Originally Posted by mr dave

because rock music is rooted in rebellion, an offshoot of that being danger. it was a style for youth, to break free from the mold of what parents considered acceptable behaviour, to push the envelope of what was considered socially acceptable as the norm. that doesn't happen when you play mom friendly music or just keep rehashing the past for cheap hits.

GnR (not the Axl show) couldn't be anything but this and it's what made them clearly superior to their peers from back in the day (Poison, Warrant, Extreme, etc.) they didn't play the bad boy roles, they WERE greasy dirty hard rocking motherf0ckers and it was a tangible element to their music that hasn't really shown itself in the mainstream since. maybe they were the last of a dying breed, maybe i've become the old fart i once detested, but i've yet to hear anything new that remotely captures the raw energy they originally had. that to me is what most new bands are missing, not technique, or style, or ability, but pure rock fury.