Goodbye Ryan Adams, Goodnight Cardinals

This is a bit of a suprise. But then again with Ryan, perhaps not.

Ryan Adams has announced a break from music. The Cardinals are dissolving, playing their last gig on March 20 in Atlanta GA.

He posted on his blog that he is looking forward to "quieter times" and announced an end to smoking, blogging, insomnia, "narcissistic over-indulgent behaviour" and his relationship with "someone I loved". "Me – 34, a non-smoker and happy for the first time in my life,".



"Atlanta will be my last venture with the band and I am grateful for the time we have had and maybe someday we will have more stories to tell together," he wrote. "I am, however, ready for quieter times as I think it is very evident I am struggling with some balance and hearing issues."


Adams said he is suffering from Ménière’s disease, which can cause loss of balance, vomiting and nausea. He's been together with the Cardinals now for five years.

The post on his blog was deleted shortly after it was put up. In it he said that despite taking a break from music, he will carry on with creative output, notably writing. He promises two books to follow on from his collection of poems and short stories.

Who knows when we'll get another Ryan Adams record, if ever, what do you think?

What Sufjan Stevens did in 2008

Following on from a post I did a while ago, Paste Magazine lists a dozen things that Sufjan Stevens did during 2008. Take note, as you know none of them included recording a new record but does including composing a score for Natalie Portman's directoral debut.

Read the article here

Free Bon Iver download

We at About The Music love Bon Iver. So we're very please that "Blood Bank" [mp3] from Blood Bank EP (out January 20th) is available for download HERE

U2, MULTI-BRIT AWARD WINNERS, TO PERFORM BRAND NEW SINGLE LIVE AT THE BRIT AWARDS 2009

Oh, big news:

U2, TO PERFORM BRAND NEW SINGLE LIVE AT THE BRIT AWARDS 2009


U2, one of the world’s biggest bands, will perform their brand new single ‘Get On Your Boots’ live at The BRIT Awards 2009 with MasterCard. This highly anticipated annual event takes place on Wednesday 18 February at London’s Earls Court.

Ged Doherty, Chairman of The BRITs Committee said, “We’re thrilled to be able to confirm that U2 have chosen The BRITs for their first global TV performance on their new album. Their addition to the line-up for this year’s show makes it possibly the best we have ever had. This cements The BRITs as one of the biggest TV events in the world.”

Maria Taylor - New Album - LADYLUCK release APRIL 7

MARIA TAYLOR'S THIRD SOLO EFFORT LADYLUCK TO BE RELEASED APRIL 7 and her first single
"TIME LAPSE LIFELINE" WILL BE AVAILABLE DIGITALLY JANUARY 13 (today).

Maria Taylor, one half of Azure Ray and Saddle Creek record label (best known for Bright Eyes, Maria sings on a lot of Bright Eyes records) will release her third solo album on April 7, 2009.

We reviewed, and loved, her first solo album - 11:11 back in 2005 (read the review here so we're looking forward to the new record.

To whet your appetite, two tracks from the forthcoming album, "Time Lapse Lifeline" and "Orchids," will be available digitally prerelease on January 13. "Time Lapse Lifeline," with its orchestral strings and grand melody, tells the story about fast life moves and how everything can change in one moment. Appropriately, the song is punctuated by both a driving beat and lingering plaintive vocals, with breaks of near silence for poignant turns of phrase. "Oh we dreamed a life/ it was just like that was just like that/ and just like that and just like that it's done," Taylor sings as lone strings fade out.

DOWNLOAD "TIME LAPSE" HERE FOR FREE



"Listen in a dark room, with a candle or two with headphones, maybe in the bath, but definitely horizontal" -Maria Taylor