In an announcement that rocked the discount liquor industry, alt-country ne'er-do-well Ryan Adams says he has quit drinking and doing drugs. The former Whiskeytown singer describes his drug-addled youth to Rolling Stone magazine this month, saying, "My life had no other purpose ... I was doing nothing but working and getting high. I lost all my connections to everyone and everything." He credits the drugs (among his favorites were speedballs, a potent mix of heroin and cocaine) with his prolific output; in 2005 alone he released Jacksonville City Nights, 29 and Cold Roses. I wonder if he remembers making Rock N Roll?Adams also says he plans to release a 100-disc box set of music from his eight official solo releases to help people to "know the connections between those records." I recall watching Adams at a seemingly endless, three-encore show he played at the Blue Note in Columbia, Missouri; indeed, every time he returned to the stage he appeared a little more giddy and strung out, and since then his music has sounded just as limp and vacuous. I say we resist the cynical reflex to pooh-pooh Adams' apparent sobriety '' why doesn't he go one step further and just stop making music so we can all be done with it?
Ryan Adams »
hey, **** you. ryan adams is easily the best songwriter alive right now, so long as you assume bob dylan, neil young, and bruce springsteen are not the same bob dylan, neil young, and bruce springsteen of the 1960s-1970s. its so easy to rag on someone else's music, yet, i don't see you making anything more than a pissy ********* opinion column out of a simple news story. the guy gave up what was ruining his life, you should ******* applaud him, not berate him just because he's not your cup of tea, you *******.