Second Look Sunday - Week Four!

[The Curmudgeon]

You know, I could play it safe on this re-visit series, and pick only the bands and artists that Trashcanman loved the first time around. Chances are he's going to love the second song, right? But hey, we don't DO safe in the Fortress of Solitude.

And so we're going back to a singer that Trashy had indeed heard of and never really cared for, and I'm determined to get a hit with this guy. Fingers crossed.

So the singer in question? Ryan Adams. The song? This one;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHgY_J63Ik

Trashcanman's Original Response, May 10, 2010: I don't really hate New York, but it doesn't do a whole lot for me either.

Hmmm, OK. He also said that "Adams folksy stuff doesn't ring my bell", so maybe we need to move away from side of Ryan and look at another? I mean, we could have gone down the 39 second punk aural attack of his "The Finger" alter ego record..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCv-FUXCwkw

But, ahem, we won't. Nope, we're going to look at Adam's "Rock & Roll" album, which divided a LOT of people, who saw it as not only a massive change in direction but also a pastiche of other bands. Eh, I loved it and I loved his country stuff, so go figure.

Anyway, one of the best tracks on the album was, luckily enough, also a single, so I have a video for you today and everything. Talk about spoiling you. Here's "So Alive", in which Ryan Adams listens to some Smiths records and clearly enjoys them.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCv-FUXCwkw

[trashcanman]

You posted the same link for both vids. That song is a pretty sweet copypaste of 80's hardcore, but has nothing to set it apart from Black Flag or Minor Threat. Some creativity is in order. The great hardcore punk bands are the ones you won't mistake for anyone else, not the ones who just repeat what better bands have already done. Searched Youtube for "So Alive" and it ain't bad. I'd actually prefer that to his baffling attempts at grabbing punk cred. In other words, his U2 impression is superior to his Minor Threat impression.

[The Curmudgeon]

Tchoch, man I'm a dumbass at times. Well, at least you've heard both tracks. Yeah, the punk stuff is novelty at best, and I think it was made with that intention. Just him and some friends screwing around (they wear masks on the record sleeve). It might explain why I've listened to it about twice.