About two weeks ago, I had a public, music-nerd breakdown over Ryan Adams covering Taylor Swift’s album, 1989, claiming that he was doing so in the style of The Smiths.
The Preacher of the Word of Morrissey has returned to you with sad news.
Apparently, he was being “facetious” when he made that statement, but, quite frankly, when you’re at the level of fame of Arctic Monkeys, you’ve earned the right to facetious. Ryan Adams, with your most popular song being a cover of Oasis’ “Wonderwall,” well…
I don’t really need to finish my sentence, do I?
The alt-folk “icon,” upon announcing his cover album, has reportedly spent each night in the studio recording, documenting his progress via Twitter and Instagram. Many people (like myself) were unnerved by his quest, but he continued undeterred. Last night, Ryan Adams and Taylor Swift fans rejoice, he announced that he had finished the record and it is currently being mixed.
Adams has shared two extended audio clips of “Style” and “Blank Space.” These two covers were obviously not done in the style of The Smiths. (Quite frankly, even though he was being “facetious,” I don’t think he would have been able to emulate The Smiths even if he tried).
“Blank Space” sounds like Ryan Adams is trying to hide his musical talent from his parents as he insists on playing the guitar and singing at 2:30 in the morning in his room. I understand that they’re rough mixes, but, regardless, it’s muffled, acoustic and makes me sad. Not in The Smiths’ sort of sadness, but in the “Oh, God, I wasted 25 seconds of my life” sort of sadness. It fits the genre of what my father likes to call “farm music,” meaning, paired with a piece of wheat hanging out of your mouth, you can churn all the butter you’d like to this song.
“Style,” I’ll give you a little more credit, Adams. I like the rock twist you put on the track. Definitely no inspiration from The Smiths, but certainly an influence of U2.
You can listen to samples of the covers via Ryan Adams’ Twitter below. Let us know what you think.
Blank Space clip @taylorswift13 #1989 : ) pic.twitter.com/1aaz46U4Ui
— Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams) August 18, 2015
Sneak peek of “Style” @taylorswift13 #1989 Whole record has a rough mix now!!!! pic.twitter.com/AjwMd5BVKO
— Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams) August 18, 2015
