we chase misprinted lies

The 1994 Jar of Flies EP from Alice in Chains was a favorite of wee 15-year-old Heather, an alt-country twanged collection of seven songs that melded the moodiness of AIC with occasional pop flourishes (witness “No Excuses”). That album is one of the few from my collection during those high school years that still holds up relatively well (also, my unparalleled artistic skills in drawing the AIC logo in pencil on my binders).

I’m pretty excited to hear Ryan Adams take on “Nutshell” from that EP, the b-side to the tour-only 7″ he is selling on his current European dates. This cover reminds me of some of his haunted 29-era songs. The other side of the single is “Empty Room,” a new tune that finds Ryan and wife Mandy Moore harmonizing.

Nutshell (Alice in Chains) – Ryan Adams


This is also not the first time Ryan has taken on the songs of Staley & Co. He’s a fan.

Ryan Adams Down In A Hole, and two new songs from Easy Tiger

Moderate apologies for the punny picture (I couldn’t resist), but I nearly fell out of my chair the other night when I read reports that Ryan Adams had spiced up his Kingston, NY set with an acoustic cover of Alice in Chains‘ “Down In A Hole.” AIC? No one covers AIC, but they had a proprietary chunk of my musical heart back in 1993 when I first started to get into, shall we say, decent music. Before AIC and Pearl Jam I was trapped in a world of oldies (which actually comes in handy now, since I can sing along with most any tune on the AM radio), Bel Biv Devoe, and Petra.

In any case, Alice in Chains has aged moderately well for me and they’ve certainly got some evocative lyrics and construction behind even their heaviest scream-tastic stuff, more readily apparent in their duo of fantastic EPs, SAP and Jar of Flies.

Down In A Hole (Alice in Chains cover) – Ryan Adams
(alternate Savefile link)

Down In A Hole – Alice In Chains (from Dirt)

Got Me Wrong – Alice in Chains (from SAP)

Don’t Follow – Alice in Chains (from Jar of Flies)

AND – these just hit my inbox, so I’ll throw ’em on here too: Two new tracks from Easy Tiger, coming out June 26th. It’s nice to hear a non-radio-rip of Two, and Everybody Knows is growing on me in a big way:

Two – Ryan Adams

Everybody Knows – Ryan Adams

Happy birthday John Lennon

John Lennon would have been 66 today (had he not been shot by obsessed fan Mark David Chapman in 1980). He was only 40 when he died, and I’ve sometimes wondered what other wonderful music he had still within him.

I figure the occasion of his entrance into this world (with a bang – he was born during a German aid raid over Liverpool the night of October 9-10, 1940) is a fine reason to post some covers off the Working Class Hero: A Tribute To John Lennon album (1995, Hollywood Records). It’s an eclectic little snapshot of the musical environment of the mid-90s, with some spiffy covers & interesting interpretations.

Also speaking of covers, Coverville has a John Lennon covers podcast for free download as well.

Instant Karma! – Toad The Wet Sprocket

Nobody Told Me – The Flaming Lips

I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier – Mad Season
(featuring Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and Barrett Martin of Screaming Trees)

Power To The People – The Minus 5
(Scott McCaughey with members of R.E.M., The Posies, and Wilco & The Decemberists – in various incarnations)

Also, you may be interested in reading my post on the 25th anniversary of his death last year, which has an active download link to a demo version of my favorite Lennon solo song — one of the most gorgeous recordings you will ever hear: earnest and yearning and raw and perfect.