in the year 2000, ryan adams could do no wrong.  i had just discovered whiskeytown before he released heartbreaker in september of that year.  it was a game changer.  at the time, the radio waves were polluted with the britney spears types and boy bands of the world, and i found solace in anything alt-country.  i had always hated country music, but alt-country was…well, alt.  the sub-genre was full of artists and musicians that were influenced by country’s rebellious past, but they refused to play by nashville’s rules.  to me, ryan adams was the high priest of this pseudo-movement.  he was a punk rocker that stumbled upon country when he discovered punk was too hard to sing, and thank God he did.  he inspired a whole generation of twenty year olds to pick up the guitar and write from the heart.  he also influenced the way i wanted to dress at the time.  if you saw him in print or on stage, he was always in jeans, cowboy boots, a plaid shirt, and jean jacket – the dude looked cool.  i could never pull off the canadian tux but damn it if i didn’t want to try.  adams announced an indefinite hiatus from music in 2009 and has been hiding out (not really) in los angeles with wife mandy moore.  occasionally, i’ll see pictures of the two of them on some gossip websites.  i can’t remember which site i found the picture above, but i grabbed it immediately when i saw adams wearing wallabees.  i’ve been planning on doing a post on my history/obsession with wallabees, but seeing adams in his made mentioning them necessary.  i can’t believe it’s been 10 years and i still want to dress like ryan adams (minus the freddy frueger sweater).

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