Our international readers seem interested in Link Wray, 'One Tree Hill' and Kristen Davis

Not sure if one can scientifically gleam much from the Dare Society's Feedjit traffic map; however, it sure seems like our international visitors have a keen interest in the following posts:

-'Sex' star Davis to launch fashion line at Belk (Peru, Canada, Bucharest)

-Wray's 'Rumble' among best guitar songs of all time (England)

-'One Tree Hill' picked up for sixth season (Bucharest, Bangkok)

-A visitor from Chile seems to be interested in musician Ryan Adams, while a Swedish visitor appears intrigued by the N.C. State-East Carolina rivalry.

These posts have been hit pretty often from our oversees (and across the border) friends. Why is that? Well, I can assume that anytime the word "sex" is in a title, it will probably fly up the search engines. Link Wray appears to have had quite the European following, so that one's understandable. Perhaps our Bucharest and Thai friends think the post about "One Tree Hill" is in regards to the U2 song and not the CW teen drama?

So, our international visitors: Welcome! And what was it that brought you here? Inquiring minds want to know.

Bad boy (and Jax native) Adams tries to restore his good name

Singer/songwriter Ryan Adams -- a native of Jacksonville and a guy who honed his musical skills in Raleigh -- has no trouble making music. Since 2000, he has released nine albums, though this Associated Press article says it's more like 15. Adams' problem is that he doesn't appear to know how to "trim down" his work.


".. I really did believe in what I was doing," Adams told the AP. "I'm glad that the work is there and it will speak for itself later."

Adams, 32, is clear-eyed and determined these days. The North Carolina native, who played in the band Whiskeytown during the 1990s before turning solo, lives with his girlfriend in New York. He has been sober for more than a year after kicking a prodigious drug and alcohol problem, although he resists the easy assumption that sobriety has improved his art.

As a singer and songwriter, he's capable of work that is extraordinarily beautiful when you least expect it. Listen, for example, to "This House is Not for Sale," where he vividly captures the desperation of a man trying to stop his estranged lover from taking a final step away by reminding her of the good memories in the floorboards.

The gorgeous "When the Stars Go Blue" caught the attention of Tim McGraw, who recorded it and turned it into a hit single.

Stephen King even wrote the press release accompanying "Easy Tiger." "I won't say Adams is the best North American singer-songwriter since Neil Young," he wrote. "But I won't say he isn't, either."

Yet the sheer volume of his output means listeners need to sift through a lot of less remarkable songs to find the special moments, and many simply don't have the patience. He released three albums in 2005 alone, and one of them had two discs.

The industry shorthand: Adams lacks an internal editor and anyone strong enough to do it for him. ...

Adams goes on to say that he believes he's punished for refusing to adhere to an industry standard where artists spend a longer time polishing fewer songs, and new releases generally come every two or three years. Business usually dictates this schedule, to give record companies time to market the music.

"I felt I had, if not a gift, some kind of a drive that I couldn't explain that led me to make music at a good rate and I could focus on it for eight or 10 hours a day," he told AP.