Guns N' Roses - Perhaps

August 18, 2023 12:46 AM

YouTube link to a Guns N' Roses song called "Perhaps."
posted by cgc373 (36 comments total)

I can't tell what I think about this yet aside from a stunned feeling about its existence.
posted by cgc373 at 12:46 AM on August 18, 2023 [4 favorites]

As it's presented fully without comment, I can just say that if you aren't feeling some kind of way about it by like 30 seconds in you don't need to keep watching, there's no "gotcha" or "stay till the end" thing going on here. It's just a new song by G'n'R, beige enough that Rolling Stone had to write a post entitled "new g'n'r song, is it any good". They say yes, I say no. What little I could follow of the lyrics it sounded kinda teenage-edgelordy. FWIW I was a fan in the day.
posted by Iteki at 1:27 AM on August 18, 2023 [5 favorites]

Welcome to the grumble.
posted by flabdablet at 4:35 AM on August 18, 2023 [16 favorites]

I believe this song was written back in the early '90s. It's OK, no hook though. This makes me wish that Izzy would put out more albums. His solo albums, especially "river," are excellent and nothing like GnR.
posted by NoMich at 4:41 AM on August 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm glad I lived long enough to see the Guns N' Roses lyric

My sense of rejection/ is no excuse for my behavior
posted by box at 4:44 AM on August 18, 2023 [6 favorites]

That's some boring music.
posted by dobbs at 5:18 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Who's the Iggy Pop-looking guy?
The only good thing about this is confirming that Duff McKagan is the best musician in the band.
posted by signal at 5:36 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Appetite for Destruction was such a lightning-in-a-bottle album that everything since has been tepid in comparison, but this isn't even tepid. What's cooler than tepid?
posted by uncleozzy at 5:44 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

November rain?
posted by box at 5:50 AM on August 18, 2023 [17 favorites]

Yeah, fine, November Rain is a banger. Don't Cry is alright. I still think they don't compete with the force of nature feeling of Appetite.
posted by uncleozzy at 6:02 AM on August 18, 2023

RE: the spectrum of temperatures referenced in relation to this song:

Q: What's cooler than tepid?
A: November rain
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:08 AM on August 18, 2023 [6 favorites]

"Hey" is doing a lot of work in those lyrics.
posted by Flunkie at 6:15 AM on August 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

Here I was hoping they’d recorded Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.
posted by fedward at 6:15 AM on August 18, 2023 [5 favorites]

What's cooler than tepid?

Iced tepid.
posted by grog at 6:30 AM on August 18, 2023 [17 favorites]

RE: the spectrum of temperatures referenced in relation to this song:

ohhhhhh I am a dope.
posted by uncleozzy at 7:16 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Slow motion footage can hide a lot of creaks and groans.
posted by gottabefunky at 8:19 AM on August 18, 2023

Later Axl really sounds like Clucky Chicken to me. (the ol' SNL character). I will say he sounds better here (but it's produced) than the Chinese Democracy.

All praise Duff (and Slash). Whose the keyboard chick? She looks like some modern hip millenial gen z thing?
posted by symbioid at 8:29 AM on August 18, 2023

Melissa Reese.

And, while Duff seems like a decent guy, all things considered, I suspect that she is the best musician in Guns n' Roses.
posted by box at 8:35 AM on August 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

One big downside of the (mostly) original lineup of GNR being back together is that when they put out forgettable music or go on tours I don't care about, I can no longer think, Well, at least Tommy Stinson from The Replacements is getting paid a shit ton of money.

When Axl spent that looooooooooooonnnnnnnggg period working up Chinese Democracy, I really hoped he was going to bust out with some amazing new sound. When what we actually got was third-rate Elton John, repackaged for aging Sunset Strip burnouts still buying those clothes from Hot Topic, I was really underwhelmed. Then, years later, when my kiddo got old enough to want to hear things that fucking rock and I would put on even the "golden years" GNR, I found myself repeatedly embarrassed at the misogyny that's on nearly every track.

At this point, I can hardly be bothered with their stuff new or old. The fact that Axl seems a better person these days is cool and all, but he really didn't bring the hooks with him on that journey.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:39 AM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

didn't click thru, but i'm assuming this was not a cover of "perhaps, perhaps, perhaps." which, to be honest, might have been cool.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:56 AM on August 18, 2023 [2 favorites]

At this point, I can hardly be bothered with their stuff new or old. The fact that Axl seems a better person these days is cool and all, but he really didn't bring the hooks with him on that journey.

I feel kinda like GNR is Aerosmith, just a couple decades behind.
posted by nickmark at 10:02 AM on August 18, 2023

If you want to rock out to Golden era GnR, just listen to those old Hanoi Rocks albums.
posted by NoMich at 10:05 AM on August 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

Sorry, but I'm pretty stoked that Slash can do a handstand while still keeping his hat on.
posted by swift at 10:09 AM on August 18, 2023 [4 favorites]

I feel kinda like GNR is Aerosmith, just a couple decades behind.

Have they arrived at the 'Walk This Way'-style collaboration yet?
posted by box at 11:18 AM on August 18, 2023

It seems very hard for a band like this to age gracefully. As far as I’m concerned their best song has always been “Nightrain” and if you can write that at 60 you’re in trouble (although I guess you’ve done okay making it that far, c.f. Lemmy etc.)
posted by atoxyl at 11:56 AM on August 18, 2023 [3 favorites]

I was never really a fan of their ballads, and since this is one of those I didn't even make it all the way through. But it wasn't markedly worse either. I agree it's missing a hook, which they used to be good at.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:42 PM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Have they arrived at the 'Walk This Way'-style collaboration yet?

Based on this song, I’d say GNR is somewhere between “Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing” and … whatever Aerosmith did after that.
posted by nickmark at 4:02 PM on August 18, 2023

"Melissa Reese. And, while Duff seems like a decent guy, all things considered, I suspect that she is the best musician in Guns n' Roses."

I stand corrected.
posted by signal at 5:27 PM on August 18, 2023

I feel like Aerosmith had a lower peak than GnR but much less trough. Like, they were able to put out okay music, consistently, for a long time, whereas GnR was a brief flash of brilliance followed by 30 years of sputtering and false promise. It's cool that they've managed to stay in reasonably good health and keep doing their stadium thing, though. I saw them in 2017, I think, and it was a great atmosphere.

Nobody is ever going to care about old bands' new music, especially when, yes, tepid, but I'm sure they're having fun making it, so good for them.
posted by mellow seas at 5:31 PM on August 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

The best thing I can say about this is that it kinda sounds like Spacehog? I don't know, man
posted by Dokterrock at 9:36 PM on August 18, 2023

I forgot this and it came on my youtube list LOL. So coming back to the thread. It's competent 1992 era GnR.
It's nice to hear the gang back together though. I'm glad Axl hasn't completely turned out an asshat.

But Duff. I am so gay for Duff. I remember reading an interview with him in like Sophomore year and he was talking about his lack of faith and experience in the punk scene and I was like he is SO COOL. And every time I hear him. He's like the Keanu of 80s Hair Bands (I was gonna say Rock but Keanu is a rocker so I can't say that)).
posted by symbioid at 10:10 AM on August 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

But, I don't consider GnR a "hair band" by any means. Just associate the era/hollywood/adler.
posted by symbioid at 10:12 AM on August 19, 2023

Man, Hanson has not aged well.
posted by loquacious at 10:42 AM on August 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

(Mmm, maybe a little bit of a hair band.)
posted by box at 12:27 PM on August 19, 2023

Duff and his wife Susan Holmes McKagen have a great show on Ozzy's Boneyard on satellite radio. And I'm serious about Izzy Stradlin's work after he left GnR; so friggin good.
posted by NoMich at 5:08 PM on August 19, 2023

> And every time I hear him. He's like the Keanu of 80s Hair Bands

Come to SeaTac airport and you get to hear him give you packing advice (or some such, it's been a few days since I last heard it and it's already forgotten).
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:12 PM on August 20, 2023