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Appetite for Destruction was the first cassette tape that I owned. It was given to me by my cousin Michael, who had “dubbed” over the Kiss album Animalize in order to provide me with “the best tape in years.” Needless to say—he was right, it totally rocked.
My interest in Guns N’ Roses horrified my parents (naturally) because they were concerned about the negative impact the explicit lyrics would have on my impressionable mind. These concerns ultimately proved groundless. I don’t use excessive profanity, and the events of my life have never been reflective of any situations depicted in GNR songs. But whenever I need a taste of musical hedonism blaring at soul-crushing volumes (often), I know exactly what album to pop on. How well do you know the band that helped define rock music in the 80s?
Take the Quiz: Who Was Mr. Brownstone?
Then come back and let us know how you fared. One lucky commenter, chosen at random, will win a copy of Reckless Road: Guns N’ Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction.
Comments (65)
Comment
I got a 71%, 10 out of 14. Good quiz!
posted by Kevin McDonald on 5-1-2008 at 10:59 am
Ouch. 7/14. Got the last 4 in a row to raise my score to a respectable level.
posted by Eric Y. on 5-1-2008 at 11:01 am
I was a HUGE GnR fan-and I only answered 6 of 14 correctly!
posted by Lulabelle on 5-1-2008 at 11:08 am
8/14. Clearly I need the book to supplement my GnR knowledge.
posted by Todd on 5-1-2008 at 11:08 am
wow…6/14 and I considered myself a “hair-band chick” at one time too!
posted by Christian on 5-1-2008 at 11:20 am
100% (with only two guesses…I actually knew the rest!) Shows what I was doing in my teenage years…!
posted by Paula on 5-1-2008 at 11:36 am
71%, same as Kevin.
I would have hoped to do better.
Chinese democracy starts… some time!
posted by Paul on 5-1-2008 at 11:49 am
Poor, just 4/14. I guess it shows that I wasn’t in to that type of music too much. Oh well.
posted by Brian on 5-1-2008 at 11:51 am
11/14 but 2 were lucky guesses
posted by jayson on 5-1-2008 at 11:55 am
8/14
What’s the big deal? Whenever I’m asked to be the godfather to someone’s child, I threaten to beat up Kurt Cobain.
posted by Patrick on 5-1-2008 at 12:03 pm
Better then I thought, 7/14. I like GnR but don’t know too much trivia on them.
posted by Bob N' Roses on 5-1-2008 at 12:04 pm
I hope this will not be awarded by score. I made 5 of 14 and I think I guessed them all. If I had gone with my gut on three of them I would have had 8.
posted by SongLee on 5-1-2008 at 12:06 pm
Score: 79% (11 out of 14)
:(
dang!
I used to be into GnR big time when Appetite came out, by the time Illusion came out I was already on to heaver stuff (and then did a 180 and dove head first into being a dedhed, go figure! lol)
posted by RodneyB on 5-1-2008 at 12:13 pm
8/14 not bad seeing how I was 10 when appetitie for destruction came out, but thanks to my parents I know every word to every song! Night Train is my favorite right behind Civil War and Pretty Tied Up
posted by grat on 5-1-2008 at 12:15 pm
Better then I thought, 7/14
posted by Bob N' Roses on 5-1-2008 at 12:18 pm
5 out of 14. I am pathetic!
posted by JaneM on 5-1-2008 at 12:20 pm
I only got 8. And I call myself a metalhead…
posted by kdub on 5-1-2008 at 12:20 pm
4/14 not very good oh well….
posted by brookie on 5-1-2008 at 12:31 pm
4/14 but ill leave a comment for a chance at a free book
posted by pineapplesauce on 5-1-2008 at 12:37 pm
8 right. Most of them were guesses, except for the Dylan cover and the question about Blind Melon. As a Hoosier myself, I at least knew that one. The Blind Melon guy (trying to hide answers to avoid spoilers) is also from Lafayette, IN.
Side notes: 1. I kinda hate GNR… and 2. Apparently Axl Rose got beaten up in my husband’s hometown of Mulberry (near Lafayette, IN) at some point before he was famous.
posted by Fruppi on 5-1-2008 at 12:39 pm
Axl Rose got beaten up in my husband’s hometown of Mulberry (near Lafayette, IN) at some point
not surprising, he is an a-hole
posted by dedHED on 5-1-2008 at 12:48 pm
i am a HUGE g’n'r fan as well, although i didnt do so hot on the quiz…9/14. i posted the link to this quiz on a fan page on facebook hoping to expand the mental floss fan base!
posted by nicole on 5-1-2008 at 12:53 pm
I got 9 correct.
I cannot wait until my daughter’s tender little ears are ready for GNR! She is only 18 months so it is going to be a few years!
posted by Melanie on 5-1-2008 at 12:56 pm
I got 93% (13 out 14). I wasn’t positive about the location of their first show, but I got it. Can’t believe I missed the one about Axl and Kurt, Nirvana is also a favorite band of mine.
posted by dan1101 on 5-1-2008 at 1:00 pm
71% — not bad, I guess. Anyone catch their reunion performance in 2004 with Buckethead? Delightfully awful.
posted by Johnny Cat on 5-1-2008 at 1:10 pm
10/14… I love me some late 80’s metal trivia…
posted by Sarah on 5-1-2008 at 1:14 pm
8 of 14-Must be residual brain damage from then !
posted by jim on 5-1-2008 at 1:22 pm
sniff, sniff..
4 out of 14
posted by Pearl on 5-1-2008 at 1:27 pm
6/14 Yikes. A few were mistakes I made because I haven’t listened in ages and others I just flat out didn’t know. Fun quiz, though!
posted by Nikki on 5-1-2008 at 1:27 pm
71% (10/14). Not bad, but considering the righteous mullet I had in ‘92 I really should have done better.
posted by EV on 5-1-2008 at 1:37 pm
4/14…ick. Fun quiz… thanks for the memories.
posted by Jud on 5-1-2008 at 1:50 pm
I think that Rocket Queen is by far their best song.
posted by Kevin McDonald on 5-1-2008 at 1:51 pm
13/14. I’m not a fan of that band, but my rocky roommate loves them. Obviously he helped.
posted by martin on 5-1-2008 at 1:52 pm
Only 4 out of 14. But I’ll comment anyway
posted by Ralph on 5-1-2008 at 2:28 pm
7/14. I agree — Rocket Queen is awesome. What an album, but what a bunch of losers they were.
posted by jamie on 5-1-2008 at 2:35 pm
I got 8 out of 14. Much better than I thought I’d do!
posted by Martha on 5-1-2008 at 2:40 pm
Wow…I had high expectations for myself, but only got 43%.
posted by bre on 5-1-2008 at 2:57 pm
8/14. Ouch. Sorry, Axl.
posted by Dirk Diggler on 5-1-2008 at 3:09 pm
I got 11 out of 14. I guess I listened better than I thought I had.
posted by Rob on 5-1-2008 at 3:15 pm
8/14.
I thought I’d do better than that. I can live with more than half though.
I heard rumors again last week the Chinese Democracy is really going to come out this year. I think people quit caring about that, if anyone even still cared at that point, as soon as he and Buckethead performed on the MTV awards. :(
posted by Ashley on 5-1-2008 at 3:28 pm
7/14
Not bad:)
posted by Katrina on 5-1-2008 at 4:46 pm
13/14 - I didn’t know the tattoo question… the rest of them were cake!
posted by TroutSlayer on 5-1-2008 at 5:00 pm
11/14 and I read the book Slash. Doh!
posted by Christopher Mccurry on 5-1-2008 at 5:01 pm
Brought down the average with a pathetic 4/14. Guess I need the book!
posted by Valerie on 5-1-2008 at 5:02 pm
9/14. Damn…
posted by Pete on 5-1-2008 at 6:39 pm
14 out of 17 - not bad. I thought I’d do better considering that I’m currently reading Slash’s autobiography (definitely worth a perusal, by the way).
posted by Pebbles36 on 5-1-2008 at 9:28 pm
Whoops! 11 out of 14, 14 out of 17 — almost the same…
posted by Pebbles36 on 5-1-2008 at 9:30 pm
11 out of 14. Should’ve gotten 14! Didn’t know the first gig, Axl’s tattoo, and what song was on both Illusion I & II (I guess I could have looked at my cds, but wouldn’t that have been cheating?)
posted by Ramon on 5-1-2008 at 10:31 pm
I got a whopping 29%.
Sigh…
posted by Chad Cloman on 5-1-2008 at 11:45 pm
Wow - only 29% here too. That was a tough quiz!
The one I KNEW I had right was the tattoo because I remember it from the night I spent partying with Axl here in AZ when the band was in for a gig and he had stopped by a friend’s house.
posted by LALA on 5-2-2008 at 3:54 am
79%
Not too shabby for someone who professed to hating the band in thier heyday.
posted by Melvin on 5-2-2008 at 6:45 am
8/14… not so bad, and a good mix of obscure stuff and common info. Thanks!
posted by Josh on 5-2-2008 at 8:54 am
10 - not so bad. I really thought I’d do better though.
posted by DanM on 5-2-2008 at 9:46 am
Did 13/14 (thought they started at the Whiskey). Didn’t think I had been that into them at the time:-) Still looking forward to Axl’s Chinese Democracy and been listening to the other bands that the other members have created/worked in for the last few years (Slash’s Snakepit, Izzy Stradlin, Velvet Revolver, etc.). They still make good music but nothing like the first 3 albums of GnR.
posted by Saras on 5-2-2008 at 10:42 am
13/14. Not great considering GNR is my FAVORITE band. I hope I win, I love rock books.
posted by modemgirl on 5-2-2008 at 11:46 am
I got 10 of 14…didn’t know about the Manson song.
posted by Rob on 5-2-2008 at 11:47 am
I love GNR, and I only got 9 out of 14! I love their Best Of album. Every song on there is so full of memories of my jr. high days.
I hope this is a sign of more trivia to come from Mental Floss on GNR and other great 80s and 90s metal bands.
posted by Jeannie on 5-2-2008 at 4:04 pm
I remember being in college when I first heard G-N-R, that first album was fabulous. After awhile, like a lot of folks, I got sick of Axl’s antics. To this day, I’ve never been to a party where women get up and dance as quickly as they do to “Sweet Child O’Mine”
posted by Frank on 5-6-2008 at 2:47 pm
Sweet! I did OK. 64%. I know the book giveaway is probably over but. Where’s my book? Guns N Roses are under new management as of the past few months and also there is some kind of promotional “challenge” by Dr. Pepper soda offering a free soda to everyone in America if Chinese Democracy is released anytime this year. (Yeah, I know) I’d say we are closer than ever to getting that album!!
posted by Aurynanya on 5-19-2008 at 7:07 pm
12 out of 14. I guessed Eddie Vedder, guess that was wishful thinking. Also guessed the Whiskey. Wish that Axl would play nice and have a GNR reunion.
posted by Phil Spear on 5-20-2008 at 11:00 am
I got 100% as expected…#4 was the hardest Q. Now gimmie my book damit! ;)
posted by Andrea Ebert on 5-28-2008 at 3:10 pm
12 out of 14. I guessed Eddie Vedder and just couldn’t remember which of the clubs was their first. Great quiz!
posted by Colleen Dandar on 5-29-2008 at 7:26 pm
I got 12 out of 14. The first gig question was tricky because they have played all those venues. Great quiz!
posted by Colleen Dandar on 5-29-2008 at 7:29 pm
100%!!!!! GNR 4ever!
though I guessed 2 about a tatto and civil war…
posted by Danny on 6-4-2008 at 4:18 am
Wow, 10/14 - just barely a passing grade. I’m so embarrassed - they were one of my favourites in 1989!
posted by liz on 6-16-2008 at 12:57 pm