flashback friday - la cienega just smiled

so, i have been a ryan adams aficionado for quite a while now. i actually remember getting into an argument with a friend of mine - this was, gosh, something like 8 years ago now - about his talent. i argued that adams was one of the best singer-songwriters around, despite his propensity to churn out record after record at an alarming rate. my friend dismissed this, but truth be told, i rather feel a bit smug after all these years, because, despite some less than stellar work, adams HAS stood the test of time of writing some really excellent music that truly does set the bar in the singer-songwriter/alt-country world.







sentimentally, i favor la cienega just smiled, a bittersweet song that served as the backdrop for a rather tumultuous time period in my life. i was listening to a lot of ryan adams back then - because, i thought - the guy gets emotions, and his music touches its listeners in really, private, meaningful ways. and it didn't matter that i didn't personal relate to the lyrics - it was, simply, that adams crafts comfort music. it's the kind that's like a wubbie, all warm and soft and the equivalent of tea and blankets and safety. i listened to it then because it made me feel better. my listening now is different - less of a security blanket, and more of a reminder of just how much music can help somebody through all the crap that life throws at them. and i like how ryan adams can do that with his music.



for those of you outside of southern california - la cienega is a major street in LA. rumor has it that this song emerged from a moment adams found himself in, as he stood on the cross street of la cienega boulevard and melrose avenue. but, ultimately, it doesn't really matter what the location is - this song reaches far in wide in a small moment, of somebody realizing that love isn't always a guaranteed thing.



oh, the night, here it comes again

it's on with the jeans, the jacket and shirt

how'd i end up feeling so bad

for such a little girl



and i hold you close in the back of my mind

feels so good but damn it makes me hurt

and i'm too scared to know how i feel about you now

la cienega just smiled... "see ya around"

and i hold you close in the back of my mind

and raise my glass 'cause either way i'm dead

neither of you really help me to sleep anymore

one breaks my body and the other breaks my soul

la cienega just smiles as it waves goodbye



oh the night, here it comes again

it's off with the jeans, the jacket and the shirt

how'd i end up feeling so bad

for such a little girl

and i hold you close in the back of my mind

feels so good but damn it makes me hurt

and i'm too scared to know how i feel about you now

how i feel about you now

la cienega just smiles and says, "i'll see you around."



(mp3) la cienega just smiled (acoustic & live) by ryan adams



here's ryan performing the song at the austin city limits music festival, back in '07, i believe:







chills, friends. CHILLS.



buy gold, the album la cienega just smiled is off of, HERE.