New releases: Dec. 20, 2005

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)