How Long Have I Waited? A Chinese Democracy Review

I knew, though there were moments I swore I wouldn't, that I was going to Best Buy. I mean, I had to, didn't I? I just wouldn't deprive myself of listening to it. So there I was, on line at a store I never frequent. All to get the long-awaited Chinese Democracy.

First, a little history.

Guns n' Roses were, in my opinion, the greatest band of the last great era of rock and roll. They entered the public conscience in 1987-88. Over the next few years, we'd see great artists emerge (Living Colour, Black Crowes, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Green Day). We'd see older bands regain glory (Aerosmith, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne). It was a resurgance of great rock and roll. And Guns n' Roses was the best of the lot.

Gn'R consisted of five unique members. There was Steven Adler, Duff McKagen, Izzy Stradlin. There was Axl Rose and there was Slash. They were the Rolling Stones blues meets Hollywood sleeze. They were the natural progression of the dirty rock and roll band, following in the footsteps of ACDC and Aerosmith. Yet they also had the power and arrogance of early Led Zeppelin.

That was Guns n' Roses. They stopped around 1991. Steven Adler was fired from the band. Matt Sorum, an outstanding drummer in his own right, replaced him. He did terrific work on the Use Your Illusion albums. But it wasn't Gn'R.

Led Zeppelin did it right. There is no replacing an original member. Black Sabbath without Ozzy is not Black Sabbath (no matter how good Dio was). Likewise regarding Cliff Burton-less Metallica. So the band I fell in love with was already dead at the very peak of their popularity.

And this, to me, is a travesty. I do not care who "owns" the legal rights to a group. Chinese Democracy is an Axl Rose solo effort. Without Slash and the others, it is simply not Guns n' Roses.

With that in mind, I am able to review the album with more of an open mind.

Axl Rose wanted to be bigger than a blues-based rock and roll band. He certainly achived this here. This is the most daring work he's done. Appetite for Destruction, one of the greatest albums ever made, was innovative in that it was retro. It took Hollywood rock (glam metal) back to its bluesy Stones-influenced roots. It was simple. Nothing is simple on Chinese Democracy.

The first two tracks, Chinese Democracy and Shackler's Revenge, are industrial metal influenced, as many expected, but taken to an Axl level. The guitarists shred to perfection. And it did not sound out-of-date. These were the songs I expected from the album. They were what I expected from Axl Rose.

Everything after that had me scratching my head. There were songs that sounded more like Andrew Lloyd Weber than anything I'd heard in rock since early Meatloaf. There was a Broadway theatrical sound to it. I did not expect this at all. If The World, There Was A Time and Street of Dreams are more reminiscent of Styx or Queen. And, like Styx or post Night At The Opera Queen, there was a noticeable lack of edginess. It was, dare I say, soft.

Granted, some of the latter songs had memorable hooks. Better will probably end up being the big single off the album. And Riad n' the Bedouins actually has some kick to it. But I found myself thinking back to two songs more than any other, and perhaps this is most telling of all.

Catcher In The Rye gets its namesake from the J.D. Salinger masterpiece. It is no surprise Axl would have chosen such a title. Perhaps he identifies with Salinger, another artist-in-exile. It is something that is certainly true of the reclusive former lead singer of the biggest band in the world. Yet the other song evokes identification -- for me at least -- to someone darker still.

Madagascar, one of the weaker songs on the album, spends time sampling quotes from various sources, including Martin Luther King Jr, and Cool Hand Luke (the same quote used for Civil War). It made no sense. It was, to me, illogical. And I couldn't help but think of Axl Rose and his already publicized battles with mental illness. Whether or not it was intentional, Madagascar -- and ultimately the whole of Chinese Democracy -- made me think of Axl not as a modern day musical genius, but as a kindred spirit to Sid Barrett.

I've listened to the album a couple of times now. I think I've heard it enough.

Transition Thoughts

In this period of transition, I thought it was a good time to point out some interesting observations. We are moving out of the George W. Bush era and into the Barack Obama era. George W. Bush leaves us with a weakened economy, a military stretched thin between two wars, an unsuccessful attempt at bringing the masterminds of 9/11 to justice, strained relationships with old allies and new challenges we should not have had to face. Barack Obama inherits a nation whose outlook appears bleak, to say the least. However, his very election has offered hope to millions of Americans. Nonetheless, the road ahead will be a tough one.

Here are some of my observations:

Barack Obama is beginning his search for his cabinet. Some media outlets have ranked, based on the amount of time spent on deliberating on it, the family dog as the number one cabinet seat.

Outgoing presidents have made headlines by offering last-minute pardons to friends and others. Is it possible that George W. Bush will pardon himself?

One of the names that have been in circulation for the position of Secretary of State is John Kerry. Senator Kerry has been a great servant of our nation. But can we honestly believe he has the personality to fill the shoes once worn by Henry Kissinger and Madeline Albright?

Another name for the post has been Hillary Clinton. I love the idea of Hillary Clinton in Barack Obama's cabinet. She would do whatever job as well as, if not better, than anyone else. That said, I believe the fighter in her makes her the perfect candidate for Attorney General. No one I can think of can bring the role of Attorney General to such high levels as Senator Clinton.

There has been a great deal of talk involving the bailing out of big business -- banking establishments, Fannie/Freddie, automobile companies. These are some of the culprits behind our current financial situation. This sounds an awful lot like "trickle down". Didn't Hoover try that?

John McCain was hysterical on Jay Leno. The campaign was ugly and he did some things he should not have done. It's over, though, and we really are no worse for the wear. And he still gets to ride off in the sunset like an American hero. Good for him.

Sarah Palin is all over the news lately. She's had more press conferences and has been on television as much as when she was a candidate for vice president. Either she is gearing up for her presidential run in 2012 or she just doesn't want her fifteen minutes to end.

On Veterans Day

The late April cold front had forced me to zip my coat up a little further than comfortable. My wife fussed over our son, making sure he was warm as we walked through the great mall in Washington, DC. Tourists were scattered throughout the acreage – talking, taking snapshots and reading from maps or guidebooks.

After we passed the reflection pond, we made a sharp right and followed the trail up a slight knoll. I’ve been here before. Three times, actually. Each time it was the same. When I reached this corner of the walk, everything changed.

Two things I notice when I see the Vietnam War Memorial in front of me. First, it is silent. There may be one or two people talking, but you don’t hear them. Even Jonathan, an ever-excitable eight-year-old, remained silent. Second, you feel as though it should be raining.

As we pass and stare at the wall, I wonder if I could recognize any of the names from the dozens of stories my father shared with me about his time in the Marine Corp. The feeling quickly dissipates as I realize there are just far too many names – too many young men died – to be able to find that one or two who may be recognizable. Jonathan squeezes my hand. I know he has a question, but he doesn’t want to ask it. I can tell he doesn’t want to be disrespectful. His patience adds to the silence.

My father fought in the Vietnam War. I have an uncle who served in Korea. Several great uncles, and the man who gave me my last name, served in World War II. A friend of mine was in Iraq during the initial invasion. They each have seen war firsthand. They know the pain, the fear and the brutality that we who have not fought can only imagine or pretend to see on the big screen or on the pages of a book.

As a young boy I used to imagine myself as a soldier. I used to pretend to fight in fierce battles against the Russians – our Cold War enemy. I was John Rambo, or some other made up super soldier. War was glorious. War was heroic. War was something all the men in my family got to do. The wounds, to a young boy like me, just added to the mystique about it. An uncle had been blown apart by a grenade, living out the rest of his life with shrapnel dangerously close to his heart. My father has a scar on his arm from where a bullet grazed him.

My father has never visited the Vietnam War Memorial. He has no intention of ever going. What he has seen, what he has experienced, was enough war for him. The place I stood on that cold April morning with my wife and son was perhaps the only place on earth I couldn't bring my father. His presence was there that day. His experience -- or, rather, what I have imagined it in my mind -- permeated the air.

War is anything but the glorious dream I thought it was as a child. I never served in the military. I never fired a weapon at another human being. Nor have I been fired upon. My nearest equivalent was that I was a few blocks away from the World Trade Center on that fateful day seven years ago. That was enough to reassure my own feelings that war is horrible, that war should always be a last resort. And that the warriors, though what they have experienced may be anything but glorious, are all heroes.

We reached the other side of the memorial. A few steps later, we reached the outside world again. Birds chirped. I heard a mother chastising her daughter. We had returned. Jonathan again squeezed my hand.

“Daddy,” he said, looking directly at me. “I don’t want to go to war.”

Getting The "Old" Out Of The Grand Old Party

Realistically speaking, this was a turnaround election. No, this wasn't the sweeping landslides we had seen in previous elections like in 1972 or 1984. But it was telling enough. The political pendulum had begun it's swing away from the right about four years ago. It's moved further to the left now. It will likely continue to do so.

This is a common occurance. In the first thirty years of the 20th Century, we watched the pendulum swing toward the right. From 1929-1932 the pendulum made a complete turnaround and swung left, lasting about twenty years. The 50's (right) and 60's (left) continued the trend. Vietnam and Watergate left us stunned through the 70's. Since then, our nation moved further and further to the right. Beginning with the Reagan presidency, the United States has been a nation more conservative than liberal.

Obama's election has shown that all of that has once again changed.

This leaves the Republican Party in the unique position of having to redefine themselves. I do not pretend to be a political strategist, but I do consider myself an amateur historian and I am well aware that each time the pendulum has swung, the "losing" party has had to redefine and retool.

Here are some thoughts that I believe the Republican Party should go. These changes will help the party maintain its core principles and become more viable in the future. In doing so, America's system will improve.

Lose the Christian Right: God does not run the United States. Whether or not our nation was God's will is a subject of personal belief. And, as our first amendment thankfully states, we have the right to practice any religion. That also means the morale compass of one particular religion should not be the morale compass of our nation as a whole. The Republican Party of the last eight years has been kidnapped by the Christian Right movement. It has forced issues to the forefront of the Republican platform that really shouldn't be there. Creationism comes to mind, as does the ongoing battle they've waged against women's right to choose. And, when they aren't fighting those causes, they are creating fear that there is a "war on Christmas". The Christian Right is an extreme wing of the right side of the political spectrum, on par with Socialists to the left. Both are better left away from the forefront of a platform.

Look at Demographics: Times have changed. The voting pool is younger now. The Greatest and Silent Generations are voting in fewer and fewer numbers, while Generation X and the Millennials are voting in increasing numbers. Obama won each of the youngest three generations (Boomer, X & Millennial). More telling, the younger the generation, the greater the percent of Obama's lead. The Republican Party is out of touch with young people. The Millennials spent the last eight years -- years that shaped the foundations of their political viewpoints -- witnessing a Republican-led administration that wreaked havoc on America and the world. Making a case for Iraq doesn't exactly sit well with these people. This is a demographic that will inherit the future. They see a less than bright future ahead and blame that on Bush's Party. Republicans are going to need to address this major weakness.

Lose the Fear: McCarthyism, tying political opponents to the enemy, and labeling intelligince as elitism may have worked well in the past. All three came out in full force in this election, and all three failed. They failed because Americans have become more savvy. The cold truth is that these are tactics used when a party does not have a good platform. And while it has worked in the past -- and I am positive it worked on a small segment of our population even this time -- it is a tactic that will only continue to backfire. Fox News, once a strength as an ally to the GOP platform, has become the butt of jokes. As the daily soapbox for the agenda, it isn't healthy that is has become a caricature. Find your core platform. Stick to it. If you cannot sell your platform, then perhaps it is yor platform you should fear.

Expunge the Bushies: More important for the short-term success of the party is this one. George W. Bush and his administration did more damage to the United States than and presidential administration ever. He is the worst president we have ever had. He failed in every category and challenge he faced. And he is Republican. The quicker Republicans wash themselves from the Bushes, the better. They will need to be more proactive in correcting the blatant errors of the last eight years than Democrats in order to prove this.

Simplify the platform: The Republican Party needs to clearly redefine its platform. This may mean losing a piece of its core. But a party with a platform not properly defined, corrupted by big business and out of touch with the voting pool is not going to succeed. It can -- and should -- remain the conservative choice. But it needs to be more clear in how it seeks to achieve a better America.

It is my sincere hope that the Republican platform can use this loss as a tool for learning. The old saying goes that if you lose, don't lose the lesson. If Republicans can learn from this, they can become a better party. And in doing so, we can continue to improve as a nation.

The Road Ahead

One thing every American citizen, whether you voted for Barack Obama or John McCain or neither, can agree on is that President-elect Obama has one of the toughest roads ahead any incoming president has ever had to face. Our nation's 44th chief executive will inherit an economy in shambles, two wars, a still-bitter divide among American citizens, a Middle East without peace on the horizon, a growing tension with Russia and a tarnished American image throughout the world.

With the campaign and the victory celebration over, this is the hangover we awaken to. Fortunately, Barack Obama has two traits we've seen through the campaign that will help him tremendously through the next four to eight years: he is a man of great charisma and he prepares as diligently as anyone who has ever taken the Oval Office. Here are some of my thoughts on each of the issues:

Economy: Simply put, if Barack Obama wants to serve two terms, Americans need to feel the economy is better in four years than it is today. Americans thoughout history nearly always vote with their wallets first. If the economy stagnates, Obama will be a one term president and we risk a resurgence of the segment of the right wing that has plagued us in the last eight years (46% of Americans did vote for McCain, remember). This is his number one priority, not only so he gets re-elected, but to be able to forge all the other challenges ahead, we need the financial resources to succeed. The economy must stabilize and the fears of the citizens must be relieved as quickly as possible.

The Wars: Barack Obama was against the Invasion of Iraq from the outset. Unfortunately, he has inherited its messy aftermath. It is this single action that has polarized most of the world against us. We no longer live in the us against them world of the Cold War. It's a smaller world with a global economy and shared interests among nearly all nations. We've taken a major step back in the world by our actions in Iraq. Creating a strategy for our military exit will go a long way to recovering what we have lost. In addition, despite the fear-provoking exclamations from the right, a military exit can lead to victory, if planned properly. I'd written it here earlier how Iraq, once called Mesopotamia, was once the cultural center of the world. Spending half the resources we currently spend there can help change the vaccuum that was left by our invasion. Money spent on building up, rather than tearing down, the nation can not only strengthen a culture, but can create another ally in a part of the world where we have very few.

The other war is simple: get Osama bin Laden. Crush the leadership of Al Qaeda. Negotiate with Pakistan for their assistance, but make it clear that America will stop at nothing to achieve this goal.

The Middle East: So far, this has been the unsolvable problem. No president has achieved this. Successes by Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton may have made it an attainable goal, but it certainly is not likely. Someone once told me America would elect a black president before there would be peace in the Middle East.

If Obama selects the kind of Secretary of State that he has selected people to run his campaign, anything is possible. There is added problems, however. Iran is a threat to any chance for peace and that threat must be addressed. And Saudi Arabia, friend to the previous administration but not necessarily to America, must be challenged to reign in the extremism within its borders. This is a tall order.

Our place in the world: Americans like to think of our nation as leaders in the world. The last eight years have done much to disrupt that. COmbined with a universal blame on our economic troubles causing global problems, the world view of America is lessening. And while the initial outpouring of love for our selection of Obama is genuine, the world still does not view us as they once had. Taking on the challenges above will go a long way to repairing burned bridges.

Russia poses a unique threat. While we need to keep our eye on places like China for economic reasons, Russia has been our military rival for most of the last sixty years. And, thanks to Vladimir Putin, the Russian government has grown nostalgic for the days of Soviet influence when Moscow mattered. Obama's handling of Russia will require tough but respectful negotiation.

No one said it was going to be easy.

A More Perfect Union

It was on September 17, 1787, that the framework for a government of the people by the people and for the people was built. The Constitution of the United States of America was finalized on that day and later ratified by the thirteen American states.

The Preamble to our great Constitution served as our government's missio statement. And while the framework certainly made for a better and more progressive government the world had ever known, it was a Constitution riddled by grave error. It allowed, as we all know, for slavery to exist and even went so far as to allow slaves to be counted as 3/5 of a person. Racism -- America's horrible black mark -- was born.

It took eighty years and a near Union-breaking war to end slavery, but the black mark was still present. For the next hundred years, an entire segment of our American population were relegated to second-class citizen -- unable to vote, unable to attend the same schools, unable to even use the same restroom or eat at the same table as first class (white) citizens. Even immigrant populations, also subject to racism and oppression, had the fortune of being born with the right skin color and were eventually allowed to assimilate into white society.

It took the courage of great men and women to challenge the hypocracy that plagued America. Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X and others stood up and challenged what was wrong. Perhaps the greatest among these courageous heroes, Martin Luther King, marched to Washington and declared to the world that "I have a dream".

Last night, as I watched the celebrations take place in Chicago, New York, Washington and elsewhere, as I saw the tears streaming down Jesse Jackson's cheeks, I quietly joined in the celebration. Last night, after John McCain graciously conceded defeat and Barack Obama took the stage as the President-Elect, I realized Martin Luther King's dream has been realized.

Today I am happy and hopeful for America. There are so many reasons for my joy I cannot begin to expound on them today. Political reasons I shall leave for another day. But today I am rejoicing because our nation rose above its past. America truly lived up to its self-appointed title as the beacon of liberty. In a fair election where more of its citizens voted than at any time in recent memory -- if ever -- Americans chose a black man to be its leader.

Any mother, any father, in any part of this nation, can look upon their child and, regardless of race, gender, religion, ancestry or sexual orientation, believe with all honesty that she or he can achieve anything.

Today, we have become a more perfect union.