Melissa Reese spotlight in the latest (June 2020) issue of Rolling Stone (USA)

[ITARocker]

I have nothing against the girl, she's obviously a very special & gifted musician and i can hear what she does but...it's tough for me to consider her a gnr "member" (lol) .

Always nice to see some sexism on a Thursday afternoon.

fuck man , read what i wrote..im talkin about the fact that she isn’t playing a fuckin instrument as well as pitman (male). Pathetic... ’sexism’ u don’t even know the meaning of the word.

[ITARocker]

"I have nothing against women, but you know, they are pretty useless"

typical. still so much work to do to change mentalities  

another one Who can’t read... go back to school kid. This world is Full of people Who want to teach you and they can’t even read and understand simple things. Pathetic. Never said that, never thought that.

[ITARocker]

Well if u know some music, you know exactly what she does. The real question is: should she stay on stage? I mean, she's not really "playing" anything. Many other artists have this kind of people "backstage". She does almost the same things that pitman did (probably better than pitman), and pitman was considered useless. I have nothing against the girl, she's obviously a very special & gifted musician and i can hear what she does but...it's tough for me to consider her a gnr "member" (lol) .

Take away all of the technical things she does layering sounds and just put her on a riser next to the drummer and she fills a roll as a backup singer. Listen back to official and bootleg recordings from before she was in the band, some of the past members were like nails on a chalk board when they managed to either cut through the mix or get push forward in the mix. She is like having a less well known Lady Gaga (skill wise) sing backup for Axl. That alone makes her 10x more useful (on stage) than Chris Pitman.

Well my "being on stage" statement was half real half figurative   I mean..all the ‘background singers ’ in almost any band (even in gnr ... the 2 girls, zigzag) aren’t part of the band, i'm not saying she’s useless, i know exactly why they picked her...i didn’t consider pitman a part of the band too (and he wasn't useless too)...And no body is crying cause he’s gone, cause nobody can feel his absence. If Axl & co. consider melissa a part of the band it's ok, i won't cry about that. But when Finck is gone, you know he's gone. When buck is gone, you know he's gone. When steven adler steps in you know it's him and not frank. If melissa goes away, or even dizzy...well...I bet you won't notice the difference. Maybe she's even better than lady gaga, but she's not playing as lady gaga and she won't while she's playing in gnr. If elton john plays the piano instead of dizzy, he's not "elton john" he's just a complementary musician. Another example, the only time you could consider Pitman a member of the band was when his sound took over the sound of the band: in 2001 at rock in Rio III, where you can feel Axl was trying to make a lot of changes . After that, all his stuff was just about boosting and enhancing sounds, put some fills here and there etc. If you consider it to be enough to be a part of this particular band it's ok, it just doesn't work for me. Another example: was Spike Edney (keyboards and guitar) a Queen member ?? I can bring you thousands of examples . On the otherside, if u remove Melissa from the brain/melissa duo...well..it's all another thing. So It depends on the position you're in. So even when Brain talks about "people who are just there to see slash" ,I can understand him from a certain point of view, but his point at the end of the day is wrong. People are not stupid and obvious things are obvious things.

[AdZ]

I have nothing against the girl, she's obviously a very special & gifted musician and i can hear what she does but...it's tough for me to consider her a gnr "member" (lol) .

Always nice to see some sexism on a Thursday afternoon.

fuck man , read what i wrote..im talkin about the fact that she isn’t playing a fuckin instrument as well as pitman (male). Pathetic... ’sexism’ u don’t even know the meaning of the word.

You infantilized a talented woman, and referred to her in the abstract rather than in the third person or by her name which it's clear you know. It's sexist.

Have a great Friday!

[ITARocker]

I have nothing against the girl, she's obviously a very special & gifted musician and i can hear what she does but...it's tough for me to consider her a gnr "member" (lol) .

Always nice to see some sexism on a Thursday afternoon.

fuck man , read what i wrote..im talkin about the fact that she isn’t playing a fuckin instrument as well as pitman (male). Pathetic... ’sexism’ u don’t even know the meaning of the word.

You infantilized a talented woman, and referred to her in the abstract rather than in the third person or by her name which it's clear you know. It's sexist.

Have a great Friday!

Infantilized? Wtf are u talking about? this is even beyond pathetic i referred to her in the third person 6 times. U just want to read what u want. Read some book, maybe u'll learn that "she" is the feminine third-person, singular personal pronoun and that you can't fill a page of pronouns referring to the same person. Only semi-illiterates do that.

[Spirit]

Gotta side with ITARocker here, I didn’t read his comment as sexist.

[Mysteron]

Och, there's nothing bad afoot. ITA is a traditionalist, likes the band members to be people who play instruments, and Adz is defending Melissa, who does come across as talented and nice, and adds to a band in a more modern tech way and gives a fuller sound to the band. It's just different opinions, and an English grammar lesson we were never expecting. 

Whatever opinions people have, the band have to be complimented on accepting Melissa like they have, like it or hate it. There are so many people in life who are in the background and they never get the recognition they deserve. It's a cool thing whatever opinion is thrown out there.

[ITARocker]

Och, there's nothing bad afoot. ITA is a traditionalist, likes the band members to be people who play instruments, and Adz is defending Melissa, who does come across as talented and nice, and adds to a band in a more modern tech way and gives a fuller sound to the band. It's just different opinions, and an English grammar lesson we were never expecting.  

Whatever opinions people have, the band have to be complimented on accepting Melissa like they have, like it or hate it. There are so many people in life who are in the background and they never get the recognition they deserve. It's a cool thing whatever opinion is thrown out there.

He's "defending" her (am I attacking her?) saying the thing I said are sexist, That's bullshit.

I remind you that Matt Sorum was considered an "additional musician"   . Were are talking about a guitar band, wanted or not (even axl brought in a third guitar when he wanted a new sound). I mean, if she played in NIN maybe i would see her more as a part of the band but in gnr to me she's a complementary musician as well as the bongo player dizzy reed, and I won't change my mind  . And again, i'm not trying to debasing their role, it is what it is....to my eyes and ears at least  

[Mysteron]

Och, there's nothing bad afoot. ITA is a traditionalist, likes the band members to be people who play instruments, and Adz is defending Melissa, who does come across as talented and nice, and adds to a band in a more modern tech way and gives a fuller sound to the band. It's just different opinions, and an English grammar lesson we were never expecting.  

Whatever opinions people have, the band have to be complimented on accepting Melissa like they have, like it or hate it. There are so many people in life who are in the background and they never get the recognition they deserve. It's a cool thing whatever opinion is thrown out there.

He's "defending" her (am I attacking her?) saying the thing I said are sexist, That's bullshit.

I remind you Matt Sorum was considered an "additional musician"   . Were are talking about a guitar band, wanted or not (even axl brought in a third guitar when he wanted a new sound). I mean, if she played in NIN maybe i would see her more as a part of the band but in gnr to me she's a complementary musician as well as the bongo player dizzy reed, and I won't change my mind  . And again, i'm not trying to debasing their role, it is what it is....to my eyes and ears at least  

It was an aggressive exchange of opinions  And you also just did the old thing of referring to Dizzy as bongo player. It's humour, I get it, but you'll get a Adz type slap for that when it comes to someone responding to you.

Ur old school with a bit of wit, but the band value these musicians and it is their right to do that

[AdZ]

Infantilized? Wtf are u talking about? this is even beyond pathetic i referred to her in the third person 6 times. U just want to read what u want. Read some book, maybe u'll learn that "she" is the feminine third-person, singular personal pronoun and that you can't fill a page of pronouns referring to the same person. Only semi-illiterates do that.

Okay, here is the point I am making - Sexism can be expressed in language with negative gender-oriented implications, such as condescension. For example, one may refer to a female as a "girl" rather than a "woman", implying that they are subordinate or not fully mature.

Think about your comment. If Melissa was male, I find it unlikely you would have said "Nothing against the boy, he's obviously a very special & gifted musician", right?

These things are important. I should have called you out on it differently and for that I apologize, but it's a real issue nonetheless and one that shouldn't go unremarked on.

[ITARocker]

Think about your comment. If Melissa was male, I find it unlikely you would have said "Nothing against the boy, he's obviously a very special & gifted musician", right?

Wrong. I would have probably used the word "guy". And please focus on the 2 other adjectives..."very special and gifted". I mean, I have even underlined the importance of her work so wtf... You focus on a single word and build up an opinion about me just for the sake of it. You don't need to apologize, you just need to stop this fuckin witch hunt every fuckin time someone open his mouth, it's boring more than anyything else. Just contextualize, plz, stop random quoting, it's really annoying, we can't talk anymore without somebody starting his mantra "sexist,racist" etc...

[Mysteron]

One has learned more about English grammar in this thread than at school  I am now ready for the exam 

Meanwhile, in a batcave somewhere in the US, Brain and Melissa have probably composed a nine minute mini-opera about this thread for the Superbowl next year, and a statue of Adz will be erected in Dorset next year.

[The Wight Gunner]

I like the fact that Melissa is " in in" the band as opposed to Chris Pitman who is out out....

Not sure if that works anywhere but in Britian

[Ignatius]

Infantilized? Wtf are u talking about? this is even beyond pathetic i referred to her in the third person 6 times. U just want to read what u want. Read some book, maybe u'll learn that "she" is the feminine third-person, singular personal pronoun and that you can't fill a page of pronouns referring to the same person. Only semi-illiterates do that.

Okay, here is the point I am making - Sexism can be expressed in language with negative gender-oriented implications, such as condescension. For example, one may refer to a female as a "girl" rather than a "woman", implying that they are subordinate or not fully mature.

Think about your comment. If Melissa was male, I find it unlikely you would have said "Nothing against the boy, he's obviously a very special & gifted musician", right?

These things are important. I should have called you out on it differently and for that I apologize, but it's a real issue nonetheless and one that shouldn't go unremarked on.

I'm with ITA here as well...

If Melissa was a 27-year old-male, ate snickers and candy every minute of his life, looked and dressed like a 15-year-old and dyed his hair blue...I think ITARocker would've said "Nothing against the kid/boy as well..." and no one would've cared.

We all know Melissa is a grown woman, she's very talented and gifted, we gotta give her credit. She seems to be a hard worker as well,  but she does look like a teenager. Nothing sexist about that...but what do I know, I'm just a 44-year-old boy (who doesn't look like a teenager anymore!)

[GNRVahland]

I'm with ITA here as well...

If Melissa was a 27-year old-male, ate snickers and candy every minute of his life, looked and dressed like a 15-year-old and dyed his hair blue...I think ITARocker would've said "Nothing against the kid/boy as well..." and no one would've cared.

We all know Melissa is a grown woman, she's very talented and gifted, we gotta give her credit. She seems to be a hard worker as well,  but she does look like a teenager. Nothing sexist about that...but what do I know, I'm just a 44-year-old boy (who doesn't look like a teenager anymore!)

44-year-old man !
...or 44-year-old boy indeed but then you would like teenagers 

[carmiedisco12]

Infantilized? Wtf are u talking about? this is even beyond pathetic i referred to her in the third person 6 times. U just want to read what u want. Read some book, maybe u'll learn that "she" is the feminine third-person, singular personal pronoun and that you can't fill a page of pronouns referring to the same person. Only semi-illiterates do that.

Okay, here is the point I am making - Sexism can be expressed in language with negative gender-oriented implications, such as condescension. For example, one may refer to a female as a "girl" rather than a "woman", implying that they are subordinate or not fully mature.

Think about your comment. If Melissa was male, I find it unlikely you would have said "Nothing against the boy, he's obviously a very special & gifted musician", right?

These things are important. I should have called you out on it differently and for that I apologize, but it's a real issue nonetheless and one that shouldn't go unremarked on.

I'm with ITA here as well...

If Melissa was a 27-year old-male, ate snickers and candy every minute of his life, looked and dressed like a 15-year-old and dyed his hair blue...I think ITARocker would've said "Nothing against the kid/boy as well..." and no one would've cared.

We all know Melissa is a grown woman, she's very talented and gifted, we gotta give her credit. She seems to be a hard worker as well,  but she does look like a teenager. Nothing sexist about that...but what do I know, I'm just a 44-year-old boy (who doesn't look like a teenager anymore!)

Very good points.
Funny old world now where everyone is in a competition to be offended on someone elses behalf all the time.
What ITA said was in no way, shape or form sexist and is a shame he was shown such a lack of generosity in assuming it was.

[mrpukie500]

Anyone that doesn't think that this is sexist: "it's tough for me to consider her a gnr "member" (lol)" is not familiar with American colloquialism, or is in denial. 

[AdZ]

Yeah, thanks everyone for quite literally proving my point.

Back to the main topic anyway...

This is very cool, it's always interesting to hear what makes the sound 'the sound'. I knew in principle what was going on but I had no idea it was literally doubling the riff for Mr Brownstone for instance.

[PermissionToLand]

She should double Axls vocals more often so he won't sound so weak.

[sakuL]

She should double Axls vocals more often so he won't sound so weak.

haha! brutal mic drop!