I think it's pretty okay. Most if not all of the songs are inferior to the original versions but as a very big fan of both artists I was excited for it at the time and still think it's a good listen once in a while. It's basically Beck's Record Club or w/e he called it with a bit higher production value and I think stuff like that is pretty cool. Covers are pretty fun, essentially. From my admittedly naive male pov it feels reductive to me to call a man reimagining a woman's album (in appreciation not "comedic irony") inherently problematic, and I say that questioningly not contentiously. If Adams set out to prove he could "do it better" or to lampoon the material the problem would be obvious but it seems very clear to me that neither of those were the case.
Blocked me as well. V mature that Ryan Adams Ryan Adams’s 1989 and the mansplaining of Taylor Swift This is an important article on this if any of you haven't read it yet
Yeah because blocking people on social media accounts is so immature. /s That article seems to be primarily talking about how critics responded to the cover album. I don't see how that is in any way Ryan Adams' fault. Or how a male covering a female's album is scummy or sexist.
One time Harry Styles didn't change the pronoun in their cover of Torn and conspiracies flew in that he was sending a message to his secret male lover. That's the only story I have semi-related to the subject at hand!
You can just quote me ya know. It just rubs me the wrong way the way it's gone down. Ryan Adams isn't sexist, but the reactions have been really gross. Yes, I was a bit aggressive with my initial posts and I apologize. Also it's pretty immature to block someone trying to critique you and help you, ya know?
I mean, you called him a "fragile white man who can't handle criticism". I don't believe that counts as "trying to help and critique".
Yeah, I think that's totally legit. I'm going to read all that when I get a chance but right off the bat I think the thesis of that article can be accurate and yet not put blame on Adams, which is now clear you agree with. Criticizing the artist for the reactions of the audience just feels misplaced which I'm sure is where his own frustration stems from.
I don't get how deciding to not release another covers album because of how the last one was grossly misunderstood and interpreted makes you fragile
It's not just him choosing not to release another one, it's the passive aggressive tweets his been making that prove he's a little fragile. But yeah, it's clear that this thread just isn't for me. Peace.
adams blocks people on twitter for like no reason all the time and he's not just referring to people rolling their eyes at his project but also reasoned, relatively traditional criticisms like those in the pitchfork review. he doesn't handle criticism, of any kind, well, period. he's definitely fragile.
I wonder if she'll ever make a return to Spotify. I haven't listened to much TSwift in forever because I do primarily most of my listening at work on Spotify. I've been hankering to listen to some of her older country songs lately.
Why can't people respond to your opinions in here and try to facilitate discussion without you saying this? I wasn't attacking you I was saying I don't get it. Which Ryan responded to and explained. I didn't know about any of that P4k shit cause I guess I don't pay much attention to Ryan Adams.
no no i dont mean it in a hostile way or a fed up way or anything, ive just said my piece and im out. no one in here has attacked anyone from what i can see, its been a pretty decent discussion. i just dont have much more to add.
Well, this thread took a turn. My takes: * Bad Blood is the only cover on Ryan Adams's 1989 I still enjoy. * I do not know that I'd characterize a (white) man covering a (white) woman's album inherently problematic, but I will say this: it is a mark of privilege to do so and to then be "surprised" by the way it is received by critics - both those who hear a sad white guy with a guitar and automatically lend him the benefit of the doubt regarding intellectualism and emotional expression that they didn't lend to the woman who wrote the damn songs or to those who point out the former. To be unaware of that inevitability is a mark of privilege, plain and simple. You can call it naive or you can call it problematic. Either way, it's a "what did he think was going to happen" kind of situation from where I'm sitting. Keep in mind, he didn't cover just any album - 1989 was a huge achievement for Swift, both professionally in the musical landscape at the time and frankly, as a songwriter - and for many young women, the album was ultimately an ode to the journey you take to find self-love. Similar kind of reason those white girl "Formation" covers that kept popping up were so cringeworthy - albeit, removing the racial element and leaving only the gender one behind. I'm hoping this made sense, I'm on quite a lot of cold medicines right now. * Adams is incredibly sensitive. * I doubt Swift will return to Spotify unless her relationship with Apple Music sours or it financially behooves her to do so.
Honestly, Anna, I think you hit the nail on the head with your statement that people attribute a false sense of intellectualism when it comes to males performing compared to women, and I think the reception of this album is (at least in part) due to that. I also think anyone should be allowed to cover anybody's songs, regardless of race, gender, or Creed. (Well, maybe not Creed.)