Tears of Gold March 1, 2009

A while back, I posted about how I had never been crazy about “Two Hearts.”  I wasn’t surprised that other people had similar feelings towards the song, but the attitudes towards “Tears of Gold” definitely came as a shock.  I have a friend who is a Ryan Adams fan, but he also says he feels like this song is one of his weakest.  But, in the song’s defense, my friend isn’t really into the country stuff.  Personally, I’ve always felt like this is a song that’s truly by The Cardinals.  There are the great harmonies throughout the song (especially in the “Bring the band around…” part), and a great performance by Jon Graboff. 

I just can’t really see what people could dislike about the song.  I understand that it doesn’t fit that well with the rest of the songs on Easy Tiger, but it’s not like the rest of the album has a consistent sound or anything…

Harder Now That It’s Over February 23, 2009

How awesome is the ending to this song?  There’s the dial tone that just kinda hangs out behind the “I’m sorry…” part, and then the operator’s voice comes in at the end.  “If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again.  If you need help, please hang up and dial your operator.”  HEAVY!  I think the whole dialtone thing is a killer idea for use in a song, and I can’t believe no one else has used it.  (On second thought, someone probably has…  I just don’t know of it…)

This song was always one of my least favorite on the album, but I still really like it.  Like so many great country songs, it’s about break-ups, bars, and fighting.  Of course, there’s more to it than, say, “Shakedown on 9th Street.”  Oh, and have you noticed how similar it sounds to a certain single off of Easy Tiger?  It seriously sounds like “Two” right around 1:48!  Go ahead, listen!

Blue Hotel February 20, 2009

You know, I’m more than just a little ashamed to say I’ve actually never heard Willie Nelson’s recording of this song. I imagine it sounds great, since Ryan wrote it for Willie, but I just never really got around to finding a recording anywhere.  I have to say, though, I really enjoy the sound.  It reminds me of “Let Us Down Easy” from Cardinology in more ways than one, and part of me thinks “Blue Hotel” definitely influenced, if not inspired, the latter.  The recording found on Follow The Nights is pretty good, but there are some absolutely stellar live versions out there.  I found one that I particularly enjoyed on YouTube and posted the link at the bottom of the post here.

It’s smooth and bluesy, but has that classic Cardinals twang.  Sure, it may have been written for another musician, but you can really tell that it’s a Ryan Adams song.  There’s something about the way he sets up each line in his verses that no one else can reproduce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTkdMOT6-_U&feature=related

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.

Two Hearts February 7, 2009

A lot of people felt like Easy Tiger was too safe of an album, especially considering the fact that it was coming from an artist who was known for being prolific (not that he would admit to it) and bold with his stylistic choices.  He had been an alt-country pioneer…  A rough ‘n’ ready garage rocker…  A brooding hipster…  And with the release of the album, it seemed like he was just putting out what people were expecting from him.  While I think there are some incredibly strong songs on the album, I can definitely see what people might not like about it.  There’s only one song on the album that never did anything for me, and it was “Two Hearts.” 

I don’t think it’s a bad song at all, it just never stood out compared to the rest of the work.  There’s an abundance of emotion in “The Sun Also Sets” and “I Taught Myself How To Grow Old”, lovely folksy charm in ‘These Girls” and “Pearls On A String”, and some new ground being covered with “Rip Off.”  Still, there’s nothing that’s impressing about “Two Hearts.”  It’s a good vocal performance, with my highlight being when he wails “just three wo-o-o-ords.”  Still, that isn’t enough to keep it from being my least favorite track on the album.

The Sun Also Sets January 31, 2009

I’d like to add something to the list of “Oh shit” moments. (See: “Shakedown On 9th Street”)  I would challenge anyone to find a musical moment that comes close to having the same amount of emotion as the second verse in “The Sun Also Sets”, when Ryan yells out “Oh be sure/You’re gonna tear someone apart.”  The rest of the songs snakes along at a comfortable pace with airy falsetto vocals and stop breaks, but that part gives the song a feeling of aggression, intensity, and bitterness that can’t be replicated. 

While I’m a big fan of the album version, I really dig the bluesier performances from the Cardinology tour.  Hearing Neal bang it out on that Rhodes creates a funkier vibe that I didn’t even realize was possible with the song in the first place!

I’ll go ahead and say it…  This is, without a doubt, my favorite song on Easy Tiger and quite possibly any Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) release since Cold Roses. 

Two January 14, 2009

“Two” never really seemed like a Ryan Adams song to me.  Obviously it’s one he (and the band) enjoy, since it’s been performed at just about every show since its release; but I just never took it as seriously as the rest of the material on Easy Tiger.  While there are powerful, moving songs like “I Taught Myself How To Grow Old” and “Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.” on the album, I always just got the feeling that “Two” was written to be a single.  I mean, why else would Sheryl Crow do backing vocals?  (Was there any history between her and Ryan?  I never heard anything and was curious as to how this collaboration happened…)

One thing I have noticed about the song that makes it stand out is the fact that it’s rarely expanded upon when they play it live.  At several of the shows I’ve been at, friends have commented to me about how it seemed like he was hurrying through the song.  Maybe that’s the case.  Maybe he’s only playing it because it did OK as a single, or because the album it was released on was incredibly accessible.  Either way, I feel like it’s a strange and unworthy choice for a concert standard.

Down In A Hole January 13, 2009

During the spring semester of my freshman year, I worked in a local record shop.  It was a really cool job, but I ended up leaving after my schedule conflicted with a series of Wilco shows I had been planning on attending for several months.  I always had discussions with my co-workers about what was good/awful, and this song eventually came up.  One guy I always worked with was a HUGE Alice In Chains fan and said that no one could come close to feeling Layne Staley’s sadness, therefore no one could put the same emotion into the recording.  I’ll have you know that one night, the Ryan Adams cover of “Down In A Hole” came on XM and convinced him otherwise. 

This was one of the few new songs on Follow The Lights, and a great addition at that.  He had been performing it on his promo run for Easy Tiger, and it only made sense that it would be released somewhere.  I’ll be honest, this might be the strongest of the new songs on the EP.  “My Love For You Is Real” is boring and “Blue Hotel” just never really grabbed me.  “Follow The Lights” gives it a run for its money, I guess…  All this talk about the EP makes me want something that’ll hold me over until “Dear Impossible.”

Halloweenhead January 4, 2009

On his old website, Ryan Adams had a section that explained what different Cardinals terms meant.  There was one that I hadn’t seen before: Halloween Head.  The definition, according to the website, is:

“A fan of The Cardinals music. stoner. outcast. someone who doesn’t know what kind of mood they are in. Not sponsored by Bud Lite or collecting girls or guys numbers during a quiet breakdown. usually are laid back and engage in mellow conversation with band members when seen in arcades or getting food. Don’t ask for shit when people are eating. not gravity challenged but reality challenged. also known as Bed-Heads, or Chandler Bings.”

That makes enough sense to me.  There are Dead Heads and Parrot Heads…  Why not Halloween Heads?

The song is an anthem of sorts to these people by saying “I’m one of you.”  That person who doesn’t know what kind of mood they’re in also happens to be the person singing the song.  It’s a sledgehammer of a song with a churning guitar rhythm and a steady piano part in the background.  It has the swagger of 1970s glam rock with dismissive lyrics (“it’s all the same old shit again”) and a synth line announced as a “Guitar solo!”  While it may sound like one of his joke songs, Halloweenhead is a welcome addition to Easy Tiger in my opinion.  It’s a massive rocker by someone who is probably the biggest fan of the Cardinals…

Anybody Wanna Take Me Home? January 3, 2009

There’s something that’s really nice about this dysfunctional song.  It stumbles along with a nice right guitar part Peter Buck would be proud of and lyrics that are bratty, desperate and shameful.  “Anybody Wanna Take Me Home?” is the perfect for this point in Ryan Adams’ life.  That’s probably why it was featured on both Rock n Roll and Love Is Hell.  While the albums are pretty different, this song fits remarkably well with each set of songs.

The first line sets up the story perfectly: “I am in the twilight of my youth/Not that I’m going to remember.”  The narrator is at that age where he anything in the world is possible.  While this should be a good time, he’s just wasting it by drinking himself into a stupor (or a coma, as the lyrics say).  Besides the fact that he’s just wasting opportunities, he sees everyone else around him having a great time.  (“They seem happy/But I am sad/I’m still dancing in the coma of the drinks I just had”) 

Life just isn’t doing it for him anymore.  That’s why he asks for someone to “recommend an education or drugs/Because I’m bored with you already.”  He needs something to fill that open time so he can’t be self-destructive.  Maybe if he’s with someone, he won’t be dangerous to himself while he’s alone?  That’s why he’s desperately calling out: “Does anybody wanna take me home?/Take me to your house and I’ll leave you alone”

Now, if that line looks a little familiar (besides this song), it’s because a very similar lyric is featured in the song “Two” on 2007’s Easy Tiger.  “If you take me back/Back to your place/I’ll try not to bother you”  Just an interesting observation…