Two New Ryan Adams Songs!

Before you get your hopes up too high, I just discovered these are only "partial" MP3s, both running about 2 minutes and then fading out. Still, though, they're worth checking out.

"Two"
Everybody Knows"

Both songs are from Ryan's new album entitled Easy Tiger, which comes out on Lost Highway on June 26th. The pre-release buzz is pretty good so far, with people calling it his most-realized album to date. We'll see if that's true or whether it's just PR-bull. If these songs are indicative of the album as a whole, though, I'm pretty hopeful.

Just a note, though -- I normally am not a fan of posting "teaser" MP3s. I think they're a waste of time. Sure, I can tell from these two-minute snippets that I like the general feel of both songs, but I have no idea if their full versions are 3 or 4 minute, concise songs, or if they turn into 16-minute Dead-lite jams. And, frankly, that's important to know before dropping money on the album. I think it's a much smarter, fan-friendly practice to release one full MP3 to blogs, websites, etc. ahead of an album. If people like it, presumably the fact that they already "own" one song won't keep them from buying the album. Plus, it builds goodwill, showing that artists trust their fans. Wilco trusts their fans, and that just scored them 87,000 units sold in their first week and a string of sold-out dates this summer. The model works, folks. Stop burying your head in the sand and pretending you can avoid the realities of the Internet.

(That said, I'm posting these snippets anyway because Ryan's one of my favorite musicians, and I'm excited for the album.)