MORE CHINESE DEMOCRACY RUMORS

Speaking of Bob Lefsetz, he reported awhile back that his GN’R source told him the that the plan to sell Chinese Democracy exclusively at Best Buy was a done deal. The rumor has been picking up steam and with the band’s new song, “Shackler’s Revenge,” currently making its debut on video game consoles everywhere as part of Rock Band 2, it seemed like maybe there was a legit chance of the album finally coming out; then again, that’s what GN’R fans thought in 1999, when the song “Oh My God” appeared on the End of Days soundtrack.

Now Rolling Stone is adding fire to the flame, going so far as to announce an unofficial release date for the hotly anticipated album:

“[R]umor is that the long-awaited album will be released exclusively through Best Buy on November 25th. The source of the multi-tiered rumors is a supposed ‘vendor convention’ that Best Buy had on Wednesday in Dallas, Texas. Reportedly, Guns manager Andy Gould told the 900 employees the news about Chinese Democracy before previewing three songs from the album.”

Gould also allegedly told convention goers that a new song, “If the World” – which actually leaked back in June – would appear in the upcoming Ridley Scott film Body of Lies (Oddly enough, Scott had wanted to use GN’R’s “Welcome to the Jungle” in his earlier film Black Hawk Down, and was denied the rights by Axl Rose.).

As with all things GN’R-related, this should all be taken with a grain – no, a half-grain – of salt until someone with more authority than a Best Buy employee who may or may not have actually been in the room when Gould may or may not have actually made these announcements confirms the rumors. In the meantime, if you’re interested, here’s the trailer for Body of Lies:

UPDATE: Billboard now confirms that Best Buy will be the exclusive retailer for Chinese Democracy, but does not have a set release date.

-AR