Midwest, as Rose is from Indiana.
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JAMES HOLMES
posted 12/06/07 @ 12:16 PM EST
your a damn lie, Guns and roses didnt leave everyone else behind. They didnt outsell Michael Jacksons BAD album. Your a hater.
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