It only took W. Axl Rose 20 years to show up for last night's live televised interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, which seems about right after the decade the Guns N' Roses lizard required to record Chinese Democracy. Axl's extreme tardiness was apparently the only one of his million idiosyncrasies Kimmel was allowed to mention—and it became a recurring punchline—there was no talk of Slash or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or Lana Del Rey or where Our Man Rose dwindled away those missing years. Instead, they talked about Axl's political leanings ("Obama"), his stint managing a Tower Records, and how he's medicating a recent cold ("I'm on a bunch of different things—legal, illegal").

So the most surprising part of Axl's long-awaited appearance was how resoundingly normal he seemed. This is perhaps why his black hat—a puny thimble compared to the headwear cannon preferred by former conspirator Buckethead—seemed so comparatively big.

For example, William Bruce Rose Jr. brought Kimmel's crew and audience a gift. If you had to guess how the Legendarily Moody Sunset Strip Symbol would interpret such an Oprah-like gesture, you'd think:

1) Mobile snake petting zoo
 2) Lucite stripper-heel lottery
 3) Elaborate post-show game of Hide and Seek in which Axl just hides forever

Nope, he brought along a burger truck. A burger truck. Seems about right for John Goodman. But Axl Rose? Not so much. The hat was wearing him.

[SPIN]