Shed a tear 'cause I'm missin' you, Guns n' Roses

I think until I was about 10 or 12, I never realised I had listened to a lot of Guns n Roses songs on my Great Grandfather's stereo. I knew that he would sometimes play a few songs with lots of howling and growling, with racing shredding guitars and piercing, crashing drums. I never understood the lyrics and never bothered to because I was enjoying the aggressive music.

Later during or towards my rebellious years (I think it was when I was 12), I saw the CD cover for the first time. It was the classic 'Appetite for Destruction' cover. I still remember how I was so drawn to it, the 5 skeletons- one with Slash's top hat, two with Steven's and Duff's flared-up messy hair, and Duff's red banana. Then there was one with the classic Izzy's dangling cigarette from its mouth and, of course, the one with Axl's police hat and glasses. I was so fascinated with the burst of the rich purples, reds, and yellows and the detailed intricacy of the entire cover. I was awestruck. Plus, I was nearing my teen years, so the cover just served as my emblem of rebelliousness when I stuck it in front of my door (much to my mum's irritation) and just kept sketching skulls while listening to Guns n Roses at an ungodly decibel (further increasing my mum's irritation). The funnier part is, when I searched for the actual cover, they had "Appetite for Destruction" at the bottom, and I made that the motto of my teenage years. I had claimed and swallowed them whole. My room was always a mess since then, and my mum almost disowned me. Almost.

Now coming to the music. It is filled with nasty, primal and grungy lyrics that add to each song's grim tales. And, of course, a hard rock album. It's a nearly perfect album. And also, I'll be sharing some of my thoughts on a few songs that are somewhere on the top of the list in my Spotify's repeat section.

Like most people (I think), it was "Welcome to the Jungle for me". Filled with paranoia-induced lyrics, the entire song, I kid you not guys, literally felt like the excitement electrically wrapping around my bones. Powering through Axl's carnal sounds and mind-blowing vocals (with the unholy howl in the beginning) was Izzy's and Slash's nasty burst of the hard roar of the guitars, Adler's rhythmic and passionate shredding of drums and Duff's punk-infused basslines. Adler's vocal backings were like listening to a demonic choir. As Pitchfork beautifully worded it, Welcome to the Jungle "exposes the horrors of a world where every vice is for sale depending on your mood for indulgence and your tolerance for sin." Phew! That's heavy. It sounded so raw, so vicious. Brutal and relentless.

While listening to an album that's literally called Appetite for Destruction, there's this mushy love-poem-turned song with saccharine-drizzled lyrics and melodies, sweet as a lover's kiss and delicate as a childhood lost: Sweet Child O Mine. However, the honeyed tone is lost with the lyrical question, “Where do we go? Where do we go now?”- the little moment Californa sunshine is lost to the existential dread. I think Paradise City was the anthemic radio rock song with cheerful tunes and lyrics which is catchy and has that street-touch feel. The band's career-making highlight. There's actually...nothing more I can really write about it. It's literally just an anthem song, a good one, I'd say and one which I've always ALWAYS jumped to. Then there's Mr Brownstone, that I think really brings out the band's appetite for destruction...to their own bodies. It's a song about the band's addiction to heroin, but it's a good song, and I love the opening bit of it.

"Think About You" is another one of my favourites, a forgotten track, sadly. It was softer but still had the same loud, violent effect as the others. It is fast, harsh, and intense and ends with a dramatically slowed-down tempo and a sentimental outro. It's beautiful. I actually like this one more than Sweet Child O Mine. Also, it just shows Izzy's craftmanship. He wrote this gem of a song. God, I wish someone would write a song like this for me someday. I mean, that song has so much passion and fervour, and it gets me all the time.

Then there's “Rocket Queen”. It’s carnal and romantic. And, of course, it's got the sounds of a woman moaning and shuddering into the guitar solo. I think the first half of the song is the typical Guns n' Roses scene- sex is just sex, an act. No warmth, no meaning in any of the touches. However, the second half of Rocket Queen really got my heart. It was sweet, like really sweet. It's like, imagine Axl Rose (during his turbulent years) trying to write a love poem. It's just that, and I really can't use any other word but sweet. And if you haven't listened, I think you should. An explosive end to a jaw-dropping album.

Now that I've given you a little insight into some of their songs and the album in general, just imagine listening to them live. And I'm not talking about the current live performances (they're all lovely), but imagine the ones back in the '80s. Imagine being one of those wild audiences at, let's say, Whiskey a Go-Go, banging your heads and shouting and screaming to the Guns' music. I would give anything to watch them then. I mean, this band was an absolute real deal during their AFD era. It would be a treat, a dream come true. But atleast I got YouTube, and GnR is still doing their live performances, though sometimes I wish they'd all reunite again. Just a wish. Wishful thinking, keep dreaming.