Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart

I'm not sure if this is ironic, paradoxical, or neither -- but when I was a kid I loved the beach but hated sand. This clearly doesn't make a whole lot of sense, considering that one of (if not the) distinguishing factor between a beach and, say, a river, lake, or pool... is sand.

Flash-forward 15 years. This past week, when I tried to talk my friends into seeing Paranormal Activity (a new, apparently scary, movie) with me, I realized that they all seemed to love Halloween but hate scary things. Like a beach without sand, what is Halloween without a little fright? -- whether it's in the form of watching scary movies, going to haunted houses, telling ghost stories, dabbling with the ol' Ouija Board, or otherwise.

Since, however, there is clearly a contingent of people who would rather have babies dressed as pumpkins than teenagers dressed as zombies knocking on their doors this Halloween... I decided to make this Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart.

Don't be fooled by their names, there's nothing scary about these tracks.

Enjoy.
Ryan Adams - Halloween
Frightened Rabbit – Heads Will Roll
Fanfarlo - Ghosts
Elliott Smith – Son of Sam
Cloud Cult – The Ghost Inside Our House
Au Revoir Simone - Shadows
White Lies - Death
The Temper Trap – Science of Fear
Paloalto - Bones
Joe Dolce – Thriller (MJ Cover)

MP3: DOWNLOAD the entire Halloween Mixtape for the Faint of Heart Mixtape (click here).

Ryan Adams - The Most Talented Man... Well, Ever.

While Ryan Adams' indefinite hiatus from music is tragic... there are two silver linings.

First, if you are a fan of art or poetry... then you may be happy about his break from music. He has currently released two books full of short stories and poetry entitled, Infinity Blues and Hello Sunshine. I'd say the vast majority of the material is strange/weird/involves unnecessary profanity (e.g. " Cinderella between the legs where the balls are, thats the wink, thats the fucking subway rattle, so fuck you."). Hmmmm. Still, there are flashes of genius that rival the lyrics to his songs.

Apparently, he has also directed some of his talent towards painting, again proving why he is truly a prolific jack-of-all-trades. Just yesterday he had an art opening at Morrison Hotel Gallery in NYC (thanks to Stereogum for this story). I'm no art critic, but these look pretty legit to me. If you wanted to get your hands on one, however, be prepared to shell out thousands.

The second silver lining is the extra time he's given us to brush up on his numerous unreleased sessions that we may have skimmed over. The guy usually releases material at an alarming rate. Just think back to 2005-- a year in which he released three full studio albums including: Cold Roses, Jacksonville City Nights, and 29.

Since I can't post all the sessions (there are literally tons), here are a few from Fool's Gold (an unreleased session circa-2001).
Ryan Adams - Cannonball Days (link removed)
Ryan Adams - Fool's Gold (link removed)
Ryan Adams - Sweet Black Magic (link removed)
(Ok, I'll admit "Sweet Black Magic" sounds like it should be from O Brother, Where Art Thou?... but its addicting)

Below are some pics from his art exhibit: