There was a time when people gave a rat’s ass about Guns n Roses… I think it was when they still had Slash in the band and when they said they were putting out a record they did it.  This Chinese Democracy bullshit has been in the works since the 90s, and believe me, we’ve all been on the edge of our seats waiting for it.

Well, someone who did give a fuck, a blogger named Kevin Skwerl, leaked the tracks. This, as everything that anyone does, pissed off Axl, probably because he needed another 6 years to polish the album. He called his guard dogs, who called the FBI.

Remember back in June when those nine possibly Chinese Democracy-bound Guns n’ Roses songs leaked? At the time, the man who admitted leaking them, Antiquiet blogger Kevin Skwerl, told Rock Daily “If legal proceedings come my way, I’ll face them 100 percent. I’m not afraid of that. I did what I did, and I’ll face the music if I have to” after a meeting with the FBI. Skwerl (real name Kevin Cogill) will face the law, as he was arrested this morning at his Culver City, California home for suspicion of violating federal copyright laws. According to the FBI, Cogill admitted to posting the songs when questioned. Cogill is set to appear at the U.S. District Court today, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian.

This kind of sucks, considering the fact that this is going to cause album delays and Dr. Pepper was going to give everyone in America a free soda if it came out this year.

According to the New York Times, a new track from Guns ‘ N’ Roses will be featured on the forthcoming second installment of the mammoth rad time waster known as Rock Band, due this September. Entitled “Shackler’s Revenge,” the song is purportedly from G’N'R’s perpetually soon-to-be-released “comeback” album, Chinese Democracy.

Word on the street is, when you play the song, if the deli trays and carved, fragrant soaps aren’t perfectly arranged back stage as the rider dictates, Axl is frickin’ out of there.

From Billboard.biz:

Report: New GNR Song Heads To ‘Rock Band 2′
July 14, 2008 - Digital and Mobile

By Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

A new Guns N’ Roses song, “Shackler’s Revenge,” apparently from the decade-in-the-works album “Chinese Democracy,” will be included in the video game “Rock Band 2,” according to a report in the New York Times. The game will be released in September.

The news makes it seem increasingly likely that “Chinese Democracy” will finally see the light of day before year’s end via Interscope. Nine seemingly complete tracks from the album, not including “Shackler’s Revenge,” leaked online earlier this summer.

“Rock Band 2,” developed by MTV and Harmonix, will support all songs downloaded for the game to date and will also support the original game’s instrument controllers. But it will also introduce new controllers for drums and guitar and boast a soundtrack of more than 100 master recordings.

In April, Motley Crue made its new single, “Saints of Los Angeles,” available for download “Rock Band” well in advance of the release of the album of the same name. The only other place to obtain the track was iTunes.

According to data provided in late May by the band’s management, Tenth Street Entertainment, the track was downloaded more than 47,000 times via the Xbox 360 version of the game alone in the first week after it became available. (”Rock Band” publisher MTV Networks was unable to independently verify these figures, and total downloads that include the PlayStation 3 version of the game were not available.)

By comparison, the same track received slightly more than 10,000 downloads via digital services like iTunes and Amazon, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The track has now sold more than 62,000 downloads

In an interview with the LA Times, freelance writer David Peisner claims that his controversial reviews of NAS and The Black Crowes in Maxim were assigned to him as previews, with the star-ratings and review context added after he had turned them in:

“I’m a freelance writer. I was assigned to write previews of the Black Crowes and Nas albums. I did that. When the issue came out, the previews were laid out as reviews complete with star ratings. I never at any point or to anyone claimed to have heard these albums in their entirety. Whatever decisions Maxim made after I turned in my work were beyond my control.”

Of course Black Crowes manager Peter Angelus had little sympathy for Peisner:

“There’s no accountability for Dave Peisner, editor James Kaminsky or Maxim magazine. They issued a partial apology to their readership, but no apology directly to the artist whose work they denigrated without having heard more than one song, while attempting to pass it off as an album review. I think Peisner’s claim is absurd. He wrote a review of music that he never heard, he disparaged both the band and the material. He said, ‘It hasn’t left Chris Robinson and the gang much room for growth,’ and yet now he’s going to attempt to pass off his actions on Maxim? Absurd.”

I’d like to congratulate both NAS and The Black Crowes for getting so much mileage out of what amounts to common knowledge. OMG A REVIEWER FROM MAXIM TALKS OUT OF HIS ASS!!??? Cue the crocodile tears is five, four…. Brings new meaning to the phrase, no press is bad press! Not to mention when was the last time Maxim was talked about by anyone beyond 18 year dudes who just got out of high school but don’t have enough balls to subscribe to Playboy? This is a win-win situation for everybody. Now excuse me while I write my scathing reviews of Guns ‘N’ Roses Chinese Democracy and Coldplay’s Prospekt. Coming soon to Synthesis.net

Hey, Kids. Sorry to inform you, but Guns N’ Roses had to cancel some tour dates. If you purchased tickets to the following shows, you’ll be able to go to the point of sale for a refund:

January 10th Sacramento

January 11th Bakersfield

January 13th Reno

January 16th San Diego

Bummer, right? But that shit happens all the time. Nothing new. You’ll live. But Guns N’ Roses figurehead Axl Rose felt the need to explain the situation. At length. The letter starts off as you’d expect.

“Due to the schedule of these particular shows valuable time needed by the band and record company for the proper setup and release of the album Chinese Democracy would be lost. Rather than delay the album yet again all involved have decided to remove these shows from GNR’s schedule. We sincerely hope our fans understand and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused anyone. Tickets may be refunded at local point of purchase.”

And you’d think that’d be enough… Travel down the rabbit hole with Axl after the jump. (more…)