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.

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!

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.

Fix It January 17, 2009

As I mentioned before, I abstained from listening to any of the new songs before I saw the band live. Part of this was because I really wanted to go into it completely open-minded and take each song in one at a time. I will admit that I read some song titles and found out that first single was going to be “Fix It.” I read what a few other people had to say and noticed that it was described as… (gasp) “funky.”

My biggest fear was that it was going to be something like “Discotheque” by U2, which it absolutely wasn’t. They played it in St. Louis and I finally understood what they meant. It’s about as “funky” as Ryan Adams & The Cardinals can get, which, let’s be honest here, isn’t that funky. Oddly enough, though, those ringing guitars do make me think of mid 1980’s U2. I mean, there’s no way a song like “Fix It” would sound right on The Unforgettable Fire or anything, but I do feel like there’s some influence by the Edge on this track.

I don’t feel like this was the obvious choice for the single, since it isn’t that reflective of the album. Personally, I would have probably gone with “Crossed-Out Name” or “Magick” for the sake of sales. But I guess someone decided that “Fix It” was right at the time…

Magick December 21, 2008

The first time I listened to Easy Tiger, I was shocked (pleasantly, I might add) that “Halloweenhead” made the cut.  It didn’t fit in with the rest of the songs, it was kind of dumb, and sort of messed up the momentum the first few tracks had built up.  Before I heard it, I read that “Magick” was another big, dumb rock song and I got scared.  However, when I heard it in St. Louis back in October, my feelings changed. 

Cardinology has some pretty solid rock songs.  I can’t think of many Ryan Adams albums where a song like “Cobwebs” or “Fix It” would fit, since they aren’t a thing like the folky/acoustic alternative style he had been perfecting.  However, the newfound sense of confidence the Cardinals have brought to this album is really shining through.  “Magick” is loud, cocky, and dangerous.  How many good songs can you think of that reference a George A. Romero movie?  Exactly…

There are killer harmonies between Ryan and Neal on this one, particularly in the pre-chorus and the “zombies running all around” line.  I didn’t actually pay any attention to the lyrics until I had listened to the album a few times, mostly because I didn’t have a chance to.  It hit the crowd in St. Louis like a…  Well…  Like a warhead (on legs)…  It barely lasted two minutes, and completely blasted everyone in that theater away.  (To hear it, the quality of the recording on Archive.org is amazing)

So this song that serves as an ode to the power of rock is way better than the previous big, dumb rocker and keeps up the live feel of the album.  Hopefully he’ll keep up this tradition on the next album(s).