Ryan Adams is considering recording a new album with his former band, Whiskeytown, according to a recent posting on his own message board. In the message, Adams claims to be “thinking about doing something with Caitlin [Cary] and Skillet [Gillmore], a secret record, a Whiskeytown record for ourselves.”
This announcement comes less than one day after Adams claimed that his forthcoming box set is official: “It is now a matter of the artwork being finished.” Tentatively titled Love Is Hell, the collection will gather four discs of unreleased material, including two albums with his group, the Pinkhearts.
At least this is what Adams claims on his website’s message boards where he’s been known to go off on drug-induced tirades about anything and everything. One of his favorite topics seems to be bashing other artists. He recently wrote, “Robbie Fulks wittles records out of driftwood […] That’s why only seven people own one. Boy is Chicago one huge fucking mud puddle of overzealous garbage. Thank god for Wilco. Oh wait…” That’s actually pretty funny, and it’s fine to poke fun at the earnestness of the Chicago rock scene. But to criticize Fulks for not selling many records? Come on. Not only does it seem bitchy and petty, but it also seems rather inappropriate coming from someone whose combined sales of all three of his albums is “just over 500,000” according to Rolling Stone.
In a series of unsuccessfully poetic posts from the evening of May 28, Adams added some fuel to the fire of his on-again/off-again feud with the White Stripes’ Jack White. In the cold cold night:
once every show, in an act of humanitarian goodwill, he lets her out of her roadcase to bore her way through and yet another song about absolute fuck-all. I wonder what size attic it is he keeps her in with all those monkey skulls. Sell it back to canada its only a fucking a river.
jack is a fucking nothing. people with little teeth are scary. good thing he dosent do drunks, there wouldnt be anthing left to dilute. the crocadile dundee of rock.
hey everybody look, here comes the whbite stripes………hey everybody look…..there goes the white stripes. a gimmick in any other color…….i guess its true. your record company/ publicist can buy you covers but you cant make em like it. sad little band.
how nice of jack to finally let meg date. of course it had to be somebody from a band he ultimately is the only fan of. ah, divorcee bliss. it must be so fun. wuthering fucking heights. bring it on boys
My wife suggested that we add a “Words of Wisdom from Ryan Adams” feature to Glorious Noise, which sounds like a great idea but would require a whole lot of work, and I didn’t think I was up to the task of sifting through all those interviews and posts to his message board to find the occasional nugget of gold. But the more I searched, the easier I realized it would be, since every fucking thing he says is hilarious.
Just like with his recorded output, he could really use a good editor to help him decide what he should release to the public and what he should not. (He might at least attempt to spellcheck.) Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut.
I honestly believe that Ryan Adams is a good songwriter. He’s written some truly amazing songs, and he’s made some great recordings. The highpoint of his career so far was 2000’s Heartbreaker (Bloodshot). That album surpassed all of his Whiskeytown recordings which sounded like he couldn’t figure out if he wanted to be Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Uncle Tupelo or a schlocky radio-friendly balladeer, so on each track he’d choose a different style to mimic. Then there was Gold (Lost Highway, 2001), which despite its title and its slick production qualities, hasn’t yet been certified as a gold record by the RIAA. Surprisingly, this disappointing album was produced by the same man who produced Heartbreaker, Ethan Johns. Guess he forgot how to record a good record somewhere along the way, because Gold polishes off all of the rough edges that made Heartbreaker so fucking awesome. Right after Gold was released, Glorious Noise had intended to do a detailed analysis of what made it so much worse than Heartbreaker. We planned on bringing in audio engineers, songwriters, and regular music fans to try to outline the differences and difficiencies, but we never got around to it. Maybe someday…
I get disappointed when someone I think has the potential to be a great artist floods the market with miscellaneous bullshit. Ryan Adams is someone who should release no more than 14 songs per year. Congress should pass a law. I seriously believe that he has 14 great songs in him each year. Unfortunately, Adams seems to think that everything that he comes up with is brilliant and deserves to be heard. He’s wrong. We don’t need to see his first drafts. We don’t need a collection of outtakes and demos. Who does he think he is, Neil Young? Neil’s been making music for 40 years and he still doesn’t think it’s appropriate to release his outtakes to us yet! And Ryan Adams has a long way to go before he’s half the songwriter that Neil Young is.
Since Ryan Adams is notoriously snobby about granting interviews to independent publications, I decided to go indirectly to the source by posting my own feelings to his message board, basically summing up everything I said in the previous paragraphs. He bit:
Fuck yourself with a dirty stick. If I wanted your opinion…..oh wait, I dont actually need it seeing as a fuck load of people disagree with you including most rock magazines, every ssold out theater house in europe and the united states and the two million dollar corner apartement you wouldnt bee able to buge past the doorman in. so fuck it. fuck the dirty stick asshole. its all yours bitch.
To say his response didn’t immediately fill me with glee would be a lie. It confirmed every asshole story I’d heard about him, and it’s just so fucking hilarious on so many different levels. To do a little guerilla fact-checking, I consulted the helpful folks at the Velvet Rope, and the consensus was that it would indeed be possible for Adams to live in a two million dollar “apartement” since 1) apparently that’s not that steep in Manhattan; 2) he brings in a lot of money touring; 3) The Corrs (with Bono) covered “When The Stars Go Blue” on a recent live album; and 4) he’s living with his “shipping-heiress girlfriend,” Leona Naess. But that’s enough gossipy bitchiness for one day.
Just think: with the upcoming box set, the new recordings with Ethan Johns, and the potential recordings with Whiskeytown, we might have six new cds of Ryan Adams material to look forward to this year. And across those six cds, I guarantee there will be 14 really great songs.
Check out the Glorious Noise review of Demolition.
Ryan Adams basically sucks. You can take a lot of shit, put nice artwork on it, shrink wrap it, and charge $45.00 for it, and all you have is a box full of shit. Strangers Almanac was the peak, everything since has been awful.
His personality, is….well….let’s just say he’s no ray of sunshine.
It looks like the rest of the world is catching up with us hicks here in North Carolina who figured out Ryan’s shtick a while ago, what with the constant exposure…the guy’s a grade-A tool with a modicum of talent and far too much ego (despite all the faux self-deprecation). Combine that with a potty-mouth and questionable choices in friends and lovers and you have, well, a poseur of the highest order. I almost feel sorry for the folks still getting swindled by this phoney…
Can’t help but notice it’s suddenly become fashionable to resent Ryan Adams. Jeez, you people analyze his every fucking move and take everything he says so damn serious! So, he lets out a fair amount of shit on that message board – doesn’t mean his a stupid git with zero talent! Anyone with just a bit of musical expertice will know that Adams has made so damn brilliant records. Jealousy is a bad thing….
Eva:
Jealously? Are you kidding? I don’t regularly listen to anything by Ryan Adams. I give it a listen, and then routinely decide I think it sucks. I realize that many people like his material. All I’m saying is that I don’t. I don’t think less of you or anybody else who likes Ryan Adams. I’m in a touring band who is tagged w/ the alt.country label, so I have become friends w/ several other musicians, and none of them act so idiotic as to swear and cuss out people who react negatively to their music. Nobody likes being told “….you suck.” But you just drink your beer and have to accept it as someone’s opinion, and have self-confidence in what yer doing. But Ryan acts like such a child so often, and that it’s incomprehensible that someone critique’s him. For me, it has become the only enjoyable part….watching him make such an ass of himself. I mean “fuck yourself w/ a dirty stick.” ? Are you kidding? What a tool. When the shit hits the fan for Ryan and his major label affair goes in the shitter, man that train wreck is gonna be sad. To hear about Ryan having to go back to cussing out sound guys in bars….it’s gonna be pathetic. What a prima donna.
–c
Me, I love Ryan. His bullshit comments, potty mouth, masses of songs (only some of them good), the drinking, the obviously stoned posts to his board, the whole deal. Let it all hang out. I’d rather have too much than too little. I can do my own editing or hit the skip button, but I never do. There are way too many politically correct, coloring-in-the-lines people out there. We need some wild-ass guys, as irritating as they can be, just to show us the other side and add some flavor to the whole thing. I’m looking forward to 6 Ryan Adams discs in a year. I’ll buy em all. (Hey how many of you have collected more than 6 boots of any artist in a year? Raise your hands. OK)
Reminds me of people who thought the Clash’s Sandinista should have been cut down to one, or same with the Stone’s Exile. You’re missing the whole damn point. This is rock and roll, not chamber music!
Oh and as for Neil and his archives, don’t get me started. It ain’t that he doesn’t think we’re ready for them…. it’s that he can’t keep the focus long enough to get them out. He’s truly a madman…. and that’s why we all love him.
Andy
Christ, what a bunch of pathetic bullshit I’ve read above. If you don’t like the man’s music, don’t fuckin’ listen to it!!! And who gives a shit about his attitude? Neil ánd Dylan both ain’t no sweethearts, and we all know that. Who the fuck cares? The music’s what matters (to me at least, obvioyusly not to this no-live gossip-hard on)
You’re so right Andy, the unreleased stuff out there is fantastic, I’ll buy that box the minute it comes out and I’ll garantee you that I’ll be the best 30 bucks I’ll spend this year. Demolition was just a glance of what’s out there.
chris,
first of all, you’re getting a bit ahead of yourself comparing ryan adams to the stones, the clash, and neil.
and no, this is not “rock and roll”. this is ryan bore-me-to-tears adams singing about new york, new york whislt framed by the (now tragic) new york skyline. such mediocrity is not sufficient to excuse childish behaviour. that is reserved for the truly great.
hell, i’d accept more of this attitude from bryan than ryan, and that’s saying a lot.
Jake, you’re a ponce. How incredibly RUDE of you to invade a space that everyone just uses for fun and BS and then go and post it in an article like you just succeeded in some huge covert operation. You’re ruining it for everyone who DOES want to hear from Ryan every so often. No one takes what he says to heart, as it changes with his moods, we all know that. But now, it appears we won’t GET to hear his rants because morons like you come in and publish every friggin’ thing he says. You’re no better than the half-wit half-rate NME tabloid scum journalists out there. Shame on you. You’re what’s giving all of the good journalists and good reporters out there a black eye. You’re a jerk, and a half-rate one at that.
All of Ryan’s music isn’t Grammy material, obviously, and some of it is better than other parts of it, but if you’re gonna complain, where are YOUR albums? What have you put out that’s better? It’s easy to complain about someone ELSE’s work that they pour themselves into and have the balls to put out there for the world to see. You don’t want to be part of the solution, you want to be part of the vomit that’s part of the problem. The slime that loves to be a “music snob” themselves, as you put it. You’re a fraud. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. So um, where are your albums, little man? I haven’t heard any of your stuff…or is it just easier to be a critic and a parasite?
You know, Jake, you seem like a pretty intelligent guy. You write well, you’ve got some decent arguments….you can even spell! (and I bet you don’t even have to use spell check that often, do you?)
So my question is this…Ryan Adams aside, why would a reasonably well-educated guy do this kind of writing? The tone of your article reminds me of a seventh grader just pointing and laughing like the insecure child he is. Psychologists say that when you point out the weaknesses of others, you’re really just too afraid to look at your own, but that’s beside the point. (On second thought, you might take a good look at that fact if you do this type of thing for a living…)
As far as I’m concerned, you’re no journalist. You’ve already joined the throngs of pathetic papparazzi….sneaking onto websites to find some dirt to spread over a world already filthy from it in the first place…It’s slimy. It’s seedy as hell and the sad thing is you’re probably really proud of having written this article in the first place.
One last thing, “elvissinatra…” I read your posts on Ryan’s site. I thought you were well-spoken and argued your points pretty damn effectively. I even responded to one of them by saying I liked the backbone you were showing when folks were jumping your shit….I’m sick that I said that now. You have no backbone….you’re spineless. All I take away from your posts and from this article, too, is that every one of us needs to watch our backs – to keep from getting stabbed by people like you.
GGD
You Cunt.
Personally I think you’re making too much of what Ryan Adams says on his message board. That said, I can’t believe anyone thinks of a board hosted by his record company, linked to his official site, open to everyone, where everything posted is archived, as some kind of private haven that no one can quote from.
I’ve read the board for awhile now and for the most part it seems like Ryan Adams is treated like the star that he is, so why should we expect the media be any different? Of course they’re going to pay more attention to what he says, and I’m sure he knows that.
I also can’t believe anyone seriously thinks he would give a damn what others think enough to stop posting. I really don’t get that impression from reading his posts.
To me, it seems Ryan Adams is all about getting attention, and a lot of people are giving him exactly what he wants. Well done, Ryan.
A friend of mine sent me this link, and said, “I’ve seen Ryan Adams twice. Please don’t tell anyone.” By the way, we have White Stripes tickets for July 3.
So, you can use spell-check. You can write a lede. You even know how to select interesting direct quotes. But I’m not sure it’s brilliant reporting to tell everyone that Ryan Adams is unabashedly honest in his opinions–we already know that. It’s what we love.
His off-the cuff-comments–and his typos–have a lot more heart than your slick little paragraphs. You’ve made it pretty clear you’re not brave enough to show yourself to the world unedited. You couldn’t even let Ryan see you were a journalist. As far as I’m concerened,
that’s not brilliant reporting–it’s cheap.
First and foremost – Is it true Ryan needs to bathe more? I mean is he stinky? If so he needs to get in a shower more ofter because Mtv needs non-smelly rock stars.
2nd – How kick ass is his haircut on Gold??
3rd – How is it that he is such a genious?
What an over-rated piece of shit Ryan Adams is! ;)
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re no journalist.”
Well, you’ve got that right. For the purposes of this site, we’re NOT journalists. There is no objective reporting of facts on this site. This is a fan site. We’re music fans and we have strong opinions and this is our forum for voicing those opinions. So bravo to you for figuring out Jake isn’t a journalist.
What I find fascinating is how many people posting telling Jake to piss off if he doesn’t like Ryan’s music. How clearly does Jake have to say it before these dolts undertand that he DOES like Ryan’s music?
“I honestly believe that Ryan Adams is a good songwriter. He’s written some truly amazing songs, and he’s made some great recordings.”
Luckily, Jake and the rest of the GLONO crew have thicker skins than Ryan Adams and his legion of lackies. We can take the criticism.
“We can take the criticism.” I can’t. Fuck yourslef withh a dirty stick, dphillips. Fuck it. Fuck the stick.
Re: Criticism.
There are two types of criticism and they work hand in hand. There’s the kind that’s merely exposing flaws, and the kind that seeks to find meaning within those flaws. We do both here at GloNo; Jake did both in his feature.
A lot of you people apparently have no understanding of the latter type of criticism, “The practice of analyzing, classifying, interpreting, or evaluating literary or other artistic works.” (American Heritage Dictionary) I’m not going to be the one to educate you on this subject, but suffice it to say that the world cannot be simplified to like/dislike.
bravo, sab. hopefully that puts an end to the posted demands for self-imposed censorship.
I object only on the grounds that this article starts out being about a possible Whiskeytown album, when that’s not what this article is about at all…
yeah. no shit. the pre-text of the article is about whiskeytown and then just turns into ryan slamming. i guess these independent online zines don’t have the editorial focus to notice.
“i guess these independent online zines don’t have the editorial focus to notice.”
Oh hohohoho! That is rich, buddy boy. Loftus, get back to work our style guide!
Didn’t we burn the style guide for heat last winter after we used the last of GloNo HQ’s petty cash for a 6er of Kingsbury and jerky?
btw, I love anonymous put-downs. Classy.
JTL
Um, like, I said, that’s the *only* thing I object to. This is one my favorite music news/discussion sites. It’s a hell of a lot better than Rolling Stone. Editorial focus can bite me.
who runs this mugg?
Jake, you have single handedly landed yourself on like 4 message boards already. YOU ARE A MARKETIONG GENIOUS!! I like RA’s music alright, not sure what to think of his personality though. I heard he got in a fistfight with a fan in Nashville b/c somenone called him Brian Adams or something. Like, jumped off the stage and attacked this poor kid. Scary
“Who the f#ck is Ryan Adams?”
hey pushy – do you think you and me could pitch MTV on a reality show called SHOWERING WITH THE STARS? maybe ryan could be our first guest. damn, that poor sponge.
what the fuck was that… if ya don’t care for the guy or his music, then stay the hell away.. we don’t want you.
Ryan Adams had the potential to be a great songwriter and musician.
He has turned into the worst things in rocknroll:
1) A Plageurized
2) A Whore
3) Worst of all, a Poseur
His fans have gone from folks who appreciate good music to teeny-boppers. The kids who would have jumped on the Cracker and Counting Crows in the mid90s. Its really sad and pathetic to see where his career has gone.
Ryan — call Evan Dando, he wants his career plan back
Oops typo, meant:
1) A Plageurizer
2) A Whore
3) Worst of all, a Poseur
I bet I could beat Ryan up
Update. Ryan Adams responds: http://www.losthighwayrecords.com/forum/forum.asp?Action=2&LID=3&SID=11&FID=31&MID=107243
Ah, I see GloNo is characterized as “hack journalism at its best” on that Adams update. Everything else notwithstanding, the man is obviously perceptive. When we do it, we do it well.
I have a gummi bear in my pocket.
mmmmmmmmm, gummi bears!
this is some funny shit.
“Pool Shark3, jgb95 and Elvissinatra”
Oh, that is rich! Ryan thinks Jake’s posting under three different names and having conversations with himself! I thought delusional web rants are mostly Ryan’s domain. Jake, do you think you’re driving the poor bastard nuts?
“Jake, do you think you’re driving the poor bastard nuts?” It would be a short drive, my man…
indeed
http://www.losthighwayrecords.com/forum/forum.asp?Action=2&LID=3&SID=11&FID=31&MID=107243&All=1
I would re-iterate, this adams character is about as lame as they come. Now his brother, brian, that guy ROCKS! Summer of 69 baby!! ;)
Funny-its all down to jealously. Firstly it’s obvious a lot people who love to diss him are in alt.country bands that are going nowhere and they themselves couldn’t string a couple of notes together. Try writing a couple of albums. Secondly so-called writers such as Elvissinatra and his ilk just want to ride the recent anti-Ryan wave to get noticed/published/ to get a name for themselves.Thirdly isn’t it funny once a person gets famous everyone wants in on the backlash. Attention deficit disorder jealous motherfuckers.
well if it is for publicity, it works! As for ryan adams, he always has his panties in a knot, from what I have seen. Arrogance will probably get him far in todays USA, which is sad, but I know I will continue to call it like I hear it, and Ryan Adams sounds like warmed over smelly shit to me! ;)
Do all of these Adams supporters really, actually think ‘Gold’ was a solid album all the way through?
Sincerely,
Johnny Loftus, so-called writer and hack journalist.
Um, I did. I know I’m in the minority here at GloNo, but I like every song on Gold. Whereas the song “Sweet Lil’ Gal” on Heartbreaker kinda bugs me.
Johnny Loftus,
I am a big fan of Adams music (moreso whiskeytown) and no I don’t think Gold is all that, BUT if he had taken some of the fluff off the proper album and replaced it with “Gold Side 4” there was a really good album. But, he did not.
Michael Swall:
That is the resounding opinion. Many wonder why the side 4 material was left on the cutting room floor (barring the initial bonus disc release), in favor of the album’s more self-indulgent moments. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with moving beyond one’s initial sound, in this case dusty alt.country. But if those songs are better, why not include them over the fluff? That’s the ‘Gold’ dilemna.
JTL
I laugh and laugh and laugh. GloNo makes my day yet again.
Sometimes celebrities get picked on for no reason other than their celebrity. Sometimes they get a free ride because of their celebrity. Sometimes they get exactly what their actions deserve.
Anybody making public statements, like those constantly made on Adams’s boards, deserves somekind of critical feedback.
Peace Out
Scotty
Is it just me, or does this just look like another case of “Stone the Heretic!!!” in terms of Mr. Adams’ glassy-eyed fans, whose knee-jerk reaction to any sort of qualified critique of their god is a “Fuck you bastard, you just don’t GET Ryan, man”. I mean, even I can tell when my favorite artists either dump a stinkeroo on the market or act foolishly in public. Let’s be straight; the Brothers Gallagher deserve probably a healthy majority of their negative coverage; it doesn’t make “Cigarettes and Alcohol” any less of an excellent song. These Ryan-ites just crack me up.
…and it’s a cryin’ shame when an artist starts buying into all the hype as wholeheartedly as Ryan appears to have done. Wouldn’t it be as funny as shit if all of this were one big put-on, that the *real* Ryan is a sensitive, straight-edge kind of guy you’d be comfortable introducing to your Grandma?
will the real ryan please stand up, please stand up
I am looking forward to his next release as I imagine he will have taken some of the constructive critcisms of Gold to heart.
jake, thou art a douchebag. go away and stay away, dumb fuck. a dirty stick is too good for you.
fuck you scottish, jake called me out on my bullshit and I’m grateful. i’m sick of seeing your your sorry posts on the LH board, fuck it, fuck the stick, you fuck.
…and put 1 of those fingers on each hand up
thank god I don’t live in manhattan. ethan he’s gone out for some cookies. gibber gibber gibber jabber.
There are Republicans in the White House and all y’all have to talk about is Ryan Adams? Yikes!!
Yeah, mnw, that’s all we have to talk about. There are absolutely no other topics discussed in the features section or message board section of this site besides Ryan Adams. He means that much to us…. now, uh, what’s a White House?
OH MY GOSH!! Is that what Ryan says on the beginning of “To be young?”
I want Ryan!!!!
Fuck you! I know Scottish, and he’s a sweetheart! You, by the way are a dick. and Ryan would never post that…Especially on your board. He wouldn’t give you the time and neither should I.
Well, at least you didn’t give us your name!
wouldn’t give “us” the time? get the fuck off this board then. Scottish can eat a dick.
“Gold’s” lack of originality and unabashed derivativeness aside…There is no way that anyone should be able to write the things Ryan Adams does and not get shit on for it. And I really don’t see how anyone could say that what Loftus did isn’t pure comic genius. Ryan Adams can sit in his 2 million dollar NYC apartment (which I think will just about buy a studio somewhere in Harlem) and eat shit. And another thing, there’s nothing more ignorant than rabid fan-worship, you idiots. By the way, when does that album come out?
I heard he has a box set in the works which I am very interested in hearing. I wish Ryan didn’t “act out” so often as I feel it takes away from the music.
Video/Mass Media really did kill the radio star. I think we would have had different perceptions of a lot of rock deitys had the technology been around 20/30 years ago.
Just to clarify (because Loftus is so sensitive) Jake Brown is the bastard who set this in motion, not Johnny.
Phillips, you’re obviously a mutant. It’s true I didn’t start this skirmish, but let me fight my own battles. Did I mention that the Moldy Peaches suck ass?
Join hands with me children.
Heal the world/Make it a better place/For you and for me/And dangit the entire human race
along the same lines as peaches comment;
interpol blows.
I can’t wait till Brian Adams begins to post here.
I’ve always wondered why he sang that song with Sting and the other dude with the same exact voice.
Funny you should mention that video. That is the exact moment I lost my faith in Sting. I then realized anything cool about him was forever gone. Sell out mother fucker that he is.
Wouldn’t that totally rock if the above was from the REAL Andy Summers? I can’t even describe how cool that would be.
I would freak if that was really him.
and be proud to be outta your mind and outta control
Johnny,
Where do you stand on pseudo-trash bands made up of rich and famous offspring?
Sting huffs dong.
AKA the strokes
or, AKA the rolling stones?
or, AKA the clash?
or, AKA who cares?
long live the strokes!
On Leona Naess’ site, Ryan Adams posted a “review” of 5/15 NYC club show. The first half has nothing to do with her and is just Ryan reporting which celebrities were in attendance and what they were wearing! What is he, Melissa Rivers? Ryan’s take on David Hyde Pierce(Frasier’s brother):”His mysterious presence only added to his attractive demeanor and many fell for him, on levels too many to mention.”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
sounds like the chap has let NYC get to his head.
it took me forever to scroll through these fuckn posts. Ryan Adams puts out great music. I anticapate the box set. I have never met Ryan maybe he is an asshole. Regardless, I am a huge fan. Musically he dosen’t get enough credit in today’s washed out music world. As for comments about him putting out too much work. fuck off. this insn’t an mtv boy band beauty show where he tries to impress nobody critiques like yourself. this is rock music at it’s finest. I’ve enjoyed it all. Look at the credit other artists give him. those are true critiques. Anyways, if you like Ryan like I do..there are still other great bands out there. check out the counting crows hard candy b-sides. brilliant. now if you’ll excuse me..i have to go listen to more Adams. peace out
The Counting Crows suck, they’ve sucked since August and Everything After, they’re a washed up, washed out poser band with a faux dreadlocked lead singer who just finished a tour for another suck record (Hard Candy) and charged like $35 per seat and advertised the concerts on the radio (?!) because they only way they could fill those seats is by advertising to people who never hear about shows by word of mouth because they never talk about music, in fact they have no concept of music other than anesthesia during a 55 minute communte out to the ‘burbs. Let’s hear it for the Counting Crows. a great band? a great brand. not a great band. not artists. product. That is the direction Ryan Adams is heading. He has a sad, deep need to keep attending to the A-list shows, play his strange Melissa Rivers game, and continue “being a celebrity”. He is motivated by status and cash, not the music itself. Watch out for some big time crapola from Ryan Adams, coming to a Best Buy near you. agh. had to get that out.
first off. his apperance has no bearing on the bands music. Second – I agree they have taken a different marketing approach towards hard candy. Adam Duritz was the first to admitt this. However, he didn’t change the manner in which he wrote and recorded music. Are you in love with the ideal picture of what you think a rock star should look or act like? Nevermind the radio ads, promo’s etc.. listen to the music. get past that shit. hard candy is the most polished crows album yet with some beautiful tracks and great songwriting. And, mr.crows critic, regarding your comment on them sucking after august… Adam wrote this alubm before he was recognized. Every bands first album comes from a “im playing to be heard” mindset. i think springsteen said that best. Are you gonna trash him next? Crow’s music after august is different but truley great and beautiful. I would not rule out any band for the way the look or for hearing a radio spot, get a fuckn mind set. Promo’s are harder to find in an MTV reality tv, boy band world. It’s a business and should be treated accordingly, music aside of coarse. And any non seattle rock band still holding a crowd coming from the early 90’s era, should be commeneded. Ryan Adams headed the same way? not quite. He tends to put out lots of music in a short time..whereas the crows average 14 or 15 songs per 3 years. motivated by status and cash? maybe but how the fuck to you know? and even so, get past assumptions and shitty critics. Listen to his fucking music. Its great.
ok, i have to agree with the poster “Ryan” above. The Counting Crows are crap. Period. Not too sound “too kewl” here, but I think most serious music fans would agree they are utter fluff with their main fan base made up of sorority girls and the boyfriends they drag to the show. I don’t like to dis anyone’s music but I really feel these guys are a joke — and have been since the mid 90s.
Now onto Ryan Adams. I think Ryan is going to be around for awhile putting out interesting records. I imagine his fan base will shrink to a cult following once the Gap ad offers fall off and he cuts out the white stripe bashing nonsense. I think he has some great music in him.
You know what, Ryan Adams IS the Counting Crows. One decent sort-of-touching album that everyone has in their dorm room (Adams- Heartbreaker, Crows- August and Everything After). Then the fame gets to the artists’ head and the suck music begins. Trying to stay famous, they write a lite rock hit (Adams “New York, New York”- Duritz “Long December”). Then the long slow fade…
Look, Jake is too a real journalist, Rolling Stone is ripping him off!
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=18179
Ryan, what music makes your day? what makes a a good album? Ryan Adams ins’t famous. The Counting crows were. Long December, round here, mr.jones …etc. all radio hits, its rare to catch r.adams on the radio. Like Marty hill said the 2 bands are different. You can’t compare August etc.. to heartbreaker, you’d be crazy too.
Marty Hill, “most serious music fans would agree” is there a manual on this shit cuz i’d like to buy it. Correct me please. Serious music fans dont like the crows because they are utter fluff cuz soroity girls make up there fan base (which is not true).
First off, serious music fans look at the music. period. You seem to be caught up in what you think makes a cool, trendy band. A cool garage band which would generate a cult following, then sticking to his guns refuse the media/commerical/marketing offers. Cuz ofcoarse it fucks with the image. You’ll like Ryan Adams if a cult following is created and he fails to do a gap ad? what’s that about? When artists are true to themselves then they create good music. Ryan Adams can write a song this morning and will want to release it by lunch. So who fuckn cares if he does a gap ad after dinner. And the music is great stuff, sometimes raw, sometimes polished. The crows, many would agree with you, they are trying to capture what they had in the past as far as popularity, record sales etc. They use various forms of marketing to do this. However, he has never changed the manner in which he makes the music. He tells the marketing people to run with the music he has created. He dosnt pick the singles. He writes very specific lyrics based on his current and past life. All i’m saying is get past the fuckn marketing shit that creates a negative image on how you think they should act. However, if they started recording fluff music with fluff lyrics then case and point your correct. But dont let a photo shoot fuck with the reason they made it in the industry.
Have to say that i would agree that the crows music although different from the early years is still good music. Every band’s 4th album is different then there first. I think Adam Duritz said it best when responding to bashing they recieved from doing that coke commercial –
Duritz: It’s scary for a music lover now. You see an industry that’s not really responsive to the music you like. MTV’s not playing what you want to see and neither is VH1. So you’re trying to figure out if there’s going to be a place in the world for the thing that you love. It must scare the hell out of you when you see this band you really love in a Coke commercial. I’ve totally got the time to sit down and tell them, “Look, we’re not selling out. The Coke ad doesn’t affect how we made our record at all.” There are a lot of things out there that people do to sell themselves that we’ve never even considered until now.
The music industry is a business. Don’t dis credit the Counting Crows or any band for trying to make money or hit a different target market. The main thing is that the way in which they make music remains untouched.
“Marty Hill, ‘most serious music fans would agree’ is there a manual on this shit cuz i’d like to buy it.”
You’re reading it, pal.
Katy, the NME too: http://www.nme.com/news/105274.htm
I saw that, those fuckers! Ha!
You caused quite a stir on the Yahoo Group, btw.
No, I don’t follow “trendy garage bands” or indulge in any of that hype scene. I just feel that the counting crows aren’t all that my man. Sorry to step on your toes. People despise Ryan Adams…it doesn’t get my undies in a wad.
Fact: Counting Crows were put together by a music producer who capitalized on the potential of Duritz as a performer and paired him with a group of studio musicians, some of whom had been in other bands. They are not a “band” in the way that other bands toured and wrote and worked their way to their success. Record executives put this band together. Much like they put Matchbox 20 together (dont buy that Behind the Music bullshit). One of their first shows was their appearance at the RocknRoll Hall of Fame, as arranged by their Svengali.
Has nothing to do with Ryan Adams, except that both Duritz and Adams are whores and plageurists. They represent Karaoke for those that are too lazy to look up the original artists.
That’s enough with the Counting Crows argument, guys. Take it somewhere else but not here. Thanks.
Yea! This thread is for obiliterating Ryan Adams. If you can’t trash him, take your slams else where.
The posts trashing me and Glorious Noise are the ones I prefer actually, but that Counting Crows tangent is just b-o-r-i-n-g and misplaced.
Plagiarists.
I don’t think it’s a valid assertion, but if you insist on it, at least spell it right, for the love of God.
Hey, dad said we couldn’t talk about this anymore…let’s go play gorillaball.
Sorry. For the non-American spelling of plageurize. UK reader. Nice to see you got a broad education though.
Jake, need your total honesty here. As a journalist. When you first suggested that Ryan Adams needed an editor, was any part of you hoping that Ryan would see the light and tap you, from his audience, to do the job, kind of like the Bruce Springsteen/Courtney Cox moment in the Dancing in the Dark video?
You mean Jake is a plant? This is a set-up?! ;)
Ryan, I’ve never claimed to be anything more than a critical fan who writes about shit I care about. I don’t think I’d want to have to listen to everything Ryan Adams writes, but the next time he has a double-album ready to go, I’d be happy to choose the 12 to 14 best songs, ha ha.
99
and 100. Whew. I have been waiting all day to make the 100th comment on this topic. If you want something done you have to do it yourself, I guess. I don’t have anything to add. I am not sure that I have ever heard a song by Ryan Adams.
Poopy,
Where you been, dog? Ryan does on occasion employ a banjo. How’s that for ya?
For those who don’t know, Poopy is a noted scientist and hillbilly banjo player. He is not, by any stretch, a folky and takes great offense to the accusation.
Oh, here and there. I will tell you this, ask someone if they think it smells like “updog” in here. When they ask you “what’s updog?” you say “nothing, what’s up with you?”. This cracks me up everytime that I do it. Good times.
I am ashamed to like ever-pompous Ryan Adams. He acts like such a fuck I don’t wanna tell anyone how much I enjoy his music. It’s my dirty little secret. I’m a whore.
http://ryanadams.org/mb.asp?id=26869
I love you guys
xxxooxxo ry2k
I heard he is dating Parker Posey…who is really really funny
Wow…the ryan adams board at his label went down so people started posting at a fan site called ryanadams.org
Anyway, as soon as people started saying things negative about ryan and or his music the geek who runs the site started logging everyone IP address. Is nothing sacred?
I am a Republican, I support(ed) the war on Iraq, think Howard Deans is the best thing for the GOP since that McGovern dude and believe Ryan Adams should appear on the next edition of VH1’s Divas so as to further enlarge that black hole of musical ineptitude and imaginationlessness (sic). Throw in Jeff Tweedy and my God, all of creation would be spiralling into that great sucking sound.
Bush ’04! Get used to it, you teva-sandled whingers! Ha ha ha ha ha!
what if Ryan ran for prez?? i mean he’s smart enough, ya know?
Ryan Adams is a songwriting genious, and is (I’m sure) little concerned with how people think he “acts” or “smells”. Anyone who truly appreciates good music wouldn’t spend time discerning any artist’s wardrobe or personal hygiene
…they would be listening to the music.
Holy shite!! You all see the shitstorm Tweedy has started with ryan in the press?? Oh man, Ryan is gonna come down HARD on him this time. No more Mr. Nice Guy, Jeff. Yer days are numbered!
It doesn’t matter wot comments people write about him or in fact wot he says about others, i think the point that a lot of people are missing is that even if u dont like him or his music u have to come to terms with the fact that he writes quality tunes… and in my opinion is the bollox!!!!!!!!! Thanx for ur time….
i love this web site and i think that guy who i told to fuck himself with the dirty stick is smart and really did a good job. but here is the thing.
starting shit on the internet, or talking shit is one thing. its actually kind of funny. but i dont go around slagging people off in person, screaming at people, strating fights. telling people i hope they die because i dont like their music.
i have more in common with this place than i do at my own web site.
its fun to be an asshole isnt it.
but there is a line.
i just make records i nev er said they were any good, and youre right GOLD is a piece of shit record, but whatever.
i made that video right before the trade center got hammered and all those people died.
we had already submitted it to mtv and they had already played it in house.
i asked for it not to be shown out of context and we pulled the song from all sorts of things because it was being misappropriated.
im saying this in reaction to some post earlier about whining behind that track.
i didnt even like that song when i finished the record……my point is,,,,,
its important to make records because its the flow. its the vehicle and you have to know how to drive it…..so i make alot of mistakes….gold sucks….but whatever im learning.
im not taking any of this seriously.
whats funny is that other people are.
regardless my posts at the old.com were never drug induced.
i am that fucked up sober
yeah, the fans on your web site do tend to be a little mainstream in their music taste.
Why are so many people invested in telling others what to think?
I don’t care what Ryan or anyone else says, I don’t think Gold sucks. I could make a loooong list of what’s out there that really sucks.
I heard Ryan’s unreleased Love Is Hell album and it is a nice departure from his “trademark” sound. Kind of Smiths-Bends era Radiohead-sounding.
I’ve always been fascinated with him. The bootlegs and outtakes are fun for his fans. I’m curious to see what he brings to the next full-length album.
Winding Wheel, Amy, Answering Bell, Firecracker..I think those those are brilliant songs. He can be a great polished pop song writer. He can also do ragged raw alt-country. His versatility is rare in music today, and can be either exciting or bewildering for his listeners. For me, it’s quite exciting. At least he’s shaking it up in his own way and not becoming flat and commercialized like so many bands.
it’s hard to stay authentic in this industry.. the people who are still around, sting, rolling stones, david bowie, have attempted to retain their original authenticity but also acquiesced to the marketplace. the music industry is tricky that way. there is pressure to keep registering with the public. maybe ryan is just saying fuck you to that pressure, which you have to admit takes balls.
http://www.ryan-adams.com/audio/SoAlive.mp3
I’m A Faker, oh fuck you and fuck the universe…ahhhhahahhhhhhhh
oh yeah…well
fuck you and fuck the Un-i-verse, ahhhhh oooh aahhh
What a bunch of wankers! The world would be a better place with out people like you lot. Why don’t you try to find somrthing you all like and talk about that rarther than badmouth someone you’ve never met and who probably dosn’t give a toss what you think!
It’s clear from the writing here that most of you have a microscopic penis and shit for brains. I don’t see many signs of true audiophiles. Just bitter, close minded, petty little bastards that have no life.
If you think you’ve heard something original, it just came from something you never heard before. Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Van Morrison blended influences from less familiar sources in a time that was less connected.
It’s much harder to do that now with such a flood of media sources and without the sniping of useless cowards. You people are like shy serial killers, afraid to get started so you spew your crap on these boards. Well fuck you, one and all.
Creativity is a tricky tight rope. Those of you cheering for artists to fall off are the most worthless peices of shit on earth. You piss on artists for being unoriginal and then piss on them when they try something different. It’s not that you have high expectations. You have severe brain damage from falling on your ass too often.
Adams deserves the credit for standing in the batter’s box and not turning his back on what works for him. Because it’s also what works for people who don’t have their head so far up their ass they can see the back of their own teeth.
You negative fuckers can suck my ass.
Ryan’s new record and eps are gonna wipe that smirk off of all your faces. bow down bitches.
Is this web site gonna review his new albums coming out? I wanna hear what Jake says in retrospect to the last write up.
how about some coverage of his 2 new releases??
Why do you seem to have a personal vendetta here? Chill out dumbass. Of course he will be pissed at you when you come onto HIS message board and insult him. Grow up or learn how to write a REAL critique of an artist. I realize that Ryan’s music has shortcomings but just because you can’t get over the shortcomings between your legs doesn’t mean we have to listen to you spew stupidity about a fairly good artist.
Love Is Hell pt II is fan-fuckin-tastic
Ryan, keep on rockin in the free world — or at least 2004. Just stay away from aping hip hip, trance, or techno please
fuck Jim Derogotis, and fuck Chicago and their “scene”
Ryan broke his wrist in Liverpool. Get better Ace!
This review or article or silly rant is really petty. I’m not quite sure how I feel about Ryan Adams and I’m not too familiar with this website but this comes of as childish. What is the point of this? I’d like to know. This is the problem with the internet. Every uneducated hack can have a website and pass it off as something legit. This article is no better than a long, angry IM by a thirteen year old. Who lets this stuff be published?
Yeah, they pride themselves on not following any kind of journalistic integrity, being a webzine I guess?
I like some of their essays, but agree they didnt do Ryan right in this instance.
ryan’s a musical genius…his lyrics (except on Rockn’Roll which is still solid) are heartfelt and meaningful) and the music is so simple and precise, nothing more…so what if he says something moronic now and then (everybody does it) and most of the time he’s just feeding the fire, he likes to see you guys have a fit…hey just sit down with Heartbreaker move all the way to Love is Hell 2, and calm the fuck down
wow. i followed this link to try and find out what exile on franklin street was cuz all the songs are on the ryan-adams.com site. i think i figured out that he reunited with whiskeytown for this. but i’m not exactly sure cuz all of the bs here doesn’t talk about it. which i thought it would have, given the topic. but i guess not.
I can really understand what people say about Ryan’s personality, …I mean, I’ve heard a lot of rumours about him myself and all the stuff you guys say basically backs all it up …
But at the end of the day, if we bought albums for how nice the person was, what would we have ? – an Ac/Dc & Rory Gallagher album ?
The majority of “rockstars” are known as being wankers, maybe they are, or maybe we just don’t know them ?
The fact is Ryan Adams has made some fantastic music, and albums, I personally love everything he has ever made, from Whiskeytown, to the cardinals, to all his solo stuff.
But thats just my opinion …
I think he is probably the best songwriter in the last 10 years .. yes, consuming vast influence from Gram Parsons and Hank Williams, but don’t they all ?
The alt country scene is an exciting one, with Gillian Welch closly following with Adams’ original style of bluesgrass rock.
But to dismiss Adams as a “Complete asshole” or as being “basically shit” is unbelievably ignorant, he is a fantastic songwriter, makes fantastic albums , all of different styles, and “Sweet Illusions” (Cold Roses Album)is without doubt the best song I have heard in the last 17 years, without a doubt.
In short – don’t slag him off, he’s a fucking marvel !!