Happy 2006. But because I'm working my way through the Ryan Adams corpus backwards, here's a 2004 music-related statement:
As much as I like Beth Orton (which is a lot), the greatest contribution she made to music may have been her having dumped Ryan Adams, whose consequent misery made for one hell of an album.
Said Kierkegaard:
"What is a poet? An unhappy man who in his heart harbors a deep anguish, but whose lips are so fashioned that the moans and cries which pass over them are transformed into ravishing music. His fate is like that of the unfortunate victims whom the tyrant Phalaris imprisoned in a brazen bull, and slowly tortured over a steady fire; their cries could not reach the tyrant's ears so as to strike terror into his heart; when they reached his ears they sounded like sweet music [because a reed was fixed to the ventilation hole]. And men crowd around the poet and say to him, 'Sing for us soon again' - which is as much as to say, 'May new sufferings torment your soul, but may your lips be fashioned as before; for the cries would only distress us, but the music, the music, is delightful'" (from Either/Or).I suppose that means I wish Ryan Adams much suffering and torment in 2006 - and some long overdue acclaim would be nice as well.
And thanks tomtastic for the Christmas present... urr... Denise's Christmas present.