AXL ROSE, PLAGIARIZER?

Aaaaannnnddd my heart is broken.

Blabbermouth reports that Independiente and the Domino Recording Company are suing Guns N’ Roses for ripping off two songs by Ulrich Schnauss for the song “Riad N’ the Bedouins,” which appears on the band’s forever-in-the-making flop of epic of proportions, Chinese Democracy. Now, a new law suits against Axl Rose and GN’R is filed approximately once an hour – Rose has even blamed said law suits in the past for being part of the reason for CD‘s delay (as if) – so, normally, this would not be news.

Except that I’m 99.9% positive that Schnauss is correct, and he was ripped-off.

I can’t post the Guns N’ Roses song here because, well, one near-lawsuit a week is a enough for me, thanks. But listening to the music in these videos… well, those are the intros for “Riad.” It’s undeniable. It’s note-for-note. Unless someone stumbled upon the idea for the exact same pieces of ambient music, which seems pretty unlikely.

That Axl Rose is a dick isn’t news. But I never thought he was a dick who’d steal from another artist. Add to this the fact that bassist Tommy Stinson, formerly of The Replacements, is credited as being a co-writer on the song, and, well, fuck me naked with a spoon. This just sucks.

Here are the Schnauss songs.

Now if Axl could please come to the Mansion and kill my dog, y’know, just to make all the bullshit he’s put his fans through for almost two decades  really complete, that’d be swell.

-AR