Earlier this year Ryan Adams threw in the towel on his music career as he strolled down the aisle with Mandy Moore. Good for him. I mean, Mandy Moore? Not bad. If it makes him happy, great.
So now he is supporting her career and pursuing a career as an author. Poetic prose - snore! I have spent over ten years fanatically following his turbulent and prolific music career. This leaves a large gap in my personal time. I actually felt kind of lost and rejected for a while there. Being a Ryan Adams fan is a hobby unto itself. You never knew what he was going to try next or what trouble he would get into next. His music had gone in so many directions and he finally got a band together that gelled with him and they seemed to be hitting their stride. I feel that it ended before it was meant to. Now what I have to look forward to from him is poetic prose? Ugh.
I don't wish any ill will towards him, but I excitedly await the inevitable celebrity marital collapse and his return to life as a miserable artist that vents his demons through fantastic music. Hopefully the guys from the Cardinals will still be available to play with him when this happens.
To make things worse, on the tails of my current music hero calling it quits as he ties the knot, I learned that my music hero through my teens is doing the same thing. Trent Reznor is dissolving Nine Inch Nails after this summer tour and he recently got engaged as well.
The NIN news wasn't as big of a blow for me. I've seen them a number of times and they have enjoyed a resurgence of relevance lately and are bowing out right before the end of a fantastic second life. Most acts aren't so lucky to be able to strike gold twice. They have secured their place in music history and are taking a bow and exiting the stage before they misstep and blow it with another flop like The Fragile, an album that nearly destroyed the NIN legacy. They may come back still, but the pressure is off to follow up their recent successes. If Trent comes up with something creative for NIN he can make a comeback. If he doesn't, then there is no pressure to just slap something together.
It's a good thing that Robert Smith is already married.
