Chinese Democracy

Okay, so I'm a big of fan Guns N' Roses from way back. In fact, as a youngster, I remember counting down the days and hours until the Use Your Illusion albums were released back in the early 90s, then running out immediately to buy them. On cassette tape, I might add. Man, I feel old right now. Anyway, the point is that this Sunday, the 23rd, is the release date of the long-awaited (and I mean long) new "Guns N' Roses" album Chinese Democracy. I put "Guns N' Roses" in quotes, because even though that name is getting used, only Axl is left from the classic GNR. No Slash, no Duff, no Izzy. So really, despite the name, this is an Axl Rose album, not Guns N' Roses. And strangely enough, the album will only be available exclusively at Best Buy stores. Weird.

Right now, the album is currently available in its entirety to stream for free on Guns N' Roses' MySpace page. I miss the real GNR (Buckethead and Bumblefoot are good, but you can't substitute for Slash), but I've rocking out to it all day, and I kinda dig it. Whether you like it or not, it's an interesting story. Work on the album technically started almost 15 years ago, right after the release of the cover album The Spaghetti Incident. Along the way, the band fell into disrepair, causing everybody but Axl to bail. Incidentally, you might be aware that all the members of Guns N' Roses went and formed their own band called Velvet Revolver with Scott Weiland as the singer. Axl kept it going, bringing in new members like Buckethead and drummer Bryan Mantia from Primus, who have since come and gone as well. I'll tell you what, if you're not already familiar with all the drama and setbacks behind Chinese Democracy, you can read about it in detail by clicking here.

Also, earlier in the year, Dr. Pepper announced that they'd give everyone in America a free soda if Chinese Democracy got released by the end of 2008. It looked like a long shot at the time, given the album's history, but now that it's going to happen, Dr. Pepper is making good on their offer. So if you like Dr. Pepper, or at least just like free stuff, go to Dr. Pepper's website on Sunday to get a coupon for a free soda.