Easy Tiger

On Tuesday, I was one of those people who rush out to buy albums.  This week it was Ryan Adams’ new album Easy Tiger. Much of what I’ve read says that Ryan has turned his life around, gone sober, fixed everything. It’s great for him personally but I quickly noticed that there is a darkness missing from his music that drew you in and kept you there. Over the past few years it seems that everyone has wondered where the seemingly lost, wonderful Ryan Adams had gone. Where was the musician with all the potential? I would be one to argue that he was there in front of us all along. His works on Love is Hell (Pt. 1 & 2), Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights, and 29 far surpassed anything from his earlier works.  They were among some of the best music released in the past few years.

Many of these csame ritics feel that Ryan Adams has reached the golden age of the past with his new work on Easy Tiger.  I find the album listenable but overall a little too easy.  Let me start by saying I like the album but find it to be one of his more average works.  I understand that Lost Highway is making a big push, that Ryan has cleaned himself up and that respectable society is welcoming him back, that the public relations machine has been working in overdrive, and that the critics are maligning all his old work so that the new work can be accepted but I feel like this record (yes I still call them records) doesn’t challenge the listener or the artist. 

So how is it too easy?  I find it a little over produced, a little too safe, a little too slick and smooth (it doesn’t make me stop what I’m doing to listen to it).  It’s not rock, it’s not country (or even alt-country)… it’s pop.  Sometimes too pop.  The first half of the album feels very flat to me, like all the emotion has been drained out.  From the pre-release reviews I expected something more.  Something like the perfection of Cold Roses crossed with Jacksonville City Nights.  Instead I feel like I got an album that could be titled Plastic Roses.

My goal here isn’t to crap all over this album though.  I still think Ryan Adams is better than 99.5% of everything else out there.  I’m just doing what everyone else, every other bullshit reviewer does… compare him to himself.  Honestly, I think in 20 years we’re going to be looking back on a catalog of music that could be called Dylanesque (my apologies to Bryan Ferry).  The problem is that music reviewers seem to want EVERY album to be a masterpiece now.  Every album must show an artist’s full potential.  On top of that, the world is turned on it’s head.  Good artists are criticized for not being either totally pop-friendly or avant-garde, while shitty acts (90% of what is on the radio) are held up as the paragons of virtue. 

So getting back to Ryan Adams and the album at hand.  I think there are some strong and some weak songs on the album.  Some that stand out and sing and some that are a little over produced and hide Ryan’s talent…

The Good

While in need of some of their rough edges back, I do think there are a few really good songs on this album.  Those include Tears of Gold, Pearls on a String, Two Hearts, and These Girls.  These, for me, are almost equal to the songs on Cold Roses and Jacksonville City Nights.  They have that feel, that soul. 

The Filler

Goodnight Rose:   To be honest, while it’s a good song this song DOES sound like one from Cold Roses that should have been left on the cutting room floor.  It’s not memorable and kind of bops along. 

Two:  While a beautiful song, it’s the most over produced pop, radio-friendly of the entire album.  I would have prefered it if the theme was “it takes two but now there’s only one.”

Oh My God, Whatever, Etc., I Taught Myself How to Grow Old:  These songs just seem to blend together.  They don’t stand out in my brain even though I’ve been listening to the album for a while now.

Undetermined

There are a few songs I don’t know what to do with.  These include On Broadway which was called the dud by a few reviewers.  If anything it captures the most emotion on the album.

Everybody Knows and Halloweenhead are the two I still can’t figure out.  Are they good, are they lazy?  Do they need another take?   

To end my long winded rant, Ryan Adams gives up the soul and pain for production value and an editor in this album.  Personally I think it’s a bad trade as this record isn’t as strong as his last three.

McSweeney’s Needs Help

I think that Shannon says it best on her book site. Go Here!

Counterpoint: Generation Y in the Workplace

Yahoo! published an article on their front page discussing the myths and realities of employing Generation Y. The problem is that the response from their so-called experts is largely wrong. Here is my counterpoint from personal experience:

Myth 1, They’re Disloyal – They are disloyal but it’s not their fault. They’ve entered a workforce and market that has torn down all the institutions that used to keep employees loyal to their employers. They’ve grown up in the era of free agency and act accordingly because companies don’t offer the security and long-term benefits that used to be there. My issue is that they’re not always clear on what is fair compensation. They have hyper expectations that are more appropriate for someone with 10 or more years experience. Most (and I will not say all) expect the world now after six months of showing their abilities.

Myth 2, They Don’t Pay Their Dues – I agree with this point completely. They grow easily frustrated when they’re not in control, when they’re not afforded the ability to lead. They want to run to the front and take over without the tools or the abilities to do so. They get frustrated when they’re held back for appropriate reasons. Again, they appear to be a generation that wants it all now without having to work for years to get it. Success doesn’t come over night…

Myth 3, They Need Constant Praise – This is, without a doubt, true. They want to hear praise when they show up on time, when they perform tasks up to par, when they start a job, when they finish a job. They want praise constantly. The amount of praise they require negates the value of praise. A lack of praise is a scolding in their eyes.

Like past generations they’re smart, energetic, and bring value to organizations. The problem is that baby boomers are trying to recreate the system to appeal to Generation Y. Why not make them adapt the way the rest of us had to. Swallow that ego and work a little. It will give you better perspective and context for decisions in one, three, five, ten years and make you that much more equipped to be the leaders you’re chomping at the bit to be now.

‘Nuff Said

Chuck Norris

Come On!

So a woman somewhere in East Bumfuck was offended by a quote on a cup of Starbucks Coffee. All I can say is, Come on! It’s not like it said, “everyone who believes in religion is stupid.” Some people have faith, others don’t. Why are people offended by everything and then overly offended that they might be presented with ideas different than their own? Shouldn’t a quote like that actually strengthen someone’s faith?

If someone disagrees with your view of the world, the answer is not to call for their silence. The answer is to ignore it or counter what they say with a better argument.

Who Will Think of the Children

Two stories that show how screwed up the baby boomers are when it comes to protecting the youth of America. I guess they don’t want any kids to have fond childhood recollections.

The first is a school district that decided to stage a gunman on the loose. Great use of common sense and judgement! I have to congratulate the administrators and teachers on their good thinking here.

The second is the whole mess about sex predators. A few Attorneys General are going after MySpace in an attempt to round up those pesky child molesters. These law enforcement agencies want social networking sites to turn over user recordsin an attempt to capture said child molesters. In my mind this is a horrible violation of privacy. It seems to me that the answer here is twofold: 1) parents need to monitor what their kids are doing on the Internet. If Little Billy is talking to a creepy old man and wants to meet him, shouldn’t the parents know and stop it?? 2) Law enforcement should be tracking these individuals and monitoring their internet usage through means that are constitutional. MySpace shouldn’t be held responsible here for tracking these sickos and catching them. What next? Should banks be responsible for catching bank robbers? If the issue is that important, make sure that sufficient funding is directed toward the problem and let law enforcement handle it. Private industry should, as good corporate citizens, step in when they see something wrong going on, but they should not be the only line of defense in this process. Baby Boomers need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that they cannot legislate everything away or violate privacy rights to catch a few bad eggs.

Don’t People Have Jobs?!?

So I was looking on You Tube for a video by this comedian and because it was a copyrighted piece belonging to Viacom, I was redirected to the main page where they show all the top viewed videos of the day. THIS VIDEO was one of the top ranked today. All I can say is what the fuck is wrong with people? This is possibly the worst piece of self-serving boring garbage I have ever seen.

Her channel has had nearly 500,000 views. Don’t people have jobs? How can they sit around all day and look at stuff like this on the Internet? I spent about 45 seconds viewing this video and I want that time back. I could have looked at something better, maybe pictures of brick walls.

I think the only thing dumber is MySpace. While the Internet has a lot of good stuff, I fear that the crap is going to erode our collective ability to think and enjoy culture. Go read a book.