Chinese Democracy RELEASED!

UPDATE: Just minutes ago, Chinese Democracy was actually released. The most anticipated album of all time was delayed for countless reasons for well over a decade. The album is now available exclusively at Best Buy. Read Fishpork’s Chinese Democracy review for more details.

November 20, 2008

UPDATE: If you happen to take a stroll over to MySpace today, you will notice that Guns N’ Roses (aka Axl Rose) has decided to stream the highly anticipated Chinese Democracy album three days before its official release date (in its entirety). Album reviews are already in, and they’ve been mostly positive. Fishpork’s review is coming soon, and it may shock you to hear what we have to say about the album. Stay tuned!

October 23, 2008

In what has shaped up to be the most delayed, most expensive and most anticipated album of all-time, Guns N’ Roses (aka Axl Rose and his new band) will release Chinese Democracy to all physical and digital outlets on November 24 of this year. Best Buy stores will be selling the album a day earlier. The formats will include CD, vinyl and digital download. The album marks the first by the hugely successful band in over 17 years.

The album has been in the works since 1994, even before the departure of guitarist Slash and other members. Recording began with Rose’s new band, which included Robin Finck on guitars and Josh Freese on drum. Both are currently on tour with Nine Inch Nails. Axl and company toured new materials from the album sporadically between 2001 and 2007. With numerous rumors of release dates and countless battles with production budgets have surfaced over the last ten years. The New York Times reports that the budget for Chinese Democracy has surpassed $13 million.

Several of the album’s tracks have been leaked to radio stations and the Internet since 2003. These tracks were all unfinished demo versions of songs that were heard live over the years. In 2007, the studio version of Magagascar was leaked, as well as mixed versions of three additional tracks. The tracks were first streamed on music blog web site, Antiquiet.com. The owner of the blog site has since been arrested by FBI agents and awaits prosecution. Later in the year, demos of nine additional tracks were leaked.Only three titles on the current tracklisting have not been heard in one form or another (“Scraped,” “Sorry,” and “Prostitute”).

The published tracklisitng includes most of the tracks cited, leaked and played live over the years. However, several tracks have been left off the final listing, including Silkworms, a track collaborated on with former Lusk frontman, Chris Pittman. Here is the official tracklisting on Chinese Democracy that will actually see the light of day in one month:

1. Chinese Democracy
2. Shackler’s Revenge
3. Better
4. Street Of Dreams
5. If The World
6. There Was A Time
7. Catcher N’ The Rye
8. Scraped
9. Riad N’ The Bedouins
10. Sorry
11. I.R.S.
12. Madagascar
13. This I Love
14. Prostitute

http://www.myspace.com/gunsnroses

Crystal Castles @ Webster Hall

A few months ago I wrote a review raving about electro-thrash duo, Crystal Castles’ self-titled debut album. Months later, the album still holds up as one of the year’s best. As a live band, CC is a three-piece, with Ethan Kath on manipulatables, Alice Glass on whispers and shouting, as well as Michael Bell (Lymbyc System) on percussion. After several years of relentless touring, CC performances have garnered a reputation as raw and chaotic. This was no exception at Webster Hall in New York’s East Village two Thursdays ago.

The show started after a long break between opening bands. Friends and I showed up in the middle of the break, so I cannot comment on the opening acts (mission accomplished). Without the crowd noticing, Crystal Castles mastermind, Ethan Kath, snuck onto stage and mounted his electronic gear without many noticing. At that point, the bass kicked in and a strobe light provided the light on a mostly dark stage. The hypnotic lighting worked well, as Alice made her way on stage. The feelings among many concerning Glass’ vocal style are mixed to say the least. In a New York Times review of the show, Nate Chinen obviously doesn’t comprehend the Crystal Castles mythos:

The grinding screech of the L train after the show was more engaging, and less mannered.

The set was sporadic and short. Highlights included bass-heavy Black Panther which brought the crowd to a frenzy, as the second floor of Webster Hall shook relentlessly from the simultaneous jumping of the entire crowd. Crowd favorites were obvious. The place went absolutely mental when Crystal Castles’ hit Crimewave, a reinvention of a track by noise rockers, HEALTH. Alice, with her bottle of wine, running mascara, and tattered skirt, sang the inaudible vocals as Kath manipulated her voice even more. The sound in general at Webster Hall was impressive, and Kath’s beats sounded Godlike. Alice’s mics, however, were completely drowned out, which is annoying since she is the centerpiece of the live set. Let’s be honest. She’s merely a guest vocalist on the band’s debut album, and Kath’s beats are what makes Crystal Castles go. But on electro-thrash tracks like Alice Practice and Love and Caring, Glass is more of a focus, and it would be nice if her vocals were somewhat audible. Instead, we are left with her stage antics, which are entertaining in their own right. Not caring about the intentions of hundreds of wandering hands, she continuously stage dived into the crowd. It has been documented in previous shows, that crowds at CC shows are not always as respectful of the diving Glass as one would hope for. Throughout the night, Glass poured wine onto the heads of fans in the first row and jumped into the crowd numerous times from one of several stage amps.

And all of a sudden, it was over. The crowd lingered, confused and yearning for more. It wouldn’t have hurt CC to come out and appease the crowd for more, especially if they want to keep their growing fanbase happy. In this age of filesharing and creative distribution structures in the music industry, bands need to keep fans at their live shows happy. You would have thought that some of Trent Reznor’s fanlove would have rubbed off on them during the Canadian shows they opened up for Nine Inch Nails. For that reason, the show was a minor disappointment. The greatest trick that Crystal Castles ever pulled was convincing the world they existed. And like that, poof. They’re gone.

Due to the sporadic nature of the set, a setlist is not available at this time.