...At an award show. After watching Alex Lifeson's "Blah, blah" speech at the RRHOF, I was reminded of Eddie Vedder's Grammy speech/sort of rant. Other than a flat out boycott, can anyone think of a better "Eff you" to the industry? Fiona Apple comes to mind.

Corduroy

Napster.

There are few that even know of this songs existence.

It could have been punk in '77 as it rallied against the bloated behemoth that '70s rock had become, however that was within the realms of the music industry. But Napster was the finger. It paved the way for peer to peer and completely challenged everyone's beliefs of how we consume music product.

I like that this thread was inspired by a "blahblah" speech at an organization that has Ed on speed dial.

Axl Rose Letter to HOF

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show not mine.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of "Guns N' Roses".

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the "no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn't care about the fans" crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let's move on. No one's taking the ball and going home. Don't get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we've endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball's never been in our court.

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I'd like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns' induction. More importantly I'd like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we've had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N' Roses music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

lol yeah

First off, this thread doesn't really belong in Pearl Jam chat.

Second, in no way, shape, or form was the first wave of Detroit/NY/UK punk anti-commercial...they would have been just as happy selling millions of records and at the award shows (just dressed a bit differently) as anyone else. I'm talking about The MC5, The Stooges, The New York Dolls, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash, and everyone associated with them. The anti-commercial wave of punk came with the 80's USA hardcore...Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, etc.

Third, as much as I love Eddie Vedder, Fiona Apple, and Kurt Cobain...they all played the game and showed up at their various industry engagements, for various reasons and various levels of conflict at various times. I think the biggest eff you to the industry comes from Jandek, his entire life and career. Who? Exactly, look him up, all I will say is that while I am not super into his music, it did inspire Sonic Youth.

Yeah, the story of Jandek is really interesting, even though his music is awful.

was lifeson really that bad?

I didn't really take it as a finger to the music industry. I think it was just rib on the all the cliche speeches people tend to make for stuff like this.


As for Ed's big middle finger...More like the biggest poser f-you ever. It obviously meant something if he showed up to accept it, he just had to keep up his image.

given that the ticket master boycott followed on the heels of this I do not doubt the sincerity. It was contradictory, and incoherent (much of this protest from all these guys were, which is one of the reasons why I'm not fussed by the target stuff), but I don't doubt the sincerity.

I don't know that it's appropriate to say that outsider musicians like Jandek are giving the finger to the music industry-- more like they're completely unable (or, as Corwood Industries seems to suggest, simply unwilling) to operate within it. Have you read "Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious World of Outsider Music"? Jandek still very much sees his music as product, meant for public consumption, he just doesn't care enough to peddle it like a medicine show. I'm thinking of actual acts of subversion from industry insiders, like Phil Spector delivering "(Let's Dance) The Screw" with The Crystals to Lester Sill to end his contract with Philles (though that's not as much an "eff you" to the industry at large as it is to one person in particular), or Andrew Eldritch fulfilling his contractual obligations by forming a "band" named Screw Shareholder Value– Not So Much a Band as Another Opportunity to Waste Money on Drugs and Ammunition Courtesy of the Idiots at Time Warner, or Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" (though he still claims to be serious about it).

Ed came off like a petulant jackass in that Grammy speech.

I don't really connect the 2. One was sticking up for fans fighting a huge conglomerate that controls every venue that big bands could play, the other was a really bad attempt at sounding cool.

I think the ticketmaster is a much better "finger to the industry".

Biggest fingers in the music industry.

idk man...

justin bieber

If it was just that "he didn't care enough", then certainly he would have entertained an offer to handle distribution, show booking, etc., which is what a record company does. Instead he essentially operates a mail order catalog out of his house and does everything himself, from what I understand.

But based on your definition, though the thread is about award show speeches, I think special mention has to be made for Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. "Fuck You's" don't get any more blatant than that.

Agreed, it's just kind of embarrassing in retrospect.

The worst part was the part about his dad. That's just cringe-inducing.