Category Archives: music

I’m not saying Rose doesn’t actually nurse racist and homophobic feelings in his heart. Maybe he does. But I think on “One In A Million” the viciousness of the sentiment was an artistic strategy. Rose was adopting an ugly persona and giving full voice to that ugliness, blowing the doors off the vault that the white middle class had locked all its fears and resentments in. Spike Lee used to have an unfortunate habit of arranging for his white characters to get frustrated and shout “nigger!” at the climax of his films, suggesting that the word was always lurking right beneath the surface whenever whites had to deal with blacks. Axl volleyed the idea back, adding, “Yeah, and we don’t care much for homos or camel jockeys, either.” He wrote from the perspective of a frightened, harassed midwestern kid overwhelmed by both the seediness of an L.A. bus terminal and the encroachment of Others on a sovereignty white people still feel entitled to. If a poet or songwriter of color had adopted this persona, we would all have recognized it as such. But because Rose actually was a midwestern redneck, we confused author with art.

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Well, heck. That was surprising. I’m pretty sure I’ll end up buying this — how could I not? If you want a listen: Chinese Democracy – Guns N Roses

If you’re at all interested in folk/roots music, check out Farideh’s new album, Symphony of Chemistry. You can preview several of the songs at her MySpace page. It’s a terrific album, very spare, with pointed, even shocking lyrics that seem … Continue reading →