Hickory Wind | New releases: Dec. 20, 2005

December 16, 2005

New releases: Dec. 20, 2005

Posted by Stacy Chandler at December 16, 2005 9:41 AM

Another week, another Ryan Adams CD. What's it going to be this time, Ryan Adams? Huh? Huh? I'm all in your face and asking: A gorgeous masterpiece a la "Cold Roses"? Or a big honkin' "meh" like "Jacksonville City Nights"? As long as I'm tossing out rhetorical questions, here's another: Why is it that I can connect so strongly to some of Ryan Adams' CDs ("Heartbreaker," "Cold Roses") while others leave me pretty cold ("Demolition," "Jacksonville City Nights" except for the first two songs)? I can't quite put my finger on the differences between his albums that I love and the ones that I rarely listen to. Maybe Mr. Chuck Klosterman, a senior writer for Spin and my writing and spiritual hero, has it figured out for me. In his new book, "Killing Yourself To Live: 85% of a True Story" (which is an excellent, excellent book, by the way), he describes his impressions of Ryan Adams after having sometimes spotted him hanging out in a New York bar:

"(Ryan Adams) seems to be living the most stereotypically hipsterish life imaginable (i.e., always rumored to be addicted to drugs, always rumored to be dating Parker Posey, always falling off the stage in Liverpool, always leaving angry voice mails for rock critics in Chicago, etc.). His life is almost imaginary, and it seems like his feelings and emotions should not relate to anyone, except for maybe Courtney Love."

Maybe I'm just not hipsterish enough to "get" Ryan Adams 100 percent of the time. I'm hipster enough to correctly use slang, boycott Wal-Mart, and read McSweeney's, yes, but I'm also dork enough to play "Star Wars" video games and, eye roll, say no to drugs (except for anything and everything I can get my mitts on before I board an airplane). When I'm wearing my flare jeans and kitten heels, I'm communing with hipster Ryan Adams. (OK, that's sooooo 2004. But it's past midnight. I'm sleepy. Drop it.) But when I'm wearing an old T-shirt from some journalism conference three years ago and eating tater tots for dinner, I just can't grasp it.

Or maybe, put more simply, the dividing line is this: I totally am one with North Carolina Ryan Adams, but the New York Ryan Adams doesn't grab hold. And I don't mean the state designation strictly by chronology, either. "Cold Roses" is, in my mind, North Carolina Ryan Adams in full force, even though I'm pretty sure he lived in New York when he wrote and recorded it. It's the sound, the vibe. And he likes to switch it up on us. Which is cool, I guess. But I'm really not sure what I'm supposed to wear next week ...

At any rate, here's what matters among what's coming out Tuesday:
Ryan Adams -- 29 (Lost Highway)
Devendra Banhart -- Heard Somebody Say [EP] (XL Recordings UK)
This one's an import if you're in the U.S.
Phish -- Live at Madison Square Garden New Year's Eve 1995 (Rhino/WEA)
Phish -- Live in Brooklyn (Rhino/WEA)

Comments

Funny - I've always thought of Ryan Adams as a dork. He sings songs about Star Wars and Star Trek.

His work catches me like a bunny in the headlights: I have to stop whatever I'm doing and listen - even to the stuff that I don't think is all that good. I came to HickoryWind.org hoping to discover some more artists that would have the same effect on me: my iTunes is embarassingly unbalanced.

I've heard some of 29 streaming on the web and if it was anyone else singing I'd think it was half-baked crap. Alas - it's Mr. Adams and he has some weird hypnotic power over me: 'you will buy my album.'

Posted by: Margaret at December 16, 2005 5:34 PM

I just blogged about the last two records as part of my Best Of 05. I liked Cold Roses OK, but after 'Jacksonville', I hate myself a little bit for feeling tempted to shell out for '29'.

He can be really sweet, he just drinks too much sometimes ....

Posted by: B. Earnest at December 16, 2005 8:50 PM

Poor impulse control. Great for performers, not so hot for neighbors, friends, or guys dating your daughter.

Posted by: Jim Pipkin at December 17, 2005 3:20 AM

Y'know I have to say I felt like "Cold Roses" was a one discer stretched way too far whereas I wished "Jacksonville" was longer. One of my favorite things about Ryan Adams is that i only dig 50% of his stuff, but the good stuff is so great. What we need here is another Whiskeytown record.

Posted by: Patrick Hayes at December 17, 2005 10:50 PM

Amen, Patrick!

Posted by: Stacy at December 18, 2005 10:11 PM

I agree with many of the people here...his good stuff is simply amazing, enough to sometimes bring tears to one's eyes or make you feel like driving for hundreds of miles, but his bad stuff is pretty awful. However, I will gladly shell out $10 or so to hear new tunes hoping to hear those few gems that I will play for years to come...it seems like a small price to pay. Also, after Cold Roses, I was so stoked to hear what Jacksonville City Nights would sound like and was very disappointed. Not even a few songs stuck with me. After reading this review (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:un09keztgq7m), I don't hold out too much hope for 29 either yet I'll still pick it up.

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