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Music on the Road

Ryan Adams, 'Gold'-en boy

By Jodi Ross
CNN Entertainment Correspondent

Ryan Adams has been nominated for three Grammys.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams admits he's somewhat obsessed with New York. His latest album, "Gold," features a song called "New York, New York," and the music video features the Twin Towers in all their glory.

In this case, timing is everything. Adams wrote the song a long time ago and shot the video four days before the attacks on the World Trade Center. Now both serve as a tribute to the city he calls home.

The 27-year-old North Carolina native has been playing a fusion of country, rock and folk music since his teens. In 1994, he founded the alt-country band Whiskeytown; he set out on his own a few years later. The result is a musician who has received critical acclaim with comparisons to Bob Dylan as well as the praise of famous friends like Alanis Morissette, Bono and Elton John. John even makes a brief appearance in the video for his new single "Answering Bell."

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Ryan Adams performs 'Answering Bell' Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Now Adams has been nominated for three Grammys. That gives him a good chance to walk away with some more "Gold."

At the House of Blues in Hollywood, California, CNN sat down with the country-rocker to discuss the Big Apple, Bono and why calling him "the next Bob Dylan" makes him laugh.

CNN: You don't read your reviews but I'm sure you've heard all the good things.

RYAN ADAMS: Yeah, definitely. I've read a couple but I don't read every single one or anything like that. I don't actually have time to. ... I actually take the criticism better than I take the compliments cause they kind of help me figure out what maybe I'm not doing or give me more of an edge.

CNN: Lots of critics are saying things like "his lyrics are so deep, he's a thinker, the new Dylan, alt-country's Kurt Cobain."

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ADAMS: If I'm the new Dylan, someone should call him up and let him know because as far as I know he's touring right now and made a great record (laughs).

That stuff is just silly. It's just people projecting. I've been playing music for a pretty good amount of time -- since I was 15 or 16 years old -- and I've always really liked playing a whole lot, even before I played in front of people. I think it would probably be pretty detrimental if I took any of that stuff seriously because that stuff goes away.

CNN: It seems as though the stars have really aligned for you. For example, with your album cover. How prophetic was it that you had posed with the American flag in the background before September 11?

ADAMS: Yeah, it was here in Los Angeles about three months before.

CNN: And then you shot the "New York, New York" video just four days before the World Trade Center event.

ADAMS: I don't see it really as being anything more than coincidence, if anything. I think it was just kind of like -- a tragedy is a tragedy and a record can't reflect that. A record is just a rock n' roll record.

So I don't really look at the similarities of those things. I think it would be bad to, and probably disrespectful, but at the same time I didn't really want to edit myself because of anything being missing. It was there, I was there, it happened.

CNN: But I thought it was really poignant that you didn't try to edit out the World Trade Center images [from the video] because in Hollywood everybody's been going through and erasing the images as if it never occurred, never existed.

ADAMS: Historically, that's still part of that city and still part of American culture, and just because it's no longer there doesn't mean you're supposed to forget it and sweep it under the rug. I think that's really wrong. I think it's more important actually to pay more attention to it and respect that those buildings were there, those people worked there -- all that stuff was the way it was. That's how I'm gonna remember it.

CNN: Let's talk about all these celebrities who are singing your praises. Bono and Elton John ... and Alanis Morissette.

ADAMS: Bono said something?

CNN: Yeah. How does it make you feel when all these top artists are saying, "He's great"?

ADAMS: They're just copying Elton (laughs). No, I don't know. They're just people, I guess.

I don't know. I guess it's pretty weird but what do you do? It's not like -- they're not any different. They have to brush their teeth and stuff and have breakfast like everybody else does.