30 Year Anniversary of Appetite for Destruction

Guns n Roses is riding a high wave right now. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of their album, Appetite for Destruction, and out on a tour aptly titled "Not in This Lifetime......" the dirty rock kittens of Los Angeles are older, wiser, and finally getting their due for an awesome debut record.

Now I'll admit I didn't like GnR back in the day. I was 12 years old when Appetite came out. I didn't get it, and I wasn't supposed to. The guys in Guns looked dirty to me. I preferred my rock gods to be cleaner and more glamorous which is why I probably gravitated more toward Poison, Whitesnake and Winger. There was something a little scary about GnR, and the 12 year-old girl in me was not ready to find that out. Not yet.

Thirty years later I get all the fuss. Appetite is a very nearly perfect rock record. It's sleazy, it's sexy, it's raucous....it's rock n roll. My favorite tracks are "It's So Easy" (as inappropriate as it is), "Mr. Brownstone" (as dark as it is), and "Welcome to the Jungle" because it's probably one of the best preludes to an album ever. This record reminds you of what the 80's were all about: saying what you meant, doing what you wanted and fuck the consequences. Again, ideas that made no sense to me as an adolescent but mean a hell of a lot more now.

Over the years, GnR came to become more known for the excess, their tempers and worse. They had other great songs and awesome albums, but none quite as prolific as the first. This tour has been fairly redemptive for a couple of guys that we never thought we'd see share the stage again.....making 12 year-olds and grown women everywhere very happy indeed.

Reclaiming Your Childhood: Priceless

This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...

My Week with Rumor

My dog Rumor was an experiment. A trial offer. And all parties knew that going in. Except for maybe Rumor. Rumor was an outdoor country dog. His given name was Ruger (named after a firearm if you don't know, I didn't) which made sense for a dog raised in hunting country. He was a stray that came to live with a loving family at about the age of 1. He lived outdoors, slept in a garage crate at night, frolicked with an older dog pack and had a lovely life. We think he was about 4 years old. He had been neutered, had vet care and was by no means a "rescue". His dad offered Ruger to me on a give-it-a-try basis. He knew I wanted a dog. He told me Ruger would be sweet to me and also be my protector. He was right on both counts. He told me if it didn't work out, I could bring Ruger back to him and his wife. I could tell they were a little sad when they dropped him off. It made me glad to see that Ruger came from such ...

NYE for $200, Alex

Can we all just agree that New Year's Eve is the worst of the string of winter holidays? I would even go so far as saying it's THE WORST of all the holidays. I loved when Stanford Blatch defined a party as feeling very "forced festive". To me, most NYE parties feel that way. The idea that this is a big year-end blow-out and we'd all damn well better make it awesome! The reason I hate NYE is because it combines two of things I most hate about celebrations: cold weather and crowds. Plus it's during a time of year when everyone has already spent all their money. AND you usually have to the leave the house. ADDITIONALLY, you have to stay up late. It's a big F.U. from me on all this. I would dare say that some of my happiest New Year's memories have been spent at home in my pajamas with either my child, an S.O. or happily alone. I remember one unforgettable year of moving into a 3rd floor apartment on NYE. I rememb...

Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

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