Look Closely... See Axl

Axl Rose makes a cameo in a new Budweiser ad for the World Cup. Also, the ad features the worst cover of "Paradise City" ever.

Comments

[Him]

. . . and former classy and now somewhat less classy MMA fighter Anderson Silva. This guy's rep speaks for itself; his more recent decisions speak of a decline. But he is still a major draw for this demographic. At his best, he was amazing to watch.

The ad is what it is. It is a collage of branded things, meant to sell other branded things, all the while the actual event is clouded with controversy and corruption. But you gotta' sell beer, right?

And the fact that licensing this song to this product for this event made sense--let alone money--speaks to the problems of marketing these days. Almost every act is up for sale. Who wouldn't swing at the low hanging fruit and who wouldn't show up to collect a bit of scratch?

I am going to leave the Axl comments for other posters. But, and I speculate here, some of you need to tread cautiously. Be careful. And remember: Axl isn't, and never claimed to be, "going out on top." Even a fanboy knows that (quick, find one!). It is easy. Just sit facing away from the facts and you get a 180 degree view, which is an opinion, which is fine, which is what all of these posts are in a nutshell. Bitter? Nah. Just my coffee. Yuban.

Now, in honor of Fletch: Primal scream . . . or get in the ring? Well . . . you gotta' be ready to crash and burn. See what I did there? Can't we all get along?

[Metalboy!]

Well posted, Allyson and well commented, HIM.

However, there are opinions based on facts as well, which is the territory in which I prefer to operate.

Imagine if Faux News also followed that trajectory.

As far as brand sponsorship is concerned, while I agree it looked a lot cleaner before (Led Zeppelin never bothered), it's become more necessary than ever now that album sales aren't what they used to be.

p.s. Don't feed The Monster.

[fletch]

or was it that chick who screamed herman and the hermits rocks, mb?

either way bringbackglam readers...we rock!

[fletch]

am I dreaming or did mb ask me whether I could imagine the trajectory?

[Brian Esperes]

Yes, please don't feed the monster. We don't need 14 posts that are just jibberish. That dude really ruins this website and turns it into a big joke. I've tried getting my friends into this site but they all think it's stupid because of all the nonsensical posts he leaves.

[Dj]

Eh. I'll leave the Axl bashing to everyone else. He was great in the 80s and 90s. That's all I have to say.

[Him]

Valid points, Metalboy! Bands do need to find new ways to monetize their brand these days. Sad reality of the music business.

I also agree re: opinions; they are often based on facts and it is far more preferable to operate in the sequence you suggest (thankfully, most of the ones on this site are, even the ones I disagree with). But I have a few caveats to add . . . ones that will likely, and I apologize, bring the posting to a dead-stop).

An opinion based on fact by nature diverges--sometimes widely, sometimes not--from the factual nature of the original claim. Sometimes it is called "shading," sometimes "spin," sometimes "reasoned advice from a credible authority." Your example of FOX is too easy. Even the likes of Cronkite shaded what was, assumed perhaps to be, just "telling us the news." When faced with opinions that back up/confirm our biases (note that I didn't say confirm facts), we often treat the opinion as fact (putting aside the issue that an opinion is a fact in the sense that it exists).

And factual debates occur all the time, and many are shot through with value-laden assumptions (even if they are well hidden). Framed this way or that, a "fact" can take on a decidedly loaded quality . . . and the opinions that extend therefrom become even more tangentially related to the original X that has now become Y.

[fletch]

Him: still processing. It'll take a few more reads and a few more days, but I think I get what you're saying.

desperado: fuck you c#nt. What part of mb's ps didn't you get?

[fletch]

I hope axl reads this blog, because do I have a story for him! How about when I took my foster son to philly to see gnr and a riot broke out because you wouldn't cum on.

How the fuck do I explain that to my caseworker and still be trusted to raise kids? Fuck axl, that cunt. And?

[fletch]

You want a grudge? Bring it!

[fletch]

Yeah, let's talk irony and beating a dead horse while I'm at it. Foster care regulations didn't even allow foster kids to have music with "parental advisory" labels, and here I go and take him to axl no-show. Let's see you explain this one to your licensing agency. I think I said something like, "it's not like we participated in the riot."

Or take your teenage foster son to a Mötley crue show. They weren't even allowed to watch any movie higher rated than "pg" whether on regular tv or paid cable and tommy lee has his titty cam going. As halford sings, "breaking the law..."