This Mornin' I Am Born AgainListen. Get Re-Born

That’s the freshly positive Ryan Adams uploading a demo (somewhat acoustic) recording of ‘Magick’ to his website as a thanks for all the pre-orders of his latest written work, Hello Sunshine. Ryan’s second book of verse is purported to be a much brighter collection of poems and short fiction than his debut literary work.

The song is available for download if you know your way around the nets, but I’ll make it easy on you.
Magick (Original Home Demo)

The book – at least the pre-order – costs nearly as much as I’ve spent on my entire collection of Ryan Adams’ music, but that didn’t stop this unapologetic fan (even after Cardinology) from droppin’ the bucks. For $50 +shipping you get a hardcover version of Hello Sunshine plus a limited edition, numbered chapbook signed by Ryan. This addition, entitled Pink Magic (I guess he found the spellcheck this time) is only available through this pre-order. It’s not officially released until December 1st, but the pre-orders will ship by August 10th.

Ryan says of Hello Sunshine, “This collection was a beautiful way for me to wrap up my narrative verse style of writing before I move into writing short stories and novels. Maybe this book really is more about my connection to my senses and to the romantic. Where I was scared to read Infinity Blues after I wrote it, Hello Sunshine makes me want to eat ice cream. This book is about, quite simply, how it might feel to surrender to a love. It will reinforce everyone’s fear that I am smarter than them.”

Click here to order yours.

Now, I’ve said before that I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but Ryan’s Infinity Blues is slowly growing on me. As I’ve made my way through the strangely spaced and punctuated verse, a handful of the selections have emerged as (somewhat) coherent and enjoyable. Here’s one that stood out to me:

In the Middle of the Night Goes the Bang
Ryan Adams

in these slow moments, when there is too much time, i feel the entire inside
world of me collapse into its pile
the words drift from me
and i am but a calm swarm
an endless end
my skin touches the edge of the desk and i know i am alive
sort of hanging
and i feel a soft heart
my own
go into the gears, go shredding
for lack of tears
and more words
for the things i could not express
and time
which will not wind itself back
where the folds of what was me and what were wishes
came undone
like a slow dress in a brutal wind
like when a flock separates
and takes no shape again
was that my soul
my heart wrapped in tin
with a wire
on ice
and a bulb too thin
or a dream too long
or a breath too kissed
words they do fine
but cannot touch
this thing i miss
a heart
inside me
when
in the middle of the night goes the bang

Buy Infinity Blues, if you dare.

photo courtesy toothpastefordinner.com

Fine.
i’ve been both a little uninspired and busy with work (yes, i have a job). Nothing new has hit my ears lately, but i have been sorting through all my ‘08 discs, giving them a full spin, and doing some preliminary ordering.
i started doing those ‘one liner‘ posts 1) to feature some of my photography and 2) to help me through moments of idea-lessness. Today, i will start another post to help when i’ve got nothing to say – one that nearly everyone else does – a blog roundup:

• Nelson from A Fifty Cent Lighter… posted on his Top Five Most Played Songs in iTunes. Very interesting concept that uses one of the many amazing features of the program. i made a comment and gave mine – if any of you out there use iTunes, drop by and give him your list. He also added another disc to his Essential Albums – one that i only recently got into but am really enjoying.
  
• Daytrotter’s got a bunch of new live sets since i last talked about ‘em – including one from The Punch Brothers, Chris Thile’s astute bluegrass band that i got to see in Austin a few weeks ago. These United States stopped by for their second session a while back, too.
  
• Many of my daily reads are reporting some frightful news. It seems that mp3 bloggers are receiving an increased number of take down notices from copyright holders. When Blogger receives this alert, often they will completely delete the posts in question without notifying the author, totally undermining each blog’s sampling/song removal policies. Paul from Setting The Woods on Fire has actually suspended his writing/posting efforts until this all clears up – sadly, just after his 1 year aniversary post. Fortunately, nothing of the sort has happened at This Mornin’… but keep your fingers crossed.
• Star Maker Machine, despite a couple of the aforementioned post removals, is still inspiring great music. Last week, the theme was simple but fruitful: we posted songs whose titles were made up of an Adjective Noun combo. This weeks is a festive Halloween theme.
• The Tuning Room has joined the Kasey Chambers bandwagon.
• Keeping it fresh nearly every day, Rollo & Grady continues to offer up rare Whiskeytown & Stones, blues, and live stuff.
• Go here and get Todd Snider’s new one, Peace Queer, FOR FREE for the next 3 days. Todd’s never been one to conform, and this album is another example of that. It’s a sparse, short collection (8 tracks – one spoken, one instrumental, and then the spoken one made into a song) highlighted by Patty Griffin’s strong presence on 2 tracks.

It wouldn’t be right if i posted something on this Tuesday without mentioning a certain new release. My Cardinology vinyl should be here any minute, but sadly, i’m not utterly excited. i streamed the album two times through and it’s decent – and that may be a little nice. Hopefully it will unfold a little on me with time and patience, but initially it seems to be in the same vein as Easy Tiger. However, i refuse to offer up too much critisism until i actually hold the thing and hear it in all its fidelity. Luckily, i’ll only have to wait another month before i get my next piece of Ryan Adams paraphenalia – the pre-order of Infinity Blues will ship before Christmas.

The Dedringers are a band out of the Austin, TX area that i have had the pleasure of watching grow (their hair, and) musically over the last few years. Much like their friends, The Gougers (posted about here), the Dedringers are releasing their latest album for FREE.

The Gougers are a band out of the Austin/San Marcos area. Lead vocal duties are split between Jaime Wilson and Shane Walker. With voices as different as Sam Quinn and Jill Andrews, Jaime and Shane complement each other in a way that at first seems implausible. Jaime has an angelic, warbly yodel and Shane sings with a laid-back ease the likes of Gram Parsons. The duo is backed by Cody Foote on bass, John Ross Silva on drums, and most recently, Lance Smith on additional guitars.

mp3: The Gougers – Steal Away
from Runaway Scrape (2004)

mp3: Jaime Wilson – A Little Too Rough
from Jamie’s Demo – previously available on their MySpace

Check out their Myspace