Stereoboard Look At Some Of The Most Famous Public Rants By Artists (Green Day, Axl Rose)
Monday, 01 October 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
Last week, the internet was rife with speculation and conversation surrounding Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong following his outburst at IHeartRadio festival. The band found their set cut by 20 minutes without warning to allow more time for Usher. Upon hearing the band only had one minute left, Billie Joe launched into a well documented, expletive-packed rant.
Prior to smashing his guitar, he grabbed the microphone and shouted, "Fuck this shit. I'm gonna play a fucking new song. Fuck this shit. Give me a fucking break. One minute left. One fucking minute left. You're gonna give me one fucking minute? Look at that fucking sign right there... One minute. Let me fucking tell you something, let me tell you something. I've been around since 198-fucking-8, and you're gonna give me one fucking minute? You've gotta be fucking kidding me! You're fucking kidding me. What the fuck!
"I'm not fucking Justin Bieber, you motherfuckers. You've gotta be fucking joking. This is a fucking joke. I got one minute - one minute left. Oh, now I got nothing left. Let me show you what one fucking minute fucking means." This is where he smashed his guitar, before concluding, "One minute... God fucking love you all. We'll be back."
The story has since been followed up by Billie Joe entering rehab, to which everyone naturally wishes him the best. But, this is not the first instance of a musician's outburst in a public venue. Though, not all are quite as aggressive.
Back in 2009 at the VMA Awards, one of the most famous outbursts occurred. As 19-year-old Taylor Swift took to the stage to collect her award for Best Female Video (won for 'You Belong To Me'), a certain member of the audience thought his opinion on the matter was more important than the teenager making an acceptance speech. Kanye West took to the stage, grabbed the microphone and declared that Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' was one of the best videos of all time. OF ALL TIME. The words, "Yo, I'm real happy for you, I'm gonna let you finish, but..." became an internet sensation - memes went wild. It also spiralled the infamous Kanye shrug, which is still in circulation today.
It did split audiences in the sense that most thought it was completely obnoxious (which it was) and that it was funny (which it was). But would anyone dare seek vengeance on Kanye for his outburst? Well, yes, actually. As Kanye and Jay-Z were set to accept their award for 'Best Video of the Year' at the BET Awards, Kanye began to thank the award ceremony when Jay-Z politely cut in with, "Excuse me Kanye, I am going to let you continue..." Everyone got the joke, everyone laughed and Kanye looked rather embarrassed as he laughed it off. Thanks, Jay-Z.
In a more amusing incident, Meat Loaf was partaking in a Celebrity Apprentice challenge. Doing an art project for a charity, Meat Loaf couldn't find his stuff and instantaneously blamed Gary Busey, declaring, "Okay, motherfucker!" Then, possibly the greatest Meat Loaf quote of all time - "I bought those motherfucking sponges!"
He continues, "Part of that paint is mine! I'm fucking sick and tired of... Fuck you, motherfucker! [...] You look in my eyes - I am the last person in the fucking world you ever fucking want to fuck with!" After his outburst continues for quite a while, obviously riled by the sponge incident, the bag is found under the table. Did he apologise? Erm... Not really. Only when he was reminded the cause they were acting for did he utter that he was sorry, but it was directed away from Gary Busey, innocently accused of sponge thieving.
While Meat Loaf's outburst may have seemed surprising, the news that Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has thrown a hissy fit is about as news worthy as announcing the sky is in fact blue. In an even less shocking turn of events, on the night in question, Axl Rose arrived on stage late - very late. Though his behaviour is a cultural norm - night follows day, Axl Rose is never on time - Dublin decided they'd had enough of his crap and waged war in the form of plastic bottles.
As the water bottles showered down on the stage, Axl warned the crowd to stop or he would leave. Unsurprisingly, they did not stop, so he stayed true to his word and left alongside his band. He did tell the crowd to have a nice evening before disappearing - nice, eh? Most fans left disgruntled at the experience, so much so all eyes were on events as they returned to Dublin on their most recent tour. He may have been late again, but the show went down far better than this.
This isn't Axl's first outburst (by a long shot...) and it likely won't be the last. He reportedly shouted a racist comment at a trouble maker in the crowd in Vancouver. People dispute whether he said 'Asian' or a more innocent word. Another instance saw a fan being bellowed at for wearing a Slash t-shirt to a Guns N' Roses concert. Yes, Axl, you called Slash a 'cancer', but, you know, fans of Guns N' Roses tend to like Slash. Despite being a massive fan of the band (primarily the old school incarnation), it does seem that Axl picks more fights than it's often worth, the latter being a prime example.
Where Axl was chastised for some of his ramblings in a live setting, Dave Grohl was cheered on enthusiastically. A fan was fighting in the crowd and Dave was not happy - at all. One internet headline read 'Dave Grohl kicks fan out of concert for fighting, apparently can do no wrong' (the tagline was 'No Foo Fighting' - good one, guys). Though his rants were more expletive packed than Axl's, the crowd - and worldwide web - went wild in appreciation.
"You don't fucking fight at my show, you asshole," declared Grohl. "Let me see him, who's fighting right now? It's that guy in the striped shirt. Hey, motherfucker, look at me. Get the fuck out of my show right now. I don't put up with that bullshit - you people came here to have a good time and that guy can fuck off."
These are just five examples of musicians going a bit wild in different settings, but they seem to be the ones that stand out when you look back. From the Kanye shrug to 'those motherfucking sponges', the internet can at least make good of even the most random outbursts, if no one else can.
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Prior to smashing his guitar, he grabbed the microphone and shouted, "Fuck this shit. I'm gonna play a fucking new song. Fuck this shit. Give me a fucking break. One minute left. One fucking minute left. You're gonna give me one fucking minute? Look at that fucking sign right there... One minute. Let me fucking tell you something, let me tell you something. I've been around since 198-fucking-8, and you're gonna give me one fucking minute? You've gotta be fucking kidding me! You're fucking kidding me. What the fuck! 
