The Guardian Breaks Down November Rain

Saturday • May 3, 2010 8:01:15 AM

It's a classic pops as Anna Pickard of The Guardian remembers Guns N' Roses' November Rain.

Last week, we put out a call for big-haired classic videos, and were lucky enough to receive this as a suggestion; a true classic from the days when hair was big and ballads were bigger; when videos cost millions but were nine sodding minutes long. Therefore, as a reminder service for those who have not seen it in the 16 years since it was first released, and as a primer for those who have never seen it at all (is that possible?) we will dissect November Rain minute by mindblowing minute.

Minute one: In a darkened bedroom, Axl Rose, lead singer of the enormous Guns N' Roses, is taking tablets.

Sleeping tablets, we imagine, but we don't know how many. We could therefore assume that everything following this is either a drug-induced dream or a memory of events that might have led up to a sleepless/possibly suicidal state. We cut to a large GN'R concert filled with screaming fans, and then, in contrast, to Axl playing the piano alone in a deserted chapel and, for some reason, a desert.

Minute two: Axl tosses and turns in the large lonely bed. We cut to a cathedral, with cute flowergirls throwing rose petals and a statue of the crucified Christ that appears to be weeping blood. Down the aisle walks a beautiful bride who, though she has remembered her corset and train, seems to have succumbed to general memory failure when it came to the lower half of her dress.

Minute three: While the ceremony goes on, we see the happy couple in more relaxed circumstances, sitting in a bar, drinking, laughing, and smoking.

Which will kill you, let's not forget. Smoking, I mean. Laughing's alright.

The woman in the video, we should note, is Axl Rose's girlfriend of the time, Stephanie Seymour, who was hot.

Minute four: After a brief moment of comedy relief when Slash, cigarette hanging out of his mop of hair in that same way that always made you wonder why he didn't set himself on fire, loses the rings, then finds them - the ceremony is completed, and Axl kisses the bride.

Minute five: Is mainly taken up with Slash being a rock god. For those readers who are unfamiliar with this song - which is possibly a criminal act, may I add - you know when Regina Spektor sings "The solo's real long, but it's a pretty song" in On the Radio? This is the solo she means.

A helicopter flies around Slash, giving us rockgodness from all angles, although possibly putting his cigarette out in the process, which is not a bad thing, as it will kill you.
Smoking, I mean, not guitar solos. Although if any guitar solo could kill, it would be this one. You can tell Slash is a rock god because his stance is so wide he is almost doing the splits.

Minute six: With the wedding ceremony over, the bride and groom leave the church. The bride looks inexplicably sad. Slash is still playing his solo, legs akimbo. These two facts may or may not be connected. Elsewhere, apparently in the wild west, Axl Rose walks past a shop selling "guns", looking moody.

As there is no shop next door selling "Nroses", we can safely assume this to be ominous foreshadowing of events to come. Remember this bit, we might have a quiz later.

Minute seven already! And we are at the reception, which looks like a marvellous bash. The bride and groom cut the cake with what looks a bit like a spatula, Axl feeding his bride from the business end - the "spatul", I think it's called - while they are watched by one of the midget waiters that the band have hired in especially to make Axl feel not quite as tiny next to his new supermodel wife.

Everyone dances, drinks, and has a jolly good time.

Suddenly: disaster! Though the outside reception was looking all lovely and sunny, out of nowhere, and spotted first by Slash and one of the midgets, it starts to rain.

Though it would appear to be just normal rain, people react as if it were the purest hydrochloric acid: they run, they scream, and things are knocked over (ominously) ...

... and, in The Best Moment In The Entire Video (officially. Well I say so), someone tries to escape the sudden shower by - I can barely say it out loud, it's so great - leaping face forward through the cake.

I KNOW! How ace is THAT?!

We have no time to enjoy it, however, as, coming into minute eight we find ourselves at a funeral. It is the bride!

She's dead! Sweet child o' mine, was it the rain that did it? Was she, in fact, soluble? Apparently not. The fact that there is a mirror in the coffin, we learn, suggests that it was a terrible, violent death, as this is what they do for dead people when they are missing half a face but still want to have an open casket. Euw.

It's very sad. The same cathedral that witnessed happy nuptials now resonates with weeping rock icons. Including, weirdly, John Denver.

Oh, no, that's Axl Rose. He's very sad. The action moves to the graveside, this time without Axl (apparently due to the fact that he didn't show up for the video shoot that day, rather than any plot-driven reason) but we see him later on. In the ninth minute, in a triumph of symbolism, the bride throws her bouquet in bright sunlight, and as it passes through the air, the white roses turn pink, then red, then land on her grave in the dark and the rain.

This is mightily cool. And that is it. Axl has a bit of a cry, the song performance in the theatre, that we haven't mentioned much because it is comparatively dull, ends and then the video does too. We all burst into spontaneous applause.

Although the video - still, apparently, the 13th most expensive ever made, and head and shoulders above most offerings in terms of cinematography - is ostensibly based on a short story by Del James called Without You, it is really just a retelling of that age-old tale: boy meets girl; boy marries girl; reception gets rained on; girl gets shot in the face.

But my GOD it's bombastic. They just don't make 'em like this any more. But then, they don't really make rock ballads any more. Perhaps when new album Chinese Democracy finally surfaces (it's been 15 years in the making so far. Dr Pepper have promised a free drink to every single person in the USA if it actually gets released this year; I will match that with a can of Irn Bru for everyone in this office) those times will come again. But I doubt it.

Source: The Guardian

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Comments

Number of comments : 54

5/3/2008 | 10:57:08 AM by Cash

NR is one of my absolute favorite videos of all time.

5/3/2008 | 11:36:57 AM by fake pat

fuck this...SOMEBODY LEAK "SORRY"

you bastard horders should be shot on sight......

5/3/2008 | 11:46:14 AM by nando

read that story earlier, pretty funny, videos as art, jumping through the cake is the funniest thing though, based on Axl's vision for that video, maybe we wont ever see Chi Dem, gotta admit that storyline breakdown of the video is funny Cash

5/3/2008 | 11:48:26 AM by nando

Sorry is just ok fake pat, sounds like Barry White meets Mark Slaughter, kinda weird

5/3/2008 | 11:56:47 AM by fake pat

oh...are we on speaking terms again nando?..i thought i was some brainless republican stooge?.....

bill o'reilly 4 lyfe

5/3/2008 | 12:11:38 PM by nando

yeah yeah i apologized a few posts ago, i thought you were someone else my bad, ive taken tons of shit on this site, so sometimes i overreact, im sure most people would say i deserve it, sometimes i get carried away and i remember you comparing a certain president to something not so good back in the 2112 days and all his talk about Charles Manson, so again apologies, where is my friend Teacher Bill??????

5/3/2008 | 12:14:09 PM by nando

besides BP didnt think it was funny so i will try to remember my meds before i post, pretty soon i will become like most people and not give a shit

5/3/2008 | 12:14:39 PM by Tony

Fake Pat, just curious, did you make it to work yesterday? :)

5/3/2008 | 1:42:37 PM by fake pat

hey nando,

apology accepted..i couldnt agree more...

Tony...

i did make it to work..i had to have someone drive me...i wished that i had been hit by a truck on the way over..but i made it my friend....

5/3/2008 | 4:37:21 PM by Tony

I'm impressed Fake Pat. I always enjoy reading about your adventures :)

5/3/2008 | 4:47:54 PM by Gomer Pyle

When you're nailing a chick and she "squirts" is it an orgasm or is she just pissing on you?

5/3/2008 | 5:30:34 PM by fake pat

haha..thanks tony..their all true stories my friend...ive been good lately..only fallen off the wagon a few times..in the past few month or so.....for me that is galliant effort..Keep up the good work @gnr daily tony!....

5/3/2008 | 5:56:11 PM by C.T.

Off topic i know but be the first to hear the new record here..... an official Metallica website goes live May 12th

http://www.missionmetallica.com/

I like the fact that they are using the old logo, maybe their music will reflect the same.......

5/3/2008 | 8:32:04 PM by gnr4ever

Come on and give the leaks up!! I gotta a great dvd of 2006 tour to trade if neccessary!!

Anyhow, check this documentary clip...it would be fuckin cool if it's real....

Peace,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arzq6mIunMw

5/3/2008 | 9:26:57 PM by slane 92

Hey nando,

I have read the recent posts from yourslf and others and thought ok, this is political and really should not be here but still your opinions are yours and imo must be respected, what I do like is the fact that in the midst of all the critiscism directed at you from others you at least had the moral conviction to apoligise if any offence was caused, and to me that should be noted and respected by all here.

Fake Pat I only have sketchy info on you but if your Aussie and Im Irish and we both love gnr I think were soul brothers dude and I love reading about your exploits! keep it up man.

November rain is a great song but the vids, like estranged and dont cry always felt fake to me, as if Axl was totally into it and the rest of the guys were only going along for the ride, almost as if they were fulfilling a role that maybe they werent totally into.

5/3/2008 | 9:40:39 PM by nando

thanks slane 92 and i agree about the videos they look great (expensive) but Axl seems like he is the only one really into it, and the only reason to watch a video for me is if i like the songs, which i do, but the videos for the most part are more comedy than art, peace fake pat, for everyone....maybe the videos are meant to be funny....Garden of Eden was for sure supposed to be funny right?????

5/3/2008 | 9:41:39 PM by nando

sorry, fell asleep last night as it was 3am my time

5/3/2008 | 11:06:37 PM by Brandon

I agree, Slane 92. By the time November Rain and Estranged were made, the other guys in the band did not look like they wanted any part of it. It seems to me that they were dictated to, as to what Axl wanted for the videos. It didn't seem as if they had any input as far as what was going on in them.

Don't Cry they seemed more into.

I liked the videos of theirs that had little budget. Garden of Eden, Yesterdays, You Could Be Mine, and the Appetite stuff. Maybe it's just because I got older, but the epic videos just seemed too over the top, which in my mind, made them comedic.

5/3/2008 | 11:26:11 PM by nando

true, just show the band rockin out maybe some hot girls, cut! theres the video, the rest can be for Axl's home videos

5/3/2008 | 11:28:04 PM by slane 92

Nando,

Your right garden of eden is a great video pure class. gotta love axl and the boys it sure is funny.

5/4/2008 | 1:30:02 AM by Album or Reunion ... Puhlease

Ha-HA! hILARIOUS! aWESome!! great article. very funny. great video.

Slash is the only person that should play the guitar solo to November Rain.

Someday we'll all be in an Arena somewhere--and when slash plays that solo AGAIn for the first time ...

We'll all lose our FACES!!!!

5/4/2008 | 2:21:41 AM by british control

i just got a tatoo on my face -- now thaey want me out
they own my face

5/4/2008 | 6:36:08 AM by bgrebel

Nando,

I respect your apology and your opinion.

Are you on facebook?

5/4/2008 | 9:42:13 AM by new gnr

Brandon,
I think hair metal is defined by the music these bands make, and can you say that when early guns n roses performed it's so easy, out ta get me, nigthrain, nice boys or some other typical gnr anthem in small sunset strip clubs-even with the make up and stuff, they were a hair metal? I don't think so..
as for the concerts from the previous thread-even the older people with families, as you said, if they want to see the show, they'll stay a couple of hours longer, if they are true fans, and know axl and co,and their history..I guess it depends on what priorities a person has, if you want to go home on time and be fresh for the next working day, that's ok, but if you want to stay for the possible best show ever, even if it means you'll be a bit tired the next day, then it's ok too..I would sometimes get up in the friday morning, go to college, then to work, and after out with friends the whole night, till 5-6 a.m..sleep a couple of hours, and STILL be able to work a morning shift the next day..I am 24 years old, maybe you'll say I won't be able to do that when I'm 40, but let me tell you something..couple of hours means nothing in comparison to the experience you'll get if you stay on concert, and it would stay the same for me, even if I was 40, cause I know what gn'r music means to me..
it's all about the priorities you set for yourself..

5/4/2008 | 12:55:19 PM by nando

no bgrebel i think i must be too old for that, but i think thats like myspace right???? i dont have that either....thanks for accepting my apologies

5/4/2008 | 1:00:41 PM by nando

damn newgnr, i remember being 24, i would schedule the next day off, or plan on calling in sick, but like Brandon said Axl got on stage early in his career, as he did for tribute shows, charities, and singing with other bands, seems like he should just start preparing earlier, like the rest of us have too, but i would still go to the show, if he would actually play and not postpone or cancel like the last 2 shows i was supposed to see, if i saw them play i would not complain at all about the time

5/4/2008 | 1:24:48 PM by new gnr

I'm sorry you didn't see the shows, nando, I agree it's stupid if he cancels them for no reason whatsoever..hopefully, we'll see them soon on Chinese Democracy World Tour :))..take care..

5/4/2008 | 3:09:50 PM by Chris

New GNR, i agree the shows are worth it and i agree you shoule plan accordingly. I guess the point is WHY? Personally i agree with Brandon Axl came on late because he could. It became what he was known for. Nothing more nothing less

5/4/2008 | 4:49:19 PM by fake pat

come on brandon...lets see you share a bit of "sorr" around......remember that time i pulled you out of that burning car?....lol

5/4/2008 | 6:27:02 PM by Brandon

I don't remember that, Fake Pat. I think I might have had too much to drink. : )

5/4/2008 | 8:11:51 PM by Brandon

Hey Gnr4ever, being able to stay out until 2 or 3 in the morning to see a Guns show, doesn't make you a "true fan". Those who cannot do that because of obligations, should not be discredited for it. A lot of people throw around the term "true fan" to include blind acceptance of everything Axl does as allright. That, to me, doesn't constitue a true fan.

So, I have one more question for you. Granted Axl goes on late. The band is up and ready to play by 9. Axl is tempermental like that. That is the way it has always been. I think you have mentioned that you show up around 10:30 or so to the show? How would you feel if, given Axl's track record for tardiness, you showed up at 10:30 and found out the show actually started at 9 for once just because Axl felt like it? Would you be pissed? I ask that because people actually do show up to see the whole show, and they are made to wait several hours between the opening band and Guns set.

And your comment about being able to do the same things when your 40 that you do now is funny as hell. You won't realize it until you hit it, how wrong you are. Believe me, I said the same thing when I was your age. Things change. You get older. You have kids. You might not feel any different when you hit 40, but your body says otherwise.

5/4/2008 | 8:26:13 PM by split66

I gotta agree with Brandon on this one... being a short 14 months from 40 I can guarantee you that your shit changes.. your priorities, your weight, your tolerance for booze. GNR4.... have all the fun you can being a kid now. As much as I try it now.. it fuk'n hurts more than it used to... for longer also.

5/4/2008 | 8:39:00 PM by Brandon

Ain't that the truth, Split66????? Hangovers don't go away like they used to, damnit. I can still drink like I used to, it's just I pay a higher price for it afterwards. : )

Gnr4ever.....I guess my point of all of this is a simple question. Where is your breaking point when it comes to Axl's behavior? Axl does what he does because no one stands up to him and says it isn't right. He got rid of all those people, so now he is surrounded by "yes men". He goes on late because he can. No one in the arena will pull the plug at 11 even if Axl isn't there because doing so might cause some stupid fans to riot, and Axl knows this.

Would you be willing to accept a 1 a.m. start time? How about 2 a.m.?????

All I am asking for when it comes to Axl is that he is honest with his fans and those who attend the shows. After all, without the fans, he is nothing. If he wants to come on at 11, so be it, just make sure word of that gets out BEFORE the tickets are purchased, so the fans can make an informed decision based on their own responsibilities. Contrary to what you think, the vast majority of people who attend the shows have no idea that Axl is coming on anywhere between 11 and 1 a.m.. That is why you see fans leaving the arena at 11. They leave because they aren't sure there is even going to be a show by that point, and if there is, they will not be able to stay that late.

5/4/2008 | 8:49:54 PM by C.T.

That's an understatemnet!....anyone who equates blind devotion to being a true fan is crazy!! Having a Christ complex with Axl Rose does NOT make you a true fan, it's makes you crazy!! Worshipping Axls talents as a song writer and still defending every single one of his actions as being some kind of statement is scary and crazy just fucking wrong! Some people put this guy on a pedestal for his actions!! If you behaved like a tenth of the way that Axl does I guarantee you'd have no job, no family and no friends! Axl's fucked up behaviour should not be celebrated and more to the point is that if people criticize it, it certainly shouldn't be defended. Especially with a stupid fucking defense like "youre not a true fan....". Being a true fan does NOT mean being a fucking brainless zombie and agreeing with, or finding some type of statement or meaning in shiity behavior from these people like Axl. He's a great songwriter, that's not in question, never was. But make no mistake, he's been a prick to a lot of people. Axl himself would probably think that anyone who follows him blindly is a fucking moron! In fact, he wrote a line about in the song Don't Damn Me.

Don'y hail me
Or don't idolize the ink
Or I failed in my intentions
Can you find the missing link
Your only validation
Is in living your own life
VICARIOUS existance is a fucking waste of time

AMEN to that!!!

5/4/2008 | 9:01:19 PM by C.T.

Don't question me about how much a fan of GN'R I am because of my refussal to be treated like shit by their ring leader. My abuse level from rock star millionairs is very very low. Just because some people don't mind, and at times appear to enjoy being treated like fucking shit by this guy doesn't mean your a bigger or purer fan than me. All it means is that you are willing to be treated like shit, that's it!! Maybe look into the fact that you have little or no self respect.

5/4/2008 | 10:59:23 PM by bgrebel

Axl Rose is not infallible!

5/5/2008 | 2:11:34 AM by Me

I finally had an opportunity to read all of the above dissection of November Rain and God bless thats funny!! A very entertaining read.

5/5/2008 | 2:44:41 AM by Brandon

Hey "Me" How come I don't see a facebook account for you???? I see other people on there, but not you. What? Too good for us "little people"????? I see how it's going to be.

5/5/2008 | 3:03:56 AM by Me

Just Haven't had the chance yet. I will though. I love the little people.

5/5/2008 | 10:27:00 AM by split66

tru dat... Sunday sukt ass all day.. even Monday morning wasn't a killer start to the week. I saw this band 6 times in 2006 and they kept us fans "waiting" one time. Waiting meaning that you could sense the crowd getting annoyed. 40-60 minutes to wait between gigs when a band like GNR are coming up isn't too much to ask. When you start pushing 2 hours it is getting dangerous. 3 hours is really unacceptable. The problem is this... if you can and do stay you are really treated to a show not to be missed. I only feel bad for the people that HAVE to leave and miss it. Sure they are pissed at AXL for missing the show... but if they could have stayed they would have been singing loud praises for the concert. This is the catch! As much as you disrespect him for his actions.. you have to respect him for his actions during the concert. I also know that at 2 shows he was brought in by helicopter after their stage was set up. Not sure why... where he was... why he was late... and I can only imagine it probably isn't easy being him. I know you are all thinking I am part of this blind faith fellowship group... but not really. I dug AXL for his fuck you attitude 20 years ago... and I dig that he still maintains a bit of it today. If he didn't he would really be like every other aging musician just going through the paces for the paycheck. He's an asshole... but a fuk'n talented one. As someone once said. If you are going to be an asshole.. be the best asshole you can be. I still think AXL is the best asshole in rock. And I will wait everytime. I do think you are right that some people may not know that the show could start so late.. fortunately it ISN'T me!!! There I go being an asshole 'eh!

5/5/2008 | 10:29:29 AM by split66

C.T.
great post !

5/5/2008 | 12:30:05 PM by Blind Faith Fellowship

Has anyone seen Split66? Prayer meeting starts in 10 min.. Axl's waiting.

5/5/2008 | 2:21:08 PM by C.T.

Yo Split, thanks bro!!
I'm pretty sure Axl would be late for his own prayer meeting..... ;-)

5/5/2008 | 2:22:28 PM by fatdrunkguy

John Denver LOL!

5/5/2008 | 2:54:30 PM by Me

That was some funny stuff right there! It does look like him, doesn't it?

5/5/2008 | 3:06:48 PM by C.T.

Gilligan?

5/5/2008 | 3:30:41 PM by new gnr

first of all,
I'm not gnr 4ever, I'm NEW GNR on this forum, and always have been..secondly, I'm not a blind sheep, I'm just not as bitter and frustrated like you are most of the times, bitchin' about everything, and excuse me, I have a lot of respect for myself, and yes, for axl too..SO I DON'T JUMP TO CRITISIZE HIS EVERY MOVE LIKE MOST OF YOU DO AROUND HERE..that doesn't mean I approve everything he does..I don't care, couple of hours mean nothing to me, and never will mean nothing to me when it comes to gn'r..they're a great part of my life and always will be..if you don't understand it, fuck, who cares anyway??

5/5/2008 | 3:47:09 PM by Me

Wow! Is that anger I smell?

5/5/2008 | 3:49:46 PM by new gnr

some people deserve it

5/5/2008 | 4:05:14 PM by Kent

Bob Denver = Gilligan

John Denver = "Rocky Mountain High" and Sesame Street

5/5/2008 | 4:09:02 PM by Me

Just difference in opinion Grasshoppa. Now, go find your happy place and meditate for a bit.

5/5/2008 | 4:45:26 PM by Brandon

My bad, new GnR. I got the names mixed up.

5/5/2008 | 4:45:54 PM by new gnr

won't be necessary

5/5/2008 | 6:18:42 PM by FRANK240SX

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=making+of+november+rain&search_type=

If you don't have the tapes of 'Making F@cking Videos for November Rain watch these links.

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The Guardian Breaks Down November Rain

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