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January 24, 2006

Kanye Is Jesus, Axl Is Irrelevant

Kanye West, who caused a Stereogum uproar with his Katrina telethon Bush-bashing, is on the cover of the new Rolling Stone. Posing as Jesus. We're not surprised. And probably only Pat Robertson will care.

If you've been paying attention, you know Mr. West's ego knows no bounds. According to AP, the Q&A is more of the same: he complains that people don't like his boasting, he complains that "Gold Digger" wasn't nominated for Best Rap Song, and complains that "My misery is your pleasure."

On the RS front, I'm far more interested that they got Axl Rose to come out of hiberation again. Mr. 'N Roses promises Chinese Democracy will drop this year, not realizing no one cares anymore.

He looks like an older, more pathetic Kevin Federline in that photo.

UPDATE: For unedited Kanye ... download the RS podcast (ZIP). In it he admits he's insecure, later evidenced by this hilarious blurb from Entertainment Weekly

KANYE: "Do you think my new video should be 'Touch the Sky' or 'We Major?' ... You think that 'Touch the Sky' could provide the energy to give the album a sales resurgence like 'Hollaback Girl' did for Gwen Stefani? I know I have to come up with some out-of-the-ballpark ideas for the video. I can't miss on this one!"
Aw, Kanye revealed his inner Gwennabe!

Posted at 3:17 PM
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60 Comments

Who's Kanye West?

Posted by: Blu at 01/24/06 4:24 PM | Reply
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u cant be more pathetic than Kevin Federline.. sad but true on gnr tho

Posted by: daniel at 01/24/06 4:48 PM | Reply
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Whatever.

Battlestar Galactica rules.

Posted by: Rich at 01/24/06 4:53 PM | Reply
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Given the controversial title of the nonexistent G'n'R album, perhaps Mr. Rose was approached by Homeland Security and A) told to stop using "W" at the beginning of his name to avoid confusion with you-know-who, and B) shuffled off to Canada.

This is the only reason I could see for him wearing that Maple Leafs jersey. And it gave me an excuse to work in a shitty "W" joke.

Posted by: Rolf, Wolf und Ulf at 01/24/06 4:53 PM | Reply
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stereogum, please murder rollingstone

i mean that literally and figuratively

Posted by: Craptain Krunch at 01/24/06 4:54 PM | Reply
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And one more thing...why is it "Maple Leafs" and not the more correct "Maple Leaves?"

Izzy Rules

Posted by: Will E. Maykit at 01/24/06 4:57 PM | Reply
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can we get morrissey on that cover instead of kanye?

Posted by: jojo at 01/24/06 4:59 PM | Reply
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Yeah, he could be Kevin's older, red-headed brother, and his goatee looks like a red-haired pussy. Sick.

Posted by: Brandon at 01/24/06 5:01 PM | Reply
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good grief... axl... i can't believe i used to think you were so awesome, circa 1990. cornrows and a leafs jersey? just awful... i just know this upcoming record is gonna suck. and i'm not convinced it's actually gonna be released this year as he claims.

oh, and i don't know why it's 'leafs' and not 'leaves'. that's a good question. i guess we canadians don't care about grammar. to be fair, it should be the maple laughs... but that's a whole other story.

Posted by: s at 01/24/06 5:33 PM | Reply
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Don't people have to give a sh*t about you before you can become a "recluse"?

Also, at 34 I'm out of it, but that "most anticiapted album" line was sarcasm, right? Right?

Posted by: The Rooster at 01/24/06 5:37 PM | Reply
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He looks like Mark McGwire. Axl that is. Not Kanye.

Posted by: Trey at 01/24/06 5:39 PM | Reply
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do you think he's rocking the cornrows because he's really losing his hair and the "cornrows" allow him to thread in more hair to make him feel more secure and somehow still believe that a hairstyle like that is anyway appropriate for a white guy?

Posted by: Lou at 01/24/06 5:45 PM | Reply
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Rolling Stone has finally gotten thin enough they could actually make it worth purchasing by selling it on a perforated roll.

Posted by: EJ at 01/24/06 5:46 PM | Reply
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Hah! Good obs on Mark McGwire.

hahaa
haha

That's freakin' funny.

Posted by: memememe at 01/24/06 6:10 PM | Reply
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Does anyone else think that Young Jeezy would have been better suited for this cover

Posted by: tj at 01/24/06 6:12 PM | Reply
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Stephen Pinker explains:

http://www.reporter-archive.mcgill.ca/Rep/r3107/pinker.html

"If a word can provide its own [inflection] from memory, then the regular rule is blocked," said Pinker. In other words, the mind will generally default to a rule-dictated word formation (e.g., incorrectly "mouses" or "thinked") unless memory dictates otherwise (so "mice" and "thought").

Pinker gave an example of inviting Julia Child and her family to dinner. "We'd say we were inviting the Childs over, not the Children," he said. How does the brain handle such exceptions? A simplified version of Pinker's thesis is that the brain applies the "kind of" rule in the case of irregular words.

Julia Child is not "a kind of a child," thus the word "child" in her name is not pluralized as it would regularly be. Similarly, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not in fact "kinds of leaves."

I've also heard that they were named after a Maple Leaf Batallion that fought in WWI, and also that Conn Smythe just liked the way it sounded.

Posted by: strangely_brown at 01/24/06 6:18 PM | Reply
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Please tell me that isnt a recent picture of Axl.

He looked like this in 2001 or so....

Man, I loved GNR as a boy

Posted by: e at 01/24/06 6:26 PM | Reply
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Axel who?

Posted by: Yale Bloor at 01/24/06 6:35 PM | Reply
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Somebody kill Kanye until he dies already.

Posted by: Jason Tucker at 01/24/06 7:13 PM | Reply
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Recent photo, 'cause in the article they describe his attire.

Posted by: scott at 01/24/06 7:14 PM | Reply
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oooooh. Controversy, here we come!

Posted by: Emma at 01/24/06 7:35 PM | Reply
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Wait, THAT'S AXL ROSE!!!???? WHAT IN FRESH HELL?! Are you sure? OMG!!! What is WITH the corn rows???

Posted by: Emma again at 01/24/06 7:41 PM | Reply
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please check out my new forum at....

http://pumpitude.noonhost.com/pumpitude.html

Posted by: Joebob McCracken at 01/24/06 8:02 PM | Reply
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Having seen this (http://www.thesuperficial.com/archives/2006/01/24/kevin_federline_jams_to_popoza.html ), Axl Rose is going to have to try a lot worse than cornrows to be more pathetic than K-Fed.

Posted by: Manda at 01/24/06 8:09 PM | Reply
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Amen! Axl is an ass

Posted by: Nando at 01/24/06 8:11 PM | Reply
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kanye blows. nothing original. nothing important. get over him and sufjan already.

Posted by: chris at 01/24/06 8:28 PM | Reply
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He also looks like that guy in Metallica.

Posted by: pablo at 01/24/06 8:57 PM | Reply
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(Leafs = Leaves) = (Suck = Suhk)

(/sports trolling)

FC (go Sens!)

Posted by: fatcitizen at 01/24/06 9:27 PM | Reply
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Sorry to interject the Great North hockey battle right now, but here's something I never understood: Singular of "Red Sox." Or White for that matter. It just doesn't seem right to take away from such a clever abbreviation by adding a "-ck" every time you debate your least favorite player from Bahston.

Posted by: Edwin at 01/24/06 10:07 PM | Reply
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Leif Erricson is hot.

Posted by: Sandra at 01/24/06 11:04 PM | Reply
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*gasps and faints, taken aback*

WTGDF?!!!!!!!

Posted by: alexis at 01/24/06 11:09 PM | Reply
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Well lord... i'd rather have a messiah lacking humility than to hear pitchfork utter these words ever again:

"As obvious heirs to the Velvet Underground's cultural legacy, two dudes from Weezer have been selected to portray members of the VU in the forthcoming Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl."

and i cant wait for that Brown Bunny remake starring Leonard Cohen and Janis Joplin.

Posted by: nehemiah ulrichsen at 01/24/06 11:28 PM | Reply
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Beth Orton on Letterman tonight bitches.

Posted by: LL Cool F at 01/24/06 11:43 PM | Reply
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So, how long until the inevitable "Kanye is my Homeboy" T-shirt?

Posted by: Joe at 01/24/06 11:45 PM | Reply
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Re Axl:
Where does he go now? Where does he go? Where does he go now? AIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAIAI.

Posted by: LL Cool F at 01/24/06 11:45 PM | Reply
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What is the big deal with Kanye West? He's just another talentless bonehead 'gangsta' rapper who seems to think the degredation of women is 'kewl'. Wake up to yourselves, Kanye is scum.

Posted by: Tony at 01/25/06 12:42 AM | Reply
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tony, thats the kind of thing 14 year old girls say on online friends networks.

kanye's a good mc and great producer. i dont understand why he thinks he's a martyr though. i'll give him credit for that cover when he dies for the impeachment of george bush.

Posted by: dave at 01/25/06 1:32 AM | Reply
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You missed a quality nugget from Kanye West story. He says he's a addicted to porn. That's fantastical!

Posted by: Paul at 01/25/06 1:48 AM | Reply
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I really like the cover as an image -- reminiscent of the types of things magazines used to do (like in that recent Best Magazine Covers list). RollingStone has got to lose all the text on their covers, though; it's like they don't know they've got a bold image.

Posted by: erklie at 01/25/06 1:59 AM | Reply
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Jason Tucker, but if you kill Kanye, he'll just rise up again with even more followers.

Posted by: rhymes with silver at 01/25/06 2:44 AM | Reply
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When i was a little girl i used to love axl.

Now i'm kind off glad to get over this.

Posted by: Barbarella at 01/25/06 6:07 AM | Reply
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are you sure it is not a picture of Aphex Twin?
they should work together these two...

Posted by: guillermo at 01/25/06 10:07 AM | Reply
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jojo said:

"can we get morrissey on that cover instead of kanye?"

Amen, sister. Preach!

Posted by: the infamous Daniel Kessler at 01/25/06 12:20 PM | Reply
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foo fighters are to tour the soft album:

more info @ pondracket.com

Posted by: mike at 01/25/06 12:28 PM | Reply
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Wouldn't it be bigger news if Axl Rose *didn't* promise Chinese Democracy was coming out this year?

Posted by: matthew at 01/25/06 12:29 PM | Reply
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I think you missed the real story here. According to the headlines of the=a issues Bode Miller is out control!! I can't believe that!! Lets discuss.

Posted by: jojoba at 01/25/06 1:02 PM | Reply
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Didn't Nas already do that? It was a music video, right?

Kanye is not a gangsta rapper. Whenever he mentions his own street tendencies, it's retrospect and he's criticizing it.

Axl looks like Danny Bonaduce is trying to be cool again.

Posted by: fido at 01/25/06 1:22 PM | Reply
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Love how Axel has gone all gangster with his "new" look.

Posted by: K at 01/25/06 1:41 PM | Reply
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Oh, and Rollingstone, "arguably the most anticipated album in rock & roll history"? Just how flexible is your definition of the word "arguably"? How about the word SMiLE?

Did anyone see that article in RS a few months back about Disturbed and Dave Draiman said that the death of Dimebag Daryl was "the 9/11 of rock"? This diffence in this is that the Chinese Democracy statement is the mag's opinion. It certainly isn't a fact, so RS must be editorializing. Their coverage is a joke.

Posted by: fido at 01/25/06 2:20 PM | Reply
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Kanye West should keep his vanity in check and, most important, learn to be humble. Spouting about how he's the greatest like some second-rate Mohammed Ali impersonator is not going to make Kanye many friends but plenty of enemies, including me. I have only one word to say to Kanye: hubris. Enjoy the ride down.

Posted by: Niraj at 01/25/06 4:32 PM | Reply
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hey, strangely_brown, your comment rocked! thanks for the heads up on pinker. :)

Posted by: rocky at 01/25/06 5:40 PM | Reply
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Hopefully Diddy won't see that magazine cover. He might break a bottle over Kanye's head if he does. That would hurt.

Posted by: hardcoreRapper at 01/25/06 10:37 PM | Reply
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Leave it up to Rolling Stone to make music politically left... does it have to be?

Posted by: JayFlyer at 01/26/06 12:38 AM | Reply
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Kany Puts out two good, but not great albums, and now he thinks he's a Jesus like figure? Dude, this guys ego is becoming laughable, between this and that Grammys outburst on MTV. I mean, shit, Jay-Z is 10 times better than him, and even his ego isn't this pompous.

Posted by: david Brent at 01/26/06 12:52 PM | Reply
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Leave it up to Rolling Stone to make music politically left... does it have to be?

Music is an expression of the human condition. Politics are an outgrowth of social constructs, an essential part of the human condition (humans need each other, thus forming social constructs). Thus, at least some music is political in nature. Does that mean that music has to adopt a certain political stance? Far from it; music should express any and all political stances. That's why CMT will play both Neil Young and Toby Keith; that's why my playlist includes Steve Earle, John Prine, Kanye West, and Merle Haggard. The idea that music must be politically left or politically neutral is nonsensical; voices of any and all political stances should be part of the choir.

Posted by: Trent at 01/27/06 10:40 AM | Reply
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Kanye shd b crucified then he'll know if he wants to b Jesus. muthfkr.

Posted by: gg at 01/28/06 6:26 PM | Reply
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u shld use mre vowls whn u tpe.

This is getting ridiculous. When was the last time Rolling Stone had some worthwhile reading? I'm straining to think of anything post-Hunter S. Thompson. Although, I can't help but admit to taking some amount of pleasure from looking at Axl. Ha.

Posted by: alan at 01/30/06 8:00 PM | Reply
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I think Axl looks more like Leif Garret than Mark McGwire.
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/060120/482/la10101201943;_ylt=AmGIc16GQxgUHiQsHP7Qo3bqChkF;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGk2OHYzBHNlYwN0bXA-

Posted by: russ at 01/30/06 11:06 PM | Reply
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Kanye is a pretentious racist bastard. Hip-hop isn't even music so I don't know why he's on the cover of a magazine. He needs to learn how to work for a living like the rest of us. Unfortunately he's not capable or smart enough to work in society, only whine + criticize it. He belongs in jail like the other rappers. Arrest this man.

Posted by: joe at 08/16/06 3:02 PM | Reply
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Joe, Kanye is not a "pretentious racist bastard". He doesn't hate white people, he hates Bush. I think in all reality, you're the racist one and you mask it by pointing fingers at others. I'm not gonna spray this post with picked-on-a-dartboard insults or stupid remarks off the top of my head. Only a small fraction of what you say is thoughtful, meaningful statement. You are half right when you say hiphop isn't music. Li'l Jon hopping around the screen drinkinng crunk juice, screaming about how rich he is in a song that only uses seven words, that isn't hiphop. Hiphop isn't a music genre either, hiphop is composed of bboying, MCing, DJing, and graffiti. The crap that's glued all over the media, I'm not talking just about hiphop anymore, most of it is crap and disposable pop singles that 10 year olds become fixated on. If you've ever listened to the crap spewing out every five minutes called kids bop you know I mean, especially because those same disposable "music" tracks are voiced over ny the ten year olds they attract. There are few good gems out in the world of publicized, famous music and Kanye west is one of them, I guess that's why I like his music.

And for those of you who feel like you're on a soapbox every time you post crap, here's something to keep you busy,

Jesus was black
Ronald Reagan was the devil
The government is lying to you about 9/11
Bush smokes weed to take the edge off the coke
Edgar J. Hoover was a racist jackass,
My mom is white, and my dad is black.

Posted by: Cayal at 08/22/06 11:25 AM | Reply
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