So until the Ramones lose the keyboards, guitar solos, and C.J., I'll take Axl and those big fat Converses. The problem with Guns N' Roses and the Spaghetti whatever they want to call it is essentially one of timing. The question in my mind is really whether one should be entrapped in a genre, or be influenced by it and help it move forward. But the simple fact remains that the album is inappropriate at this point in time, especially from a band that has demonstrated absolutely no punk influence on previous releases. My Bloody Valentine playing one note at 135 dB for 30 minutes while two-thirds of their audience walks out, shaking their heads.
Punk rock is a state of mind.
Punk rock is not, and never was, Axl's masturbatory dolphin fantasies. I like Axl's wife and I like Converse, but this album should never have happened. Not because it's morally wrong, but because it has no place. Even if GN'R did have punk rock roots. That's not the point.