There are few vocalists, said Slash, who can inspire him to trot out a signature Guns N' Roses song such as "Sweet Child o' Mine." At the top of that shortlist, perhaps to the surprise of many of the guitar-slinger's longtime fans, sits Fergie. While the singer behind "My Humps" would seem to be a long way removed from the hard-rock stud, Slash defined the Black Eyed Peas vocalist as a "closet rock 'n' roll singer."

Though it wasn't the first time he performed the song with Fergie, Slash and the Black Eyed Peas ran through "Sweet Child" when the pop band opened for U2 at the Rose Bowl in late 2009. It's Fergie's ability, said Slash, to sing in the higher notes associated with the enigmatic Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose that persuaded Slash to perform the song in front of a stadium audience that was estimated to top 95,000 people. 

"That was a first for me, to go out and pull out ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’ in front of however many thousands of people at the Rose Bowl with a different group," Slash said. "I had never really played that song with anyone besides Guns N' Roses. Fergie asked me if I would do it with her, and she’s honestly one of the only singers I would trust that song to." 

She's one of more than a dozen vocalists who will appear on the guitarist's upcoming self-titled solo effort, set for release this April. It's the artist's first work since Velvet Revolver fizzled out in 2008, and first to bear his name since his two albums with Slash's Snakepit, who last released an album in 2000. The upcoming effort follows a pattern defined by another guitar hero, Santana. Slash is paired with a lineup of multi-genre artists, including Ozzy Osbourne, Kid Rock and Marooon 5's Adam Levine. 

"I wasn’t trying to consciously bridge any generation gaps or to try to be eclectic," Slash said. "I wrote the music first, and I took the different styles of music that I was writing and farmed it out to singers who I thought might like it or be appropriate for. So for instance, I’d say, ‘Adam Levine would sound amazing on this.‘ So while that may be way off the beaten Slash path, I knew that’s what I would sound great."

Onstage at the Avalon during Sunday night's benefit for the Los Angeles Youth Network, comedian George Lopez assured the audience that donations to the homeless-services organization worked promptly. "If you donate tonight, you can save Paula Abdul," Lopez said, to general snickering. "She was sleeping under the 101 last night."

The ex-"American Idol" host might be looking for work these days, but the real goal of the benefit -- a round-robin concert hosted by Slash with a bevy of classic-alt guests including Dave Navarro, Tom Morello, Chester Bennington and Billy Idol -- was to keep the organization's doors open in light of both tough financial straits and a big uptick in the need for its services.

The mix of a purposefully rowdy rock crowd (and open bar) with charitable impulses made for some unexpected moments of earnestness. At a rock-memorabilia auction in the adjoining Bardot nightclub, a young graduate of the program relayed how her life could have been derailed by drugs, prostitution or suicide, but that LAYN helped her pull though. A very blond woman in a clingy white ensemble adjacent to the stage offered encouragement- "But you did not commit suicide, and you are here tonight!"

A man donating $15,000 to fix the organization's roof earned respectful cheers, before he felt a need to clarify his bid to the crowd. "I'll fix the roof. I mean, not personally with a hammer," he said. "But I will pay for someone else to fix it."

Backstage, Slash held court among his assembled band mates, including former Guns N Roses players Duff McKagan and Steven Adler. Together, they know from the trials of youth homelessness -- Slash's self-titled biography offers plenty of firsthand detail on early GNR's world of squats, the temptations of drugs and alcohol, and the band befriending strippers to get cash for meals.

"When I was a kid, no adults knew how bad life was on the streets of Hollywood. Since I've gotten involved with LAYN, I've really related to the kids," Slash said. "They want to write and make music and be trapeze artists. Who else is going to give them a chance to do that?"

Slash came into the program through his wife, Perla, who is on LAYN's board. Introducing the show at the Avalon with her son Cash, she was far afield of a typically austere non-profit director, peppering her pleas for donations with endearingly salty language. She didn't so much as blush when her son chastised the audience -- "If you took a picture of my mom tonight, frickin' delete it!" 

The show opened with an appropriate cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," with Slash backed by, among others, Navarro and Travis Barker. Throughout the cover-centric night, singers and instrumentalists rotated on and off stage -- one minute, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother was plowing through "Woman," then Idol would earn an unexpectedly rapturous response to "Rebel Yell." Bennington served as the de facto Axl for a take on "Paradise City," and by the time Ozzy Osbourne came out for the set's close, the show had become a perpetually giddy tour through the classic rock heyday by artists who, in the eyes many of the kids they were helping that night, might have to soon claim that genre for themselves. 

-- August Brown

Photo of Slash and host George Lopez, albeit at a recent Lakers game, by Lori Shepler / Associated Press

Axl Rose has broken his silence, or at least stopped posting on Internet message boards, and agreed to answer some questions from the press. In an e-mail correspondence with Billboard's Jonathan Cohen, Rose criticizes his label, Interscope, heaps praise upon Best Buy, and declares that either he or Slash must "die" before a Guns N' Roses reunion can take place.

Or at least I think that's what he said. The quotes, which Billboard says were "edited only for grammar, length and clarity," aren't always the easiest to follow.

But it's not only Rose's first major interview since "Chinese Democracy" was released last November, it's his first in nearly a decade. Rose and his camp have been strangely silent since the album, which was more than a decade in the making, was released exclusively to Best Buy in the U.S. While they've spoken out against a soft drink company, there's been little in the way of actually promoting the record. There's been no tour, no video, and no interviews.

So why is he talking now? Axl "felt it was a good time to address some of these issues publicly."

"Chinese Democracy" has also been a bit of a disappointment. To date, it has sold 537,000 copies in the U.S., according to Billboard. To put that in perspective, Taylor Swift's "Fearless," also released in November, has sold more than 2.4 million, according to magazine.

However, Billboard (my former employer) counters the lower-than-expected U.S. sales of "Chinese Democracy" by noting that the album has supposedly sold 2.6 million copies worldwide, according to Universal (the owner of Interscope). But here's where the e-mail constraints hurt the interview.

While Rose praises the way Universal has handled the album internationally ("It’s more than appreciated and a welcome relief"), may that have something to do with the fact that outside of the U.S., the album is actually available at more than one chain? Additionally, while Rose is asked why he hasn't talked to the press, the bigger question is why he believes an album would sell when the artist who made it appears to have no involvement in its release.

It gets better -- or more confusing.

First and foremost, it is long.

And that's where Pop & Hiss comes in. When "Chinese Democracy" was released last month, arriving after more than a decade of rumors and speculation and myth, something was missing: An artist to support it.

But Axl Rose has broken his silence -- kinda sorta. Over the past few days, the artist has supposedly gone straight to the Internet, responding to fans on his site's message boards. A spokeswoman for the artist confirms that it is indeed Axl who is writing these posts, and we -- like other media outlets this week -- will take her word for it.

So for those who want to get right to the point, and aren't interested in wading through a bunch of writings in response to things either said or done by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, here are some highlights.

This is all cut-and-pasted, straight from the rocker's message board:

On whether "Chinese Democracy" is an Axl Rose solo project: "I didn’t make a solo record. A solo record would be completely different than this and probably much more instrumental. I made a Guns record with the right people who were the only people who really wanted to help me try, were qualified and capable while enduring the public abuse for years. The songs were chosen by everyone involved."

On Slash's book, which largely puts the blame at what's characterized as Rose's unwillingness to compromise as the downfall of GNR: "Then you have the mind twisting equally as true [expletive] in Slash’s book but I have the rehearsal tapes. There’s nothing but Slash based blues rock and he stopped it to both go solo and try to completely take over Guns. I read all this if Axl would’ve put words and melodies on it could’ve… That was denied and I didn’t walk till several months after having 3 to 4 hour phone conversations nearly every day with Slash trying to reach a compromise. I was specifically told no lyrics, no melodies, no changes to anything and to sing what I was told or [expletive] off."

And just to be clear, if he does make a solo project, it will be . . . "Much more experimental and instrumental."

When's the band getting back together? How about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction? "Never thought about that , with the RRHOF. The whole 'mature enough' bit was cute. Not to offend anyone but personally I don’t have an interest and other than inducting Elton don’t quite get what it is exactly and who decides what. It seems to mean more to some than others and more so amongst fans. It’s nice to get recognition and have some form of acceptance but in regards to joining others the price is too high and just not worth it. It’s a ways away and seems a bit presumptuous to be contemplating being inducted now."

For more, including more detailed responses to his former bandmates, including why Rose says he claimed the name Guns N' Roses for himself, click here. And for earlier episodes in the Axl Rose Takes Over the Internet Saga, click here, where Rose discusses everything from John Lennon to Barack Obama. Or click here, where Rose talks about how he tries to go to Disneyland at least once per year. Seriously -- apparently he and Buckethead went a few times. Yo-ho!

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Associated Press

Guns N' Roses lawyer Alan S. Gutman has lashed out at the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, claiming in a letter to the company that the soda makers failed to make good on a promise and "violated" Guns N' Roses' rights in "numerous respects."

In the letter, obtained by The Times, Gutman writes that W. Axl Rose and Guns N' Roses are "outraged at the treatment of their fans and the American public in general." Earlier this year, Dr Pepper officials teased that they would give everyone in the country a free soda if the band's album “Chinese Democracy” arrived before the year was out. Gutman writes that the promotion was "clumsily implemented " and an "unmitigated disaster."

After the release of "Chinese Democracy" was officially announced this fall, Tony Jacobs, Dr Pepper's vice president of marketing, posted at www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com: “We never thought this day would come. But now that it’s here, all we can say is: The Dr. Pepper’s on us.”

As Pop & Hiss noted Sunday, Dr Pepper's website was flooded with customers, who had 24 hours to fill out a voucher for a free soda on Nov. 23, the day "Chinese Democracy" was released exclusively to Best Buy. Fans who submitted their information to the site would receive a coupon for a free 20-ounce bottle of Dr Pepper. When Dr Pepper's site failed to respond to the traffic, the company extended the offer through Monday.

Writes Gutman, "What happened on November 23 was a complete fiasco. In what could only be characterized as reckless indifference or complete stupidity, Dr Pepper was completely unprepared for the traffic to its site. Most visitors were greeted with error messages. Some people who got through to Dr Pepper's servers were told to call a toll free number, few of whom got through. Many walked away angry as Dr Pepper ... soured the momentous music event that was 'Chinese Democracy's' release."

Gutman is requesting that Dr Pepper "contact us to discuss an appropriate payment to our clients" for the unofficial brand association. Gutman is also requesting the company run a full-page ad in a number of major American newspapers, including the L.A. Times, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, apologizing for the way the campaign was run. Finally, Gutman is asking Dr Pepper to expand the redemption window for the free soda offer to "make good on its promise."

A Dr Pepper spokesperson responded with a statement. "For us, this was a fun giveaway that has always been about the fans, and we’ve taken great steps to fulfill it." The company said it extended the giveaway window from 24 to 48 hours, added a toll-free line and set up "an interactive voice recorder to accept coupon requests."

"This was one of the largest responses we have ever received for a giveaway, and we’re happy we were able to satisfy the thirst of so many Dr Pepper fans," read the statement.

When the Dr Pepper promotion was announced in March -- when "Chinese Democracy" had no release date -- Dr Pepper noted that everyone in America, excluding former GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead -- would be granted a free soda. Soon after, a statement attributed to Rose was posted on the official Guns N' Roses website, and back then, the band seemed game for the marketing ploy.   

A screenshot is above, but read the Rose comment, "We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album 'Chinese Democracy,' as for us, this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him."

Gutman's letter writes that all contact between GNR's management and Dr Pepper "foundered," and ends with a threat: "Failure to make an acceptable offer may necessitate our client's pursuit of available remedies."

--Todd Martens

Photo: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

So today's the big day. Fourteen years in the making, Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" unofficially kicks off the 2008 holiday shopping season. While the band is getting all sorts of cozy with Best Buy for the release, another major corporate brand seems to be reaping all the benefits of Axl's work.

Dr. Pepper, which earlier this year pledged to give soda to everyone in America if "Chinese Democracy" came out this year, is now making good on its promise. That is, if you can actually access the company's website.

While the world may want some Guns N' Roses — the album has received millions of plays on MySpace — apparently people don't mess around when it comes to some free soda-pop. As of mid-Sunday afternoon, Dr. Pepper is owning seven (SEVEN!) of the top 10 slots on Google Trends, as evidenced below. Look, the only mention of the actual band Guns N' Roses is paired with the beverage:

But if you go to Dr. Pepper's actual website to try to snare a voucher for your free soda, good luck. You'll likely get a server error. As earlier reported, the free Dr. Pepper was supposed to be just a one-day promotion. Those who fill out a form will receive a coupon redeemable for one soda in 4 to 6 weeks, according to the site. But unprepared for the demand, will Dr. Pepper extend the promotion? Here's hoping, as Pop & Hiss doesn't want to see what happens to a country full of citizens who are denied their free soda. Update: Dr. Pepper has extended the offer until 6 p.m. on Monday.

— Todd Martens

Photo by Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

 

The story is irresistible. After a decade and a half in the making, the release of Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" has everything a good rock 'n’ roll myth needs.

There’s bitterness, as leader Axl Rose is the only original member left standing. There’s excess, as the album’s cost seems to escalate with each media story (somewhere in the millions). And there’s an enigmatic artist at the helm, one many critics and hard rock fans agree is a genius.

There’s only one thing missing: An artist to sell it. It’s been a 17-year wait since the world last had a Guns N’ Roses album with new material, and the biggest questions -- why now and why link with a major retailer? -- look to remain unanswered, at least for now. Rose, says a spokesperson, "hasn’t been available for interviews," and it doesn't sound like any are on the horizon.

“Chinese Democracy,” it seems, will hit retail shelves -- in this case, shelves belonging exclusively to Best Buy -- on Sunday, with a bit of mystery. That, perhaps, is expected -- anything less may even be a disappointment. But the decision to sell the album exclusively through one retailer in the U.S. is now adding a bit of controversy to the saga.

On Sept. 26, Billboard broke the news that the album would be released solely to Best Buy in the United States. It would be three full weeks before a press release made it all official -- one, by the way, that didn’t feature a comment from Rose.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one high-placed manager noted, “It starts to feel a little bit like the movie that doesn’t let reviewers in to see before it comes out. You’d think they’d want to platform it, do some sort of live broadcast, let the music talk for itself -- instead of just the innuendo.”

But unlike a film not screened for critics, “Chinese Democracy” isn’t getting panned. Instead, it’s a work, most early reviews seem to say, that deserves to be celebrated (The Times' review will run in Sunday’s Calendar section, and is now available online), although some mixed reviews are starting to roll in now too. Rolling Stone was first, and set the early tone, giving the album four out of five stars, with the reviewer opening the piece by declaring that it is “a great, audacious, unhinged and uncompromising hard-rock record.”

And though he has a heavily biased stake in it, Best Buy's senior entertainment officer, Gary Arnold, is ready to throw down the gauntlet. “I will defy anyone to say this wasn’t worth the wait,” he says.

If he’s proved right, an already beleaguered music retail landscape may never be the same again.

When Axl Rose announced in December 2006 that the new Guns N' Roses album, "Chinese Democracy," would be issued the following March -- the last false ending to a drama nearly as long-lasting as the Vietnam War and culminating today, as the hordes rush to exclusive retailer Best Buy to snap up the final version -- he briefly stepped out of the smoke-machine haze that surrounds him and feigned modesty. Vouching for the veracity and passion of his work, he seemingly aimed to lower expectations, writing, "In the end, it's just an album."

That may be the most ridiculous statement Rose has made in 17 years of whoppers. Just an album! Sure, and "Citizen Kane" was just a movie. And Brando as Don Corleone was just a mid-career acting gig.

Everyone with a passing interest in rock knows the abbreviated history of "Chinese Democracy." Recording for the album, the follow-up to Guns N' Roses' mammoth, chart-topping "Use Your Illusion" project, began in the early 1990s. Soon, though, Rose's authoritarian grip squeezed the life out of the original lineup, including his lead guitarist and artistic foil, Slash, and it went splat. Out of that goo rose the post-Guns band Velvet Revolver on one side and Axl, increasingly alone, on the other.

For the next decade and a half, Rose continued to work, running through band members like so many speed dates. Some, like avant-garde guitarist Buckethead, fled; others, like longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed, stuck. This amorphous Guns N' Roses toured with varying degrees of success and spent time recording in 14 different studios in L.A., Las Vegas, London and New York.

Meanwhile, Rose got older (he's 46 now), decided he looked good in cornrows, and spent something like $13 million on a project few thought he would complete. The powers behind the already failing music industry gave a collective bloodcurdling scream.

"Chinese Democracy," the first single from the ridiculously long-awaited Guns N' Roses album of the same name, is out, and can be heard below.

Here are some thoughts the song inspired early this morning.

No pop star has built a fortress as maze-filled and iron-clad as one W. Axl Rose. Not Michael Jackson, whose retreat was forced by scandal as much as by artistic crisis, and who seems ever more weakened by his reputation's slide. Not Zack de la Rocha, who (like Rose) went down countless collaborative roads before revamping the Rage Against the Machine template with his new project, One Day As a Lion. Not Garth Brooks, who also turned hermit, but craved the crowds too much to stay inside.

Rose, the most ambitious hard rocker of the late 20th century -- shout-outs to your Trents and your Bonos, but Axl is the most vividly driven -- essentially quarantined the Guns N' Roses brand for 15 years -- unable, perhaps, to reconcile the sounds in his head with what is humanly possible. "Chinese Democracy," the title track from the album finally coming out in a month, hits like an offering pushed through a crack in a locked gate, hinting that those sounds, never completely apprehended, have now coalesced into something Rose can face.

More than a decade in the making, Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" seems as if it's about to transition from being a punchline to a reality. The long-awaited, much-delayed and recently leaked album is expected on retail shelves at the end of November, barring any unexpected, last-minute delays.

It's a retail exclusive, according to Billboard, meaning the album will be available first at Best Buy, and then only at that the outlets that choose to pick up its stock from the big box retailer. It also means that those awaiting news on the album will probably be checking this Best Buy page as much, or more, than any artist or label website.

In fact, there's no mention of the album on the news pages of either of the aforementioned sites, this despite the fact that you can pre-order the 14-song set for $13.99 from Best Buy. For now, it looks as if at least some mystery will continue to surround "Chinese Democracy." While Billboard reported that the album would be released on Sunday, Nov. 23, Best Buy is listing the release date as Tuesday, Nov. 25.

But relax, it does appear to exist. The retailer has gone so far as to post cover art from the album, which was picked up earlier this week by sites such as Blabbermouth and Stereogum, among others, and pasted up above. Although it doesn't look like that's the last of the art to be revealed, as Best Buy is selling another version of the CD with an alternative cover, of which an image is not yet available.

But, really, who cares about the art -- how does this thing sound?

Perhaps the FBI is standing guard.

Word, according to Billboard, is that Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" will finally see the fluorescent lights of retail outlets on Nov. 23, the Sunday before the big Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend. Additionally, the album will be a retail exclusive to big box outlet Best Buy.

But those who want to avoid hordes of shoppers clamoring for a Wii Fit need not fear. Certainly the first-week Best Buy price will be cheaper than the major label wholesale cost. The end result, as when the Eagles partnered with a mass merchant, is that other retailers will likely just buy the album from Best Buy and stock it themselves, unless federal agents will be retained to enforce the maximum purchase limit.