7. ryan adams, "la cienega just smiled"
why here? "i threw it all away" is a mix nightmare: it doesn't end properly as it segues into the following track, and the ending is far too abrupt to even attempt a fade. i tried to patch things up by throwing in this track with its sudden, though not jarring, piano opening.
why this song? there are few artists who are as eminently hateable based on image and influences alone as ryan adams. this is one of two adams-penned songs i can claim affection for, the other is whiskeytown's "jacksonville skyline." like that number, "la cienega" is a quiet, atmospheric effort, mercifully lacking his trademark swagger and 'tude. instead, it's a burnished piano and strings ballad redolent of his number one fan elton john's early 70s work.