The Ballad of Carol Lynn…

A heartfelt lament for a Friday? When it’s Ryan Adams, with his former entourage Whiskeytown, why the hell not? Almost unexplainable, especially with my usual listening habits, the Jacksonville, NC native rarely disappoints. Off of Whiskeytown’s finale as a band, Pneumonia, comes the The Ballad of Carol Lynn. As you’d guess by the title, it’s a slow burner. The man’s entire catalog is routinely returned to; but lately, this track seems to always come back around again. Oh, Carol Lynn…

Whiskeytown :: The Ballad of Carol Lynn

Nearing 12 months old, the epic thread continues to shine.

To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)

The Ryan Adams song most have heard: To Be Young. If you’re not a believer – I most certainly am – maybe you heard it when Mitch was lacking a seat belt; or maybe you initially became captivated by it when spinning ’00’s impeccable Heartbreaker. The original isn’t one to be stepped to, but this live rendition on the sandy beaches where the mamis are darker than midnight sounds rather nice – the endless energy remains, as does the twangy bounce, and on the beach, Ryan and his entourage seem to be enjoying themselves more than ever.

Thanks to soulful harmonica throughout, a perfect strum, and everything hitting at the right time, Ryan’s five minute plus ode to a cheating girl is Ryan at his absolute best….

Ryan Adams :: Come Pick Me Up

My (Re) Discovery of the Year…

And herein lies the dilemma of this guy. People say he needs an editor, but people can never agree on which songs he needs to get rid of. Give ’em all to us, I say… and let us decide which ones we don’t want to hear.

It took a thread on Ryan Adams to help me discover the above sentiment proclaims nothing but the truth.  I’ve been a believer in the man’s talents – heartfelt lyricism, potential to turn the country twang on, ability to concoct pop songs in their simplest form; and a man not intimidated to pay homage to his influences.  He may spit out more albums than most, but there is always a central purpose on each – which after a few spins, seem to always hit me just right.

If I had to select the best thing musically I found on the Internet in 2008, it would have been this epic thread – a comprehensive collection of Ryan’s catalog.  I know, with the man’s prolific nature, this is no easy feat.    At one time, I had two LPs from Adams on my iPod; now the count is at 12, but with my newfound respect and sincere adoration for his catalog, I know that new number will inevitably increase.   Below, three of the various  tracks I was enlightened to this year, or in one case, reacquainted with…

One of the timeless numbers off 2005’s Cold Roses…

Ryan Adams :: Rosebud

I drew a half-sincere connection to the following phrase taken from “29” – Most of my friends are married and making them babies/To most of them I already died. The truth?  Of course not, but it resonated with me. Opener to 2005’s 29…

Ryan Adams :: 29

A sucker I am for a generic sounding rock n roll song.  B-side to this year’s Cardinology…

Ryan Adams :: Heavy Orange

And after all, you’re my…

Wonderwall.  Today’s inspiration comes from a fellow blogger – I think he still blogs– for MiS, but his love for tonight’s subject is immense; actually to the point of worshiping the artist and his entire catalog. That gentleman was kind enough to send this to me:

Liam told me he hates “Wonderwall.” It’s the one song he literally hates singing. That’s interesting, because he would never say that to me. Well, I hate him singing it, too. Liam doesn’t sound like he did ten years ago. Your voice and your body change. We’ve never got it right. It’s too slow or too fast. I think Ryan Adams is the only person who ever got that song right. I’d love to do the Ryan Adams version, but in front of 60,000 Oasis fans that wouldn’t be possible.

Thanks again to this epic thread on the alt-country hero, Ryan Adams, his music has seen a sudden resurgence on my decks.  Ryan covered Oasis’ ’95 smash “Wonderwall” on the 2003 Love Is Hell Pt. 1 EP.  Before I share the cover of Wonderwall, there is a small connection to this song I’m sharing.  Way back in my sophomore year of high school, we were required to take a speech class.  And to grab our attention and make us care about this class, the teacher assigned us to choose a song we liked and then share it with the class.  This almost baffles me now, but I chose the Oasis single to read to the class.  That’s all it was – we had to read the lyrics to the class.  If I remember correctly, then we sat down.  No discussion about why we chose this, what those lyrics mean to us, no intriguing questions thrown at the audience, etc.  Did I then play the song for the class on CD while they all blankly stared at me?  You’d think, right?  This didn’t earn me any indie cool points.

MiS brings you, our faithful reader and avid alt-country fan, Adam’s rendition…

Ryan Adams :: Wonderwall

The Rescue Blues…

Heartfelt and stripped down to the core – and all on the keys.  On the Sound Opinions board, there is a mega thread about everyone’s favorite alt-country hero: Ryan Adams.  On page eight, I discovered this demo version of “The Rescue Blues”, which you may know, the final version appeared on Adams’ Gold, back in 2001. Highly recommended….

Ryan Adams :: The Rescue Blues (Q Division demo)

You Up on This?

The love to hate Ryan Adams released the EP “Follow the Lights” this week.  To me, he finally  brought in a quality control manager.  “Easy Tiger” from this past summer and now this EP are here to prove it.  Below is Bryan, I mean Ryan Adams’ cover of “Down in a Hole” originally written and performed by Alice in Chains.