agree with this

but i really cannot tholl this attitude:

america does not have the monopoly on what is credible in rock n roll. in fact it's the opposite, as history will continually testify.
europe & the rest of the world understand, welcome & appreciate rock & rock artistry to a much greater extent than america ever has or ever will.

you're mistaking the effect for the cause.
if they lost credibility it was before america even had the chance to say fuck off. i think what you mean here is that they are increasingly irrelevant in the pop medium.
but in terms of credibility i would say the behaviour over the past few years has been as true to the spirit of GnR & rock n roll than GnR have probably ever been.  now a lot of that may not be due to choice, if axl had the support maybe he'd still love to be on MTV making mega videos & 'playing the game'. but their arch contrariness (or their sheer idiocy) IS where their credibility comes from. the Azoff courtcase is where their credibility comes from. their unwillingness, reluctance to make any kind of concessions even if it means constantly shooting themselves in the foot in terms of bizness & popularity is where their credibility comes from. release an album, tour your balls off & ignore all the BS & pettiness.

but that also means it's easy for people to deride or ignore them. that isn't lack of credibility it's lack of relevance.
the only thing they did 'wrong' was actually releasing a single (not that anyone would have noticed tho). & prob the BestBuy deal 2 but not being in america that BS didn't affect me..

this is where they lack credibility. this cause is why america has said fuck off (along with countless other, less important but no less significant, reasons) but other than that & some setlist issues GnR are grand guardians & bearers of the rock n roll flame.

fwiw here's my lists for 2010:

top 3 tunes:

#1 Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues

some proper fuckin country, not that kid fuckin rock b0llocks

#2 Grinderman - Heathen Child (tho i prefer the Robert Fripp enhanced version) ft. robert fripp -

here's the original video, imo video of the year hands down: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xeeoap … hild_music

#3 Killing Joke - In Excelsis

n my top albums:
1: Paul Cary - Ghost of a Man
2: Neil Young - Le Noise
3: Killing Joke - Absolute Dissent
4: Dr John & The Lower 911 - Tribal
5: Grinderman - Grinderman 2
6: Hanggai - Juan Zou do Ren
7: Liars - Sisterworld
8: The Bambi Molesters - As The Dark Wave Swells
9: Babybird - Ex-maniac
10: The Black Keys - Brothers

11: V.A. - Brazilian Guitar Fuzz '67-'76
12: Electric Wizard - Black Masses
13: Wolf People - Steeple
14: White Hills - White Hills
15: Jack Rose - Luck in the Valley
16: Shithorse - They Shit Horses Don't They
17: Giant Sand - Blurry Blue Mountain
18: Steve Mason - Boys Outside
19: Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues
20: Ryan Bingham - Junky Star

21: Tweak Bird - Tweak Bird
22: Orb ft. David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres
23: Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
24: Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
25: Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers - The Kneeanderthal Sounds Of..
26:The Orkustra - Adventures in Experimental Orchestra by The San Francisco Psychedelic Underground
27: MV+EE - Liberty Rose
28: Hank Williams III - Rebel Within
29: Munly & The Lupercalians - Petr & The Wolf
30: Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
31: The Oh Sees - Warm Slime
32: Tav Falco's Panther Burns - Conjurations: Seance for Deranged Lovers
33: Prince Rama of Ayodhya - Shadow Temple
34: Buckethead - Shadows Between the Sky
35: Black Label Society - Order of the Black
36: Deerhunter - Halycon Digest
37: Doug Paisley - Constant Companion
38: Jamie Lidell - Compass
39: Roky Erikson & Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil
40: God is an Astronaut - Age of the Fifth Sun
41: Dylan leBlanc - Paupers Field
42: Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
43: Whispering Pines - Family Tree
44: The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
45: Tame Impala - Innerspeak
46: The Walkmen - Lisbon
47: Sleigh Bells - Treats
48: Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking it Easy
49: LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening
50: 22-20's - Shake Shiver Moan
51: The Fresh & Onlys - Play it Strange

they're missing a handful of cash but overall it i think it probably would have lowered the average attendance figures, which r already p low, for the tour if they'd hit the USA in '10..

'92 was the best of that vintage GnR imo.. izzy guesting, riots & just general insanity on a level not reached by GnR or any rock band since. 93 was slightly more sedate & '91 kinda the start of the madness that would unfurl..

but yea OT been a really good year for GnR & associates but hopefully '11 sees some new releases!!