By Request- Ryan Adams

When reading anything about alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, you will see the word "prolific." In an age when it's rare to see musicians release an album even every two years, Adams has released ten over the past eight. There are solo albums such as the artist-defining Heartbreaker as well as albums recorded with his band, the Cardinals (such as Cardinology, released just yesterday). Adams & the Cardinals are going to be on tour starting next month with Oasis, should be quality.

By request, here's a rundown of some of my favorite Ryan Adams songs.

"New York, New York"- An Adams essential off his breakthrough album Gold. Released two weeks after 9/11, "New York, New York" became the soundtrack to many a TV montage due to the final line of the chorus: "I still you you, New York."
Best line: "Lived in an apartment out on Avenue A/ I had a tar-hut on the corner of 10th/ Had myself a lover who was finer than gold/ But I've been broken up and busted up since."

"When the Stars Go Blue"- Often thought to be written by either a star of the CW's "One Tree Hill" or by country mega-star Tim McGraw, Adams is actually the genius behind this sleepy, gorgeous song. In my opinion, the aforementioned singers butchered the pleading original.
Best line: "Where do you go when you're lonely? I'll follow you."

"Dear Chicago"- One part love letter, one part lullaby, and ten parts gorgeous; "Dear Chicago" is perhaps one of Adams's most achingly beautiful songs, both melodically and lyrically. The strummed acoustics complement the forlorn lyrics perfectly. As is embodying the lyrics "Happy and sad and back again," when the lyrics turn hopeful ("I think that I've fallen out of love with you") toward the end, the guitars do the same with escalating chords and a singing violin.
Best line: "I've been thinking some of suicide, but there's bars out here for miles."

"Come Pick Me Up"- In this sardonic and sarcastic break-up song, Adams invites his ex-lover to screw him over in multiple ways (stealing records, screwing his friends). Even with his sneer, Adams sounds painfully sincere, as if despite these sins he still does want her back.
Best line: "Come pick me up/ Take me out/ Fuck me up/ Steal all my records/ Screw all my friends behind my back/ With a smile on your face/ And then do it again."

"Damn Sam (I Love A Woman That Rains)"- A standout track from Adams's debut. Lyrically it's difficult to decipher, but one thing is for sure: it's a love song, probably asserting that constant happiness (even in a woman) is dull.
Best line: "I'm as calm as a fruit stand in New York and maybe as strange."

"Let It Ride"- One of Adams's more country-leaning tunes. Sounds like something written by a roaming cowboy fueled by tobacco and alcohol.
Best line: "I wanna see you tonight, dancing in the endless moonlight/ In the parking lot, in the headlights of cars/ Someplace over the moon where they moved the drive-in theater/ Where I left the car that I can't find that I still got the keys to."

"Wonderwall"- A cover of tourmate Oasis's hit 90's single. Adams turns the britpop ballad into a haunting acoustic echo of a song.
Best line: Duh. "I said maybe, you're gonna be the one who saves me/ And after all, you're my Wonderwall."
"Burning Photographs"- An upbeat song about a dying relationship off of Adams's pop-leaning record, Rock N Roll. If any song had mainstream radio potential, this would probably be the one. Naturally, it has too much sould to be embraced by the FM waves.
Best line: "Pretty pictures in a magazine/ Everybody is so make believe, it's true/ I used to be sad now I'm just bored with you."



As said before, Ryan Adams is a prolific songwriter, so picking a few songs to share was a daunting task, but I think I chose eight that span the corners of his career. Hope these songs spark a love of the artist!

Sorry!

Haven't posted in a bit, but I promise I'll be back in a few days! This week and the next few days has been/are jam-packed, so I haven't had time to sit and crank out worthwhile posts.

Jim James- "Steam Engine"

My love for alt.country is no secret. My favorite band is Wilco, and I adore Uncle Tupelo, Ryan Adams, Son Volt, Whiskeytown, Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, etc. One of my favorite releases this year was My Morning Jacket's stellar Evil Urges. One of the factors that makes me love MMJ so much is Jim James's haunting voice. It's an unforced falsetto with such a pure and balanced tone, and a titanic range. Here's a video of him performing a solo acoustic version of "Steam Engine," from MMJ's 2003 release It Still Moves.

Tiny Masters of Today- La La Land

I posted a while back about Bang Bang Boom Cake, the debut album from Brooklyn kids Tiny Masters of Today. BBBC was a really solid and inspiring album, if not because of their age (the siblings in TMOT are 12 and 14) then because of their throwback, lo-fi punk sound.

Now, TMOT have released a single with a politically-charged message. On their site, the sibs said this about the song:

This election is really important. John McCain and Sarah Palin represent more of the same ignorance that has made the last 8 years really bad. Words are important, and this song is made up of other people's words. They are twisted around but we don't feel bad because politicians do that all the time. Grab it before someone sues us or something!

On the new, free single "La-La Land," the tiny masters piece together clips from McCain and Palin speeches a la Wax Audio's "Imagine This." The result is a crunchy protest anthem with punk attitude. Download "La-La Land" here.

Of course, at the end of their message, the duo signed off with a decidedly punk-rock message: "Make music not war."

Amen.

Pigeons & Planes

As evidenced by my previous posts on music sites like Pitchfork.tv and Daytrotter, I check a lot of music websites and blogs. If I find one that is habit-forming, chances are, I'll let you all know about it.

One blog I've been digging lately is the recently started Pigeons & Planes. It's got a simple format, but it's full of good MP3's, videos and news bits. Confusion, who runs the blog, scours about ten music blogs a day and weeds out the best picks from each site for P&P. P&P is updated constantly, which is a nice change from once-a-day MP3 blogs. Proof: The blog began Sept. 28 and there are already over 100 posts.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

When Juno came out last year, it was embraced for it's quirkiness, smart and hip screenplay and indie-approved soundtrack, which was graced by Cat Power, Sonic Youth and, most prominently, the Moldy Peaches's Kimya Dawson. Dawson grew from an underground obscurity to a center-of-the-radar obscurity. The soundtrack shot up the charts, and Dawson set out for a sold-out tour- including one particularly curious stop on the View. While many were pleased that Dawson was receiving so much praise for old and underrated work, just as many, if not more, hipsters raised their noses in disgust at Dawson, now a "sell-out."

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, based on a book of the same name, is a thoroughly enjoyable cute ditty of a film. It leaves you smiling, pleased and little more. However, I think that it's fated to reach the same fate as Juno, because of its indie'd soundtrack. On the plus side, Nick & Norah is clearly a major studio film with recognizable stars, so it's not as if its success is unexpected as it was with Juno. But the fact that it is centered around two hipster teens who slave over mixtapes, know what Electric Lady Studios are and spend an entire night sailing through the five Burroughs in search of a secret show by a cult indie band means that the film is geared toward the same demographic as indies like Juno.

The soundtrack counts songs from Vampire Weekend, Devendra Banhart (who also has a cameo in the film), Takka Takka and We Are Scientists, among others, in its infinite playlist. By all means a solid soundtrack, but also one that will surly piss off the hipsters who will no doubt see mall rats sporting Vampire Weekend t-shirts in the coming weeks.

I'm personally neutral to the situation. I really enjoyed the movie and bought the soundtrack because it had songs I like from bands I like on it. Plus, I couldn't think of another way to get the Vampire Weekend song. A friend of mine, and die hard Devendra fan, on the other hand, refuses to see the movie. She thinks that it exploits indie bands by marketing them to the masses who won't appreciate their sound, and will listen to the music only for its shallow, materialistic value.

What do you think?

Pitchfork.tv

While I'm sometimes truly miffed by Pitchfork Media and their overtly obnoxious need to be the "indie" and "obscure" in all of their reviews, I must admit that I am a fan of the online TV channel they launched earlier this year, Pitchfork.tv.

Between interviews with Jay Reatard and Feist, live sessions on the top of buildings ("Don't Look Down") with Department of Eagles and Jose Gonzalez and multi-player bands like the Walkmen and Broken Social Scene crammed into a basement ("Juan's Basement"), Pitchfork.tv not only offers videos of the latest, brightest indie artists, but offers them in creative locales, such as the aforementioned building and basement, or the "random Brooklyn street" on which Jay Reatard was interviewed. These settings promote candid conversation and performance.

Pitchfork.tv also frequently updates their music video library, hosting a broad spectrum of videos, from the atmospheric Animal Collective to lo-fi punkers No Age.


Department of Eagles, "No One Does It Like You," from Don't Look Down

Ra Ra Riot Interview

I'm interviewing Allie of Ra Ra Riot tomorrow for my zine.

Any question suggestions are welcome!

As always, if you're interested in a copy of the zine, just email me with your address and I'll mail you a copy free of charge!

Dr. Dog- Fate

For a band to play D.C.'s Iota Club & Cafe (it gets it's name from it's minute size) on one tour, and then months later play D.C.'s legendary 9:30 Club (with a 1,200 capacity) is a pretty good indication that they're onto something good, and Dr. Dog, who have been touring in support of their latest release, Fate, are indeed.

From it's packaging to it's sound, the common theme on Fate would be nostalgia. The album's lyric booklet, which resembles a Civil War-era newspaper, also includes a picture of the band in period garb. The band's use of three-part harmonies, lightly distorted guitar and twinkling piano along with singer Scott McMicken's well-controlled warble create an album reminiscent of those by 60's pop groups like the Band and the Beach Boys.

On the swinging "Army of Ancients," McMicken’s croons escalate to a frantic yelp as he sings “I don’t want to wake up/ I don’t want to move/ I’ll skip the sermon and stick to the booze/ I’m sorry.” Strings and punchy, muted horns add to the vintage sound.

Along with “Army of Ancients,” many of the songs on Fate have minor-chord mentalities, and wouldn’t sound out of place in a dingy nightclub. “The Ark” is a slinky, slow-building track filled with lyrics about eagerness to please and self-doubt.

More positive songs, such as “From,” a love song, showcase the groups ability to harmonize and knack for instrumental arrangements, including one memorable guitar solo. The organ is used on many of Dr. Dog’s song, and shines on the hymnal “100 Years.”

Album-opener “The Breeze” is a sweet ditty that encourages the listener to “put that needle to the groove, and sing” is they ever feel “stuck in time.” At its climax, the drum mimics a beating heart while band members “Ahhh” in tandem. As the band sings of the breeze blowing them all away, winding flutes play cycling chords, almost interpreting the song literally.

Stand out track “Hang On” follows “The Breeze.” Drawing as much from 60’s pop and alt.country as old soul records, McMicken pleads, “I don’t need a doctor to tear me all apart/ I just needs you to mend my heart.”

On the horn-jabbed “Uncovering the Old,” McMicken sings, “Nothing means nothing to me.” However, Dr. Dog truly care about the art of music and their love of the craft is on full display on Fate through their emotive vocals, contemplative lyrics and the inventive arrangements.

The Killers on SNL, Or, How The Killers Stole My Heart

Last night on SNL, The Killers performed their new single "Human" as well as "Spaceman," another new tune to be debuted on their upcoming album, Day & Age.

I was in 7th grade when Hot Fuss came out, and I'll never forget the first time I heard it. My friend Carson had heard them perform "Somebody Told Me" on some television show an so I bought the album for her for her birthday. We listened to it in her den and I was enraptured by their new wave, synth-heavy arena rock. While none of the elements were entirely unique, to me, they seemed to be doing something totally different and their sound was like nothing I had ever heard.

Hot Fuss became my favorite album and I developed an unhealthy crush on Brandon Flowers. He was my desktop background and a sinister black and white shot of the band was on the front of my school binder.

As with any album, as time went on, the frequency I would listen to the album waned. However, I was very excited when I heard not only that they were working on a new album, but that they listed Bruce Spingsteen as one of their top influences.

Unfortunately, Sam's Town was underwhelming. It definitely had potential, but somewhere along the road Brandon Flowers & Co. lost sight of their own sound and became engulfed in their influences and dodging the sophomore slump.

I didn't hate Sam's Town- by any means. I listened the heck out of it, I just never felt that rush that I did whenever the opening bars of "Mr. Brightside" would play.

With the new single "Human," I see new hope for the Killers. "Human" is a fantastic return to form. The intro is optimistic and ethereal; "Are we human, or are we dancer?" Flowers muses. then the beat pulsates in and the synth begins to drive the song to the forgotten territory the Killers first inhabited in the days of Hot Fuss.

On SNL, the Killers performed "Human" as well as "Spaceman," a paranoid number that showcases Flowers's yelp and frontman bravado.

Based on these two songs alone, Day & Age should, well, kill.