Chinese Democracy

Bet you were expecting a well-written DMan node about political unrest in China, huh? Sorry...

"Chinese Democracy" is the title of Guns N' Roses as-of-yet unreleased album. Says Axl Rose on the album's title: "Well, there's a lot of Chinese democracy movements, and it's something that there's a lot of talk about, and it's something that will be nice to see. It could also just be like an ironic statement. I don't know, I just like the sound of it."

Of course, Axl is the only remaining member left in the band, but he's enlisted some help for the new album, most notable Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction, and Brian May from Queen. Axl says that the new album will probably alienate old fans, as it strays from the blues-based rock that brought Guns N' Roses to stardom, citing influences Limp Bizkit, Radiohead, White Zombie, and Fiona Apple. Says Axl:

"It's a very diverse record. There's a lot of hip-hop beats, there's straight-ahead rock. But if someone says, "Hip-hop beats," what do you mean by that? Well, Radiohead uses beats that are similar to hip-hop beats. There's actual, "official" hip-hop beats and then there's "Radiohead-style" hip-hop beats, there's rock beats."

Axl claims to have been playing guitar and fiddling with computer-generated music for the new album. Axl and his new bandmates have recorded somewhere between 24 and 48 songs, but only plan on putting 17 or 18 on "Chinese Democracy".

I hate to disappoint.

Chinese democracy is a term thrown around in radical movements, the American Congress, and other groups as something China should immediately install. Obviously demanding the impossible, as these people know full well that:

• China is the most populous nation on Earth, and one of the largest geographically. Over 70% of the nation lives in hard-to-reach rural villages. To install democracy immediately is impossible, never mind a year. For an example of what would result, see India's pseudo-democracy.
• Democracy is slowly being installed at the low levels of government. Since China has never been a democracy, the whole concept is quite alien. Better the people get used to it slowly instead of exposing them to the sudden shock effect. See Russia.

Hence, people who are advocating Chinese democracy are either an anti-Chinese politician, or a blind idealist. By demanding the popular impossibility, these people have managed to stall serious foreign policy with China, such as the recent trade resolution.

For some odd reason, these people affect politics even though what they demand is unreasonable. Probably because the mixture of democracy advocation and an "oppressed" country always gets attention. Good job, biased media!