Tag Archives: Ryan Adams

The 11 Most Popular Record Store Day Ebay Flips 2015

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You can’t read anything about Record Store Day anymore without reading some article whose author spends pages of digital content, complaining about the vinyl holiday. “It’s killing independent stores,” “it excludes indie labels,” and it’s only for unnecessary major label titles.”  You know what would be worse than Record Store Day?  NO RECORD STORE DAY.  A world where there is nothing promoting independent records stores, causing them to fade and dissolve into music history alongside the 8-track, mini-disc, and reel-to-reel.  But today, music stores are alive and well…in part, thanks to record store day.  Record stores having to deal with throngs of audiophiles twice a year (Black Friday) is a way better scenario than dealing with foreclosure.  .

Another complaint comes from independent labels themselves who have found their material excluded by the event coordinators.  Read here about Father/Daughter’s comp, which seemed like a rather cool release.  Sure there are some releases that get excluded…and there are some titles that seem unnecessary.  But even if we’re talking about 10% of the titles or even 25% of the released titles being unnecessary…that still leaves 300 great vital releases!  Isn’t it worth some crap to get some gold?  That said, I’m not even sure how we determine which titles are unnecessary.  I read bloggers claiming the Citizen Dick release was the most unnecessary title this year…it’s an unreleased Pearl Jam song from the 1991/Ten era version of the band!  I bought it and it’s the title I’ve listened to more than any other release.  If someone wants to buy them…then doesn’t that make them necessary?  (and the Citizen Dick record just missed this list…so the 12th most popular record flip is somehow unnecessary?  Okay…)

That said…it’s hard to determine prior to the holiday which albums will sell out in seconds and which ones will linger until August.  Some of the most talked about releases including Courtney Barnett, Brian Eno, and Run The Jewels were still available at stores late on Sunday afternoon.  While others (like Brand New) had people lining up the night before.  I mean seriously, how is Brand New’s reissue of a 12-year old album that is readily available on Spotify and itunes AND coming out in wide release next month the number one Ebay flip merely because it comes in a paper bag?  Every store I visiting had people waiting 12-24 hours for this record.

For this list, I determined the ranking based on list price versus Ebay sale…and what was the greatest increase in comparison to the price.  Stereogum lists Jurassic 5’s $100 Ebay sale as a big flip…but the list price was $90 to begin with.  That’s only a $10 increase.  Same with Phish’s Live 1995 6-disc set that listed at $160 but sold for $200.  The biggest flips versus price, I believe, truly shows what were the must-have vinyls of RSD 2015.

Here are the biggest Ebay Flips of Record Store Day 2015:

  1. Elvis Presley – My Happiness (List price $12 – Ebay price $245) 20.5x increase
  2. Brand New – Deja Entendu (List price $28 – Ebay price $384) 13.7x increase
  3. Interpol – Everything Is Wrong (List price $9 – Ebay price $99) 11x increase
  4. John Prine – September 78 (List price $25 – Ebay price $227) 10.1x increase
  5. David Bowie – Changes (List price $11 – Ebay price $99) 9x increase
  6. Bob Dylan – Basement Tapes (List price $30 – Ebay price $250) 8.3x increase
  7. Citizen Dick – Touch Me I’m Dick (List price $11 – Ebay price $69) 6.3x increase
  8. Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up (List price $9 – Ebay price $59) 5.9x increase
  9. U2 – Songs of Innocence (List price $36 – Ebay price $199) 5.5x increase
  10. Twenty One Pilots – The LC LP (List price $20 – Ebay price $99) 4.9x increase
  11. Foo Fighters – Songs From The Laundry Room (List price $20 – Ebay price $99) 4.9x increase

Honorable Mention:

Paul McCartney’s Sweet Trash sold for a ridiculous $895 but I didn’t include it since it’s signed by Sir Mac (which obviously alters the true value of the vinyl).

Here are some other fun lists:

 

 

The 55 Best Albums of 2014 (23-33)

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There have been questions about this year’s countdown…to answer the big one:  I did not do a poll this year.  Though I promised, I ran out of my time in my life, day job, and parenting duties.  So, this year, you’re just going to have to live with my list and my list only.  Enjoy the kitty.

Here are the 55 Best Albums of 2014 (23-33):

23. Johnny Cash - Out among the Stars
24. Movement - Movement EP
25. Ryan Adams - Ryan Adams
26. Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
27. Merchandise - After the End
28. Beck - Morning Phase
39. Y.G. - My Krazy Life
30. You Blew It! - Keep Doing What You're Doing
31. Cloud Nothings - Here And Nothing Else
32. The Black Keys - Turn Blue
33. Claire - The Great Escape

Buy these albums and more…now!!!

 

 

The 11 Best Songs Released By Ryan Adams in 2014

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For years, Ryan Adams was a faucet of music that your needed only to turn the knob and album after album would come pouring out.  Between 2000-2011, Adams had 19+ releases in the form of albums, EPs and exclusive singles.  Then for the last three years…nothing.  Well, it’s 2014 and Adams is back.  In the past three months, Adams has four releases including a traditional Adams album, an 80s punk album, a country EP, and a Halloween inspired EP.  If he’s making up for lost time, then we should see at least three more releases by the end of the year…probably a Christmas-inspired release, a dubstep EP, and a duets covers remix album.  It’s funny because it’s true.

Happy Halloween.

Here are the 11 Best Songs Released By Ryan Adams in 2014:

  1. Am I Safe? (Ryan Adams)
  2. Suburbia (Vampires)
  3. Trouble (Ryan Adams)
  4. I Keep Running (Jacksonville)
  5. Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
  6. Kim (Ryan Adams)
  7. Vampires (Vampires)
  8. Wolves (1984)
  9. Stay With Me (Ryan Adams)
  10. Tired of Giving Up (Ryan Adams)
  11. When The Summer Ends (1984)

Buy any of Ryan Adams’ 2014 releases:  1984, Jacksonville, Vampires or Ryan Adams…now!


 

Buy this book or everyone you know will die.

Don’t forget to check out our blog’s awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!  (featuring Ryan Adams)

The 11 Best Songs By Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

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With such a big week of releases and the awesome return for a few big artists…who has the time to write about all of them.   I’m doing my best to catch up…so here’s another post from the book…with one alteration.  In the book, I only rank the best songs by an artist between the years 2000-2009.  But Ryan Adams added a couple more songs to the Cardinals catalog in 2010…so I thought I’d throw them in for fun.

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Obsession with Ryan Adams does not have to do with the music he makes as much as it has to do with the amount of music he makes.  Over the course of the decade, this heartbreaker has released twelve official albums, half a dozen EPs, and over fifty non-album tracks.  He has had six unreleased albums leak to the internet along with a 5-volume, 25-disc, 350-song live bootleg collection.  Listening to Ryan Adams’ music isn’t as exciting as trying to collect it all.  Ryan Adams fans don’t discuss what our favorite album is, we discuss:  what unreleased material do you have?  This list focuses only on his songs with the Cardinals.  I mean, who has time to include all his music?

Fun Fact:  Besides performing solo, Ryan Adams has a glam metal band called Orion, a punk band called The Finger, a death metal band called Werewolph, a hardcore-punk band called The Shit and a hip-hop persona, called DJ Reggie.

 The 11 Best Songs by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals:

  1. If I Am A Stranger (Cold Roses)
  2. Don’t Fail Me Now (Jacksonville City Nights)
  3. How Do You Keep Love Alive (Cold Roses)
  4. Lovely And Blue (III/IV)
  5. Sweet Illusions (Cold Roses)
  6. Always On My Mind (Jacksonville City Nights B-Side)
  7. Majik (Cardinology)
  8. P.S. (III/IV)
  9. These Girls (Easy Tiger)
  10. Let It Ride (Cold Roses)
  11. The Hardest Part (Jacksonville City Nights)

Buy Ryan Adams new album, Ryan Adams…now!!!

 

Don’t forget to check out our blog’s awesome new book The 111 Best Lists of the 2000s.  Available now!  (featuring Ryan Adams and the Cardinals)

Buy this book or everyone you know will die.

The 11 Best Releases This Week

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I never do this…but holy crap there’s a ton of great new music coming out this week.  This honestly might the biggest releases of music this year…if not the decade.   Yeah it’s that huge.  Interpol’s best album since their sophomore release, Tricky’s best solo album since his debut, Ryan Adams first album in 3 years, U2’s first album in five years (which came out of nowhere…and is FREE), Death From Above 1979’s reunion, Karen O’s first solo album, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin’s new solo offering, and four lads from Liverpool.  Why are you still reading…get listening.

Here are the 11 Best Releases This Week:

  1. U2 – Songs of Innocence
  2. Death From Above 1979 – The Physical World
  3. Ryan Adams – Ryan Adams
  4. Interpol – El Pintor
  5. Robert Plant – lullaby
  6. Tricky – Adrian Thaws
  7. Justin Townes Earle – Single Mothers
  8. Karen O – Crush Songs
  9. Delta Spirit – Into the Wide
  10. Banks – Goddess
  11. The Beatles – Vinyl Mono Masters

Along with new releases from classic legends: Loudon Wainwright III, Pere Ubu, The Grateful Dead, Gladys Knight, Sergio Mendes, and Chick Corea

 

The 11 Best Releases For Record Store Day

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I picked up so much vinyl this year…I’m not even sure how I’m going to pay rent.  And isn’t that what good music is about?  Living in a van…down by the river.  There wasn’t a release this year that I went in excited about…but I came out loving almost everything I purchased.  I’ve had the chance to listen to most of my purchases and have heard a lot of other stuff.  And the Calexico album…best release of the year…Period.

It was a crazy day…and I’m still reeling from it.  Some say Record store Day is Christmas for music fans.  It’s better than Christmas…because on Record Store Day you get exactly what you want.

To celebrate such a momentousness day and with nearly 400 releases…there’s no way to condense it down to a mere 11.  Instead, I’ve created 3 lists to give light on some on a lot of the material that you may have missed.  And by the way, many record stores still have a lot of product…so if there’s something that was sold out at one store…I’d check out the store down the street…just in case.

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day 7-inches:

  1. Pornography (Ryan Adams)  – 7 Minutes in Heaven
  2. Elliott Smith – Either/Or Demos 
  3. Pink Floyd – See Emily Play
  4. David Bowie – Drive-In Saturday Night
  5. Hold Steady – Criminal Fingers
  6. The Black Keys/Iggy & The Stooges – No Fun
  7. Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels – Live 1973
  8. Old 97s & Waylon Jennings – Double Set
  9. Superchunk – Void 
  10. Iron & Wine – Next To Paradise
  11. Husker Du – Amusement

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Reissues:

  1. Orange Juice – Rip It Up
  2. Porno For Pyros – Porno For Pyros (splatter vinyl)
  3. White Stripes – Elephant (red, white and black vinyl)
  4. At The Drive-In – Relationship in Command
  5. Braid – Frame and Canvas
  6. The Roots – Things Fall Apart
  7. The Band – The Last Waltz
  8. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts – Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (yellow vinyl)
  9. Blind Melon – Blind Melon
  10. Built To Spill – Live
  11. The Zombies – The Zombies

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Releases:

  1. Calexico – Spiritoso
  2. Stephen Malkmus – Ege Bamyasi
  3. A Place To Bury Strangers – Strange Moon
  4. Soundgarden – King Animal Demos
  5. Garbage – Because the Night
  6. Willie Nelson – Crazy Demo Sessions
  7. G. Love and Jack Johnson – Bloodshot & Blue
  8. Mumford and Sons – Live At Bull Moose
  9. Grouplove/Manchester Orchestra/Frightened Rabbit – Make It To Me
  10. Big Star – Nothing Can Hurt Me
  11. Deftones – Live: Volume 1

 

The 11 Best Bands Who Have Never Played Coachella

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There’s something sadly thrilling about getting to sit in front of my computer and watch Coachells unfold before me without paying hundreds of dollars, enduring crazy temperatures, dust, dirt, and douche bags.  Right now I’m flipping back and forth between New Order and Phoenix.  I couldn’t do that at the festival…I would have to choose…currently, I’m winning.  Because at home, I get both.

While enjoying Coachella from the comfort of my home, I started to realize how many bands have never played the festival…some that I’m actually shocked.  Some I thought for sure had played only to find out they had never made the journey to Indio. (Journey being one of them)  Below is a list of the best bands that have never played Coachella.  I have only chosen bands that are still together.  Reunions…well, that’s really for another list…so, check in tomorrow for that list.

Here are the 11 Best Bands Who Have Never Played Coachella & Should (that are still together):

  1. U2
  2. Pearl Jam
  3. Ryan Adams
  4. Fiona Apple
  5. Tori Amos
  6. Royksopp
  7. Iron & Wine
  8. Burial
  9. Morcheeba
  10. Sufjan Stevens
  11. Garbage