My Winding Wheel February 22, 2009

I’ve expressed in several other posts on here that I never really saw Heartbreaker as the amazing album that a lot of other fans do.  I feel like it has some good songs and a few that are absolutely amazing, such as “Oh My Sweet Carolina” and today’s song: “My Winding Wheel.”  It’s a pretty simple folk song, all built around a loose guitar rhythm and lyrics about lovving someone who has other men on her mind.  What’s interesting about it is the fact that this song isn’t sad, though.  Rather than sitting around, feeling sorry that he isn’t up to her standards, the narrator is defiant and challenges her to go out and try to find someone better.

The chorus is one of his best.  “Buy a pretty dress/Wear it out tonight/For anyone you think could outdo me/Oh, better still/Be my winding wheel” truly says it all.  But, to be honest with you, I don’t know what a “winding wheel” could be.  I mean, I guess every wheel winds…  I just don’t really understand the words in the line.  I completely get what he’s saying, but the term just doesn’t really click with me.  I feel like this song is the highlight of his folkier material, and I’m surprised it isn’t a regular in his setlists.

Everybody Knows February 18, 2009

At my school, we get a channel called MTV-U.  It’s basically a raggedy-ass version of MTV that is exclusive to college campuses.  I get it in my room, but never watch by choice.  However, it’s a different situation when you’re walking through the lobby of another building or eating in one of the dining halls.  The televisions in there are constantly showing the shitty MTV-U videos (they show the same ones ALL THE TIME) and we have no other options.  So while they’re typically showing crappy “indie” videos, every now and then they show something that’s really good.  Like last October, when they had the video for “Everybody Knows” in constant rotation. 

Needless to say, it was the happiest that channel has ever made me.  Honestly, where else (you know, besides the internet) can you see Ryan Adams videos?  Not regular MTV…  Not VH1…  CMT?  Readers, please! 

Another fond memory of mine was when I worked at the university radio station.  The station manager got some new CDs in, (I got an advance copy of Easy Tiger) and just happened to have the single.  So I now had that to add to my Ryan Adams collection.

Anyway, the song has always felt unfinished to me.  Part of it could very well be the fact that it’s pretty short, but there’s also the omission of a bridge, solo or anything similar.  Lyrically, I think it’s one of his smoothest songs.  You get the impression that these lyrics are exactly how he would say these words in an everyday conversation.

Voices February 17, 2009

I feel like the album’s artwork is a visual presentation of today’s song: “Voices.”  The lyrics quite obviously deal with someone dying, and the cover (drawn by Ryan himself) shows a cloaked figure with a scythe walking towards a house with some other shadowy people walking behind him. 

It’s interesting to see all of these songs about the same topic on 29.  I mean, death is found pretty frequently in music and other forms of art; but there are references to people trying to resist death.  Look at “The Sadness”, which is truly a battle over whether or not the main character gets to live.  This song isn’t as violent or action packed, but much more somber.  Really, the resistance towards death is over, and it’s just a lot of begging. 

“Voices” is one of the songs I find hardest to listen to.  I feel like there’s too much emotion and intensity sometimes, and I seriously have to end it early.  I’m just a big baby, though…

My Love For You Is Real February 10, 2009

I really enjoyed Follow The Lights more than most people, I think.  The two truly new songs gave us a peek at a very different Ryan Adams and the Cardinals than we had seen on Easy Tiger.  While that album had a lot of pretty intense moments, this material presented a band who were writing songs that were much more relaxed and peaceful sounding.  I feel like these are the first songs that could be listed as “The Cardinals”, due to the fact that they play a much bigger role in it than previously.  Especially in “My Love For You Is Real”, where the backing vocals weave in and out, working well with the CSNY-esque music.

While “Follow The Lights” can be praised for carrying a great message and being charmingly simple, “My Love For You Is Real” is almost the opposite.  My favorite part is when the reverb-laden, distorted electric guitar chords get thrown in the middle of the mix near the end.  I don’t know that they’ve done this song live, but I feel like it carries the potential for some nice jamz… (with a z!)

Oh My Sweet Carolina February 5, 2009

This was one of the first Ryan Adams songs I liked, and I’m really happy to see that he’s been playing it live again.  Maybe I’ll get to hear it when I go down to Nashville and catch him on March 15.  It’s so different from his other songs, though.  It’s not a bad difference, though.  While some may argue that it sounds like he’s holding himself back, that’s definitely not the case.  This is one of those songs that needs to be simple to get its message across, and that’s exactly what he did with it. 

Really, the backing vocals courtesy of Emmylou Harris are better than any big budget choir, and that simple guitar part says more than any experienced orchestra could.  There are some great live performances featuring harmonica that really add to the song, but it was unfortunately left off of the recording.  I’m a big fan of when he busts out the harp, mostly because it’s like the poor man’s woodwind section.  It can really add a lot of emotion to a song when used properly, and it really takes this song to the next level. 

This song is so lonely and remorseful, looking back at how he runs away from everything.  He misses his home, but feels like he can’t go back on his own.  The final verse is the saddest, where he sings about missing his family, and saying “Up here in the city, it feels like things are closing in/The sunset’s just my lightbulb burning out.”  Damn…

Sweet Black Magic February 4, 2009

God, I love it when Ryan Adams gets folky.  This is right up there with “Pearls On A String” for my favorite folk/bluegrass style song of his.  I think one of the reasons I like this one so much is because it breaks one of the major rules of bluegrass.  While a lot of songs refer to simpler times in the Southeastern/Midwestern rural U.S., he goes ahead and modernizes it with references to Los Angeles and drugs…  Not exactly “Keep On The Sunny Side”…

There are bouncy banjos, warm acoustic guitars deep in the background, and some backup singers who make this song sound like it could have been recorded during the Great Depression.  (You know, if they don’t pay any attention to the lyrics)  This is one of the few songs on the bonus disc that I feel wouldn’t have fit on Gold that well, but I’m definitely glad they included it.  It’s a fun listen and a really good song to drive to, as I discovered recently.

Political Scientist February 3, 2009

There are about a million reasons why I love this song. (And it doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that I’m a Political Science major)  I feel like it’s the perfect opener for Love Is Hell because it doesn’t sound like an opener.  Let me explain…  Most albums start with a track that lifts you up and energizes you for the rest of your listening session.  All of his other releases follow this formula, with the more rocking or energetic tracks leading the tracklisting.  However, “Political Scientist” plays like the music over the opening credits to a movie.  It builds tension, does a great job of foreshadowing, and contains one of Ryan Adams’ strongest vocal deliveries. 

I’m not sure what it is about his delivery that I enjoy so much, but nothing else sounds quite like it.  The lyrics are sung, spoken, and almost (aw snap!) rapped.  And then, after the hushed verses and rumbling choruses comes the cathartic ending, where Ryan calls out “There’s no guarantees…” a few times in a desperate wail.  He hasn’t written anything quite as emotional as the songs on Love Is Hell since the album’s release, and it’s still amazing to look back and realize that one man could have written all of these songs.  There are so many masterpieces on the album, with “Political Scientist” being the first of them…

Touch, Feel & Lose February 2, 2009

A few weeks ago, some HD channel was showing the “Music In High Places” featuring Ryan Adams.  I hadn’t seen it before, but it was something I was always interested in ordering from the store on the old website.  I’ll be honest, I actually had no clue what it was until I DVR-ed it and got a chance to sit down and enjoy a really interesting series of performances and cultural experiences.  Anyway, the special was right around Gold, as that’s what the majority of the material was from; and the real standout track, for me, was “Touch, Feel & Lose” with a bunch of Jamaican kids.

I’m not sure if I like the performance because of the choir of little Jamaicans or if it’s just the really cool acoustic arrangement, but it gave me a whole new appreciation for the song.  It had always blended in with the rest of the songs on the album for me, but I feel like that particular live recording captured the essence of the song.  Really, I find it hard to go back to the version found on Gold, so I guess it’s a good thing I have the audio from “Music In High Places”  on my computer, isn’t it?

Cool song with a really great performance officially released…

YouTube: (the amazing clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dw8TmlMAyA

You Will Always Be The Same January 31, 2009

It seems like sometimes the quieter songs are the ones that have the greatest impact on the listener.  Songs like “You Will Always Be The Same” will always mean more to me than a song by a band like Radiohead who try to fit a jillion different sounds in one song.  Is it because the focus is on the songwriting and leaves the artist much more vulnerable and honest?  I think that’s a big part of it…  But it’s also like my love for short songs, it says everything that needs to be said without anything extra or excessive. 

“You Will Always Be The Same” is right up there with “Dear Chicago” for my favorite song on Demolition.  I like the idea of these unfinished songs being released, just because you get to see them in their raw, natural, beautiful form. 

Demolition 4 Life!

Jesus (Don’t Touch My Baby) January 27, 2009

While there are some Ryan Adams songs that I’ve never really cared for, I think this is the only one I actively dislike.  A lot of the songs on Demolition are of great quality and wouldn’t have been out of place on an album or EP.  This one should have been left as an outtake, though.  It was obviously left off of the record for a reason… 

While the song is obviously quite deep, I really don’t feel it.  I mean, the lyrics simply aren’t that good (“You’re in my arms and I kiss your heart”) and are sung in a really creepy low voice that just doesn’t sound natural.  The music is tiring and sounds like something anyone could put together on Garageband, with the occasional drum/guitar backing a long, slow synth line.  Really, I think I just prefer my Ryan Adams songs being performed using acoustic guitar and no keyboards/computer effects.