Song of the Day 10/22: Ryan Adams, “Breakdown”

Ryan Adams, the prolific singer-songwriter and producer whose career was derailed by a #metoo scandal in the Before Times, has long been notorious for odd behavior in concerts – aborting songs halfway through, playing entire shows with his back to the audience, berating hecklers – but his recent tour Down Under has brought on another batch of damaging stories in the music press.

Adams rose to prominence back in the ’90s with alt-country band Whiskeytown. He went solo in 2000 and has released 30 albums in styles ranging from post-punk to folk-rock and America. He’s been particularly active since getting cancelled after a 2019 New York Times story detailed a history of emotional abuse of numerous women, including ex-wife Mandy Moore and a young Phoebe Bridgers, and a sexting relationship with an underage fan.

His problems since then have been much on his mind – several of his outbursts in Australia included rants against Moore and Bridgers, and he made references to his supposed shunning by radio and the press. There’s some truth to this – the last time WXPN played any of his music was the morning that New York Times story was published. I wonder if that will end with the station’s year-end countdown of 885 cover songs. Adams has recorded song-by-song cover albums of Taylor Swift’s “1989,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska,” Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks” and Oasis’ “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory.”

“Breakdown” appeared on his critically praised 2017 album “Prisoner,” written and recorded the year after his divorce from Moore. His latest breakdown makes me wonder if he’s ever gotten over it.