Lodestar

i'm reading this right now... read The Road and loved it, but it's so bleak and depressing! that was my first McCarthy book and am now getting into the rest of his catalog...

 

I read the first 100 pages of Blood Meridian a couple months ago, but had to put it down. Just nothing at all about it moved me -- I couldn't see the characters, didn't care about them at all. And I got the same sense from the narrator, which compounded everything and made it worse. Sorry, Cormac. I'll probably try again in the future, since there are obviously people who consider the book sacred.

I'm on the last story of a Richard Ford collection called A Multitude of Sins. If he's not the best living American writer, I need to read whoever is, because I'm just plowing through Ford's canon right now.

 

the only true song i dont care for is from Demolition, Jesus Dont Touch My Baby, sorry....

Terrible, terrible song, I agree. Also, "Enemy Fire" and "Cry On Demand".

And he takes chances (which some people call needing an editor). I have never, however, listened to a Ryan Adams album and thought "man I wished he would have waited 2 years till he had a batch of perfect songs".

In particular, I remember 2005 when he released those three albums and people said similar things about combining them to make one "super album," but there wasn't really one song on any of the three that I'd feel comfortable swapping onto another record... maybe "Carolina Rain" could fit on Jacksonville City Nights, but even then... Cold Roses, to me, is just such a unified collection. There are songs I'm not as fond of ("Beautiful Sorta", "Rosebud") but they belong on that record in a way that's a bit indescribable.

I think Heartbreaker also had an astehtic of indie/DIY credibility that was never really Ryan as much as it was likely the situation at the time.

Good point. I'd never really considered that, but it's become clear (especially lately) that he admires a lot of really high-profile, even modern rock acts. I've even considered that he wrote/recorded Cardinology with the express purpose of playing it in arenas (which he did get to do, touring with Oasis).

 

 

I think LIH is his masterpiece and I think the critical response at the time is purely based on writer's views of Ryan as an individual and not the music within.

 

Well, I think it was partly based on musical expectations as well. I mean, as much as I adore Heartbreaker -- and I'd consider it among the 2 or 3 albums that have shaped me the most -- it really handicapped Ryan in ways I don't think he's ever been able to recover from.

They better be careful not to spend to the cap, you want to have some room for injury call ups and what not!

Not to mention Kessel.

There isn't really any song I dig on Cardinology ("Stop" is the closest, though even it's a bit melodramatic), but "Goodnight Rose" and "I Taught Myself..." alone make Easy Tiger worth it for me. Both do more for me than any single song off of Wilco's last two records.

I'm also a huge fan of Love is Hell. It seems better and better every year for some reason.

If he learned to edit, he'd be brilliant. As it is, Cardinology is about half great songs and half throwaways. It would've been a great EP.

I always find it weird when people refer to this as "editing" (seems to be a real theme with Adams). Probably because in writing and filmmaking, "editing" both mean completely different things.

This is where I would normally say "what the hell is wrong with Ottawa? Or Montreal?" But that seems redundant.

Unrelated, but your sig contains some of my fave lines from any song, ever.

Back on topic: Wahhh, what about Vancouver, waaaahhh

Pacific Northwest, pretty please.

I was listening to "Dancing with the Girls at the Bar" the other day and just missing whatever Ryan Adams wrote that song.

Ah, that's one of my favourite songs of all time. He was so young when he wrote it, but it's just so exact.

I've found some pretty good vids of the fest on YouTube, and this was probably the highlight of the whole day for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLGa18pmzCM&feature=related

What a song. What a performance. If I was a woman, I would gladly carry Dave Rawlings' child.

I've been on a mad Gillian Welch kick since No Depression Festival last weekened, and today I downloaded a 1999 show where she joined Ryan for five songs (including "Revelator" and a couple Whiskeytown songs)... I'll listen tomorrow at work and share my thoughts maybe.

Great pics SeattleC, thanks for posting. Wish I was back there now...

Well, I don't think this is really what the band/label had in mind...

What a great festival this turned out to be. We showed up spur of the moment in time for the second band (the all star review). Anyone else there? I'll write a bit more and post a few pics later on today.

 

Gillian and David's encore cover of Jackson was a highlight.

What a day, indeed. Just a brilliantly-organized festival top to bottom, from the lineup to the venue to staff and security (and the beer selection!)... and what a gorgeous day weather-wise. I went in not knowing a whole lot about the "undercard" acts, but enjoyed every last one of them, especially Jessica Lea Mayfield and Justin Townes Earle. I was also expecting to see a full band set from Iron and Wine (which is what we got last time I saw him, at Sasquatch! 2006), but it was just Sam Beam, and he did not disappoint.

Of course, above everything, I can't say enough about Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. I was 10-12 feet from the stage during their set, and I was completely transfixed the entire time. What a pair, what brilliant chemistry and musicality... Rawlings' guitar work blew my brains into a million pieces. One of the best shows I've ever seen.

 

2) Joe Sakic is set to retire on Thursday. The greatest BC born player of all time. A true legend.

Love Joe, but Steve Yzerman gets my vote here.

As for the tampering claim, I'm sure Burke will find a way to come out unscathed. Though I wouldn't mind if he tossed Kaberle our way and called it even.

Aagh! I'm leaving town ONE day before their Victoria show!

So, anyone else going to this?

I'm hoping to see her at the No Depression festival next month... Maybe I can ask!

I think it'll be tons of fun. Its always fun around here when a Detroit team gets so far. (Which is why February sucks around here). Sports radio here has a consensus of Detroit in 5. We'll see.

That Games 1 and 2 were moved to this coming weekend, combined with the fact that they're back to back, works very well in Pittsburgh's favour I think.

Detroit in 5 would surprise me personally, though I thought the Penguins had a decent shot at winning last year as well.

Yeah I don't really get all the people who are turned off by this matchup, or who keep calling it boring. For starters, you've got recent history and bitterness between these two storied franchises (and the whole Hossa thing), plus arguably four of the five best and most exciting forwards in all of hockey.

I'll be rooting for the Pens, but the Red Wings are always fun to watch as well.

First novel by Willy Vlautin, lead singer-songwriter in Richmond Fontaine. I'm almost finished and it's quite excellent.

I don't want to call conspiracy theory, but holy crap are the refs turning a blind eye to most Red Wing penalties that seem to get immediately called on the Hawks. I know the Hawks had their fair share of power plays in last night's game, but it was obvious stuff getting called, but only getting called 50% of the time on the Wings. I know the Hawks get away with some stuff too, but if the refs in the playoffs are going to make a habit of calling ONLY the obvious penalty, you have to call the obvious every damn time it happens on BOTH teams, not pick and choose when and where.

I'm a totally unbiased observer (well, actually I'm a Canucks fan), but I don't see how the NHL would gain anything from having the Red Wings win another Cup or sweep an up-and-coming team like Chicago (in a huge sports market, with scads of young star players).

I really liked Gruden on NFLN's draft coverage, so this should be a big improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a coaching gig in 2010, though.