La Cienega Just Smiled March 6, 2009

One thing I’ve always really appreciated about “La Cienega Just Smiled” is how casual the imagery is.  It all starts with the one of the first lines: “It’s on with the jeans, a jacket, and a shirt.”  You also get the impression that this relationship isn’t necessarily as serious as the one found in some other songs.  There’s still a level of uncertainty that comes with a young relationship, and when he sings “I’m too scared to know how I feel about you now”, it’s all painfully obvious.  This whole song is about not being able to understand someone.  He’s going through all of this trouble to figure her out, and she acts like it’s all no big deal.  She just smiles and waves goodbye…

This is one I think most listeners can relate to pretty easily.  At one point or another, we’ve all been attracted to a person who sometimes seems like they’re more work than they’re worth.  I think it’s really great that the song doesn’t provide any closure as to how he ends up feeling about her.  She just says she’ll see him around. (Whatever that means…)

Somehow, Someday March 3, 2009

Telling someone how you feel about them can be way harder than it should.  This song features a narrator who obviously has some pretty serious feelings (and romantic interest) towards someone he has known for quite a while now, and he’s trying to figure out how he’s going to let her know that he wants his relationship with her to move from friendship to something heavier.  It looks like telling her is his only option, too.  He openly admits “There ain’t no way I’ll ever stop from loving now.”  This doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s going to be telling her soon, though.  When he says “I’m gonna try and show you somehow/Somehow…/Someday…” 

Who knows when “someday” will come?  To be honest, there’s a really good chance that it never comes… 

I’ve always really enjoyed this song, and I feel like it would have been a great choice for a single.  As an R.E.M. fan, I find the guitars pretty much irresistable, and I imagine Peter Buck would definitely be proud.  This song just has such a big chorus, it’s a shame that it wasn’t sent out to promote Gold.

Tomorrow March 2, 2009

On the surface, “Tomorrow” sounds just like any old country song.  It mentions trains, missing your baby, and Waylon Jennings, for god’s sake…  But when you find out a little more about the situation, the song is a lot heavier.  I never really looked into it, but found out just this evening that the song was co-written by Carrie Hamilton, who passed away during the making of Demolition.  While you could look at the song literally and see it revolving around a man and woman who are physically and geographically seperated, it’s hard to not think about two people being seperated by death. 

When you think about introducing death into the lyrics, the first lines of the second verse really mean something more than they do at face.  “A million miles of nothing/Yeah, you’re driving all alone” represents that journey she’s making by herself into whatever comes after life.

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.

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.

Damn, Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains) January 19, 2009

This is one song that I feel like I can’t get enough of…  Really, there’s just something about those short songs that always leaves you hanging.  Wilco’s “Bob Dylan’s 49th Beard” is the same way for me, as is “Girlfriend in a Coma” by The Smiths.  As a songwriter, I’ve written a lot of things that feel complete when they’re only two minutes long, and it actually takes effort to know when to stop.  You always want to add a bridge section…  Or another verse…  Or another chorus… 

“Damn, Sam” is really bare and vulnerable, too.  For some reason, he’s got a thing for girls who just aren’t right.  Maybe he goes to these troubled women thinking he’ll be able to make things better for them and fix everything.  Of course, it’s not that simple.  However, while that’s a possibility, there’s another that’s just as likely.  His life is a very unhappy one, and he finds it hard to relate to people experiencing success and good times.  He really hits it off with women who are also down on their luck, and he’s openly admitting it. 

Really, the song is kind of funny in a way and sad in another.  It’s really odd to think of someone who sees a woman’s sadness as a turn-on.  Really, I think that says a lot about the narrator…

Enemy Fire December 31, 2008

“Enemy Fire” is another one of those songs about a dysfunctional relationship. (A recurring theme in the music of Ryan Adams)  While many of these songs are slow and relfective, “Enemy Fire” is aggressive and gritty.  The conflict between them is likened to a war, with enemy tanks and planes. (Also, ”enemy-colored roses” for that special lady in your life)  He keeps making it clear to hear that it’s over, but then decides to give her a second chance.  The narrator is making his ultimatum, saying “Learn how to change/And maybe I could stay.”  Still, if it’s reached this point, the odds are slim that she’ll change.  That’s why the final line of the song is “Um… No…”

“Enemy Fire” has some killer classic rock-style guitar riffs and cymbal crashes, making it a nice throwback to the 1970s.  With it’s dramatic music and potential to be a major highlight during a show, it’s really disappointing to know it’s only been played live seven times.  I feel like this song should be seeing a lot of action with the Cardinals, so maybe it’ll appear in a setlist soon.  There’s a lot of potential for jams in there, I hope the band sees it.

It’s aggressive, it could be amazing live, and should definitely be revisited soon.