Welcome Back to the Jungle

One subject that I've had regrettably little time to write about here on the blog is music. For, you see, I am a music junkie, and one day, I'll write a lengthy post about that particular fandom. But, for today, with deadlines at work looming during this holiday-shortened week, I'll briefly discuss a topic I've been trying to avoid for some time, now.

I guess I should start off by saying that I am an unabashed Guns N' Roses fanatic, and I still hold to my (circa-1996) argument that, if the Gunners stayed together, while they wouldn't be hoisted upon the same pedestal as the Beatles, they would be spoken of in the same breath as the Rolling Stones.

So, yes, I am a Guns N' Roses fan. And, yes, one of my AOL screen names in the late 90s may have had the letters g, n, and r in it. And maybe an f.

Maybe.

OK...probably.

Anyway, the reason I mention all this is because this past weekend saw the release of the long (read: looooooong)-awaited and long-rumored new Guns N' Roses album, entitled Chinese Democracy. Since the time work on the album began in 1994, the original band broke up, and uh, well...a lot of history has taken place.

I mean, it's been almost 15 years!

But, now, finally, there is a new Guns N' Roses album. Sort of. Slash and Izzy and Matt and Duff aren't involved, and Steven Adler is currently on the MTV reality show Celebrity Rehab, so to say this is a bona fide Guns album might be a bit of a stretch for some.

But, things like this happen all the time in the music industry, and Axl Rose owns the name and copyright to the band. So, this is just the latest incarnation of Guns N' Roses--a band that has seen some changes in the past.

Which brings me to my point. The album was released on Sunday, and though I have been aching for a new Guns album for years, I still haven't bought Democracy. And it's not because I can't get over the fact that the original members aren't involved. If that was my hang-up, I wouldn't have bought anything post-Appetite for Destruction, since Steven had left by then.

No, the reason I haven't bought the album is because I...just don't want it to be bad. I don't think I could handle another bad GnR record (anyone remember The Spaghetti Incident?)

I'll buy Democracy eventually. Of that, I'm sure. But, for now, I am content in the knowledge that there is a new Guns album out there in the world.

Somehow, that makes everything seem right.