Knock-knock-knockin' on China's Door
The 1980s rock band Guns n' Roses launched their eagerly-awaited album Chinese Democracy yesterday, 15 years after they first recorded it. Not surprisingly, the Chinese are not amused.
A leading Communist Party newspaper called the album an attack on the nation. The Global Times quoted Chinese netizens who said the album was part of a plot to control the world using "democracy" as a buzzword.
Prior to the release, the running joke was that there would be democracy in China before GNR released their album. Jokes aside, there hasn't been a lot of discussion on why the band named the album as such.
One of the band's public relations people told me that singer Axl Rose briefly explained the reasoning behind the title in an 1999 MTV interview with Kurt Loder. Here's an excerpt:
Kurt Loder: You're going to call this album "Chinese Democracy." What is the meaning of that, since there is no Chinese democracy, of course?"
Axl Rose: Well, there's a lot of Chinese democracy movements, and it's something that there's a lot of talk about, and it's something that will be nice to see. It could also just be like an ironic statement. I don't know, I just like the sound of it.
There are reports that China has blocked the album online and it's unlikely it will be sold legally in China. In response, the band has an online poll asking people to vote on whether the album should be banned in China.
While I'm all in favor of a good argument and political debate, alienating a government and the people who believe in it, hardly seems a path to constructive discourse. But then, discourse probably wasn't on Rose's mind when picked the title because he liked "the sound of it."
Here is part of the lyrics from their title song:
You think you got it all locked up inside
And if you beat 'em enough they'll die
...When your great wall rocks blame yourself
While their arms reach up for your help
And you're out of time
Instead of reaching a potential audience of 1.3 billion people, not to mention paying customers, GNR opted for estrangement with China. Wait, isn't that one of their songs? Maybe the band could learn from their lyrics in "Estranged": Source Blog
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