Heartbreaker

Today's Somewhat Poorly Titled Music of the Day is Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker. No need to tell Adams' life story here, so let's talk about the album.

Heartbreaker appears to be a classic case of wanting to like something more than I actually do. The album itself is a recipe for success - mostly just Adams playing guitar and singing. He's notably more subdued here than on some other albums, at least those that I am familiar with. I believe his songwriting is probably his strongest suit, though his vocals and guitar aren't anything to scoff at.

Rather, my problem here is probably that his vocals and guitar are too restrained - I know the guitar is more raucous and the vocals more passioned than what I am getting here. Heartbreaker is nice, maybe too much so. This is probably what I would play for someone if I wanted them to think I was nicer than I actually am; maybe it is what I would play on a mellow evening in if Sam Beam, Chan Marshall, and maybe even Bob Dylan weren't giving me what I wanted already. I suppose I could like this album, but I mostly listen to it and wonder why I'm not listening to something Will Sheff made, as he has the decency to smack his guitar around and yell some of the time.

I suppose if you like your rock with a hint of twang, something that isn't 'country' by any means but still owes a debt to John Mellencamp, this might be for you. Maybe if John Mellencamp had been more sensitive and gone to art school, he would have made Heartbreaker some twenty years earlier. Or maybe I don't know what I am talking about. The point is that I know what I hate, and I don't hate Heartbreaker. I just don't like it enough.

In Other News:
I made some CDs for a friend, and I am thankfully giving them away today. I say 'thankfully' because one is Okkervil River, and I don't want to make myself sick of 'For Real'.

The weekend was pretty good, though not without its rough patches. For some reason I basically lost my appetite, and consequently haven't eaten much over the past few days. Today seems to be a little closer to normal, though. (I'm okay, physically and emotionally, I just don't feel like eating. The 'what' is less of a concern than the 'why', though.)

I made plans for spring break. Got my A.C. Newman ticket!

"Some nights I thirst for real blood, for real knives, for real cries. And then the flash of steel from real guns in real life really fills my mind..."