Speakers Rating: 96/100 Do I wait here forever for you? Would you ask me to? I’ll be honest: I’ve always loved the softer side of Ryan Adams’ music. Don’t get me wrong — I respect how Adams has been true to his muse over the years, giving us great country, rock, and pop albums along … Read more
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Margo Timmins a few times, but there was one conversation that really stood out. It was a few years ago, at The Sheldon in Saint Louis. She and the Cowboy Junkies had just finished their sold-out show. They had played most of Trinity Session, and even covered Neil Young’s … Read more
I’m too old to let you go I’m too young to let you down I’ve been wanting to write about this song for a while now, and with Ryan Adams’ double-7” vinyl EP, Class Mythology, set for release on Record Store Day, well, now seems appropriate. This is one of Adams’ best songs. It’s not … Read more
Well, friends, the end is no longer near. It’s here. The end of our Best Songs of 2011 countdown, that is. The real end comes next December, as we all know. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Bon Iver landed the number one spot with the track, “Holocene.” But, amazingly, the song and the record itself … Read more
Photo: Jean-Baptiste Toussaint You know that house that I wanna buy? I wanna buy it for you. We’re pretty much all suckers for Ryan Adams here at Speakers in Code, so when he releases something new, or re-works a song like “Shining Through the Dark” for the Judd Apatow film This is 40, we’re all … Read more
As we make our way into the second half of 2012, we want to take a minute to look back at what we saw, what we wrote, who we spoke to, and who we shot in January through June. In the coming days, we’ll also be posting our favorite songs of the first half of … Read more
Photo by David Black It’s hard for me to write about Ryan Adams without getting slightly sentimental with regard to what his music has meant to my life. So, I’ll turn to the words of Neil Strauss, who once wrote this about Adams: “No one likes admitting to a guy who knows he’s a rare … Read more
Last night, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Jason Isbell perform at The Peabody Opera House in Saint Louis, in all his solo, acoustic, countrified glory. He immediately made me swoon with his use of the term “fuck aroundery,” and as I watched him play songs like today’s Jam of the Day, “Alabama Pines,” … Read more
Speakers in Code turned two on January 4th, so we’ve decided to make this our “birthday giveaway,” because, simply put, if Ryan Adams didn’t exist, this blog wouldn’t exist. It’s safe to say that he’s one of our favorite songwriters, inspiring us all with his words and melodies, and his new album, Ashes & Fire, … Read more
Photo by David Black Better to have tried at all At least we got to taste it We’ve already written plenty about Ryan Adams on Speakers in Code, especially for his latest album, Ashes & Fire (review). But hey, we can’t help ourselves as we countdown to his solo-acoustic show in Saint Louis at the … Read more
It’s time to get sad. Well, you don’t really have to get sad. There is hope here, just take the album cover shown above for Damien Rice’s My Favourite Faded Fantasy (what a sad bastard title that is!). The poor chaps at the top have “made it,” although they have nowhere to go. I’d like … Read more
Jenny Lewis at Austin City Limits Music Festival | Photo by Jason Gonulsen We obviously love us some Jenny Lewis and Ryan Adams here at Speakers in Code, so we thought these two videos would brighten your Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Photo by Jason Gonulsen Because it’s Monday, and you need to laugh. “It’s not three, it’s four.”
Ok, so you already probably know about the new David Rawlings album, which features a countrified cover of Ryan Adams’ “To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High),” a song that Rawlings actually originally co-wrote with Adams (did I just confuse the hell out of you?). What you probably didn’t know is … Read more
There are some days when I’m pretty sure the Cowboy Junkies are my favorite band. Whether or not that’s true — it depends on my mood, or if it’s raining outside (they ARE my favorite Canadian band) — I do know that I would gladly drive hundreds of miles to see one of their shows. … Read more
Ryan Adams has received his share of praise over the last fifteen years or so. Heck, two years ago, Katie and I even titled our singer-songwriter column after Whiskeytown’s Strangers Almanac album; we often talk about our love of Adams on our Facebook page, which is inching closer to 5,000 fans day by day. It’s … Read more
Alt-country is the one genre of music that I understand completely. It’s strangely familiar after growing up in the south, but when executed properly, it takes me to new places that challenge the definition of the category. True to form, I connected instantly with Athens-based alt-country newbies, Futurebirds the first time I queued up the … Read more
Hey there guys and gals, I’ll keep this short (say, three sentences?) since the Kings from TN decided to leave their fans out in the blazing heat after three songs last night in St. Louis after a pigeon (a pigeon!!) dumped on the KoL bassist. Remember when Ryan Adams fell off the stage in Liverpool … Read more
Union Tree Review is Saint Louis’ answer to genius indie folk. Today’s Pajammy Jam of the Day, “Let Me Be,” instills a sense of longing in me that can’t be undone. It’s an chugging, acoustic train, reminiscent of Ryan Adams: brilliant lyricism, piano in all the right places, plenty o’ references to booze and regret. The track … Read more
Denver band, Achille Lauro, just got back from touring and sent me this MP3 out of the goodness of their talented hearts. It’s a track called “No Brakes” from the latest album, Indiscretions. The band’s dubbed the song as “a pop track, for sure.” The song opens like a southern gothic dirge, much like the … Read more
Ok, I’m tired of bumming you out with my JOTDs/PJOTDs (seriously, enough sad bastard music for a week, right?). So, today, I give you an awesome summer song from a lovely British singer-songwriter, Leona Naess, from her 2009 album, Thirteens. You might know Naess from when she opened a few shows for Ryan Adams/Ray LaMontagne … Read more
Ryan Adams is all set to release his “first fully-realized sci-fi metal concept album” according to an email newsletter. It’s called ORION and was recorded in 2006 according to the official blurb below: “Recorded in 2006, ORION is Ryan Adams’ first fully-realized sci-fi metel concept album. No copies will be sold on compact disc – … Read more
There was a time when The Cardinals ruled the earth (well, at least my earth). They played the best mid-sized venues, they chatted with their fans, some of them probably drank too much. They also played killer jams, and today’s JOTD shows evidence of that. But first, let me tell my story. In October of … Read more
The first time I heard The Deep Vibration on my local, independent radio station, KDHX, I caught the song “Tennessee Rose” about halfway through. If I wasn’t completely obsessed with all things Ryan Adams, I would have bet a million, trillion dollars that it was a hidden track I’d previously missed off of Heartbreaker. Harmonica? … Read more
Katie and I, with the help of Glide Magazine, created Strangers Almanac, a column devoted to singer-songwriters, two years ago, and we’ve had a lot of fun writing about some of our favorite singer-songwriters like Tift Merritt, Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Jenny Lewis, Regina Spektor, and Jeff Tweedy. It’s pretty crazy that we’re already on … Read more
Two years ago today, Jason wrote his first column for Strangers Almanac (Glide Magazine) on the one, the only Steve Earle. Since then, he and I have truly had a blast writing every month about our favorite singer-songwriters (along with our personal connections to the music) and sharing news, lyrics, and in general, a whole … Read more
While we’re all waiting to see if Mr. Adams is going to unveil any new material in 2010, I recently remembered this unreleased live cut. I don’t believe it has a title, and I’m pretty sure this is the only time he’s ever played it, so if you haven’t heard it yet, well, Happy Monday … Read more
Since he last left us, Ryan Adams has quit the music industry, gotten married, started a record label, become a sheriff, become a musician again, and put out a heavy metal record. Now, he’s moved on to archiving some old shiz and letting us hear it. But whether it’s material that is new or just … Read more
With its frank and personal folk- and country-influenced personality, our Jam of the Day, “Summer Fruit,” has a bare, emotional style that’s far from the innocent optimism and lighthearted psychedelia of Great Lakes‘ first two records. And the band’s new LP, Ways of Escape, is equally adorned with gentle guitar, stately piano, beautiful pedal steel, … Read more
ALL PHOTOS BY JASON GONULSEN Five moments. That’s misleading, of course. Forecastle is filled with them, and the fans are the life blood that power the show that always must go on. This is a music festival that doesn’t feel VIP-ish. I’ve never felt more comfortable eating a corn dog and tater tots with a … Read more