Over the weekend, Courtney Love took to her MySpace page for the purposes of calling out fellow blogger Ryan Adams, thanks to some mysterious American Express bills from 2003 that she believes are evidence that some $858,000 that went into the making of his 2003 album Rock N Roll was funded by Frances Bean Cobain’s inheritance. (I guess that’s why Frances is trying her hand at journalism-type stuff this summer.) Not only is she appalled by the theft, which was apparently part of the identity-theft issues she’s been blogging about and facilitated by her ex-boyfriend/Rock N Roll producer James Barber, she’s irritated that her funds were used to make such a crappy, poorly named album: “Ryan Adams worst record and one of the worst records i can think of in rock and roll history ironically called’Riock and Roll ‘… yeah you listen to this shit im listening to my i tunes on right now who names a record ‘Rock n Roll’ what assholes do that? … with these trebled up guitars my bandmate said sounded like ‘really horrific rem on steroids’ all treble and compresssion and shit wirtten songs – but so what?”
Ryan Adams is turned into an “emo rocker.” Note to the gossipmongerers over there: Having a blog does not make a musician “emo,” even if said blog has ridiculous tendencies. It just greases the wheels for the inevitable book deal a little better than your average lyric sheet. More »
The social conscience and strident voice of Bono has influenced many a singer over the last few decades. The U2 frontman successfully melded the earnest social conscience of Bruce Springsteen with the self-glorifying pomp of European arena acts, realizing that both the Common Man and King Dick were below Jesus on the food chain. Sure there was precedent, but Sting is handicapped by his ego (and jazz bass), while Ian McCullough wanted to be a romantic poet/sex object more than the messiah. Here are ten singers who, at their best (or worst), have aspired to the Almighty’s throne.
Did Ryan Adams write a new, interesting song that isn’t named “Oklahoma Sunset” or “I Love You, Lullabelle Of The Freeway?” Yeah, right! He made a ridiculous blog post with shocking revelations! For instance, did you know that Ryan Adams has only dated five women in his life? That he never drinks when he’s writing? That he hates country music? That he never wanted to be a songwriter? That he just want to make things? Meaningful beautiful things before his time here is done and hopefully encourage people to express themselves, not to clutter the world with art, but so because he thinks people learn about themselves and find deeper meaning when they create things? That Ryan Adams needs to shut his crazy ass up if he doesn’t want people to seek “a few extra dollars and some exposure” by writing lies (lies!) about his love life and heckler fiascos? Such is the wisdom gained from his latest (and dare I say, greatest) blog post.
“After 70 minutes he’d had enough. [Ryan] Adams announced ‘the last song,’ played it and didn’t return for an encore. Many fans stood and booed” at a recent show. Yes, how dare he give his fans over an hour’s worth of entertainment. More »
“After 70 minutes he’d had enough. [Ryan] Adams announced ‘the last song,’ played it and didn’t return for an encore. Many fans stood and booed” at a recent show. Yes, how dare he give his fans over an hour’s worth of entertainment. More »
As Consumer Guide creator Robert Christgau once noted, there is so much recorded media coming forth every day, the idea that one would be able to listen to all of it is physically impossible. So we’ve taken the sage advice of gonzo rock writer Richard Meltzer to heart. Meltzer, ever the curmudgeon, considered promo albums precious commodities–provided you didn’t break the shrinkwrap on ’em, as doing so reduced their resale value. After the click-through, Andy Beta judges four new albums without even cracking open their covers.
Ryan Adams has taken all the steps necessary to ensure that his 326th album, Easy Tiger, is a full-fledged comeback hit: He’s partnered with Starbucks. He’s recruited Sheryl Crow for a duet. And he’s spilled his guts to the New York Times, letting fans know that his erratic behavior of the last few years were due in part to his crazy-even-for-a-rocker drug abuse:
ONE afternoon, as Ryan Adams was recording his new album, “Easy Tiger” (Lost Highway), at Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village, the singer-songwriter Steve Earle dropped by to visit. Jimi Hendrix had built Electric Lady in the late 1960s, and Mr. Earle pointed out that “there are some good ghosts here.”
“Yeah,” Mr. Adams blithely responded. “There are the ghosts of about 45 speedballs from when I was recording here a year or two ago,” referring to a mixture of heroin and cocaine.
– The Game has been charged with three felonies–including possession of a firearm in a school zone–as a result of February incident in Los Angeles. All jokes aside, he’s basically just a big asshole, right? Are we missing something? Nope? Okay, then: Asshole. More »
Farewell Typewriter has an MP3 of “Halloween Head,” another song to emerge from Ryan Adams’ forthcoming Easy Tiger, a.k.a. Comeback Album No. 341. It’s one of Adams’ more power-chord-powered songs in a while, but we’re pretty sure that the so-called “guitar solo” is actually a synthesizer. More »
