Gimme Something

Album: Ryan Adams (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Both this song and "Stay With Me" were improvised on the spot with a small band of musicians at Adams' Pax-Am studio in Los Angeles. How inspired was I that night? The weather must have been weird," the singer told UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph. "There had to be some element at play to make me feel really good."
  • Directed by Michael Reich, the mostly black-and-white gothic video stars Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira. We see the Mistress of the Dark haunting Adams with unpleasant dreams in an Addams Family-style haunted house. Asked by Billboard magazine how he got Elvira to star in the clip, Adams replied: "I really want to do something with Elvira because pinball is, like, my world and I love the two Elvira machines. I kind of designed a third one with Elvira in space, and that's how I met her, talking to her about that."

    "And as soon as it was time to make a video, I knew I wanted to make a black-and-white, spookier video and we just did it," he continued. "It was pretty minimal ideas: I knew I wanted it to be performance and I wanted her to be in it."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' Albums

We Will Rock You (To Sleep): Pop Stars Who Recorded Kids' AlbumsSong Writing

With the rise of Kindie rock, more musicians are embracing their inner child with tunes for tots - here, we look at pop stars who recorded kids' albums.

Ed Roland of Collective Soul

Ed Roland of Collective SoulSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Shine," "December," "The World I Know" and other Collective Soul hits.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Timothy B. Schmit of the Eagles

Timothy B. Schmit of the EaglesSongwriter Interviews

Did this Eagle come up with the term "Parrothead"? And what is it like playing "Hotel California" for the gazillionth time?

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.