"This is not a nice album. It was not made by nice people. It is an extraordinary, and ugly, and sensational album that could not conceivably have been made by anyone other than awful people. ... I can't see myself not listening to it, despite the deep distaste I feel for it. It's too damn good, and in the end, as distinct from other aspects of life, there are no useful rules about morality in art. There's what you can stand and what you can't. I've never lost my appetite for Appetite For Destruction, and I don't suppose I will."
The Quietus' David Bennun's conflicted take on Guns 'N' Roses' first LP - now 30 years old - sums up my own thoughts both eloquently and succinctly. When you actually sit and digest some of the lyrical content ('It's So Easy' being merely the tip of the iceberg), it's a profoundly unpleasant record - and yet it's absolutely incredible at the same time.
It was one of the albums that went into the bin as part of my cliched post-hearing-Nevermind purge - but I couldn't live without it for long and, for all its abhorrent, indefensible sentiments, it remains a firm favourite.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
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