Rolling Stone: Why “Black Ice” Beat “Chinese Democracy”: The Tale of Wal-Mart Vs. Best Buy
It’s the tale of two retail giants and two highly anticipated albums. While Wal-Mart and their exclusive release, AC/DC’s Black Ice, continue to sell like hotcakes, Best Buy’s investment in Guns n’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy is an industry flop. So what’s to blame for the giant disparity? There’s Best Buy’s lack of promotion or Axl Rose’s reluctance to give interviews, but theWall Street Journal also credits Wal-Mart for superior handling the promotion and executionof their exclusive product.
While Best Buy housed their Democracy in tiny cardboard kiosks, Wal-Mart essentially constructed AC/DC gift shops, selling band merchandise like T-shirts and the group’s Rock Band game, plus an AC/DC bus drove around select cities to build buzz. “Rock N’ Roll Train” debuted with fan interpretations, a music video, a Microsoft Excel video and a spot in the playlist at every sporting event, while “Chinese Democracy” simply hit radio and faded. AC/DC toured, Gn’R didn’t. Angus Young did interviews, Gn’R didn’t. More former members of Guns were willing to talk about Democracy than the band’s current members — even Dr Pepper promotedChinese Democracy more than Axl Rose did.
Still, Universal Records won’t feel the punch of underselling “the most anticipated album in rock history”: As part of the Best Buy deal, the electronics giant agreed to purchase 1.3 millionChinese Democracy copies upfront with a pledge not to return the excess to the label. There is a silver lining, however, as Rose’s epic can expect a huge bump in strip club spins after twoChinese Democracy songs were sent on a music sampler sent to over 2,500 exotic dancing spots.
source: rollingstone.com
Talking Metal: GUNS N’ ROSES: Countdown to ‘Chinese Democracy’: New Podcast Posted Online
Talking Metal
In the latest episode of "Talking Metal", recorded at the Channel 4 Pub in New York City's Rockefeller Center, hosts Mark Strigl and John Ostronomy participate in the second-to-last installment of their countdown to one of the world's most anticipated albums, GUNS N' ROSES' "Chinese Democracy". Topics include the official "Chinese Democracy" listening parties, Bumblefoot, Chris Pitman and Best Buy.
The podcast can be downloaded at www.talkingmetal.com.
"Chinese Democracy" will be released in the U.S. on November 23 exclusively through Best Buy. The 14-song set will be available on CD, vinyl, and as a download. While singer Axl Rose has remained silent, co-managers Irving Azoff and Andy Gould said in a statement, "The release of 'Chinese Democracy' marks a historic moment in rock n'roll. We're launching with a monumental campaign...that matches the groundbreaking sound of the album itself. GUNS N' ROSES fans have every reason to celebrate, for this is only the beginning."
One new song, "Shackler's Revenge", debuted on September 14 through the Rock Band 2 video game, while another, called "If The World", can be heard in the new film "Body of Lies".
"Chinese Democracy" is the first album of new material from GUNS N' ROSES since 1991's "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II".
source: blabbermouth.net
‘Chinese Democracy’ Track Listing, Cover Art Revealed
BestBuy.com has revealed the track listing and what appears to be the official cover art (see below) for GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy". The effort, which will reportedly be released on Sunday, November 23 via an exclusive deal with Best Buy, will be made available on CD and vinyl format. Furthermore, fans have a choice between three different CD and LP covers, although exact details have not yet been revealed.
"Chinese Democracy" track listing:
01. Chinese Democracy
02. Scraped
03. Shackler's Revenge
04. Street Of Dreams
05. If The World
06. Better
07. This I Love
08. There Was A Time
09. Riad N' The Bedovins
10. Sorry
11. I.R.S.
12. Catcher
13. Madagascar
14. Prostitute
Note: "Street Of Dreams" is believed by some GUNS N' ROSES fans to be the song formerly known as "The Blues".
To whet fans' appetites, so to speak, the group's label will reissue its classic 1987 debut, "Appetite for Destruction", in a new vinyl edition on October 28. One new GUNS song, called "If The World", can be heard in part over the end credits of the film "Body of Lies", which opened this past Friday (October 10), while another track, "Shackler's Revenge", will make its debut on Rock Band 2 at the end of this month.
source: blabbermouth.net
MTV: Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy Will Finally Be Released November 23: Report
Axl Rose
MTV News reports:
Web site claims that's the day long-awaited LP will land on Best Buy shelves
Well, it's looking more and more likely that Guns N' Roses' follow-up to 1991's Use Your Illusion albums,Chinese Democracy, will actually see the retail light of day in our lifetime.
Last month there were rumors that frontman Axl Rose had inked a deal with Best Buy allowing the chain to be the album's sole purveyor, and that GN'R's manager, Andy Gould, told 900 Best Buy employees during a Dallas convention that the LP would be on store shelves by November 25. Now comes word from Hits Daily Double (you need to register to access the site) that Interscope has arrived at a hard-and-fast, set-your-clock-to-it release date of November 23.
read the rest @ MTV.com
GUNS N’ ROSES’ ‘Chinese Democracy’ Finally Has A Release Date
Axl Rose
According to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS, GUNS N' ROSES' long-awaited new album,"Chinese Democracy" (Geffen/Interscope) finally has a release date. The CD will hit all Best Buy stores, where it is an exclusive, on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, November 23, giving it a full seven days on sale before entering the chart on December 2. Best Buy's sales week runs from Sunday through Saturday night.
GUNS manager Andy Gould reportedly told 900 Best Buy employees at "vendor convention" held by Best Buy last month in Dallas that a newGN'R song called "If The World" will play under the closing credits of "Body of Lies", the new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe due out on October 10. That news was confirmed online at film web sites whose representatives had attended a press screening of the flick. "If The World" will not appear on the film's soundtrack album.
"If The World" features the guitar work of Robin Finck andBuckethead, who have both since departed GUNS N' ROSES.
Another new GN'R song, called "Shackler's Revenge", appears on theRock Band 2 video game.
"Chinese Democracy" has been more than 13 years in the making, with every original member of GUNS N' ROSES except for frontman Axl Rose long since gone from the lineup.
source: blabbermouth.net
900 Best Buy employees get a sneak peak of 3 Chinese Democracy
Best Buy
From newgnr.com forum:
By Barber3121:
Ok, here goes...
My nephew is an employee at Best Buy. He is currently in Dallas for a big vendor convention. I was talking with him through AIM when I heard some pretty crazy news. Here are the details...
- 900 Best Buy employees were invited to listen to some new Guns N' Roses tracks.
- My nephew met with an English man in his 50's - dark hair, slicked back, dark skinned guy - said he was one of the band's managers.
- The "manager guy" then presented 3 new tracks from the forthcoming "Chinese Democracy" album - which he said "should be" released around Thanksgiving.
- The album is also to be released as a "Best Buy exclusive" - deal was finished in the last 48 hours.
- He also said that the Best Buy employees were the first to hear these songs outside of the label.
- The three songs were not named by the manager.
- Their manager said that there are to be 15 tracks on the album.Ok, now some more details. Someone decided to record these songs on their PDA phone - and I've listened to them. The songs are as follows (in order they were played)...
1. Chinese Democracy
2. If the World
3. There Was a TimeFirst of all, my nephew said that everyone loved the songs, even though they were played on a crappy convention hall sound system. He's not a huge Guns fan like I am - as a matter of fact he's not even really into their old stuff - but he REALLY dug these new songs. He said Axl's voice sounds like another guitar track! The manager introduced "If the World" as a song to be played during the credits of a new Leo Dicaprio and Russell Crowe flick called "Body of Lies". He introduced "There Was a Time" as Axl's favorite. My nephew said this song was everyone else's favorite as well.
The songs sounded pretty much the same as the previous versions. If the World sounded a bit different, like it has a voice synth in the middle of the song where Axl has a longer lyric bridge. Some of the song's effects sounded different as well, but I can't tell if it's a result of the fact that they were recorded in a hall on a PDA. Man, this is the most exciting news I have heard in a while - even though I don't usually get my hopes up too much. Although I am a huge ol' school Guns fan, I just love the new stuff. Who cares if it's only Axl, it sounds awesome. Look at what the rest of GNR did. As much as I love Slash and Duff, VR was a huge let-down for me. I absolutely LOVE all of the the new GNR tracks I've heard so far, and I'm beyond excited to finally buy the 50 or so copies of Chinese Democracy I plan on buying!
There is proof of this actually happening, and there are recordings of the 3 songs circulating.
