Axl Rose says Dr Pepper violated his rights. Sure.

So, how hilarious is it that now Axl Rose is asking Dr Pepper to apologize for hijacking the Guns n' Roses brand in the name of free soda? If you've been living in a dumpster, maybe you don't know that Dr Pepper years ago said it would offer everyone in the U.S. a can of free soda if the band ever released another album, which it did last week, 17 years after the last one.

Now, according to Ad Age, lead singer/procrastinator extraordinaire Rose had his lawyer send Dr Pepper a letter which " ... stated that Dr Pepper's campaign had exploited the singer's reputation and the 'eagerly awaited' album, and stated that payment would be sought for the unauthorized use of the Guns N' Roses brand." Sheesh. Axl, I got some news for ya: you exploited your own reputation by setting a new world's record for length of time between albums. The soda didn't make you do it.

Apparently the letter goes to great lengths to portray the Dr Pepper promotion as a failure because it was actually hard to get the free can of soda. True. But I still think the lovely loopiness of the promotional idea outweighs the frustration on the part of some consumers. It was sheer genius, marred by an executional hiccup. From what I've read, the album, "Chinese Democracy," doesn't rise to the same standard.