Ryan Adams: The Suicide Handbook....

start at the beginning of the Ryan Adams Spotlight....

The next catch-up installment of the Ryan Adams Spotlight (as i posted my Gold Edition much too soon and skipped the many unreleased pearls) comes in a mostly acoustic, double-disc set of stunning ballads. Recorded in January of 2001 in Nashville, The Suicide Handbook is sprinkled with songs that will make subsequent albums, but the genius of these versions comes in the subtle nuances he uses to differentiate them between the album cuts. Off Broadway makes an early appearance here (officially released later on Easy Tiger) in a stripped-down, gorgeous version with slightly altered phrasing in the chorus. In my opinion, the Suicide version is far superior. Much of Gold was first showcased on this session, as well as a few from Demolition. This version of Firecracker features a re-arranged first verse, and the cut of Answering Bell is gloriously groovy. The set is capped off with Dear Chicago - in which Ryan callously mentions that he's "been thinkin' some of suicide."

As the title might imply, this is Ryan at his sadbastardest (i like to make up words). The material toes the line between whiny and sheer beauty – most fall quite easily on the side of the latter. Another blatant demonstration of his prolificacy, The Suicide Handbook consists largely of songs that were ultimately scrapped. The songs that appear on this set only are lyrical and melodic wonders. Check out some of my favorites while you download the whole thing:

Disc 1
1 Wild Flowers
2 Perfect And True
3 Tell It To My Heart
4 She Wants To Play Hearts
5 Pretenders
6 Famous Eyes
7 Touch Feel And Lose
8 Firecracker
9 La Cienega Just Smiled
10 For No One

Disc 2
1 You Don't Know Me
2 Bow To The Sad Lady (Mara Lisa)
3 Off Broadway
4 Cracks In A Photograph
5 I'm Waiting
6 Cry On Demand
7 Miss Sunflower
8 Just Saying Hi (Answering Bell)
9 My California Love
10 Idiots Rule The World
11 Dear Chicago

zippity-do-da

Check out the rest of my Ryan Adams Spotlight:
1. Took Me Long Enough: Whiskeytown
2. Heartbreaker
3. Gold
4. Exile on Franklin Street
5. The Destroyer Sessions
6. Whiskeytown: The Missing Bridge
7. The Pinkheart sessions (1)
show all

"It's Strange How Hard It Rains Now"

After enduring near drought conditions here in central Texas for a couple months, the skies have finally opened up.

And they let it all go.

Neither Dolly nor Edouard earlier this year had enough left by the time they reached me. But a simple northern front showed up just in time to stifle the heat and quench the earth. The last 2 days of constant rainfall have not only held the dust down, but instantly turned the brown fields to green and lifted burn bans.

Rain, as well as many of mother nature's offerings, have been the subject of (or influence for) a plethora of songs. Dark clouds, thunder, lightning, and being forced to remain indoors can bring out the sadness in some and helps to create those somber songs.


Patty Griffin - Rain
buy 1000 Kisses (2005)
Willie Nelson - Rainy Day Blues
buy Songbird (2006)
Ryan Adams - Rainy Days
from The Destroyer Sessions (2000)
Walt Wilkins - 18 Days of Rain
buy Hopewell (2007)

Often used as a metaphor for the cleansing of the soul, rain songs can also be uplifting, despite the gloominess the rain might bring. You can find some hope in a storm if you look forward to the fresh skies that will follow.

The Jayhawks - Save it for a Rainy Day
buy Rainy Day Music (2003)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
buy Pendulum (1970)
James McMurtry - Walk Between the Raindrops
buy Walk Between the Raindrops (1998)
Jerry Jeff Walker - Hill Country Rain
buy Hill Country Rain (1992)

i've got an even better of mix of storm songs that i created as a mixtape when a hurricane was on its way here a few years ago. The next time one rolls through i'll try to post it.

New Digs: Samantha Crain & The Midnight Shivers....

Focusing on one artist today for New Digs.

This one deserves a full post.

Samantha Crain is the newest addition to the stellar lineup that Ramseur Records is amassing. Ramseur reached even farther West this time - all the way to rustic Shawnee, OK. Samantha is just 21, but writes and sings with the conviction of an old-soul. Maybe it's the Choctaw heritage or maybe it's that long line of Oklahoma folkies that precede her, but Samantha's tales of sorrow, tinged with lighthearted spunk, feel as dust-worn as any Woody Guthrie or Bob Childers song.

Along with her band, The Midnight Shivers, Samantha self-produced and self-released The Confiscation EP. Ramseur stumbled upon the burgeoning folk band and decided to re-release the EP on July 22nd of this year. Buy it.

i found Samantha and her music on Hear Ya Indie Music Blog. Much like Daytrotter, they feature exclusive live-in-studio tracks from indie artists. The sound is great and, especially in the case of The Midnight Shivers, the cuts seem as polished as album tracks. Check out Samantha's session.

Traipsin' Through The Aisles (HearYa Live Session)
From Where Come You Division? (HearYa Live Session)

In Smithereens, the Search for Affinity (Confiscation EP)
Beloved, We Have Expired (Confiscation EP)

great titles, huh?
check out Introducing Samantha Crain (YouTube)

And then another hehe-hehehe.......

A movie can instantly become a hit, sometimes a cult favorite, simply because of it's soundtrack. Often one song, well placed and well chosen, can help you connect to the movie in a way that wouldn't have been possible without the musical selection. i've found that, even if you notice only one perfect soundtrack choice, chances are - the rest of it will be good.

There are the obvious favorites - Dazed & Confused, Blow, Almost Famous, and most of what Scorsese does - set in the time of real Rock N Roll, that use songs from the era portrayed. The Coen Brothers have always kept their soundtracks interesting (often integral to the movie itself). Judd Apatow, aside from completely redefining comedy, has consistently bolstered his films with great music. His newest, Pineapple Express, is permanently connected to this tune:

M.I.A. - Paper Planes
Although Hip-Hop is not my cup of tea, you gotta admit this song is fun.

Lately, indie films are not only supplying exposure for independent writers, directors, and hip actors, but their soundtracks are essentially an indie music sampler. Zach Braff did this with Garden State - but that soundtrack (and film) deserve it's own post. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Michael Cera's new one - sports a soundtrack filled by Devendra Banhart, Modest Mouse, and Band of Horses, among others.
check the trailer.....

i started rootin' around looking for soundtrack stuff and found this. It's got all kinds of movie theme songs as well as a few memorable soundtrack picks. In the post, she mentions how she'd like to get a gig making soundtracks for movies. For a while now, that has been my Dream Job - to score movies. Not like Danny Elfman style, but carefully choosing GOOD songs that fit the movie, splicing them, and working with the editor for seamless timing. i guess it would be a Music Supervisor credit for the film. i'd probably have to go to film school for that - i'm done with school. So if any of you out there have a screenplay sittin' around - hit me up....

she posted this one: Axel F
and immediately, i thought of this:

But back to the Coen Brothers......
In only about an hour of looking for great soundtrack selections, i came across half-a-dozen Big Lebowski specific soundtrack posts. A landmark cult-film with an excellent soundtrack:

Bob Dylan - The Man In Me
Kenny Rogers and the First Addition - Just Dropped In
Gipsy Kings - Hotel California

"...and pull the trigger 'til it goes click"

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By the way, stroll on over to Rollo & Grady for not only good soundtrack tunes, but clips of some classic movie lines.....

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Hopefully, this will turn into a recurring feature post on superb soundtracks. Hold down your excitement, please. For now, just see it as an introduction to a new venture here at This Mornin'.... a change of pace that is much-needed to spur a continuous flow of ideas that has recently run dry.

Evolution of a Song: These Girls....

Been slow to post once again. i shouldn't feel bad – i mean, this IS the one thing in my life that has absolutely no deadlines, no consequences, and no requirements – but with each day that i don’t post, i can statistically see my hits-per-day declining. And somewhere inside me, i feel it. Truth is, i have sat down at the computer a couple times this week intent on posting, but felt absolutely uninspired. Sure, I have a few ideas, but if i start to force a post, the apathy shows – if only to me.

There’s one solution:

Mr. Adams.....

Admittedly, this blog is becoming a Ryan Adams fan page with the occasional sidetrack – but with good reason:
The guy’s got enough material to warrant it. i have just short of 600 tracks from Ryan, some of which, i have heard maybe once.

If any other band/artist considered a This Mornin’…. favorite were to supply me with comparable aural goodness, they may see equal attention – but none do.

With the quantity of tunes this guy spits out, some are sure to be completely scrapped soon after their birth – if they’re lucky, they’ll get played live once or twice.
But some of Ryan’s songs are so good, they simply won’t go away. My Heart is Broken was penned at the advice of Caitlin Cary (who wanted Ryan to write the saddest fuckin’ song he could think of – mission accomplished) back in the Whiskeytown days. It showed up on a 7” vinyl along with Theme for a Trucker, Houses on the Hill, and The Strip (Dancing With the Women at the Bar) – which i have. That bare, somber version of the tune lay dormant for 6 years until Ryan and The Cardinals resurrected it for JCN – giving it the full-on steel-guitar, string-section, honky-tonk work up.

Another Adams tune that saw an even longer shelving before getting a complete overhaul is what this particular post is all about.

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Hey There, Mrs. Lovely/These Girls

1999: Hey There, Mrs. Lovely
Live at the Exit/In – Nashville, TN - 10/28/1999
“This is a new song that I wrote that I absolutely fucking hate.”
He mustn’t have hated it too much, because the song got quite a bit of live play from ’99-’00 and was included in The Destroyer Sessions.

2000: Hey There, Mrs. Lovely
Live at Stubb’s – Austin, TX – 3/16/2000 – Kim Richey on harmony vocals.

2000: Hey There, Mrs. Lovely
The Destroyer Sessions – Fall 2000

“Well girl sometimes I feel just like a boy
Put here on this earth for you to toy around with
I'm the plastic three inch armies you destroyed
I'm the monster underneath your bed
You ain't afraid of yet

But you let me in
And I feel alright
Yeah I feel alright

Hey there, Mrs. Lovely are you coming out to play?
I've been stranded on your doorstep every night and day
And I want you so bad
But when you cry I get scared
Wanna dry your eyes with cinnamon and pears

You used to only want your two front teeth
Yeah Christmas time came and went
And you ended up with me
And we started playing twister with our tongues
We probably should have scrapped the game
And gave ourselves some hugs

And I toy with you
And you toy with me
Won't you stop this please?

Hey there, Mrs. Lovely are you coming out to play?
I've been stranded on your doorstep every night and day
And I want you so bad
And when you cry I get scared
I wanna dry your eyes with cinnamon pears

And pears
And pills
And pills”

Hey There, Mrs. Lovely could possibly have fit somewhere on Heartbreaker, but had no place on any of Ryan’s next 3 albums. Although it is a song of love-lost, it’s not quite sad-bastard enough to have been included on Love Is Hell. Ryan’s next 3 album batch in 2005 didn’t have a spot for the song either.

2006 saw Ryan doing some solo touring once again, possibly to prepare material for Easy Tiger. At a couple shows in the UK, he pulls out the old number:

2006: Hey There, Mrs. Lovely

Live at the Sage Center – Gateshead, UK – 2/14/2006

But somewhere before the recording of Easy Tiger took place, Ryan gave the song a new spin.

A small line change in the first verse, 3rd line:

“Like matchbox cars you buy and burn in your backyard”

The extra 7 years the song had to marinate changed Ryan’s perspective. A song about one girl in particular morphed into a tune about every girl and every failed relationship Ryan had been through. The new (pluralized) chorus:

“God bless all the late night girls and they're coming out to play

I've been stranded in their doorstep for every night and day

I only want them more, how sad

But when they smile, how can anybody feel bad

It makes me tired and I wanna go to bed”

The 2nd verse turned to a deeply introspective stanza. Where he originally laid the blame on the two of them, Ryan now admits his own faults (and drops a bombshell of a line):
“I used to pickup shells cast off the reef
One Christmas I got a funeral and they handed me the receipt
How many lies I'd tell without my tongue
Get twisted into memories till I believe 'em some”

He cleverly keeps key words like Christmas and twisted in the mix as an homage to the original lyrics...

2007: These Girls

Get your own Easy Tiger....

Just to keep things interesting, Ryan and gang recorded all of Easy Tiger in alternate versions live-in-studio style. You can find them floating around somewhere, and i will post the whole set when i get caught up to the present in my Ryan Adams Spotlight.

These Girls receives the most outlandish alternate style in the set. It's turned into a grungy, scream-o style rocker. The lyrics are a mash-up of both versions mentioned above.

2007: These Girls
The Alternate Easy Tiger

alternate'd out...

Daytrottin'......

i'd stare too.

Head on over to the Daytrotter website and pick up the songs from The Everybodyfields' session. One from Nothing Is Okay and three new ones. Good stuff.

In other linked news, i've been made a 'regular' over at SMM, so go check some of my posts out - i plan on getting one or two up later tonight.

ps - my posts are unintentionally becoming longer and much more writing intensive, so i'm gonna attempt to put more simple ones like this up in the next few weeks.

New Digs.....

Listen.

Steeldrivers - If It Hadn't Been For Love

The Steeldrivers are good. Five musicians who have all seen too many Nashville sidewalks, they play 'original' bluegrass music. Much more disciplined than OCMS for sure, still they have enough moments that surprise you. Female fiddlers are also good.

The Steeldrivers - Blue Side of the Mountain

their self titled debut

their website

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The Avett Brothers - The Greatest Sum

buy The Second Gleam (2008) - with options

The stand out from the brothers' second installment of an EP series that highlights their toned down, contemplative songs.

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Allison Francis - Massapequa

Allison commented here a couple times, and then i found out she also plays music. It's sparse, but somehow joyful folk music.... think female hipster-dylan circa '61 (complete with mouth harp).

She also writes a music blog.

Get this song, then go here and get the rest.

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Bon Iver - Skinny Love

buy For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) - on CD or Vinyl

i can't tell you how many times i've played this song in the last week or so.... but my iTunes can. 59.

Panning for Gold.....

FeS2

It's the little pleasures in life that keep me trudging along. Lately those things have been finding new places (and ways) to take pictures, receiving paychecks, acquiring internet access, and finding new and interesting music blogs. Today (while i was supposed to be working) i fell onto 2 0r 3 new well-influenced blogs out there in the vast expanses of the www. Of course, posting about Ryan Adams will always catch my attention - but his fan base is just as varied as his sound. On some pages, mentions of Ryan are the only areas in which they step into my preferred music realm.

Rollo & Grady is one of the new blogs i came across today while perusing The Hype. Based in LA, their musical contributions understandably span many-a-genre (rooted in soul/funk), but they maintain enough Ryan Adams, Stones, and other rock n roll/americana mentions to keep my attention. Earlier this month, they posted an eclectic mixtape that included songs from Band of Horses, Felice Bros, Avett Bros, Cat Power, all the way to Kanye, Bob Marley, Widespread, and Nirvana. Somewhere on Side A, a song caught my attention......

Ryan Adams - Fool's Gold

This is one of the greatest unreleased songs from Mr. Adams that exists. More importantly, it has also been one of the most elusive. For the last year or so, i have been in possession of a corrupted file of the track that ends at 2:49 - just after the first chorus. Thanks to Rollo & Grady, i now have the whole thing, and can cross one more tune off my coveted-song wishlist.

According to Answering Bell dot com, the song was part of a collection of Gold B-sides of the same name. This track, however, is the only one that has remained unreleased in any other form. The others were all part of either Gold's Side 4, or as b-sides included with singles from the album. The song fits well with the other material from Ryan's sophomore album, citing that curious Mara Lisa who boasts a song of her own on the collection. Fool's Gold, much like Tina Toledo and Rosalie, reveals Ryan's heavy Stones (specifically Keith Richards) influence.

Check out all of my Ryan Adams Spotlight

"Today on the Countryside it was A-Hotter than a Crotch..."

Stood at my, uh........... front gate today.

Just thought i'd brag a little on my new homestead. If it weren't somewhere near 117 degrees out here, i'd spend a little more quality time outdoors.

So until it gets cooler, i'll resort to short photographic expeditions returning to the AC only to make useless posts about them....

Mike McClure Band - Out in the Fields

buy Everything Upside Down (2004)

Bright Eyes - Landlocked Blues

buy I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2004)
Cross Canadian Ragweed - Nowhere, TX

buy Live & Loud at the Wormy Dog (2001)

Matt Powell - A Place Where I Can Breathe

buy Dragonfly (2001)

The Vinyl Word........

Somewhere between my last trip to the record store and while researching for my last Album Release Forecast, i've realized something that really makes my needle hard...

No, no..... the one on my record player.

Vinyl Is Making A Comeback!

You may have noticed from the heading pictures on many of my posts that i have a slight affinity for the Vinyl Record. That place of being for the first true 'albums.' The ones with a Side A & Side B. Those nostalgic relics you pulled down from your parents' attic when you first realized the beauty of music. Y'know......... LP's.

Lost Highway, Sub Pop, and even EMI are few of the labels that i've noticed offering the CD/Vinyl choice. Browsing Amazon's upcoming releases recently, i found that most of the albums on the list are re-issues of older albums in the analog format. Waterloo Records in Austin, as i'm sure is true with many stores around the nation, now have larger sections of new vinyls than that of the used, original pressings. Best Buy and other major retailers are tossing around the idea of adding Vinyl records (in a limited, carefully chosen selection, mind you) to their music departments.

Vinyl records enhance every aspect of the experience one has with their music. The artwork becomes not just an album cover, but a true work of art to be to be carefully studied as the sounds are magically transferred from a small needle through to giant speakers. Playing a vinyl record requires much more work than, say... a click of a mouse does - meticulous removal of the album from its sleeve followed by the steady-handed placing of the needle along the outermost groove. And then you're required to repeat this procedure halfway through the listening process. All this extra effort allows for a ceremonious display of respect for the artists' work, and a higher appreciation for the fidelity of the music.

Perhaps just as exciting as finding that perfect, although slightly worn, copy of Blonde On Blonde, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, or Our Mother The Mountain in the used section of the store is carefully removing the plastic on the 12x12 cardboard encasing your newest favorite album deemed worthy of a vinyl immortality. Maybe there will be a fold out poster. Maybe extra liner notes. Ultimately there's the holy grail of bonuses - the vinyl-only bonus track...

And then there's that sound.....
No matter how our digital technology grows, the simple fact is that the quantity and quality of sounds present on an LP can never truly be transferred to CD or mp3. The desire for increased volume on CD's only lessens the dynamic quality of the sound captured. It puts a fuzzy, warm feeling inside you to hear that fuzzy, warm sound that comes from an LP. Records capture every sound that went into the microphones and play them back without losing any of the grandeur. This sound can transport you (often back in time) into that fabled studio the musicians holed up in for days at a time and created their art. Hell, i even enjoy the pops and static you often come across - it's genuine.

Of course, saying that vinyl is the next big thing again is just as relative as saying that the artists i talk about here are popular. Sure, they've remained preferred in small circles (DJ's and fellow Audiophiles), but the popularity will never again compete with that of the quickly accessed, readily available, and easily pirated mp3. But there is some hope in the numbers.... Vinyl revenues were up 46.2% from the last year in 2007, while CD sales dropped 20.5% - following a 10.9% drop between '05-'06. LP sales don't even make a dent in the overall layout of sales in the music industry - CD's still reign, for now - but the numbers that are reported don't include small indie record shops, or the sale of used albums in stores and on eBay. (sales figures are from RIAA via Wired.com)

And let's be honest - you wouldn't be here, nor would this blog, if it weren't for the mp3. It has dramatically changed the way we listen, collect, and share our music. But many of these hip labels releasing the vinyls fully understand that. To compensate, many offer supply a code with the purchase of the record that allows the customer to go online and download mp3's of the tracks for portable use.

So, what's in store for the CD? i believe the only thing keeping the Compact Disc hanging on is the need for music in the vehicle. Satellite radio and the FM transmitters for iPods have tried to phase out the Auto CD player, but still haven't matched it. XM and Sirius are revolutionary, but you still aren't able to pick a certain track or skip through to songs of your choice. And although many new vehicles are offering direct iPod docking stations, too many still only have the option of the FM transmitter - which simply does not produce the same sound as an mp3 file. Moreover, unless you're on a long trip with little radio interference along the way, it's just too much trouble to find an empty station to transmit your tunes through. Once the majority of car radios have auxiliary plugs on the face, or even USB ports, the CD will finally have seen it's days.

The same was most likely said about the vinyl upon the introduction of the CD, but as we've seen, that big black disc has not only hung on, but thrived. There's a nostalgia, a deeper connection to the music you get with a vinyl record that never existed with the CD and exists far less with the mp3. Long Live Vinyl.

If there is one ray of hope for the compact disc, this has to be it - Optical Media Productions is testing the idea of a Vinyl/CD hybrid. Old school on the top, digital on the bottom. The vinyl side will only fit about 31/2 minutes of music - a perfect place for a bonus track. Read the story....


Here's a couple of tunes picked especially for this occasion:
Ryan Adams - If I Am A Stranger (vinyl rip)
Todd Snider - Vinyl Records

And these just scream vinyl to me:
Bill Withers - Use Me
Bob Dylan - Talkin' World War III Blues
John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen'
Ray Charles - What'd I Say

Check out Amazon's Vinyl catalog.