In an interview with our homeboy John Sellars for Spin, Duff McKagan reveals what he and his bandmates in Guns N’ Roses were listening to while they recorded their seminal album, Appetite for Destruction:
The Joshua Tree was the soundtrack of my life when we were making Appetite. […] I listened to The Joshua Tree probably ten times a day. That was the record, man. Still is, like, a top ten record — top five, maybe. […] Axl’s favorite record in 1987 was Faith, by George Michael. Izzy was into reggae. Actually, when we were recording Appetite, Izzy would play over and over and over the Georgia Satellites. It was like, “Dude, enough.”
Don’t hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself.
rock and roll dad. that’s a pretty nice brief interview. nice to get the insight into the early years and what they were listening to during appetite’s recording. though, i wouldn’t mind a full insight by each of the guys involved. though, the small peek into it all is interesting.
cool to hear about the katy perry stuff. i’m sure part of it is being genuinely impressed, but the other part has to be seeing the world through his kid’s eyes. pretty cool.
Faith? George Michael? Oy!
I don’t know about his personal life (nor do I really care), but I will defend his bass playing to the death. I think he is way, way underrated, and particularly on Appetite his shit is interesting, melodic, driving, and completely integral to the songs. Absolutely one of my favorite “rock” bassists.
U2? George Michael? Final proof that Izzy was the only reason those first GnR records were good.