Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Ryan Adams, you silly billy


This is the blog belonging to no other than Ryan Adams. Talk about oversharey! But honestly that's what makes it good.

I've really gotten into Ryan Adams these last few years, it started with Jacksonville City Nights in Richmond, VA. Great album. Funny, when I was supposed to like him during the early 00's, I thought he sounded weak. Now I keep Jacksonville City Nights, Easy Tiger, and Follow the Lights in heavy rotation.

Going back to his blog, I thought this was interesting... While attempting to dispel multiple rumors he writes:

3. I never KICKED OUT anyone from a concert. The Ryman Auditorium (a shit hole in Nashville) has the balls to charge you for security when you play there but if some college kid, and I mean SOUTHERN college kid decides to get wasted and scream through 7 songs of a solo acoustic performance, they could give a fuck. I went into the audience and handed him what I thought the ticket price was (40 bucks) and asked him to leave. I said “you have successfully ruined this concert so here is your money, now will you go home now so I can at least try and give the rest of this audience what they paid for. It did not work as the woman who runs that shit-hole re-seated him and BELIEVE IT OR NOT people CHEERED when he was ushered to a new seat. As most of that concert were people telling him to “shut up” There was NO BAND just myself, and I was joined by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (heroic figures to me) to sing a few tunes and still the man screamed over it. In fact, “Summer of 69” was not shouted when I went to ask him to leave. It was in fact something else. He was so drunk, so very very drunk he did not even know he was there.
The writer who wrote it up the next morning submitted it to AP (the Associated Press) in hopes it would bring him a few extra dollars and some exposure. I have suffered since.
I seriously could give six shits about Bryan Adams or that song. In my opinion he is not a serious artist. His songs have ” implied target market audience” written all over them and in fact he is quite embarrassing in general. Also a piss poor photographer. I guess it is kind of amazing he got to stand next to Tina Turner though. She is rather heroic and an obvious artist. In every sense. Also she was kick ass in Mad Max BeyondfThunderdome and I wish I could coddle her in her chain mail in Barter-Town but that place does not exist.

Yeah. The truth will set you free, my friend. Of course he lives in New York.

10 comments:

NathanaelMcDaniel said...

well, i can attest a shit hole it is not. shit head sounds more like it. aside from his respectable qualities that i am not entirely familiar with, i don't think mr adams has much a knack for dealing with or responding to the aforementioned, more vocal critic. to simply ignore these people would be the very best part of being famous rock n roller. otherwise, he plays the perfectly whiney counterpart. this is where i'd direct the phrase to ryan himself, "easy tiger."

JlikeBoB said...

I agree with Nat, why go whiney?

I'm deeply disappointed by everything he did up until Cold Roses (which is decent but too long). I've expressed my love for Jacksonville City Nights. And thanks to some insistence from Brad, I now truly respect and frequent 29. It's a grower, but well worth and I would venture to say it's easily his most mature and polished record to date. The two newest ones (Easy & Follow) are decent, but not as good.

(help me out Brad)

NathanaelMcDaniel said...

also . . . after seeing one at the ryman, you'll feel no reason to venture further. although i've become quite a scrooge for live music (at least in it's current state), i've never been more comfortable than i have been there. and most importantly, you can actually "hear" what's going on. a real "never go back" type of experience. kinda like the taste of jim beam after you can afford something better. "wow," you'll say, "there is a great big beautiful world out there!" also, a fabulous mexican restaurant (aren't they all?) sits next door, and a guitar shaped swimming pool just across the river. so, if you ever get stuck in the middle of nowhere, and one of very few good musical acts happen to be there with you . . . jump on it!

Bradley Glisson said...

Me being the only natural born Carolinian on here (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) maybe Ryan's music touches me differently, but I think the man's music completely encapsulates the feeling this beautiful state gives me. It's the caterwall of his voice, the wordiness of his lyrics, and his penchant for putting together great backing bands (Whiskeytown and The Cardinals) that really grab me, but in the end it all comes back to one central point. Whether it's in his Boss era "Gold" or his Dead style "Cold Roses" or his Neil Youngish "29", the man understands the power of country music on the heartstrings.

He's the man that inspired me to write and play guitar, and his songs have played out like a soundtrack for my life, so to say he has a special place in my heart is an understatement. I've made love to 'Strawberry Wine', had my heart crushed to 'Now That You're Gone', longed for home over 'Oh My Sweet Carolina', and gotten stoned on 'A Kiss Before I Go'. But before this turns into my own personal love letter to RA let me leave you with this. Thru all my life only four other musicians have effected me like Ryan Adams has, and that's Frank Sinatra, Brian Wilson, Jeff Tweedy, and The Boss. I think the man's that special.

YaYaYaDonTKnowMe said...

I remember Nathanael once said, "listening to Ryan Adams interferes with my masculinity," or something like that. He is a whiney beeotch, and that's what makes his blog so great to read. Kinda like reading about trainwrecks.

He is very, very talented though, a professional; I don't think anyone could take that away from him.

YaYaYaDonTKnowMe said...

...And Ryan Adams' cover of Alice in Chain's "Down In A Hole" track on me muxtape is pretty dope.

RYAN! said...

If there's one thing I can't stand it's a lack of respect for those around you. Screaming SOUTHERN audience guy shoulda gotten tazed, bro.

JlikeBoB said...

Yea, I'm down with that too, taze that guy. I wouldn't physically taze him myself, but isn't that what police do sometimes?

I'm with you on the Live Music thing. It's weird these days. Lotta standin' around

YaYaYaDonTKnowMe said...

"DON'T TAZE ME, BRO!"

YaYaYaDonTKnowMe said...

In other Ryan Adams blog news, he's dyed his hair BLOND. Claims it makes him more "fun." I love it.