At first, we were cynical enough to believe Axl Rose had sold his soul for some free soda. But no, not Axl. Turns out the Guns N' Roses frontman was just as puzzled as the rest of the music-news-reading world when he heard yesterday's announcement that Dr. Pepper was trying to bait him with the promise of a free can of pop for every American (except wayward band members Slash and guitarist Buckethead, natch) if GN'R would put out their long-long-long-awaited sixth album, Chinese Democracy, this year.

Remarked Rose in a press release today: "This came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr. Pepper with him."

Uh, so, does this mean fans will finally get to listen to more of the nearly 20-years-in-the-making album besides the few paltry tracks that leaked online last year? Maybe if the Dr. Pepper people can work out a partnership with the whiskey brewers of America – (our suggestion: a free mini-bottle of JD with every soda) – we'll get an answer.

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