‘Get in the Ring’: how Guns N’ Roses made the most insecure song in rock history
Every great rock and roll artist typically exudes a natural swagger even before they play a single note. Regardless of personal opinions on their music, there’s often an undeniable aura of invincibility that demands respect and dismisses dissent. Guns N’ Roses might seem like the epitome of this fearless rock ethos, but Axl Rose revealed a different side of himself while working on the song ‘Get in the Ring’.
Then again, is it sacrilege to call the Use Your Illusion experience half a Guns N’ Roses project and half an Axl Rose solo joint? There are definitely moments where the group seems to be firing on all cylinders, but there are just as many more where things start to stray a little too far from the street-wise roots.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. All bands are meant to experiment with their sound once in a while, but seeing one of the most dangerous groups to come out of LA suddenly turn towards making the most over-the-top videos in MTV history like ‘Estranged’ and ‘November Rain’ isn’t something that fans were just going to gloss over.
And neither were the critics. From day one, many supposed musical experts had taken turns clubbing GNR for their antics, whether that be Rose’s blunt honesty during interviews or his subsequent need to put racial slurs in the middle of his lyrics on songs like ‘One in a Million’.
That’s just the nature of the beast, though. There are always bound to be people just looking to cut you down, and most artists know to roll with the punches. But Rose was not one of those people. No, he was offended, and ‘Get In The Ring’ might be one of the biggest displays of insecurity that a rock star has ever gotten themselves into.
Because when you think about it, many artists have done things that have been considered out of order. From John Lennon admitting to his domestic abuse problems to Noel Gallagher claiming that rivals Blur should succumb to AIDs, it’s not like people haven’t owned up to moments where they did something wrong.
Once Rose had a target, ‘Get in the Ring’ was recorded as one long diss track towards his critics. No matter, though. Plenty of songs have been made talking about haters who don’t know anything, but Rose had to take it one extra mile to twist the knife that much more, going on to list out names of specific music journalists from magazines and claiming that he will come to their door and kick their asses if they don’t stay in line.
A cheap shot, yes, but so what? There have been many musicians who have gone after journalists in the past, and mostly for good reason if they have acted out of line. But this isn’t just some choice lines that Rose decided to put into the song. No, this is a revenge fantasy, and the back half of the song is one of the more hilarious pieces of musical theatre that the 1990s ever spat out.
After rattling off his supposed hitlist, Rose recreates what is essentially a heavyweight tournament between all these journalists, providing the voice of the announcer as he introduces Guns N’ Roses as the heavyweight champion of the world looking to curb-stomp anyone else who disrespects them.
Although Rose is completely justified in putting whatever he wants on record, it does get a little hilarious to see someone do what he tried to do so effortlessly just a few years later. Since one of Rose’s harshest critics was Kurt Cobain, seeing the grunge icon get the same kind of criticism and either leave it out of the press or let it roll right off of him is the diplomatic road that Rose didn’t have any interest in taking.
That isn’t even the last intimidation song that Rose put on the record, eventually working his way through an industrial beat on the track ‘My World’ to close out the double album experience. Anyone getting into the music business usually has to deal with more than a few detractors throughout their lives, but Rose’s way of dealing with his problems is far from what most celebrities expect.
No, this is the equivalent of a rockstar acting like a school bully and trying to convince everyone around him that he’s winning at life. The old saying is that all good rock and roll is built off of three chords and the truth, and while Guns do have those three chords accounted for, the only truth that ‘Get in the Ring’ has to its name is that Rose’s cushy mansion was probably made of glass.
