I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a fan or viewer of the TV show Glee. The program, its actors, characters and (to a large extent) the music it uses exist far outside my world. So it's with no small sense of...well, glee, that I read of the little spat between Glee creator Ryan Murphy and Slash (Guns 'n Roses, Velvet Revolver) over the topic of using Guns songs in Glee.
Perhaps a little background: in a January interview with Entertainment Weekly, Slash (real name Saul Hudson) commented that Glee had approached him with the idea of using Guns 'n Roses songs for a possible themed episode of the show. Slash's response was less-than-receptive, calling Glee "worse than Grease...and Grease is bad enough."
It makes a lot of sense. I'm not the world's biggest Guns 'n Roses fan, but surely I'm not the only one who can't imagine their songs of sex, sleaze, booze and drugs being reimagined and reinterpreted by a high school glee club, even if there were serious questions of the show's moral decay. Besides, integral as a member Slash was of the original Guns 'n Roses lineup, songs like "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City", even "Sweet Child O'Mine", have Axl Rose's voice woven into their DNA. I'm sure the actors and performers on Glee are talented, but again, am I the only one who doesn't want to see them try to capture Rose's swagger and his wine-and-nicotine stained voice? Or hear them neuter "November Rain"? Going by Slash's response, I doubt it.
Glee's creator, Ryan Murphy, wasn't having any of it, calling Slash "uneducated and quite stupid" and saying the guitarist's career was over. I'm sure that, the first thing tomorrow, Murphy's publicist will issue a statement saying his words were taken out of context, that he was misinterpreted, held at gunpoint, or something. And really, those excuses would explain things: Slash may have smoked or drunk his way through the 80s, but to call the man "uneducated and stupid" for not allowing his songs on a television show requires more cojones than it does gray cells.
It's also false to claim that Slash's career is over: his tour with Ozzy Osbourne started January 16th.
So what made Murphy fly off the handle? I'm sure he must have bristled at a respected musician talking so lowly of his show, but Glee was doing fine on its own without any Guns 'n Roses songs. Has its success gone to Murphy's head? Was he outraged that someone, anyone, would refuse to let their songs be used on Glee? Murphy also called Kings of Leon "self-centered assholes" (adding "Fuck you, Kings of Leon"), for their rejection. Murphy claimed his umbrage comes from KoL and G'n'R snubbing music fans and art education, probably under the impression that Glee is the only way kids can get music nowadays.
I'm not sure that the cold shoulders from Slash and Kings of Leon will really affect Glee; Murphy was quick to point out that Stevie Nicks and Jennifer Lopez have both approached him about licensing their music for the show, and over 11 million viewers tuned in for the season 1 finale. I'm sure Slash isn't regretting his decision, either - the royalty checks for Appetite for Destruction still keep coming, he's got his tour with Ozzy, and Velvet Revolver is in the market for a singer. Not the symptoms of a man with a fading career, contrary to Murphy's accusations.
So why the almighty hissy fit from Ryan Murphy? What skin is it off his nose if he can't get Guns 'n Roses on Glee? With everything Slash has accomplished in his career, I doubt being called "uneducated and quite stupid" will be easily forgiven and/or forgotten; and if Murphy had any lingering hopes to have one of his charges belt out "Don't Cry", he can probably bid that dream goodbye. Today's music ain't got the same soul, indeed.
After Steven Tyler dropped Aerosmith's stock with his new job on American Idol, it's nice to see at least one iconic rock musician stick to his guns.