FEBRUARY 10,1989 — THE DECREE — PAGE 3
Guns n' Roses erratic but promising
By MARK BRETT
“You heard Guns n’ Roses
yet, man?” my head-bangin’
friend Jimmy asked me, almost a
year ago.
“I think so,” I replied. “Aren’t
they another one of those pop-
metal Top 40 Bon-Jovi-wanna-
be bands that are being spawned
everywhere I look?”
Giving me a pained expres
sion, Jimmy explained to me that
Guns n’ Roses was a lot better
than those guys, that they just
didn’t give a damn, and that they
might just be the men to make
Rock n’ Roll dangerous agaiiiv Aa^
impressive as all that sounded,
(and it did; rock hasn’t been dan
gerous since Sid Vicious died), it
still took me two months to buy
Guns n’ Roses’ first album,
“Appetite for Destruction.”
That album proved to me that I
needed to trust Jimmy’s judge
ment a lot more, (thanks, man!)
and that Guns n’ Roses owes a lot
Review
more to the aforementioned Mr.
Vicious than to any moussed-up
glamour boy that ever lived. That
first album was filled with raw
energy, innovative speed-blues
(?) guitar, and (gasp!) intelligent
lyrics that take a hard look at life
and try to make some kind of
sense out of it.
That, as I said, was nearly a
year ago, and Guns n’ Roses has
since vaulted into the national
spotlight (a glimmer of hope on a
mostly bleak musical front).
Recently, they released
“GN’R Lies,” the second album
that’s not really the second al
bum. “GN’R Lies” is a collection
of previously-released material
and new songs that just wouldn’t
fit anywhere else. The first side
Violence is black hole
(Continued from Page 2)
problem he or she presented
seems loved. But what a false
peace, what a juvenile solution.
One way or another that oppo
nent still lives and will leap to his
feet to confront you, more dan
gerous, more resolved than ever.
Although violence sometimes
seems justified, it never makes
sense. The guy who shoots indis
criminately into a school yard,
the man who beats to death his
adopted daughter, the man who
strangles his brother for robbing
him of his dreams - - these are
senseless acts. Violence is the
futile act of an uncivilized, inse
cure, fearful person, whether
temporarily insane or not.
Hugh Corbin said to me the
other day that he could hear the
violence of True West rehearsals
in his office. “I think there’s too
much violence in our society al
ready,” he said. Well, I do too, I
thought; I’m a good liberal; I
don’t advocate violence. But
doesn’t every act of violence - -
at the personal and at the public
level - - hinder the progress of
civilization?
What does happen to people
who see violence on TV or in the
movies or on the stage? Can they
separate this from what they see
on the news, or has it all come to
seem like one big stage?
I assume you’re aware of this
debate in our culture. But what
do you think about it? The writer
must portray what he knows to be
true about his culture, but Shep
ard leaves me still wondering
why my culture not only advo
cates but also searches for vio
lence.
I might understand temporar
ily losing your sanity over a mur
dered friend and seeking retribu
tion, but I do not understand
cheering at Ted Bundy’s funeral.
I might understand learning to
protect yourself from an attacker,
but I do not understand paying
the NR A for blind support of the
manufacturing and selling of any
weapons conceived by any mind
and desired by any mindless mur
derer with a buck. Can’t vve drag
ourselves out of that primeval
muck and leave at least the hand
guns in it?
Being in this play has made
we realize that I need to reaffirm
my commitment against vio
lence. Especially as a teacher, I
need to figure out and be able to
articulate what I think the indi
vidual should do to educate
people who take the easy way out
- - people like my character who
destroys himself and his future
for the meaningless satisfaction
of inflicting pain on his brother.
The black holes these people
plunge themselves into are far
worse than those upstairs in Col-
trane Theater.
(or “G” Side) features music
from a 1986 mini-album titled
“Live?!*@ Like a Suicide,”
which apparently never made it
out of the Los Angeles area,
where the band originated.
This four-song live set contin
ues in the tradition of the first
album (or should I say sets the
tradition of the first album; it did
come first, after all). It’s fast,
loud, and has a rough and danger
ous edge.
The songs are “Reckless
Life,” a clearly autobiographical
song that sets a punkish tone with
lines like “I lead a reckless life/
and I don’t need your advice;”
“Nice Boys,” which sets up the
dangerous aspect of the band
(“Nice Boys,” after all, “don’t
play rock n’ roll); “Move to the
City,” another autobiographical
piece about (I think) lead singer
Axl Rose’s journey from his
small-town religious upbringing
to his life of drugs and rock mu
sic in L.A.; and, finally, an excel
lent cover of Aerosmith’s
“Mama Kin” that I think I like
better than the original (high
praise coming from a hard core
A-smith fan). Although a little
rough in places, the “G” side was
just about what I expected, and
doesn’t disappoint.
The “R” side doesn’t disap
point, either, but it’s definitely
not what I expected. The four
new songs on the “R” side
are...mellow.
It begins with “Patience,” a
sincere love song (an oddity in
these days of “What have ya
done for me lately” mentality);
“Used to Love Her,” a really
funny song that follows the title
with “but I had to kill her” (a
jarring contrast to the honest
emotion of the first song);
“You’re Crazy,” a song from the
first album retumed to its origi
nal slower tempo; and “One in a
Million,” a song that expresses
some pretty ugly thoughts, but
honest thoughts that occurred to
Axl as he tried to get “some time
to get away” for “some peace of
mind” and encountered nothing
but hassles. The “R” side is actu
ally a pleasant surprise and diver
sion that even head-bangers like.
Guns n’ Roses is a group of
disturbed young men, prone to
fits of violence and self-destruc-
tive behavior. All the members of
the band have had bouts with se
rious heroin addiction, and lead
guitarist Slash is a practicing al
coholic.
From this chaos, however,
comes an erratic mix of some
times/brilliant, sometimes/medi
ocre music that is somehow al
ways compelling. With their
roots in punk rock and the music
of Heavy Metal greats such as
Aerosmith and AC/DC, Guns n’
Roses can stand tall.
I look forward to many more
years of their music (they’re cur
rently, I hear, recording the real
second album). I just hope they
can live long enough to make that
music. Groups this good tend to
die young.
Good Country People — The Cultures
of Eastern North Carolina
1989 Spring Symposium
Feb. 20-22
The 1989 Wesleyan Symposium celebrates the various cultures of eastern Noith Carolina.
The keynote is diversity: speakers will examine cultures elite and cultures folk, cultures past
and present, cultures black, white, and red.
Schedule of Events
Monday, Feb. 20
North Carolina Wesleyan College
8:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
Reading
Music ofThelonious Monk and Others
Allan Gurganus
North Carolina Central University
New York City
Jazz Ensemble
Tuesday, Feb. 21
Wednesday, Feb. 22
10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
Eastern North Carolina in the Movies
Black Traveling Shows in North Carolina, 1900-1950
Tom Whiteside
Alex Albright
Duke University
English Department
The Architecture of Eastern North Carolina
East Carolina University
Chris Wilson
Throwed Away: Lessons in Eastern North Carolina
Atlantic Christian College
Linda Flowers
1:00 p.m.
North Carolina Wesleyan College
Indian Culture in North Carolina
2:30 p.m.
Stanley Knick
North Carolina Blues
Native American Resource Center
Scott Ainslie, Musician
Somerset Homecoming
George Higgs
Dorothy Spruill Redford, Writer
Stories of Eastern North Carolina
Somerset Place
Louise Anderson, Storyteller
2:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
The Art of Hobson Pittman
Outsider Art in Eastern North Carolina
Meade Home, Writer
Guest Curator, Roger Manley
Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council
Lynch Collection
The Association of American University
Arboreta Here and There
Woman Oral History of Notable Women
Arch W. Sharer
Kathy Smith
North Carolina Wesleyan College