Wal-Mart Wins, Best Buy Loses

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 11:34 AM, TMFTom7 wrote:

  Of course, it doesn't help that "Chinese Democracy" just isn't very good, and that "Black Ice" is awesome. Few bands age well - GNR didn't and AC/DC did. :)

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 12:21 PM, Neely2005 wrote:

  Well let's see

  "Chinese Democracy" was # 12 on Rolling Stones Top Albums of 2008.

  Black Ice was #41.

  http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/24958695/albums_of_th...

  "Chinese Democracy" has sold well outside of the USA.

  The Best Buy Exclusive and No Promotion by the band have definitely hurt sales.

  There just aren't enough Best Buy locations compared to Wal-Mart.

  There are Only about 900 Best Buys in the USA compared to about 5000 Wal-Mart's in the USA.

  So really it's not a surprise that USA sales have suffered.

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 1:22 PM, overkill99 wrote:

  FYI Rolling Stone is a pop music magaizine. No fan of rock n roll cares what that mag says. If you like Britney Spears than you would cite Rolling Stone. The reality is GNR was on Itunes US's #1 retail music sales) and AC/DC was not. AC/DC was #1 worldwide in 29 coutries with no walmart deal. GNR flopped world wide (#1 in 2 countries and died down the charts the next week), not even 1/8th of AC/DC's world sales. This week GNR is down to #29, in the US, AC/DC out a month eralier is #8 and sold 60,000 more units for the week.

  Bottom line - GNR is a crappy pop CD, AC/DC is a rock CD. The people listend, and the voted with their pocketbook.

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 2:36 PM, Neely2005 wrote:

  Yeah Rolling Stone the Most Respected Music Magazine in the history of music is a pop magazine :rollseyes:

  Well by your logic I guess that Britney Spears is better than AC/DC because she sold more albums.

  "Chinese Democracy" = Musical Evolution.

  "Black Ice" = AC/DC making the same album yet again.

  Oh & BTW "Chinese Democracy" was the #1 Selling Album in the world:

  http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=...

  It's sales are really only suffering in the USA.

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 3:07 PM, overkill99 wrote:

  hahha - Rolling Stone ripped Led Zep in their prime - yeah GREAT respected rock magazine rips Led Zep - OMG

  2008 RS Covers - Britney (2x!!), Jonas Brothers, Obama, - yeah that sounds like a true rock magazine - lol

  One major criticism of Rolling Stone involves its apparent generational bias toward the 1960s and 1970s. One critic referred to the Rolling Stone list of the 99 Greatest Songs as an example of "unrepentant rockist fogeyism." [15] In further response to this issue, rock critic Jim DeRogatis, a former Rolling Stone editor, published a thorough critique of the magazine's lists in a book called Kill Your Idols: A New Generation of Rock Writers Reconsiders the Classics (ISBN 1-56980-276-9), which featured differing opinions from many younger critics. [16] Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg criticised the magazine saying that "Rolling Stone has essentially become the house organ of the Democratic National Committee." [17]

  The website Shoutmouth criticised Rolling Stone for reconsidering many classic albums that it had previously dismissed. Examples of artists for whom this is the case include, among others, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Nirvana. For example, Led Zeppelin was largely written off by Rolling Stone critics during the band's most active years in the 1970s. However by 2006, a cover story on Led Zeppelin honored them as "the Heaviest Band of All Time." [18] A critic for Slate magazine described a conference at which the 1984 Rolling Stone Record Guide was scrutinized. As he described it, "The guide virtually ignored hip-hop and ruthlessly panned heavy metal, the two genres that within a few years would dominate the pop charts. In an auditorium packed with music journalists, you could detect more than a few anxious titters: How many of us will want our record reviews read back to us 20 years hence?" [15]

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 3:52 PM, Neely2005 wrote:

  http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/15/r...

  Chinese Democracy Voted the 5th Best Album of 2008 by Rolling Stone Readers.

  It's a great album if you're open minded enough to give it a chance.

• Report this Comment On December 18, 2008, at 10:11 PM, Clint35 wrote:

  Who's the better band? No contest, AC/DC. Guns N Roses was a great band for a short time. But their not the same band anymore, only one original member is left, Axle Rose. I've heard a couple thirty second clips from some of the new GNR songs and I don't think they're that great. You can't always tell how good a song is just from a short clip like that. But none of them made me want to hear more. I haven't heard any of the songs from AC/DC's new album, but I'm willing to bet I'll love them. The main reason is AC/DC is a very good band and they don't have to actually "try" to make good music. They just play what they feel like playing and the songs usually end up being good. That's why AC/DC is a better bet and why WalMart won this little contest because they bet on the better band. And I'd definitely rather see AC/DC live.

• Report this Comment On December 19, 2008, at 4:09 AM, PeteDODBLG wrote:

  There is a difference between a rock band and a hard rock band...AC/DC is a true HARD ROCK BAND...over 18 studio albums spanning over 4 decades, over 200 million albums sold world wide, inducted into rock n' roll hall of fame...need i say more. Real rock bands don't play piano's...they play riffs and rock the crowd!! I'm glad to see a resurgence of REAL "rock n' roll!!!

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