日志

I have probably taken more shit from people for my lifelong love affair with Counting Crows, and in particular with its frontman Adam Duritz, than for any other of my musical-sins-according-to-music-snobs. It’s never bothered me. Is there what one might refer to as a whiny quality in some of their stuff? Well, yes, I suppose I have to grant that. Have they had sporadic mainstream radio success? Sure. He’s still my favorite singer and—with all due respect to the other approximately 100 acts I’ve seen live—they are just consistently the best live band I’ve seen, second perhaps only to E Street. The 11 times I have seen them over the past decade or more have been phenomenal experiences and very difficult to describe to people who remember hearing someone play August and Everything After a lot in 1993 and a few radio singles since.

This past weekend I finally got to attend one of my dream concerts. Very occasionally, and usually in New Orleans…

Here, have some choons. Top seven of the moment!

(Downloads available here.)

Fat Joe & Ja Rule ft. Ashanti // What's Love
come on (yeah, yeah, y'all) and put it (yeah, yeah, y'all) on me (put it on ya girl) on me (i'm put it on ya girl).
Yes, I love really really shitty mindless rap/hip-hop. Rubbish electronic beat, rubbish lyrics (awesomely rubbish rhyming), rubbish sampling, but it's wonderfully catchy. This song is oozing with sleaziness. Fat Joe (the Don) is there leading the way through the scene, Ja Rule pops in here and there with his creepy "pervert" voice (and even creepier wispy pornstache). However, I like Ashanti on principle - girl gets ragged on for being hairy, I can't help but sympathise.

The Jam // Town Called Malice
and a hundred lonely housewives clutch empty milk bottles to their hearts.
From something truly awful to something truly AMAZING. Shamefully, even though I've always liked this song I didn't grasp how excellent it truly is…

The ones that were correctly guessed:

2. Burn This City by Cartel
4. Los Angeles by Sugarcult
5. When Horsepower Meant What It Said by Sandi Thom
6. The Investigation by Sugarcult
8. LoveStoned/I Think She Knows Interlude by Justin Timberlake
10. L.G. FUAD by Motion City Soundtrack
11. Liar (It Takes One To Know One) by Taking Back Sunday
12. Welcome To The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
18. Into The Ocean by Blue October
20. Numb by Family Force 5

The ones that were not guessed:
1. Falling Inside The Black by Skillet
5. Different by Acceptance
7. Say Goodbye by Skillet
9. Me And Jesus by Stellar Kart
13. Want To by Sugarland
14. When Heaven Scrapes The Pavement by Mars Ill
15. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is by Jet
16. Something We Can't Be by Project 86
17. Islander by Falling Up
19. So Long, So Long by Dashboard Confessional featuring Adam Duritz

1. What are you listening to right now?
Some Jon Brion instrumental from I Heart Huckabees

2. What song makes you sad?
Legendary

3. What is the most annoying song in the world?
Free Bird - I swear if I ever get this as a request at one of my shows I will have that person thrown out.

4. Your all time favorite band?
Elliott Smith obviously

5. Your newly discovered band is?
Big Star - fantastic band from the beginnings of powerpop

6. Best female voice?
Brandi Carlile - her voice makes me want to make love to her furiously

7. Best male voice?
Adam Duritz from Counting Crows - his range and tone are phenomenal

8. Music types you find yourself listening to most?
Folk, Pop, Indie Rock

9. What do you listen to, to hype you up?
When I go running I rely on my guilty pleasures: Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack

10. What do you listen to when you want to calm down?
Often times I play my own music, but if not its usually Elliott Smith, maybe Ryan Adams or David Shultz.
…

1) Neil Young
2) Paul Simon
3) Dave Matthews
4) Jon Birgisson of Sigur Ros
5) Ben Folds
6) Warren Hayes of Gov't Mule
7) Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle
8) Andrew Bird of Squirrell Nut Zippers and as a solo artist
9) Trey Anastasio of Phish
10) Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Shiiiiiit.

I'd totally forgotten how great Counting Crows are! Which is good because sometimes there's nothing better then rediscovering how much you love certain songs, but bad because omg! how could you have forgotten how much you loved those songs?!

Annoyingly (and again with the contradictions - wonderfully) they're songs where I'd like to do nothing more than post the entire lyrics because to cut out little bits really messes with the overall flow and picture of the story (song).
you try to tell yourself the things you try to tell yourself
to make yourself forget, i am not worried.
"if it's love," she said, "then we're gonna have to think about the consequences."
but she can't stop shaking and i can't stop touching her and...
Counting Crows // Anna Begins
Urk. Oh man, this song depresses me - but it's so, so... adorably, beautifully, lovely, in the motherfucker that hurts! way (not least because Adam Duritz' voice = gah). …

1. What are you listening to right now?
Omaha - Counting Crows

2. What song makes you sad?
I'm Trying to Break your Heart - Wilco

3. What is the most annoying song in the world?
There are so many ugh, most of them i try not to listen to, but anything by dashboard confessional or other emo bands.

4. Your all time favorite band?
I love so so so so many haha but right now i really like Amos lee and Nick Drake and Bob Dylan and Neil Young haha see, i could go on for days

5. Your newly discovered band is?
Amos Lee

6. Best female voice?
Alicia Keys or something, i used to love her

7. Best male voice?
Adam Duritz or the guy from The Cure

8. Music type you find yourself listening to most?
usually shoegaze and acoustic and classic folk, i love so much.

9. What do you listen to, to hype you up?
trance stuff, club music but not 50 cent hahaha

10. What do you listen to, to calm down?
nick drake, coldplay, the cure, root city, G. love and special sauce.

11. Last gig/concert you went to?
…