Guns N' Roses: Chinese Democracy (review)

What a great year it has been for new music from some of the best artists out there from Metallica to Slipknot & from Slipknot to The Killers, 2008 has been one of the best years for music.

And so to the review.. Chinese democracy is the sixth studio album from the band guns n roses & its their first real release since 1993s “the spaghetti incident?” - the wait for Chinese democracy has been long..very long. Apparently the work began on the album as far as back as 1994 but details are sketchy at best what is clear though is the album hit so many bumps along the way that it almost never got released. The production costs on the album reached so high in the end that this may indeed be the most expensive album ever produced & it shows, the album boasts an incredible host of guest appearances. Composer marco beltrami who is usually suited to working on movie scores provides amazing orchestral backing that really just is mind blowing in depth, Sebastian bach of skid row fame recorded the backing vocals for the powerful song “sorry”. this time around the band has dropped its heavy industrial sound for a more well refined rock out of pure bliss, the sound is more modern but still succeeds to retain the patented guns n roses sound that has been often copied but never equalled. The guitar riffs are heavy but at the same time never loose their well refined sound, the vocals are flawless as is the sound from each of the bands impressive line-up. The biggest message I took away from Chinese democracy was that the more time something takes to be released the better it really is - if Chinese democracy had been released a few years ago I’m not so sure it would have gotten the same reception it does today, more than that it’s a sign that though so many new bands are being formed the old guard still know how to rock out with the best of them & as long as they keep it up music will always remain strong & a intricate part of peoples lives. In 2007 Sebastian bach stated that Chinese democracy would be the start of a new era in guns n roses & that it would form the first part of a trilogy of albums that would be released over the following years - here’s hoping we don’t have to wait as long this time around. I have listened to a lot of new material over the last year from various bands some high up in the food chain & some unknown & after hundreds of releases & gigs I can easily say that this is the best album I have heard all year - Metallica/Slipknot/The Killers all made fine albums but the top spot I’m happy to say goes to guns n roses. This wont disappoint anyone whether you are a hardcore music fan or a casual listener this album has something for everyone- simply flawless. (10-10)

1. Chinese Democracy [4:43]
2. Shackler’s Revenge [3:36]
3. Better [4:58]
4. Street Of Dreams [4:46]
5. If The World [4:54]
6. There Was A Time [6:41]
7. Catcher N’ The Rye [5:52]
8. Scraped [3:30]
9. Riad N’ The Bedouins 4:10]
10. Sorry (with Sebastian Bach) [6:14]
11. I.R.S. [4:28]
12. Madagascar [5:37]
13. This I Love [5:34]
14. Prostitute [6:15]

First 'cyber-bully' trial opens

A housewife who created a phoney MySpace account to send hostile emails to a neighbour's 13-year-old daughter appeared in court yesterday charged with "cyber-bullying" that prompted the girl's suicide.

Lori Drew is accused of posing as a fictitious 16-year-old boy called "Josh Evans" in a plot to befriend and later send taunting messages to Megan Meier, a vulnerable girl with a history of depression who was being bullied at school. Ms Drew set out to "tease, embarrass, humiliate, make fun of and hurt" the "suicidal and boy-crazy" girl, said prosecutors, using the social networking site to tell Megan that "the world would be a better place" without her. Megan replied, telling "Evans" that he was the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over", then hanged herself with a belt, in an upstairs room of her family home in the small town of O'Fallon, Missouri, the jury heard. In a landmark case, the first "cyber-bullying" prosecution in the US, Ms Drew, 49, faces one count of conspiracy and three counts of computer fraud, which each carry a maximum of five years in prison. She sat expressionless in court on Wednesday as Megan's mother, Tina, recalled how her daughter, who was taking medication for attention deficit disorder, had apparently been befriended by a boy online in September 2006. A month later, during a visit with her younger daughter to the orthodontist, Tina Meier told the jury how she had called home to see how Megan was doing, and discovered her in tears, because "Josh" and two other girls were "saying mean things about her". Later that day, Mrs Meier asked Megan to show her the messages, and then scolded her for being online without a parent present. "The last words she said to me were, 'You are supposed to be my mom; you are supposed to be on my side'," she said.

Soon afterwards, Mrs Meier heard a commotion upstairs and discovered Megan had hanged herself in a wardrobe. She screamed for her husband, who used a knife to cut his daughter down. But it was too late: Megan died in hospital the following day. Ms Drew, who lived nearby, has been accused of using a fake MySpace account to find out whether Megan had been spreading false rumours about her daughter, Sarah, who attended the same school. Another witness, Susan Prouty, who manages an interior design shop and did business with Ms Drew's magazine coupon firm, testified that the defendant had told of her plan to print out a thread of flirtatious messages to take to Megan's school.

Ms Drew said the idea was to "humiliate her", claimed Ms Prouty. She justified the plot on the basis that, "As a mother, you have to protect your daughter". The case revolves around charges that Ms Drew lied on the fake MySpace profile, violating the site's terms of service which require users to provide "truthful and accurate" registration information. The case is being heard at a federal court in Los Angeles because Fox Interactive, the owner of MySpace is based in nearby Beverly Hills. Ms Drew's attorney, H Dean Steward, fought unsuccessfully to have the charges thrown out before trial, arguing that people routinely create fake identities on the internet without fear of prosecution. He also tried, and failed, to ban prosecutors from mentioning Megan's death on grounds that it might prejudice the jury. Much of the trial will revolve around technical aspects of social networking. Ms Drew claims she was not at home when the fateful, final message was sent, and – while she admits to knowing about the Myspace account – blames her daughter Sarah, and several friends, for sending the hostile messages. "There are two sides to every story," said Mr Steward, who asked jurors not to let emotions cloud their judgement, and to remember that, "this is a computer abuse and fraud case, not a homicide case".

The trial continues.

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