Love Is Hell — but it’s a heckuva cake

I’m sure it’s just a random coincidence, but here’s a cool little correlation involving Ryan Adams superfans: Those who have an affinity for his ultra-dour 2004 album Love Is Hell (which emerged from a super-dark time in Ryan’s life) sometimes have that fandom manifest via tasty cakes. One case in point is Jennifer John Bickel, a master cake-maker who baked this incredible-looking Cardinals-themed confection here on the right — and also cites Love Is Hell as the Ryan record that means the most to her.

Another is Stuart McMillan, a Scotsman whose wife kept asking about what his all-time favorite album was in advance of his 30th birthday yesterday. The very cool result is below. As with Jennifer’s cake, I’m torn between the desire for a slice and an urge to preserve it.

More from the super-fans: Jennifer John Bickel

Publishing “Losering” has brought me into contact with some pretty hardcore super-fans from Ryan’s world, which hasn’t been as fraught as I’d feared it might be (at least not yet). So far, it’s been a pleasure, even when we disagree. One super-fan I’ve had no disagreements with is Jennifer John Bickel, who I met on last weekend’s Texas sojourn via Dean Dauphinais — she was one of the friends he bought along to both readings I did down there. At the San Antonio reading, Jennifer cited Ryan’s Love Is Hell as her favorite album of all time. And over dinner, as we discussed our mutual affection for the hilarious website cakewrecks.com, it emerged that she’s enough of a fan to have made a cake for Ryan and the Cardinals back in 2009. Check out her handiwork below, which looks both delicious and too pretty to eat…