Tiga Gagak Hitam Akord

Lagu ini adalah komentar ketenaran. Dengan garis, Ketika semua orang mencintaiku, saya tidak akan pernah kesepian, penandatangan utama Adam Duritz menyatakan - dengan lebih dari sekedar sentuhan sarkasme - ketenaran itu akan membuat segalanya lebih baik (tidak pernah sepi diulang untuk mengantarkan pesan: Orang ini Adalah delusional). Ketika menjadi hit pertama bagi band ini, Duritz tiba-tiba dikenali di seantero Amerika, yang ia temukan tidak nyaman. Ketenaran yang baru ditemukan mengirimnya ke dalam funk yang berkepanjangan tiba-tiba dia mendapati dirinya menyanyikan sebuah lagu tentang memimpikan ketenaran saat dia sangat pahit tentang hal itu. Dengan lagu yang beresonansi, dia menjadi enggan menyanyikannya. Duritz berhenti menulis lebih dari setahun, dan album kedua Counting Crows, Recovering the Satellites. Bukankah dirilis sampai tiga tahun setelah debut mereka. Melihat kembali lagu tersebut dalam wawancara kami tahun 2013 dengan Adam Duritz. Dia menjelaskan bahwa meskipun bodoh jika menganggap ketenaran akan memecahkan masalah Anda, sulit untuk ditolak. Kata Duritz: Seharusnya kau melihat pria itu: Ketika semua orang mencintaiku, aku tidak akan pernah kesepian. Anda seharusnya tahu itu tidak benar. Untuk satu hal, tidak ada yang namanya semua orang mencintaiku. Tidak ada yang tahu Anda dalam kasus itu. Jadi aku tahu itu tidak akan terjadi seperti itu. Tapi Anda tetap menginginkannya: Anda ingin kehidupan menjadi lebih mudah, Anda ingin menjadi bintang rock sehingga lebih mudah untuk berbicara dengan seorang gadis. Orang gila yang sama duduk di sana bersama gadis itu nanti. Jadi tidak memperbaiki semuanya. Jones adalah Marty Jones, teman vokalis Adam Duritz. Sebelum Duritz bergabung dengan Counting Crows, mereka berada di sebuah band yang disebut The Himalayans. Ini ditulis oleh vokalis Adam Duritz dan gitaris David Bryson (tiga anggota band lainnya juga mendapat kredit komposer). Pada sebuah episode dari Pendeta VH1. Adam menjelaskan: Ini benar-benar lagu tentang temanku Marty dan aku. Suatu malam kami pergi untuk menyaksikan ayahnya bermain, ayahnya adalah seorang pemain gitar Flamenco yang tinggal di Spanyol (David Serva), dan dia berada di San Francisco dalam misi tersebut. Bermain dengan rombongan Flamenco lamanya. Dan setelah pertunjukan, kami semua pergi ke bar ini yang disebut New Amsterdam di San Francisco di Columbus dan kami benar-benar mabuk. Dan Marty dan aku duduk di bar sambil menatap kedua gadis itu, berharap ada jalan lain untuk bisa berbicara dengan mereka, tapi kami terlalu pemalu. Kami terus bercanda satu sama lain bahwa jika kita adalah bintang rock besar, bukan pecundang, musisi beranggaran rendah, ini akan mudah. Saya pulang malam itu dan saya menulis lagu tentang hal itu. Aku bercanda tentang apa tentang, cerita itu. Tapi itu benar-benar sebuah lagu tentang semua impian dan semua hal yang membuat Anda ingin melakukan apa pun yang merebut hati Anda, entah itu bintang rock atau menjadi dokter atau apalah. Hal-hal berjalan dari semua hal ini yang telah saya sembunyikan dalam diri saya hingga saya ingin bertemu dengan anak perempuan karena saya bosan tidak dapat melakukannya. Ini adalah banyak hal, tentang semua mimpi itu, tapi juga semacam peringatan karena tentang betapa sesat Anda mungkin tentang beberapa hal itu dan betapa berongganya mereka juga. Seperti karakter dalam lagu yang terus berkata, Ketika semua orang mencintaiku, aku tidak akan pernah kesepian, dan kamu seharusnya tahu bahwa itu bukan jalannya. Aku tahu itu saat itu juga. Dan ini adalah lagu tentang mimpiku. Duritz kemudian mengungkapkan bahwa pria di bar yang mendapatkan gadis-gadis itu adalah Kenney Dale Johnson, yang merupakan drummer Chris Isaaks. Banyak orang mengira Mr. Jones adalah referensi karakter Bob Dylan dalam lagu Ballad of Thin Man. Dylan mengatakan bahwa saya ingin menjadi Bob Dylan, Mr. Jones berharap dia adalah seseorang yang sedikit lebih funky. The Beatles memang menyebut karakter Bob Dylans dalam lagu mereka Yer Blues. Garis itu Merasa sangat bunuh diri, sama seperti Dylans Mr. Jones. Adam Duritz: Ini adalah lagu yang telah disalahartikan sangat, untuk sedikitnya. Saya pikir orang terlalu sering mencari simbolisme dalam lagu saat mereka lebih sederhana dari penampilan mereka. Ini, khususnya, jauh lebih sederhana daripada yang harus dilihat banyak orang. Saya telah mendengar semuanya dari sini tentang beberapa pria blues kuno yang mengajari saya untuk bermain musik, yang sama sekali menggelikan, tapi seperti fantasi film somebodys. Saya juga pernah mendengar tentang penisku, yang bahkan lebih menggelikan. Saat kami melakukan wawancara untuk Rolling Stone. Aku berjalan dengan David Wilde ke Musee dOrsay di Paris suatu hari dan hal pertama yang terjadi adalah kedua anak ini berlari menghampiri kami dan berkata, Hei Youre orang dari Counting Crows, benar Dan aku berkata, yeah. Dan dia berkata, Apakah Tuan Jones tentang penis Anda, saya ingin membunuh orang itu karena saya tahu di mana itu akan berakhir, yang merupakan paragraf pertama artikel di Rolling Stone. Ini adalah single pertama yang dirilis oleh Counting Crows dan juga hit terbesar mereka. Nama band mengacu pada frase Counting Crows yang berarti tidak ada gunanya, seperti dalam, Itu sama berharganya dengan menghitung gagak. Saran kredit: Robb - Pittsburgh, PA Semua anggota band adalah penggemar besar grup Big Star. Saat membawakan lagu ini di Saturday Night Live. Duritz mengubah garis Saya Ingin menjadi Bob Dylan untuk Saya Ingin Menjadi Alex Chilton. Alex Chilton adalah vokalis Big Star, dan Alex Chilton adalah nama lagu The Replacements. Dalam lagu Replacements mereka menyebutnya sebagai An tak terlihat dengan suara yang sangat terlihat. Saran pujian: Steve - Chino Hills, CA Lagu ini mengacu pada seorang wanita menari bernama Maria: Potong Maria, tunjukkan salah satu dari mereka tarian Spanyol. Karakter ini muncul dalam banyak lagu mereka. Dia adalah subjek utama single kedua mereka, Round Here: Maria mengatakan bahwa dia sekarat, melalui pintu depan saya melihat dia menangis, dan Maria datang dari Nashville dengan sebuah koper di tangannya. Di Mrs. Potters Lullabye, Duritz bernyanyi, ada sepotong Maria dalam setiap lagu yang saya nyanyikan. Dia juga disebutkan di latar belakang menulis di sampul Agustus Dan Segalanya Sesudahnya. Identitas Maria tidak pernah terungkap, yang membuat banyak orang percaya bahwa dia bukan orang sungguhan, tapi simbol untuk kesepian, keinginan, atau sesuatu yang serupa. Saran pujian: Alden - College Park, MD Seperti beberapa hit besar pada pertengahan 90an, lagu ini tidak dirilis sebagai single di Amerika, yang menyimpannya dari chart Billboard Hot 100, namun berarti bahwa penggemar harus membeli keseluruhan Album untuk mendengarnya Taktiknya berhasil, dengan penjualan Agustus dan Segalanya Setelah mencapai 7 juta. Lagu ini mencapai 5 di tangga lagu Billboard's Airplay, yang diintegrasikan ke dalam Hot 100 pada tahun 1998. Lagu hit lainnya dari era yang dirilis dengan nada sebagai single antara lain Dont Speak oleh No Doubt and Torn oleh Natalie Imbruglia. Duritz dituduh mengangkat sha-la-la-la-la dari klasik Van Morrisons Brown Eyed Girl. Yang jauh dari kebenaran, dia mengatakan kepada Entertainment Weekly. Saya sudah mendapat banyak flack ini, katanya. Saya melemparkan satu sha la la sebagai lelucon yang tercatat. Hal berikutnya yang saya ketahui adalah kedatangan kedua Cowboy Belfast sebagai julukan Morrison. Saya tidak mengerti Saya bisa melihat dari mana saya belajar dari nyanyiannya. Tapi semua penulis lain melompat ke sana sebagai referensi yang mudah. Komentar: 59 Saya selalu menganggap Mr. Jones sebagai tipe yang jahat. Anda tahu siapa yang menjadi sahabat terbaik dan memiliki apa yang Anda sebut sebagai niat terbaik namun membantu atau memungkinkan Anda untuk menyesatkan dengan benar Secara lisan, ini memiliki pengertian spiritual atau metafisik dengan lirik Mr. Jones dan saya menatap ke masa depan dan saling memberi tahu dongeng. Sebagian besar seperti perjalanan yang menyenangkan tentang dewa dan makna Ricky Nelson yang saya yakini. Ketika semua orang mencintaiku, aku tidak akan pernah kesepian dengan baik bagaimana dengan kalian mencintai dirimu sendiri cukup untuk menyadari tidak ada yang akan kesepian. Ketakutan rahasia semua adalah sendirian. Seperti lagu gliserin dari periode waktu yang sama dengan semak. Kita hidup di roda di mana semua orang mencuri saat Anda menyadari seperti Strawberry Fields. Tidak ada yang bisa digantungi dengan benar Hidup itu mudah dengan mata setengah tertutup, salah paham dengan semua yang Anda lihat. Menjadi sulit untuk menjadi seseorang tapi semuanya berhasil. John Doe - Tulsa, Ok Apakah ada yang tahu tentang penyanyi back-up yang bisa didengar di paruh terakhir lagu Great susunan vokal mereka. Lagu abadi Bocknobby - Toronto, On Biarkan saya mengawali komentar ini dengan pernyataan berikut: Saya mengerti bahwa ini bukan maksud yang dimaksudkan oleh penulis, hanya bagaimana nyanyiannya berbicara kepada saya. Yang mengatakan, here goes nothing. Saya baru saja mencari iman, dan menyadari bahwa keyakinan saya sendiri paling lemah. Saya berusaha keras untuk menemukan kebenaran namun terus-menerus terganggu oleh keinginan duniawi saya dan meskipun saya sering merasa bahwa Tuhan berbicara kepada saya, dalam keangkuhan saya, saya akhirnya berusaha untuk memuji kemuliaan-Nya. Lagu ini terasa seperti cerita itu bagiku. Saya sedang duduk di sebuah bar sambil minum dan berkabung setelah seorang wanita, ketika semangat Yesus (Mr. Jones) mulai berbicara kepada hati seorang wanita bernama Maria (Mary). Dia mulai menari saat ayah Mr. Jones (Tuhan) memainkan musik (gitar) untuknya, dan tiba-tiba saya menyadari betapa cantiknya dirinya - dan saya berharap bisa menjadi cantik itu. Jadi saya berjuang dengan kesunyian dalam pikiran saya sendiri (tidak adanya roh kudus dalam hidup saya) melalui malam metaforis sampai fajar (kesadaran bahwa saya membutuhkan Kristus dalam hidup saya). Jadi saya meminta Maria untuk terus menari untuk saya, sehingga saya dapat belajar bagaimana meniru pengabdiannya yang menyenangkan di dalam Tuhan - dan meminta Yesus untuk memberi saya botol (isi saya dengan Roh Kudus). Saya memohon kepada Tuhan untuk percaya kepada saya, karena saya menyadari bahwa saya tidak benar-benar mempercayai apapun (termasuk saya sendiri), dan saya ingin menjadi seseorang yang percaya. Yesus dan saya berjalan bersama dan berbicara tentang hal-hal yang saya pikir saya percaya (dongeng), dan kita menatap wanita cantik, Dia dengan semangat mereka, saya di tubuh mereka. Naluri saya mengatakan kepada saya bahwa mereka melihat Dia, tapi kesombongan saya mengatakan tidak, tidak, mereka menatap saya. Saya menatap ke dalam cahaya yang datang dari dua arah yang berbeda (lampu fisik dari benda-benda duniawi, dan cahaya spiritual dari Kebenaran Allah), saya tahu bahwa ketika semua orang mengasihi Anda (Kristus) tidak akan pernah ada yang kesepian lagi. Saya melukis gambar hidup saya, saya melukis diri saya dengan warna biru (sedih) dan merah (marah) dan hitam (kegelapan, potensi jahat) dan abu-abu (berpotensi untuk kebaikan, cacat oleh sifat berdosa saya). Saya tahu bahwa semua hal itu diperlukan untuk pertumbuhan hidup saya, dan karena itu bermakna dan indah, tapi kelabu (potensi saya untuk kebaikan) adalah aspek favorit saya dari diri saya sendiri. Saya tahu bahwa jika saya berdiri di hadapan orang-orang dan berbicara, bahwa saya akan menjadi simbol bagi mereka, namun saya belum dapat melakukan apa yang benar. Jika bisa, saya akan menemukan seseorang yang bisa melihat keindahan ciptaan melalui kekacauan realitas dan belajar dari mereka (seperti Picasso), jika saya dapat melakukan itu, saya akan berdiri di hadapan Tuhan dan setiap orang dan bermainlah Gitar, sambil tetap mengingat ketidaksempurnaan saya sendiri. Yesus dan saya, melihat masa depan hidup saya, kita menatap wanita cantik (sama seperti di atas) dan sekali lagi saya mencoba untuk memuji kemuliaanNya. Saya berdiri di depan kerumunan (dalam sorotan), akhirnya saya tahu bagaimana cara berbicara dengan benar (gitar abu-abu saya), tapi saya gagal lagi karena saya mencoba untuk menerima pujian lagi dengan mengatakan bahwa ketika semua orang mencintai AKU, saya tidak akan pernah menjadi Kesepian saya tidak akan pernah kesepian tidak saya tidak akan pernah, kesepian Semakin saya mencoba meyakinkan diri sendiri bahwa saya akan menjadi orang yang membuat diri saya bahagia, semakin saya menjadi sadar bahwa itu hanya akan datang melalui Tuhan. Saya ingin sekali berbicara tentang Kebenaran dengan otoritas sejati (seperti singa), sepertinya semua orang di sekitar saya puas lulus sebagai kucing (hanya kemunculan otoritas), kita semua ingin menjadi hebat - adalah sifat kita untuk mencari kebesaran. - Tapi kita semua memiliki alasan yang berbeda (beberapa untuk membantu diri mereka sendiri, beberapa untuk membantu orang lain, beberapa untuk melayani Tuhan). Sekali lagi saya memohon kepada Tuhan untuk percaya kepada saya, karena saya masih tidak benar-benar percaya akan kebebasan Kristus (sebagaimana dibuktikan dengan kegagalan saya yang terus-menerus untuk memberi dia pujian atas berkat saya), dan saya ingin menjadi seseorang yang dapat dipercaya orang. Yesus dan saya melewati jalan-jalan kotor bario bersama-sama, kita masih menatap wanita cantik, tapi sekarang akhirnya saya mengerti bahwa mereka sempurna untuk Kristus, dan saya tahu bahwa harus ada seseorang yang tepat untuk saya. Saya ingin menjadi seorang pendongeng yang menyentuh kehidupan masyarakat (seperti bob Dylan), Kristus berharap Dia adalah seseorang yang sedikit lebih funky (begitu banyak orang membayangkan Kristus tegang, tapi Dia berjalan bersama kita bahkan melalui rintangan kehidupan kita), Tuhan berkata Dia (ah, Nak) bahwa Dia sama asyiknya, karena setiap orang mengasihi Dia. Kristus dan saya melihat video hidup saya bersama, ketika saya menontonnya bersama Dia, saya ingin bisa melihat langsung ke mata saya sendiri sambil menatap tanpa malu-malu. Kita semua ingin menjadi hebat - kita hanya tidak tahu bagaimana mendapatkannya, atau bahkan mengapa kita menginginkannya, tapi ketika saya menjadi seperti Kristus, dan semua orang mencintaiku, akhirnya aku akan bahagia seperti saya. Yesus dan saya, akan menjadi bintang besar. Saya harap penafsiran ini tidak menyinggung siapapun - saya tidak bermaksud demikian. Saya berharap jika Anda mencari seperti saya bahwa lagu ini berbicara kepada Anda sedalam yang saya lakukan dan membantu Anda dalam perjalanan Anda. Keith - Goose Creek, Sc Saya selalu melihat lagu ini memiliki makna yang lebih dalam dan bahwa penulis membenci hal itu sedikit mengecewakan. Apapun, saya rasa para seniman tidak harus lebih valid daripada pendengar sehingga saya tidak bisa memberikannya: Lagunya sederhana, hanya tentang aspirasi, dan kesadaran bahwa hidup lebih dari sekedar kesuksesan profesional. Tapi saya juga mendapatkan getaran yang mengomentari Tuhan melalui Mr. Jones. Saya tidak bisa memilih mengapa, begitulah cara saya menafsirkannya. Kyle - St. Louis, Il um. Maria adalah nama spanyol Menari flamenco adalah spanyol. Jadi kalau maria selalu ada di lagu mereka kenapa tidak menjadikannya nama penari. Dan ayahnya yang bermain gitar adalah teman bermain Adams sambil bermain sambil minum. Duhhhh Liv - Long Island, Ny Great song. Seluruh album ini hebat. Saya pertama kali masuk ke dalam gagak sekitar tahun 1996. Bertahun-tahun sebelum saya mengambil beberapa pelajaran gitar tapi saya tidak pernah benar-benar terjebak dengannya. Saya mengambil gitar saya lagi. Pada musim panas tahun 96 dan satu lagu yang akan saya dengar banyak adalah Mr. Jones. Saya menyadari bahwa itu telah dirilis 3 tahun sebelumnya, tetapi karena saya sekarang kembali bermain gitar, saya melihatnya lebih banyak setiap kali radio tersebut masuk. Saya mencintai Rythm dari lagu ini Pada musim gugur itulah aku telah mempelajari akord-akord. Ini adalah satu dari beberapa lagu yang pernah saya pelajari hanya dengan mendengarkannya. Begitu saya mengetahui akordnya, irama itulah yang paling saya latih. Saya sekarang telah melihat pelajaran untuk lagu ini di internet dan sering kali mereka memainkannya dengan gitar akustik. Lagu ini terdengar oke pada akustik tapi kedengarannya terbaik saat dimainkan seperti itu. Ada di album dengan gitar listrik yang menggunakan nada bersih. Ini adalah salah satu lagu terbaik dari 90s. What sebuah album yang hebat juga. Brian - Boston, Ma Dont tahu apakah ini telah diposting, tapi quotNew Amsterdamquot sekarang disebut quotInternational Sports Clubquot dan terletak di 1000 Columbus Avenue (titik temu dengan Taylor Street) di San Francisco. CA. Rupanya mereka melakukan happy hour dengan bir murah. Duduk di kursi Adam Duritz adalah opsional. Gazza - Buenos Aires, Argentina Orang, satu pertanyaan dalam kalimat: quotShe menari saat ayahnya bermain gitar. quot - Ayah siapa mereka berbicara tentang Bukankah seharusnya menjadi momok yang baik? Awalnya saya pikir penari Flamenco bisa menjadi anak dari ini. Quothis fatherquot, tapi kemudian Mr Jones tidak akan berbicara dengan seorang pria, benar SO penari flamenco adalah seorang gadis (juga karena tarian dia. Dia bertanya-tanya). Dapatkah seseorang membantu saya memahami ayah siapa lagu yang berbicara tentang ayah Tuan Jones. Heloisa Argentina - Crdoba, Argentina Tuhan lagu ini menjadi sangat tua sangat cepat Clay - Henagar, Al Saya pikir Mr. Jones adalah minuman dalam lagu tersebut. Xavier - Schenectady, Ny Nah, apapun yang Anda pilih, namanya, Mr. Jones adalah nama umum - bukan siapa-siapa. Nama yang umum akan berubah sewaktu seseorang mencapai ketenaran dan musik itu sendiri terkadang mengubah namanya saat pria itu menjadi seorang musisi terkenal. Terkadang musisi akan menyimpan namanya sendiri, tapi cukup sering berubah setelah heshe mencapai ketenaran. Atau jarang ada nama masing-masing nama band yang diketahui. Misalnya, kita tahu grup yang memainkan lagu tersebut sebagai quotCounting Crowsquot, tapi saya masih tidak bisa memberi tahu Anda masing-masing nama anggota band indvidual.- Semoga bisa membantu. Chad - Wilmington, De Untuk waktu yang lama, saya pikir Mr. Jones adalah sebuah metafora untuk kesepian. Masih lagu yang hebat Brad - Topeka, Ks Heres sebuah blog abou the New Amsterdam fitur dalam lagu: frazing. wordpress20081217google-streeview Fraser - Stirling, Inggris Saya pikir jelas bahwa lagu ini adalah tentang saat-saat ketika berpikir bahwa jika Anda akan menjadi Kaya dan terkenal, Anda akan mendapatkan semua yang Anda inginkan. Semua orang yang mengaku sebagai penggemar Counting Crows tahu bahwa penyanyi tersebut segera menyadari bahwa ini bukan kasusnya. Itulah mengapa, dalam versi live, liriknya berubah setiap saat, menghilangkan keadaan moodnya. Jan - Antwerp, - Saya sedikit kecewa karena Mr. Jones hanyalah teman yang diminumnya di bar. Saya selalu mengira Tuan Jones adalah seorang yang pintar karena iri hati dan keinginan seperti Im Jones untuk sesuatu atau mengikuti Jones. Di Jr. High School saya mempunyai teman bahwa saya akan menyelinap pergi dan merokok bersama dan dia akan selalu mengatakan Im Jones untuk orang yang merokok, Mr. Jones Today. Untuk menjawab posting lain, ada beberapa lagu bagus tentang heroin meski ini bukan satu. Bunga Mati oleh Batu adalah favorit saya tapi CCKMP oleh Steve Earle, White Freight Liner oleh Townes Van Zandt dan The Needle dan Damage Done oleh Neil Young adalah beberapa yang lain. Steve - Charlotte, Sc Maria adalah Adam Duritz seperti Mary kepada Bruce Springsteen. Ekristheh - Halath, Amerika Serikat Stuart, saya tidak tahu lagu Nazaret yang Anda maksudkan, jadi mungkin saja garisnya jadi Anda ingin menjadi bintang rocknroll. Dengarkan saja apa yang saya katakan Dapatkan gitar listrik dan luangkan waktu dan belajarlah Bermain muncul di dalamnya, tapi garis itu berasal dari lagu Jadi Anda Ingin Menjadi Bintang Rock and Roll oleh Byrds. Mungkin saja Nazaret mengutip lagu itu. Michael - Pittsburgh, Pa ok, jadi bagaimana sih lagu ini bisa jadi tentang hing dong hello jesus thats hanya aneh, ive tahu lagu ini selamanya dan cara saya menafsirkannya begini: cowok punya teman yang lebih waspada daripada dia dan keduanya Ingin menjadi terkenal dan mendapatkan anak perempuan, saya tahu ada lebih banyak cara untuk menafsirkan lagu, tapi serius, penis Sierra - Grand Forks, Nd saya benar-benar bertemu Marty Jones saat menulis artikel majalah tentang pencarian Maria. Dia adalah orang yang sangat keren yang menceritakan latar belakang Mr. Jones dalam cerita: 801mag. orgcsContentServerchildpagename801Mag2FJRNContentC2FArticleDetailcJRNContentCp1165270039399pagenameJRN2F801Wrappercid1175372067481 Steve - New York, Ny Suara vokalis Counting Crows Adam Duritz adalah instrumen yang luar biasa. Mr Jones memperkenalkan penggemar musik ke fasilitas luar biasa Duritz dalam mendongeng dalam konteks sebuah lagu. Hanya mencoba untuk bernyanyi bersama pada Mr Jones dan setelah Anda selesai terengah-engah, Anda menyadari betapa fenomenal ini kinerja. Bertrand - Paris, Prancis Saya baru mendaftar hanya untuk memprotes sebuah komentar yang ditulis CARA di atas: Lagu tidak perlu rumit untuk menjadi baik. Lihat saja Rick Nelsons Garden Party. Sederhana dan murni, tapi flippin rock n roll yang hebat. - Tony, Boston, MA Penulis poinnya adalah untuk mengatakan bagaimana tidak ada arti yang lebih dalam untuk sebuah lagu agar bagus (yang saya setujui, karena saya menyukai lirik yang berarti) tapi sayangnya contoh pesta kebun tidak berhasil. - Pesta kebun dikemas dengan makna tersembunyi. Its semua tentang bagaimana kecewa Rick Nelson ketika ia bermain di sebuah konser dan tidak ada yang tertarik pada materi barunya, yang tidak SEBENARNYA tentang pergi ke pesta kebun sama sekali Its dikemas dengan metafora dan referensi Tapi kembali ke Mr. Jones, cinta lagu itu , Sebuah pukulan di seluruh dunia, saya pernah mendengarnya sesekali di klub-klub di Spanyol ketika saya tinggal di sana, dan itu adalah 2001-2005 Tidak percaya ppl berpikir tentang penisnya, saya bahkan tidak mengerti bagaimana hal itu akan berhasil. Charlie - Durham, Inggris Lagu ini tidak dihapus karena banyak orang masih menyukai lagu ini. Saya tahu saya melakukannya dari Counting Crows. Natalie - Chiago, Il Saya tidak tahu tentang Anda orang tapi saya suka lagu ini. J - Jackson, Ga aku tidak percaya lagu isnt tentang nya (dihapus). Saya benar-benar berpikir selama 13 tahun terakhir ini. Cory - Morden, Kanada Meskipun ini tentang Marty Jones dalam lagu ini, Bob Dylans Mr Jones dikabarkan akan menjadi Brian Jones dari Rolling Stones Ty - Indianapolis, In Jika Anda mendengarkan versi di Across A Wire - Live in New York album, lagu dimulai dengan lirik Jadi Anda ingin menjadi bintang rocknroll Hanya mendengarkan sekarang untuk apa yang saya katakan Dapatkan gitar listrik dan ambil beberapa waktu dan belajar bermain. Lirik ini dipinjam langsung dari lagu Nazaret Telegram. Stuart - Liverpool Inggris Semua orang terus tentang Maria menjadi orang yang nyata, tapi Adam Duritz cukup jelas mengatakan bahwa Shes bukan Shes yang bermaksud mewakili gadis. Tapi dia tampil dalam banyak lagu, dan lirik di sampul album adalah lagu Agustus dan Everything After yang hanya diputar secara live. Nicole xx Nicole - Derby, Inggris aw lagu ini sangat imut dan liriknya tumpul jadi berhenti mencoba menafsirkannya Kayla - Cary, Nc lagu ini juga dinyanyikan oleh Hidden In Plain View namun tidak di salah satu cd mereka yang mereka miliki. terbuat. Stephanie - Moreno Valley, Ca Ini hanyalah salah satu lagu hebat yang akan selalu dibawa keluar dari konteks. Adam Duritz menulis lagu ini sebagai kenangan akan percakapan yang menyenangkan dia dan temannya, Marty (Mr.) Jones pernah berada di sebuah bar. Sederhana seperti itu. Tidak lebih, tidak kurang. Sebuah lagu tidak perlu rumit untuk menjadi baik. Lihat saja Rick Nelsons Garden Party. Sederhana dan murni, tapi flippin rock n roll yang hebat. Tony - Boston, Ma Untuk mengatur ini lurus, idenya adalah untuk mendapatkan banyak anak ayam dan teman atau apapun dengan menjadi terkenal, seperti berada di band rock atau sejenisnya. Lagu yang bagus dengan lirik yang bagus, mudah dimainkan di band. Jo-c - Lima, Peru Saya pikir komentar heroin berulang ini adalah sebuah lelucon. Ini muncul di kolom komentar hampir setiap lagu yang telah saya teliti di Songfacts. Jika seseorang memposting songfact untuk Veni, Creator Spiritus atau Sister Janet Meads The Lords Prayer, seseorang pasti akan berkomentar Benar-benar sebuah lagu heroin. Paling tidak, begitulah menurut saya. Ekristheh - Halath, Amerika Serikat Saya merekomendasikan agar semua orang yang menikmati musik yang dinyanyikan oleh Adam dan didukung oleh tempramen band yang indah, paling baik didengar melalui Across A Wire - Live In New York City. Seperti yang dikatakan Adam paling baik di antara lagu-lagu yang memainkan beberapa lagu listrik ini karena mereka telah berubah banyak dan karena saya pikir kita benar-benar tahu bagaimana cara memainkannya sekarang. Jadi jika Anda ingin mendengar arti dari lagu yang Anda cintai (terutama Mr Jones), album ini merangkum begitu banyak niat saat ini. Anda benar-benar bisa merasakan suaranya bergetar karena emosi dan memperdalam dengan perasaan, itu mungkin hanya imajinasi saya tapi saya benar-benar bisa mendengar semua yang ingin mereka katakan. Saya ingin melihat lebih banyak album seperti ini. Sehubungan dengan Mr Jones, mengapa Anda memasukkan sebuah lagu ke detramen dengan menjelaskannya melalui dia yang menamai penisnya atau memberi kreativitas besar pada obat-obatan terlarang, biar menjadi seperti apa dan temukan keindahan dalam gambar yang diciptakannya. Pada akhir hari saya pikir intepretasi mengatakan lebih banyak tentang orang yang menafsirkannya daripada orang yang benar-benar lagu itu sebenarnya. Lisa - Perth, Australia Saya selalu mengira lagu itu tentang penisnya. Cherie - Ny, Ny saya setuju dengan siapapun yang mengatakan bahwa ini adalah salah satu lagu yang hebat karena Anda dapat menempatkan diri dan pengalaman Anda ke dalam lagu. Saya harus mengatakan bahwa mengatakan lagu ini adalah tentang heroin sedikit peregangan - terutama karena tidak ada bukti dalam lagu untuk mendukungnya. Tentu, ini berbicara tentang gitarnya, tapi itulah satu-satunya koneksi yang bisa saya buat antara argumen dan lagunya. Beth - Livonia, Mi Lagu yang bagus dengan lirik yang bagus favorit saya. Saya akan melukis gambar saya, Cat sendiri dengan warna biru dan merah dan hitam dan abu-abu Semua warna yang indah sangat sangat berarti. Dan - Columbia, Md Lucu, lagu ini membuatku teringat teman baikku saat masih muda. Pada saat kita benar-benar mulai mendengarkannya, banyak lirik menunjukkan kehidupan nyata kita. Empat baris pertama menunjuk pada pacar berambut pirangku (saat itu) dan juga gadis berambut hitam temanku berkencan, yang juga seorang penari. Dan garis Dia menari sementara ayahnya bermain gitar juga membuat kita memikirkan fakta bahwa ada familes yang dalam bisnis untuk waktu yang singkat. Aku benar-benar bisa masuk, tapi lagu yang bagus yang pastinya akan menjadi favoritku untuk sementara. John - Cleveland, Tn Lagu ini sangat dalam bagi saya. Ini mengingatkan saya pada perasaan saya saat anak perempuan dan saya putus, pada saat bersamaan gadis paman saya juga meninggalkannya. Kami berdua hanya berkumpul bersama untuk mabuk dan berbicara tinggi tentang wanita kami. Lagu ini adalah tentang dua orang yang merasa sendirian dan hanya membutuhkan seseorang untuk peduli dengan mereka. Untung pamanku dan aku berdua kembali bersama gadis-gadis kami. Lagu ini memungkinkan saya melihat betapa sepinya kita bisa berakhir. Dante - Di sini, Cina ini sebenarnya lagu yang sangat bagus. Sementara semua orang di sekitar mereka melompat ke kereta pop pop komersial, orang-orang ini memiliki keberanian untuk keluar dengan sebuah lagu yang benar-benar bermakna pada liriknya. Untuk ini, saya bertepuk tangan. Matt - Millbrae, Ca Saya pikir Mr Jones adalah Duritz mengubah ego dan ketika dia benar-benar mabuk atau tinggi atau apapun yang diungkapkan, itulah intepretasi saya untuk lagu itu. Fabian - Nogales, Meksiko lagu tersebut sepertinya juga bisa ikut bersamaan dengan drama kematian seorang salesman. Ben - Weymouth, Ma saya mengerti bagaimana lagu ini seharusnya tentang teman adams, tapi saya memiliki interperitasi yang berbeda. Aku tahu itu bukan apa yang adam dimaksudkan, tapi saya pikir itu sebagian mengapa mr. Jones adalah lagu yang luar biasa: setiap orang dapat menemukan cara untuk membuat lagu ini sangat pribadi bagi diri mereka sendiri. Namun lumpuh beberapa interperatations, jika mereka berarti sesuatu untuk orang itu, maka jadilah aku berharap ini dipertimbangkan Michelle - Montreal, Amerika Serikat saya dulu berpikir lagu ini adalah tentang seorang skizofrenia, yang menjadi orang lain saat dia kurang percaya diri. , Dan akhirnya percaya semua orang menyukai alter ego ini lebih dari dia. Ada versi akustik yang luar biasa dari ini, adalah untuk mati, kecuali kenyataan bahwa mereka menyingkirkan garis kesukaan saya: Mr. Jones dan mr, menatap videonya saat melihat televisi yang ingin saya lihat, menatapiku kembali. padaku. Pat - Montreal, Kanada Saya ingin tahu mengapa obat yang selalu dimiliki oleh lagu rock adalah pahlawan wanita. Ini bukan tentang pahlawan wanita. Saya sangat meragukan bahwa ada banyak lagu bagus tentang tokoh wanita. Brittany - Waverly, Ny Saya bertemu dengan Adam Duritiz pada tahun 200 ketika saya sedang bekerja di sebuah stasiun radio lokal, saya bertanya kepadanya tentang inspirasi untuk lagu ini dan Omaha. Ini tidak ada hubungannya dengan narkoba. MENGAPA, mengapa semua orang mengira Heroin adalah bassis untuk lagu ALL ROCK. Serriously, ketika seseorang mengatakan lagu ini adalah tentang heroin saya mengabaikan posting. Hei kamu tahu lagu itu, Selamat ulang tahun nya tentang Heroin. Ya mereka menulis tentang mengambil smack untuk pertama kalinya, Anda tahu ulang tahun Anda sebagai dan adict. Se betapa bodohnya suara Monty - Omaha, Ne aku mendengar satu teori dari seseorang yang menganggap Mr. Jones adalah merek minuman keras. Jadi jika Anda mendapatkan lirik itu sedikit salah, mungkin saya akan memberi saya sebotol Mr. Jones - dan kemudian ketika dia menyanyikan Mr. Jones untuk mengobrol dengan penari flamenco berambut hitam ini, dia benar-benar mabuk dan hanya minuman keras yang dibicarakannya. Hehe, tidak akan terlalu banyak memasukkannya ke dalam teori itu. Torbjrn - Trondheim, Norwegia apakah ada diantara kalian yang mendengar film wanita cantik. I dont kno ketika film atau lagu keluar tapi setelah saya melihat film saya yakin bahwa itu terhubung. Untuk satu, bar di mana mereka nongkrong adalah mr joness. Ketika mereka duduk di gedung itu, mereka berbicara tentang pria yang sedang jatuh cinta pada gadis itu dan dia bilang kita semua ingin somthing cantik. Nama filmnya adalah wanita cantik. Dan i dont kno persis di mana amsterdam baru tapi im cukup yakin yang di yankee teritory sehingga mungkin juga setting film. Ada lebih banyak hal tapi saya tidak melihat film ini dalam beberapa saat, ada orang lain yang melihat hubungan Katie - Royston, Ga Duritz juga mengganti Dave Lowery dari Cracker untuk Bob Dylan dalam pertunjukan TV lain, Duritz juga mengenakan kaos Cracker selama pertunjukan ini. Nick - Arlington Heights, saya tidak peduli dengan siapa dia mengatakannya. Mr Jones adalah Lester Bangs. Matt - Durham, Nh Adam tahu dia menatapku. Dan saya pergi dan berbicara (dan membuat diri saya sangat bodoh) dengan yang saya perhatikan. Tapi mungkin kalau aku jadi bintang rock. Marty - Eugene, atau ive membawa pasangan ini david yang percaya bahwa lagu Mr Jones oleh Counting Crows adalah sampul yang aneh demi crist. Saya harap ini dan entri lainnya di internet dan tvpublications sama akan membuatnya lurus. SONG yang BAIK dan ditulis oleh Adam Duritz dan Counting Crows Rod - Ipswich, Australia Saya menyukai gagasan Mr. Jones sebagai Adams alter ego. Saya pikir itu benar-benar menunjukkan perbedaan antara orang yang sadar, dan orang yang tinggi atau mabuk (Mr. Jones). Either way sebuah lagu yang bagus yang tidak pernah mendapat penghargaan yang pantas. Matt - St Charles, Mo jeffq yang diposting komentar pertama adalah obviosly bingung. Saya ingin tahu di mana Anda mendengar bahwa Adam memiliki kecanduan herion dan menggadaikan gitarnya sebelum pertunjukan. Anda tahu betapa konyolnya suara Anda Katy - Eden Prairie, Mn Ini tentang kecanduan heroin selebriti Adam Duritz. Jones adalah agennya, dan kesulitan menjadi pecandu heroin. Band ini diberi nama setelah hobi favoritnya saat terbang tinggi dari heroin yang menghitung gagak. Dia biasanya akan pion dari gitarnya untuk mendapatkan uang obat bius dan anggota band lainnya harus membelinya kembali sebelum setiap pertunjukan. Jeffq - Nekoosa, Wi Adam Duritz mengatakan pada VH1 Storytellers bahwa lagunya ditulis saat dia dan seorang teman sedang mendengarkan teman temannya (yang adalah pemain gitar flamenco) bermain di sebuah bar bernama New Amsterdam. Ada semua gadis cantik di bar ini, dan menari mengikuti musik. Jones dan Adam sedang minum dan berbicara tentang bagaimana mereka berani berbicara dengan wanita-wanita ini jika mereka terkenal. Mereka kemudian terus bermimpi tentang bagaimana semua masalah mereka akan terpecahkan jika mereka terkenal. Jeremy - Gonzales, La bisa menjadi apa yang dia inginkan tapi takut untuk mencoba Jaffa - Auckland, Selandia Baru Jones bisa berarti gairah, keasyikan, kecanduan atau keinginan. Mr Jones adalah penyanyi alt-ego. Siapa yang mendambakan ketenaran itu akan memberinya cinta dan kebahagiaan. Penyanyi ini tidak yakin bagaimana orang melihat dia, apakah mereka melihat dia yang sebenarnya atau ketenarannya. Shes melihatmu, kurasa tidak. Shes menatapku. Terima kasih kepada Bill karena telah menjelaskan hal ini kepada saya, sebuah lagu yang bagus Karen :-) Karen - Virginia Beach, Va Mr. Jones tidak terinspirasi oleh Mr. Jones dalam lagu Dylan. Its tentang Marty Jones salah satu teman Adams dari Bay Area. Periksa Crows press yang pernah ada untuk mendukungnya. Richard - Nederland, Tx Bisakah Mr. Jones menjadi penyanyi yang berubah saat hes mabuk. Seseorang memeriksanya Pass me the bottle Mr. Jones. Live Freak - Beirut, Other see more commentsRanking All 69 Counting Crows Songs Counting Crows is my favorite band. So, in celebration of the upcoming release of their new album, Somewhere Under Wonderland Im presenting to you a countdown of all of their original, studio tracks. Im leaving off bootlegs and songs that were never officially released (40 Years, Were Only Love, Barely Out of Tuesday, etc.), songs that appear exclusively on live albums, and covers (including the entire Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) album). In instances in which the band released more than one studio version of the song, I defaulted to the first version the band released. The criteria for the countdown are wholly subjectivemy preferred picks for lyrics, melody, and personal impact. Note, Im a fan of the entire Crows catalog, so even the songs at the bottom of the list are not ones I actively dislikejust ones I love less, and my purposes here are more to have fun reflecting on the bands music than to produce a definitive list. Feel free to debate the order amongst yourselves and let me know if I missed any songs in the comments section. 69. New Frontier Hard Candy In the right moment, I can find this song sort of catchy but the synth pop vibe and largely nonsensical lyrics dont do much to inspire a devoted Counting Crows fan. From what I can gather its a song about failure to communicatea message that the song, itself, fails to communicate all that effectively, and that sounds strangely dated for a post-eighties band. 68. All My Friends This Desert Life Counting Crows offers up its share of songs about feelings of isolation, abandonment, and otherness, and often does so in creative, thought-provoking ways. This song, in which Adam Duritz intones, all my friends and lovers leave me alone to try to have a little fun, feels altogether too trueabout a narrator who is not just depressed, but too depressing for anyone to have a good time around. 67. Cowboys Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings A big part of why Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings rates as my overall least favorite Counting Crows album is because the impassioned noise that seems to bleed from one song to another on the first half of the albumnot bad if youre in the right mood for it, but also not the sound that I turn to Counting Crows to hear. This song seems to have appreciable political implicationspossibly about a certain president being too much of a cowboy in office it may also be more about self-flagellation. In either case, I can appreciate the emotional intensity of the song, but its far from my favorite to listen to. 66. Anyone But You Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Theres a dreamy, meditative quality to this song that captures the stunted funk of post-relationship wallowing, and I reckon the song works on that level, but otherwise it feels as though the song says a bit too little to really say much of anything meaningful at all. 65. Good Time Hard Candy This one comes across as a song about awkward attempts at first moves in between more meaningful relationships. I dig the I really love those red-haired girls, Im just another boy from Texas refrain at the end of the song, but its otherwise kind of a snooze, a momentum killer, and a relative weak spot in the early stages of an otherwise largely underrated Hard Candy album. 64. Children in Bloom Recovering the Satellites This is one of the more off-kilter tracks on Recovering . vacillating between the cool, mellow repetition of I gottta get out on my own and shouting eccentricities. It sounds like a coming of age song andor one about disillusionment. It never quite connected for me, though the outro is cool and memorable. 63. Hanging Tree Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Theres an unstable edge to this song that I find appealingdivergent from the more pensive, self-reflective side the band usually embraces, more at home among, but also a bit more aggressively unpredictable than the rough-edged Saturday night half of this album. With the arguable exception of the chorus, the song isnt exactly catchy or pleasant to listen to as interesting as the lyrics and composition are, that docks it a few places in the countdown. 62. Why Should You Come When I Call Hard Candy This song is catchy in a cheesy sort of way, not much like other tracks from the Crows catalog, but still aurally pleasing almost in spite of itself with the chorus of ba-ba-ba-ba-bas that easily could have been annoying and yet register for me as almost impossible not to sing along with. The content of the song is comparably dubiousostensibly about an insomniac making the rounds trying to set up late night rendezvous with lovers, ex-girlfriends, and whoever else probably ought to know better. 61. Goodnight LA Hard Candy While I dont actively dislike this song, I cant help feeling that it comes across as a caricature of better songs in the Counting Crows catalog. The refrain of What brings me down now is love, cause I can never get enough feels forced rather than earned in this tepid visit to melancholia. 60. Butterfly in Reverse Hard Candy Theres a simple, old-time feel to this song, adorned with piano keys and strings. Its one of the prettier Crows songs and manages to capture nostalgia without slipping into a forlorn place, but rather focusing on more innocent memories and capturing them as they once were. 59. Insignificant Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings This song has a lot of the jumping-off-the-top-of-a-building imagery that pervades other Crows songs, but rather than melancholy or particularly lost, Duritzs narrator sounds indignant and righteously pissed off to have been rendered insignificant. Its a song of defying rejection in favor of achieving his own significance. 58. Black and Blue Hard Candy A pretty melody and suicidal imagery intertwine for a song thats a little melodramatic and colorless (no pun intended) for my tastes, but nonetheless pretty in its own way. In a sense, my feelings for this song are similar to Goodnight LAnot that its a bad song, just that the band has done the essentially the same thing so much better. 57. American Girls Hard Candy I probably underrate this song a bit, not because I dont like it, but because on an album with so many really good songs, this largely uninspired pop ditty was the first singleonly to be followed a cutesy reimagining of the Big Yellow Taxi cover that started as a delightful hidden track at the end of the album, and ended up with Vanessa Carlton singing backup for a single that overshadowed far better original music. Back to American Girls, it has its catchy bits, but otherwise feels simultaneously conspicuously lightweight and weirdly sentimental in the you make me cry refrain. It feels like a knock off of the tradition of great American rock songs about women, but never quite finds its own voice. 56. Four Days This Desert Life This is a song of separationprobably a long distance romance, for which four days and nights feels like an interminably long period of time to wait to see someone again. As such, the song encapsulates a sense of young, impatient love, making marks on a wall like a prisoner. Its a beautiful, off-beat piece of music. 55. Millers Angels Recovering the Satellites Down trodden, mystified, with a hint of anger this song is a meditation on watching for angels that may not be so benevolent. Its a song of victimhood without a hint of recovery. I like it as a mood piece, and particularly like the contrast when it briefly transitions to more of a rock song. That said its not exactly a fun or entirely coherent listening experience. 54. Another Horsedreamers Blues Recovering the Satellites This song was purportedly written in response to Sam Shepards Geography of a Horsedreamer . about a woman who can predict which horse will win races and is subject to all manner of manipulation and mistreatment as a result. However literal that translation may be, the song is a simultaneously lovely and ugly depiction of a woman in crisis, trying to do whats right and escaping into a world of pill-induced sleep to escape from it all. 53. I Wish I Was a Girl This Desert Life Errant use of the subjunctive aside, this is a pretty profound little song about dreams of jumping to your death, and wishing people would trust what you say. I love the pleading to Elizabeth, which reads distinctly as a series of long distance phone calls. Its a both a song of resignation and absurdist speculation about what it would be like to be the opposite genderthough the band only addresses that theme explicitly in the title and its iteration in each chorus. I think that the popular interpretation of this song as Adam saying that women only trust other women and wont listen to men is a little too simplistic, but dont necessarily have a much better one. 52. Le Ballet DOr Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Despite its relatively low ranking, this track represents one of my favorite qualities about Crows songs, introducing an edgy, mysterious, almost macabre sound at an unexpected point in the mostly mellow Sunday morning half of the album. The song earns bonus points for the liner notes bit, crediting Brian Deck for climbing inside a piano and playing it like a harp to provide the instrumentation for the end of the song. 51. You Cant Count On Me Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Theres an interesting dissonance between music and lyrics on this one, particularly in the chorus which sounds so warm and inviting and yet is all about the narrator affirming that he shouldnt be counted on. Its a song about someone who toys with people and openly admits he isnt reliableand yet seems all the more magnetic for the admission. Its one of the catchier and certainly the most radio-friendly of the tracks from the Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings album. 50. Carriage Hard Candy I went to my first Counting Crows show in the autumn of 2005, and the band played a number of songs that would be featured on Hard Candy when it was released the following summer. This particular song may always stand out for me more based on the story behind itas Duritz explained it at the showthan the song itself which, while contemplative and laced with smart lyric choices, nonetheless feels a bit plodding and as though it never truly reaches its climax. Adam told the story of an unexpected pregnancy and the couple contemplating an abortion, deciding against it, only for the would-be mother to have a miscarriage. I particularly appreciated Duritzs rejection of the audiences cheers about deciding against the abortion he refused to take a side on the issue, placing it as a personal decision and not a moral stand. The recounting of the story offered a unique glance behind the curtain of another human beings life. 49. Washington Square Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings The opening lines of this song, narrating the choice to sell a piano, sets a tone of forlorn listlessness to key off the Sunday Morning half of this album. The song has been interpreted as one about going home (the traveling homeward to Washington Square lyric toward the end seems to support this reading), but given the itinerant motif and distance from family, I think its more about trying to forge a new home far away from a real home in the wake of major life changes. 48. Daylight Fading Recovering The Satellites Historically, I discounted this song for its seemingly out place countrified, laid back leanings on an otherwise more openly emotionally intense album. The track grew on me over the years, though. Melodically, its not as aggressively sad or angry as others on Recovering . but on further reflection, it feels more like a song of numbnesscoping with lack of meaning and inability to create, despite friends reassurances that everybody loves you and everybody cares. Its a song of quiet resignation and best attempts at patience, waiting for an emotion to pass so the narrator can get on with his life. 47. Speedway This Desert Life One of the sentiments I feel Counting Crows nails best in songs like this one is not so much emotional outbursts or agony as the sense of numbness and inaction that can come after breakups and other emotional trauma. The narrator spends so much of this song thinking about what he ought to do that it underscores how little he has actually done. 46. Ghost Train August and Everything After This song does a sensational job of synergizing the more literal interpretation of a ghostly, ethereal train with the metaphorical interpretation of looking at all of these past relationships and lovers as ghoststhe remnants and memories of which never go away entirely. The repetition of the Hey, how do you do first meeting is perfectly haunting on this off beat track. 45. Sundays Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings On an album of rock and roll, followed by melancholy reflection, this song marks a good balancing point, upbeat, fast, intricate, and conversationalthe narrator denied, rejected, or dumped depending on your reading of it. Given how fundamentally different they are from the rest of the song, the choruses either make or completely fail the song, depending on your interpretation. Im partial to the verses, myself. 44. Perfect Blue Buildings August and Everything After This song exists in the space between depression and catatonia, looking at everything as mundane to the point that it both runs together and becomes vaguely fantasticala perfect blue building, a green apple seamore visions from a painting than pieces of the world that the narrator could ever access himself. The song is alternately a little plodding and a little tidy for my tastes, but the line about getting myself a little oblivion still resonates with me after all these years. 43. 1492 Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings This hard rock anthem of a song is wholly different from anything else in the Counting Crows catalog, and offers a jaw-dropping intro to the Saturday nights half of the Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings album. Vocal tapestries of sex and violence flash across a back drop of a ripping electric guitar. I didnt much care for this track when I first heard it, but it grew on me upon repeat listeningsparticularly the desperation of the bridge as Duritz swells up to scream I am the king of everything, I am the king of nothing. 42. Time and Time Again August and Everything After I really liked Time and Time Again when I first heard August and Everything After and I still think its a good song, but ultimately more of a role player track on a great album than a stand out songs in its own right. It captures a lot of the angst that recurs and is arguably improved upon in the Counting Crows catalog, but does also paint some unique, impressive imagesthe idea of watching someone in reverse to see them coming home rather than leaving, and the idea of laying waste to a whole city and riding out into the desert. 41. Shallow Days August and Everything After (Deluxe Edition) Theres something simple and understated about this early demo that brings a smile to my face on every listen. Its ostensibly a love song about Adam and a girl named Mary Jane, more likely an extended metaphor for his relationship with weed. In the end, I prefer to focus on the sentiment of small people squeezing out a good life, who need a little good time. 40. Im Not Sleeping Recovering the Satellites There are times when this band teeters on the edge of artistry and just having too much go on at once. This is among the songs that walks that line, and while it doesnt land as one my favorites, I do feel that the overall product is successful in selling a narrators desperation and anger. Its difficult to tell if the ubiquitous she is a lover, the narrators mother, a friend, or more of a conceptlike his conscience or his paranoia. Regardless, the song works best on its explosions, which the shifts in dynamics set up beautifully, and Im particularly fond of the closing sequence, led off with a sample of Rain, Rain Go Away. 39. Monkey Recovering the Satellites This is probably the most light hearted track on the Crows darkest album. While doom, gloom, and hints of desperation weave together for an intoxicating collection of music, this songs includes the whimsical confession, Im all messed up, thats nothing new, which communicates a sensation of someone who has come to terms with his otherness and life problems just the same, its a mostly upbeat melody and comes across as at least an approximation of a love song, questioning where the narrators monkey has been all his life. 38. High Life This Desert Life This is, in a sense, the title track of its albumthe only song to explicitly reference this desert life. Its a fascinating bit of a dreamscape, navigating differences and overlaps between the desert and the big city, and the sense of waiting for someone and hoping shell stick around. The song has a distinctive sound and captures loneliness in an almost playful way. Its long and has an ethereal sound and, thus, I think it tends to get overlooked on this album, but its a real forgotten gem. 37. If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is dead) Hard Candy This song is about Adam Duritzs revelation of the impermanence of all things, people, and relationships upon learning Richard Manuel from The Band had passed. I love the recurring guitar riff in this song, and will always feel connected to it for becoming acquainted with the track during a summer crush and envisioning it as more of a love song than an exploration of why its hard to love anyone at all. 36. Love and Addiction August and Everything After (Deluxe Edition) This early demo never made it onto a Counting Crows disc until the re-release of August and Everything After in 2007. Based on a few critical turns, I preferred the bootleg recordings floating around the interwebs to this album version. Just the same its a fun courtship song about the intersection of affection and obsession, with a whole lot of youthful ambition woven in. Its a worthy track that didnt quite fit the vibe of the August album, but that nonetheless stands up on its own. 35. Omaha August and Everything After Duritz wrote this song before ever visiting Omaha, and claims that having written it earned him the key to the city, which he felt pretty awkward about. More so than the city itself, its a piece about leaving a place only to come back to it, and a feeling tread upon. Omaha all but explicitly stands for any number of faceless places in middle America, and conflicting impulses to find a new life and to come back to whats familiar. 34. Accidentally In Love Shrek 2: Motion Picture Sountrack I actually like this song a good bit, but just the same lament that, behind Mr. Jones and A Long December, its probably the song casual listeners most readily identify with Counting Crows. Its not a bad song, but it is a bubble gum pop song that isnt meaningfully representative of much else from the bands catalog. But lets stay positive. As far as Im concerned, (Come on, come on) jump a little higher, (come on, come on) if you feel a little lighter remains one of the purest representations of what new love really feels like. And Ill be darned if this song isnt catchy. 33. Mercury Recovering the Satellites This off-beat, almost bluesy song is an interesting mood piece amongst an otherwise more obviously emotional Recovering the Satellites album. It tells the tale of a mercurial relationship and the narrators willingness to tolerate or embrace all of it. The song is simultaneously conflicted and understated for a pretty intriguing final product. 32. Kid Things This Desert Life Ive never quite understood the fad of leaving several minutes of blank space on a track before giving way to a hidden track on an album. Sure, the surprise of a bonus song is great, but couldnt you just leave it off the liner notes This trend seems to have given way to exclusive tracksas in, exclusive to iTunes download, or exclusive to buying a CD at Target. Or maybe thats just been the case for artists I like. Anywho, for those of us willing to hold down the fast forward button for a minute or so or who were too lazy to get up to change CDs after St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream, the reward was Kid Thingsa plucky song with country roots in which Duritz implores his homebody love interest to come out and play, extolling the value of immature activities, and their potential to lead to greater things. Its a really fun song that Id probably love even more had it gotten its own track originally, and thus lent itself better to repeat listening. 31. Amy Hit the Atmosphere This Desert Life This is a mood piece in the melancholiest of senses. No, it doesnt carry the tragic weight of On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago or Raining In Baltimore but rather is, in a sense, is even sadder for the lack of energy and the general malaise of the song. This isnt a song of sudden heartbreak, but rather an ongoing one that the narrator has grown resigned to. I remember identifying with this song after long days during my high school careerworn out from early mornings to get to school on time, a heavy load of AP courses and extracurriculars, followed by late nights of homework and pining for a life that was less exhausting and more loving. The particular circumstances may vary, but I suspect weve all been there at one time and in one way or another. 30. Los Angeles Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings In the hyperactive Saturday night half of this album, Id argue that the Crows sound most at home on Los Angelesnot a hard rocker, more of a lazy party song about going out with friends and revisiting a Crows theme of coming to terms with fame and retaining ones humanity. 29. Einstein on the Beach (For an Egg Man) DGC Rarities Volume 1 By Duritzs own description, this was a song the Crows assembled when they were still learning to write pop songs, and he never intended for it to be released in any meaningful setting. Yet it went from a rarities compilation to radio play, and became one of the bands most recognizable tracks from its early years. No, its not the weightiest or more coherent Crows track, but it is the essence of a fun summer song, edging toward deep philosophical thought, but consistently tipping back to its lighter roots. 28. She Dont Want Nobody Near Films About Ghosts This early Counting Crows song never got a formal studio release until their greatest hits album. Like a number of Crows tracks it has an upbeat melody, but dont let that misguide you to thinking its a happy-go-lucky song. Its ostensibly a piece about social anxiety, wrestling with the competing impulses of a desire to be alone and fear of loneliness, all set against classic Crows pop song instrumentation. 27. Walkaways Recovering the Satellites Clocking in at one minute, thirteen seconds, its easy to dismiss this song, but I actually feel its one of the most underrated pieces of the brilliant Satellites album. Down-trodden and defeated, the song at first feels like one about abandonment, and yet takes a turn in the final lines in which Duritz sings that one day, Im gonna stay. But not today. The lyric hints at shared responsibility for lonelinessa culture of one-night stands and short engagements. Just the same, the finish sounds something like hopethat the narrator can foresee an end to that lifestyle amidst his current malaise. 26. On Almost Any Sunday Morning Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings This is the kind of track that its easy to overlook for just how understated it is, but I really dig the quiet depression and desperation inherent to it, reflecting on lonely Sunday mornings with a brand of disillusionment thats especially apparent after a raucous Saturday night. Its one of the clearest, most fully realized tracks of the Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings album. 25. When I Dream of Michelangelo Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings The title of this song is a callback to Angels of the Silences in which dreaming of Michelangelo hints at hidden depths and madness in the narrator. This beautiful ballad with a fundamentally different vibe lingers on that image and explores the space between being an artist and a person of strong opinions, and being torn between that and a plainer, less nuanced life and the love interest that seems to embody that simpler life. The soft, smooth instrumentation paints this inner conflict in a soft light, creating a beautiful song in its own right. 24. Colorblind This Desert Life This song will probably always receive disproportionate attention in the Counting Crows catalog for having been featured in a sexy scene from Cruel Intentions . Of course, its no more fair that I tend discount it because bandwagon fans only recognize it from the movie. All of that said, it is a beautiful piano-driven ballad that at once captures loneliness and a complete willingness on the part of the songs narrator to unfold and release himself to the trusting arms of another. 23. On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings I think of this song a bit like a poor mans Raining In Baltimore. The thing is that Baltimore is a such a good song that even a poor mans version is perfectly worth listening to. Its Counting Crows at the bands most down-trodden and melodramatic with a tragic refrain of the narrator pleading, come back to me. Its haunting. Its beautiful. 22. Baby Im a Big Star Now Rounders: Motion Picture Soundtrack This is a pretty infectious song, released as a hidden track on the vinyl version of This Desert Life and, more prominently on the Rounders soundtrack. It revisits Crows themes of disillusionment and self-loathing, with the catchiest of hooks that suggests an undercurrent of optimism and continuing to try. 21. Come Around Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings I remember listening to this track along a road trip to see my friends for the time in months after I first moved to Baltimore. The song perfectly encapsulates the spirit a reunionthe idea that old friends and family will find a way to come back around to each other, surviving all manner of short-term relationships and other pursuits. Sure, theres an underlying tone of abandonment and heartache to lyrics like, What I know is, shes going. When you know it, its all right. So you put yourself between you and your pride. Just the same, the song has more of the trappings of recovery than misery, and as such functions as an excellent track to close an album. 20. Have You Seen Me Lately Recovering the Satellites Throughout this countdown I refer to the narratora term that my background in writing workshops and literature classrooms has driven into my skull, demanding that the consumer never assume the author speaks for herself. That said, Duritz has been pretty open about the autobiographical nature of Recovering the Satellites (not altogether different from the bands other albums). The dynamic is particularly true of this song, a meditation on exploding from artist to superstar based on the commercial success of August and Everything After . and trying to decipher real relationships from faux ones real identity from public persona. On top of all of that, its a kickass rock song that subverts the expectations set by the songs that immediately surround it. 19. Holiday in Spain Hard Candy This whimsical, but downtrodden piece about a narrator retreating from a stark reality to an exotic location ostensibly caps Hard Candy (excluding the hidden track cover of Big Yellow Taxi). One of the sensations this band and particularly this song captures with pure artistry is the sense of keeping busy, keeping up appearances, and trying to stay cool when all the while you know your life is in shambles. For me, this is a song about attempting to recover, and just the same acknowledging that the flying away to someone new is part of cycle, not an elixir in and of itself. 18. Sullivan Street August and Everything After The debut album from Counting Crows is full of heartbreaking music. This conflicted song is all about the desperation that comes with a relationship falling apartthat uncomfortable period in which youre still together, but know that it will be over before long. From what Ive heard, Duritz wrote the song when he was in the habit of driving a girlfriend home, but the lyrics double up with the sensation of fighting a losing battledoing drivebys past an ex-lovers place with no real reason for doing so, no intention of stopping in. 17. Up All Night Hard Candy To me, this was the sweetest surprise of the Hard Candy album, a song that starts melancholy and lonesome that keys into feel like a late-night adventure, albeit one for which the narrator may still be forlorn. Indeed, Duritz ostensibly sounds as though he cant sleep for his dreams having slipped away. He acknowledges its too late to get high, in the same breath observing that his sleepless night may well give way to a cycle of sleeping through the daylight hours. The song seamlessly weaves together sensations of a partying and sex with disillusionment and disappointment, all against a backdrop of booming piano chords. 16. Hard Candy Hard Candy The title track of its album is all about memoriesstudying old photographs, remembering the best parts of a relationship past. The imagery of a girl standing by the water as a smile begins to curl and the evenings on Long Island when the colors start to fade always grab me when Im listening to this songwe may not all of have quite the same memories, but I reckon every one of us has specific people, signature landscapes, and moments that make us smile and sigh and reflect in all of the happiest and most gut-wrenching ways imaginable. 15. Catapult Recovering the Satellites This opening track is certainly off beat. It starts out with dreamy a quality before a solitary electric guitar chord shakes up the scene, crystallizes the vision, and stirs the listener to wakefulness. The song encapsulates longing, fear of abandonment, self-realization and so many other themes of the album that it functions something like a de facto overture. Ironically, its a song that I think listeners tend to overlook for such a loaded album to follow, but regardless, it is not a track for any serious listener to sleep on. 14. Hanginaround This Desert Life I know plenty of Crows fans tend to look down on this song as lightweight and uninspired. I think the lack of doom and gloom makes this song all the more special to me, thoughdespite the undercurrent of hanging around too long, theres also an unapologetic air about this song. Its not quite a party song, but more so a chill piece about hanging out with friends with nowhere to go, nothing to do, and little interest in changing all of that. Moreover, the song is smarter than folks may give it credit for, recorded using looping techniques that repeat the drum and guitar riff over and over again in a song about hanging around the same place. 13. Round Here August and Everything After The opening flicker of an electric guitar and lyrics about stepping out the front door at the beginning of this song function as an iconic introduction to the Counting Crows catalogthe first track on the groups first studio album. The song proceeds to take listeners along an emotional roller coaster about coming of age and disillusionment. The song most truly comes to life on the positively electric bridge segment about the girl in the car in the parking lot who says man, you should try to take a shot. The song comes full circle with a soft outro for which the instrumentation falls away to leave the narrator all alone, just like he started. 12. Angels of the Silences Recovering the Satellites For me this has always been a song about wanting to believe, and I love the choice for it to be an upbeat rocker, bursting with youthful energy. The sentiment that, all my sins, I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you, is a perfect encapsulation of bargaining and the desperation to hold onto something thats already gone. Moreover, I appreciate the songs vacillation between bitterness, regret, desire, philosophy, and crises of faithperfectly conflicted and perfectly complete. 11. Miami Hard Candy I love the economy of this song. It, at once, has the mellow easy feel of a vacation song, but just the same, an undercurrent of longing for Duritzs angel who wont return his calls, and the borderline epic feel of a heros journey in the triumphant closing lines about shutting it down in New Orleans. The song also has its double meaning embedded in the title, with Miami purportedly equating to my Amy, a frequent Crows muse, and a brilliant way of showing the way in which a person and a place can be become one in a persons memories. 10. Rain King August and Everything After No doubt, Rain King charts as one of Counting Crows most recognizable songs, and fittingly so. In its original recording, despite bits of doubt and discontent, it nonetheless sounds like a carefree, rocking pop song. Moreover, Duritz has talked about the song in the context of an artists statementa song about being an artist and all the disparate pieces of a life that come together to manifest in the form of self-expression through music and writing. The song also accounts for the intrinsic sense of deserving morethe sensation that the artists work is worth more than hes getting credit for at this point. The closing exclamation of yeah, registers as something akin to Duritzs barbaric yawp. While Im focusing on original recordings, its also worth noting this song as the one the Crows may have reinvented more than any other on the live stage, and used as a portal to cover many, many other songs. 9. Good Night Elisabeth Recovering the Satellites Its difficult for me to separate this song from Rain King, for its most iconic line at the climax of the song. Theres a sparseness to this song that, for me, has always encapsulated loneliness, or perhaps more precisely the feeling of missing a specific person. The song portrays Duritzs lullaby to a lover he lost when he was on the road. The final verse in particular captures him in a phase of simultaneous acceptance and complete denial of his circumstances. Hes accepted he wont be with Elisabeth and readies himself to sleep with someone else, all the while thinking of, waiting for his true love. Its a beautiful, tragic, and very real song. 8. Mrs. Potters Lullaby This Desert Life This elaborate dreamscape of a seven-minute song probably never should have been released as a singlefar too long, thoughtful, and abstract for a top 40 audience. Duritz reportedly wrote the song as an ode to an actress, hence the references to singing to someone on a TV or movie screen and imploring her to come meet him he his framed the song as introducing himself, by way of encapsulating everything going on his mind. Lines like theres a piece of Maria in every song that I sing, speak to the roots of a writerthe people and the concepts that inform everything he does. Moreover, the song somehow manages to connect all of these disparate, abstract vignettes into one epic, greater whole. Its an unforgettable memoir of a song. 7. A Long December Recovering the Satellites Though I tend to think of Counting Crows signature sound as skewing melancholy, a disproportionate number of the bands singles are upbeat pop songs. This is one of the most prominent exceptions, probably the bands second most famous song after Mr. Jones and one of their most melancholy numbers. Its a song about everything going wrong, spending long nights in hospitals at the end of a cruddy year. And, just the same, its a song of remembering better times, like when all at once you look across a crowded room and see the way that light attaches to a girl. Better yet, theres the closing sentiment of getting out to see the ocean, which carries the suggestion of rediscovering the things that used to make the narrator happy. I listened to this track on repeat in my earbuds, walking alone, my very first time setting foot in the Pacific Ocean four years ago. 6. Raining in Baltimore August and Everything After When I first heard August and Everything After at the ripe age of 10, I remember being struck by it. It was tragic, and as such it was beautiful. Before I had experienced any real sense of heartache or loss in my own life, I instinctively embraced this song about being so far away from the person you love that it actively hurts. This song took on another level of meaning for me when I moved to Baltimore, closer to three hundred than three thousand miles from the people I knew and my girlfriend at the time, but nonetheless recognized so many of the sentiments of the song, perhaps on an altogether too literal level. As time has gone by, Ive developed a greater appreciation for a handful of Crows songs that I feel encompass not only sadness, but an additional layer of conflict and redemption. Just the same, the song remains a key teacher in my emotional education and a track that still holds up after all these years. 5. St. Robinson in his Cadillac Dream This Desert Life Excluding the hidden track at the end of the CD, St. Robinson wraps up This Desert Life and certainly fits as a closing numbercomplex, epic, and endlessly narrative. Its a song about dreaming and all the things that get between everyday people and all of the things they want for themselves. The song clicks on a whole new level for me on the devil-may-care FU to normalcy in the closing movements of the song, when Duritz retorts to whoever dare challenge him, there are people who will say that they knew me so well I may not go to heavenI hope you go to hell. The song ends on a delicious slice of Americana, the narrator inviting his lover get into his car, not to head toward any specific destination, but rather just to drive . 4. A Murder of One August and Everything After This is the epic, lovely, desperate, heartbreaking, rise-from-the-ashes finale of Counting Crows first studio album, and it is a masterpiece. The song is often misinterpreted as, in some way, being about homicide, and Duritz may well have been playing with that idea in a song ostensibly about an abusive relationship and urging someone not to waste her life. Just the same the song also seems to be about flock of crowsa murderand all the more interesting for the title suggesting a flock of just one. Like so many of my favorite songs, this one resonates me on a personal level. I remember listening to those gritted-teeth lyrics, Does he tell you when youre sorry Does he tell you when youre wrong as a junior high kid and thinking about the way my father controlled me and tried to tell me what was right or wrong from the perspective his aberrant and misguided sense of morality and prioritization. And I remember thinking of being feathered by moonlight as walking free and even taking flight. Counting Crows is often at its best on deeply conflicted song and this song nails so many emotions around confinement and freedom. I love it. 3. Recovering the Satellites Recovering the Satellites For me, this is a song about rediscovering oneself and the realization that time is fleeting. Duritz sings about getting back to basics and staring at the sky in a way that feels very small town to mebut maybe thats my small town upbringing and recollections of my first encounters with this song that inform that interpretation, and the reference to this angel town suggests it might have been written about Los Angeles, where other Crows songs from this era are set. Regardless, theres a sense of inevitable loss and yearning to the song, particularly in my favorite lyric: we only stay in orbit for a moment of time. And youre everybodys satelliteI wish that you were mine. 2. Anna Begins August and Everything After Duritz inked this song in remembrance of a love affair he engaged in, backpacking through Europe in his youth. In my totally subjective opinion, its the most beautiful love song ever written. I can take or leave most of the verses, but each chorus pulls at my heart strings to truly profound effectthe sentiment of falling in love for every minor gesture a woman might make, such as sneezing the idea of lovers understanding each others every nonsense-sleep-talking mumbled syllable. Perhaps the song is a bit melodramatic, but as such it captures young love and infatuation in strikingly earnest ways. 1. Mr. Jones August and Everything After For all of my self-professed modesty and focus cast on the craft of my art as opposed to recognition, I cant deny the impulse to strive toward fame and fortune. The American Dream is engrained in me like so many of my contemporaries and those who came before me, indoctrinated in a culture of self-betterment and boot strapping, and the implicit suggestion that celebrity is the natural and inherently desirable reward of all that hard work. The song is about seeking celebrity without a concrete sense of why youre doing so, and the companion amorphous desires for love and companionship and influence, all couched with in the setting of San Francisco dive bar, making bold claims with a drinking buddy whilst watching a flamenco dancer strut her stuff. Mr. Jones is nothing short of a portrait of a generationa song all about dreams and desires that closes on the sorrowful, unspoken recognition that the narrator may never achieve his lofty goals. Read stories and miscellaneous criticism from Mike Chin at his website and his thoughts on a cappella music at The A Cappella Blog. Follow him on Twitter miketchin. Check out more articles on BuzzFeedRanking All 69 Counting Crows Songs Counting Crows is my favorite band. So, in celebration of the upcoming release of their new album, Somewhere Under Wonderland Im presenting to you a countdown of all of their original, studio tracks. Im leaving off bootlegs and songs that were never officially released (40 Years, Were Only Love, Barely Out of Tuesday, etc.), songs that appear exclusively on live albums, and covers (including the entire Underwater Sunshine (Or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) album). In instances in which the band released more than one studio version of the song, I defaulted to the first version the band released. The criteria for the countdown are wholly subjectivemy preferred picks for lyrics, melody, and personal impact. Note, Im a fan of the entire Crows catalog, so even the songs at the bottom of the list are not ones I actively dislikejust ones I love less, and my purposes here are more to have fun reflecting on the bands music than to produce a definitive list. Feel free to debate the order amongst yourselves and let me know if I missed any songs in the comments section. 69. New Frontier Hard Candy In the right moment, I can find this song sort of catchy but the synth pop vibe and largely nonsensical lyrics dont do much to inspire a devoted Counting Crows fan. From what I can gather its a song about failure to communicatea message that the song, itself, fails to communicate all that effectively, and that sounds strangely dated for a post-eighties band. 68. All My Friends This Desert Life Counting Crows offers up its share of songs about feelings of isolation, abandonment, and otherness, and often does so in creative, thought-provoking ways. This song, in which Adam Duritz intones, all my friends and lovers leave me alone to try to have a little fun, feels altogether too trueabout a narrator who is not just depressed, but too depressing for anyone to have a good time around. 67. Cowboys Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings A big part of why Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings rates as my overall least favorite Counting Crows album is because the impassioned noise that seems to bleed from one song to another on the first half of the albumnot bad if youre in the right mood for it, but also not the sound that I turn to Counting Crows to hear. This song seems to have appreciable political implicationspossibly about a certain president being too much of a cowboy in office it may also be more about self-flagellation. In either case, I can appreciate the emotional intensity of the song, but its far from my favorite to listen to. 66. Anyone But You Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Theres a dreamy, meditative quality to this song that captures the stunted funk of post-relationship wallowing, and I reckon the song works on that level, but otherwise it feels as though the song says a bit too little to really say much of anything meaningful at all. 65. Good Time Hard Candy This one comes across as a song about awkward attempts at first moves in between more meaningful relationships. I dig the I really love those red-haired girls, Im just another boy from Texas refrain at the end of the song, but its otherwise kind of a snooze, a momentum killer, and a relative weak spot in the early stages of an otherwise largely underrated Hard Candy album. 64. Children in Bloom Recovering the Satellites This is one of the more off-kilter tracks on Recovering . vacillating between the cool, mellow repetition of I gottta get out on my own and shouting eccentricities. It sounds like a coming of age song andor one about disillusionment. It never quite connected for me, though the outro is cool and memorable. 63. Hanging Tree Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Theres an unstable edge to this song that I find appealingdivergent from the more pensive, self-reflective side the band usually embraces, more at home among, but also a bit more aggressively unpredictable than the rough-edged Saturday night half of this album. With the arguable exception of the chorus, the song isnt exactly catchy or pleasant to listen to as interesting as the lyrics and composition are, that docks it a few places in the countdown. 62. Why Should You Come When I Call Hard Candy This song is catchy in a cheesy sort of way, not much like other tracks from the Crows catalog, but still aurally pleasing almost in spite of itself with the chorus of ba-ba-ba-ba-bas that easily could have been annoying and yet register for me as almost impossible not to sing along with. The content of the song is comparably dubiousostensibly about an insomniac making the rounds trying to set up late night rendezvous with lovers, ex-girlfriends, and whoever else probably ought to know better. 61. Goodnight LA Hard Candy While I dont actively dislike this song, I cant help feeling that it comes across as a caricature of better songs in the Counting Crows catalog. The refrain of What brings me down now is love, cause I can never get enough feels forced rather than earned in this tepid visit to melancholia. 60. Butterfly in Reverse Hard Candy Theres a simple, old-time feel to this song, adorned with piano keys and strings. Its one of the prettier Crows songs and manages to capture nostalgia without slipping into a forlorn place, but rather focusing on more innocent memories and capturing them as they once were. 59. Insignificant Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings This song has a lot of the jumping-off-the-top-of-a-building imagery that pervades other Crows songs, but rather than melancholy or particularly lost, Duritzs narrator sounds indignant and righteously pissed off to have been rendered insignificant. Its a song of defying rejection in favor of achieving his own significance. 58. Black and Blue Hard Candy A pretty melody and suicidal imagery intertwine for a song thats a little melodramatic and colorless (no pun intended) for my tastes, but nonetheless pretty in its own way. In a sense, my feelings for this song are similar to Goodnight LAnot that its a bad song, just that the band has done the essentially the same thing so much better. 57. American Girls Hard Candy I probably underrate this song a bit, not because I dont like it, but because on an album with so many really good songs, this largely uninspired pop ditty was the first singleonly to be followed a cutesy reimagining of the Big Yellow Taxi cover that started as a delightful hidden track at the end of the album, and ended up with Vanessa Carlton singing backup for a single that overshadowed far better original music. Back to American Girls, it has its catchy bits, but otherwise feels simultaneously conspicuously lightweight and weirdly sentimental in the you make me cry refrain. It feels like a knock off of the tradition of great American rock songs about women, but never quite finds its own voice. 56. Four Days This Desert Life This is a song of separationprobably a long distance romance, for which four days and nights feels like an interminably long period of time to wait to see someone again. As such, the song encapsulates a sense of young, impatient love, making marks on a wall like a prisoner. Its a beautiful, off-beat piece of music. 55. Millers Angels Recovering the Satellites Down trodden, mystified, with a hint of anger this song is a meditation on watching for angels that may not be so benevolent. Its a song of victimhood without a hint of recovery. I like it as a mood piece, and particularly like the contrast when it briefly transitions to more of a rock song. That said its not exactly a fun or entirely coherent listening experience. 54. Another Horsedreamers Blues Recovering the Satellites This song was purportedly written in response to Sam Shepards Geography of a Horsedreamer . about a woman who can predict which horse will win races and is subject to all manner of manipulation and mistreatment as a result. However literal that translation may be, the song is a simultaneously lovely and ugly depiction of a woman in crisis, trying to do whats right and escaping into a world of pill-induced sleep to escape from it all. 53. I Wish I Was a Girl This Desert Life Errant use of the subjunctive aside, this is a pretty profound little song about dreams of jumping to your death, and wishing people would trust what you say. I love the pleading to Elizabeth, which reads distinctly as a series of long distance phone calls. Its a both a song of resignation and absurdist speculation about what it would be like to be the opposite genderthough the band only addresses that theme explicitly in the title and its iteration in each chorus. I think that the popular interpretation of this song as Adam saying that women only trust other women and wont listen to men is a little too simplistic, but dont necessarily have a much better one. 52. Le Ballet DOr Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Despite its relatively low ranking, this track represents one of my favorite qualities about Crows songs, introducing an edgy, mysterious, almost macabre sound at an unexpected point in the mostly mellow Sunday morning half of the album. The song earns bonus points for the liner notes bit, crediting Brian Deck for climbing inside a piano and playing it like a harp to provide the instrumentation for the end of the song. 51. You Cant Count On Me Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings Theres an interesting dissonance between music and lyrics on this one, particularly in the chorus which sounds so warm and inviting and yet is all about the narrator affirming that he shouldnt be counted on. Its a song about someone who toys with people and openly admits he isnt reliableand yet seems all the more magnetic for the admission. Its one of the catchier and certainly the most radio-friendly of the tracks from the Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings album. 50. Carriage Hard Candy I went to my first Counting Crows show in the autumn of 2005, and the band played a number of songs that would be featured on Hard Candy when it was released the following summer. This particular song may always stand out for me more based on the story behind itas Duritz explained it at the showthan the song itself which, while contemplative and laced with smart lyric choices, nonetheless feels a bit plodding and as though it never truly reaches its climax. Adam told the story of an unexpected pregnancy and the couple contemplating an abortion, deciding against it, only for the would-be mother to have a miscarriage. I particularly appreciated Duritzs rejection of the audiences cheers about deciding against the abortion he refused to take a side on the issue, placing it as a personal decision and not a moral stand. The recounting of the story offered a unique glance behind the curtain of another human beings life. 49. Washington Square Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings The opening lines of this song, narrating the choice to sell a piano, sets a tone of forlorn listlessness to key off the Sunday Morning half of this album. The song has been interpreted as one about going home (the traveling homeward to Washington Square lyric toward the end seems to support this reading), but given the itinerant motif and distance from family, I think its more about trying to forge a new home far away from a real home in the wake of major life changes. 48. Daylight Fading Recovering The Satellites Historically, I discounted this song for its seemingly out place countrified, laid back leanings on an otherwise more openly emotionally intense album. The track grew on me over the years, though. Melodically, its not as aggressively sad or angry as others on Recovering . but on further reflection, it feels more like a song of numbnesscoping with lack of meaning and inability to create, despite friends reassurances that everybody loves you and everybody cares. Its a song of quiet resignation and best attempts at patience, waiting for an emotion to pass so the narrator can get on with his life. 47. Speedway This Desert Life One of the sentiments I feel Counting Crows nails best in songs like this one is not so much emotional outbursts or agony as the sense of numbness and inaction that can come after breakups and other emotional trauma. The narrator spends so much of this song thinking about what he ought to do that it underscores how little he has actually done. 46. Ghost Train August and Everything After This song does a sensational job of synergizing the more literal interpretation of a ghostly, ethereal train with the metaphorical interpretation of looking at all of these past relationships and lovers as ghoststhe remnants and memories of which never go away entirely. The repetition of the Hey, how do you do first meeting is perfectly haunting on this off beat track. 45. Sundays Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings On an album of rock and roll, followed by melancholy reflection, this song marks a good balancing point, upbeat, fast, intricate, and conversationalthe narrator denied, rejected, or dumped depending on your reading of it. Given how fundamentally different they are from the rest of the song, the choruses either make or completely fail the song, depending on your interpretation. Im partial to the verses, myself. 44. Perfect Blue Buildings August and Everything After This song exists in the space between depression and catatonia, looking at everything as mundane to the point that it both runs together and becomes vaguely fantasticala perfect blue building, a green apple seamore visions from a painting than pieces of the world that the narrator could ever access himself. The song is alternately a little plodding and a little tidy for my tastes, but the line about getting myself a little oblivion still resonates with me after all these years. 43. 1492 Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings This hard rock anthem of a song is wholly different from anything else in the Counting Crows catalog, and offers a jaw-dropping intro to the Saturday nights half of the Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings album. Vocal tapestries of sex and violence flash across a back drop of a ripping electric guitar. I didnt much care for this track when I first heard it, but it grew on me upon repeat listeningsparticularly the desperation of the bridge as Duritz swells up to scream I am the king of everything, I am the king of nothing. 42. Time and Time Again August and Everything After I really liked Time and Time Again when I first heard August and Everything After and I still think its a good song, but ultimately more of a role player track on a great album than a stand out songs in its own right. It captures a lot of the angst that recurs and is arguably improved upon in the Counting Crows catalog, but does also paint some unique, impressive imagesthe idea of watching someone in reverse to see them coming home rather than leaving, and the idea of laying waste to a whole city and riding out into the desert. 41. Shallow Days August and Everything After (Deluxe Edition) Theres something simple and understated about this early demo that brings a smile to my face on every listen. Its ostensibly a love song about Adam and a girl named Mary Jane, more likely an extended metaphor for his relationship with weed. In the end, I prefer to focus on the sentiment of small people squeezing out a good life, who need a little good time. 40. Im Not Sleeping Recovering the Satellites There are times when this band teeters on the edge of artistry and just having too much go on at once. This is among the songs that walks that line, and while it doesnt land as one my favorites, I do feel that the overall product is successful in selling a narrators desperation and anger. Its difficult to tell if the ubiquitous she is a lover, the narrators mother, a friend, or more of a conceptlike his conscience or his paranoia. Regardless, the song works best on its explosions, which the shifts in dynamics set up beautifully, and Im particularly fond of the closing sequence, led off with a sample of Rain, Rain Go Away. 39. Monkey Recovering the Satellites This is probably the most light hearted track on the Crows darkest album. While doom, gloom, and hints of desperation weave together for an intoxicating collection of music, this songs includes the whimsical confession, Im all messed up, thats nothing new, which communicates a sensation of someone who has come to terms with his otherness and life problems just the same, its a mostly upbeat melody and comes across as at least an approximation of a love song, questioning where the narrators monkey has been all his life. 38. High Life This Desert Life This is, in a sense, the title track of its albumthe only song to explicitly reference this desert life. Its a fascinating bit of a dreamscape, navigating differences and overlaps between the desert and the big city, and the sense of waiting for someone and hoping shell stick around. The song has a distinctive sound and captures loneliness in an almost playful way. Its long and has an ethereal sound and, thus, I think it tends to get overlooked on this album, but its a real forgotten gem. 37. If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is dead) Hard Candy This song is about Adam Duritzs revelation of the impermanence of all things, people, and relationships upon learning Richard Manuel from The Band had passed. I love the recurring guitar riff in this song, and will always feel connected to it for becoming acquainted with the track during a summer crush and envisioning it as more of a love song than an exploration of why its hard to love anyone at all. 36. Love and Addiction August and Everything After (Deluxe Edition) This early demo never made it onto a Counting Crows disc until the re-release of August and Everything After in 2007. Based on a few critical turns, I preferred the bootleg recordings floating around the interwebs to this album version. Just the same its a fun courtship song about the intersection of affection and obsession, with a whole lot of youthful ambition woven in. Its a worthy track that didnt quite fit the vibe of the August album, but that nonetheless stands up on its own. 35. Omaha August and Everything After Duritz wrote this song before ever visiting Omaha, and claims that having written it earned him the key to the city, which he felt pretty awkward about. More so than the city itself, its a piece about leaving a place only to come back to it, and a feeling tread upon. Omaha all but explicitly stands for any number of faceless places in middle America, and conflicting impulses to find a new life and to come back to whats familiar. 34. Accidentally In Love Shrek 2: Motion Picture Sountrack I actually like this song a good bit, but just the same lament that, behind Mr. Jones and A Long December, its probably the song casual listeners most readily identify with Counting Crows. Its not a bad song, but it is a bubble gum pop song that isnt meaningfully representative of much else from the bands catalog. But lets stay positive. As far as Im concerned, (Come on, come on) jump a little higher, (come on, come on) if you feel a little lighter remains one of the purest representations of what new love really feels like. And Ill be darned if this song isnt catchy. 33. Mercury Recovering the Satellites This off-beat, almost bluesy song is an interesting mood piece amongst an otherwise more obviously emotional Recovering the Satellites album. It tells the tale of a mercurial relationship and the narrators willingness to tolerate or embrace all of it. The song is simultaneously conflicted and understated for a pretty intriguing final product. 32. Kid Things This Desert Life Ive never quite understood the fad of leaving several minutes of blank space on a track before giving way to a hidden track on an album. Sure, the surprise of a bonus song is great, but couldnt you just leave it off the liner notes This trend seems to have given way to exclusive tracksas in, exclusive to iTunes download, or exclusive to buying a CD at Target. Or maybe thats just been the case for artists I like. Anywho, for those of us willing to hold down the fast forward button for a minute or so or who were too lazy to get up to change CDs after St. Robinson in His Cadillac Dream, the reward was Kid Thingsa plucky song with country roots in which Duritz implores his homebody love interest to come out and play, extolling the value of immature activities, and their potential to lead to greater things. Its a really fun song that Id probably love even more had it gotten its own track originally, and thus lent itself better to repeat listening. 31. Amy Hit the Atmosphere This Desert Life This is a mood piece in the melancholiest of senses. No, it doesnt carry the tragic weight of On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago or Raining In Baltimore but rather is, in a sense, is even sadder for the lack of energy and the general malaise of the song. This isnt a song of sudden heartbreak, but rather an ongoing one that the narrator has grown resigned to. I remember identifying with this song after long days during my high school careerworn out from early mornings to get to school on time, a heavy load of AP courses and extracurriculars, followed by late nights of homework and pining for a life that was less exhausting and more loving. The particular circumstances may vary, but I suspect weve all been there at one time and in one way or another. 30. Los Angeles Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings In the hyperactive Saturday night half of this album, Id argue that the Crows sound most at home on Los Angelesnot a hard rocker, more of a lazy party song about going out with friends and revisiting a Crows theme of coming to terms with fame and retaining ones humanity. 29. Einstein on the Beach (For an Egg Man) DGC Rarities Volume 1 By Duritzs own description, this was a song the Crows assembled when they were still learning to write pop songs, and he never intended for it to be released in any meaningful setting. Yet it went from a rarities compilation to radio play, and became one of the bands most recognizable tracks from its early years. No, its not the weightiest or more coherent Crows track, but it is the essence of a fun summer song, edging toward deep philosophical thought, but consistently tipping back to its lighter roots. 28. She Dont Want Nobody Near Films About Ghosts This early Counting Crows song never got a formal studio release until their greatest hits album. Like a number of Crows tracks it has an upbeat melody, but dont let that misguide you to thinking its a happy-go-lucky song. Its ostensibly a piece about social anxiety, wrestling with the competing impulses of a desire to be alone and fear of loneliness, all set against classic Crows pop song instrumentation. 27. Walkaways Recovering the Satellites Clocking in at one minute, thirteen seconds, its easy to dismiss this song, but I actually feel its one of the most underrated pieces of the brilliant Satellites album. Down-trodden and defeated, the song at first feels like one about abandonment, and yet takes a turn in the final lines in which Duritz sings that one day, Im gonna stay. But not today. The lyric hints at shared responsibility for lonelinessa culture of one-night stands and short engagements. Just the same, the finish sounds something like hopethat the narrator can foresee an end to that lifestyle amidst his current malaise. 26. On Almost Any Sunday Morning Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings This is the kind of track that its easy to overlook for just how understated it is, but I really dig the quiet depression and desperation inherent to it, reflecting on lonely Sunday mornings with a brand of disillusionment thats especially apparent after a raucous Saturday night. Its one of the clearest, most fully realized tracks of the Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings album. 25. When I Dream of Michelangelo Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings The title of this song is a callback to Angels of the Silences in which dreaming of Michelangelo hints at hidden depths and madness in the narrator. This beautiful ballad with a fundamentally different vibe lingers on that image and explores the space between being an artist and a person of strong opinions, and being torn between that and a plainer, less nuanced life and the love interest that seems to embody that simpler life. The soft, smooth instrumentation paints this inner conflict in a soft light, creating a beautiful song in its own right. 24. Colorblind This Desert Life This song will probably always receive disproportionate attention in the Counting Crows catalog for having been featured in a sexy scene from Cruel Intentions . Of course, its no more fair that I tend discount it because bandwagon fans only recognize it from the movie. All of that said, it is a beautiful piano-driven ballad that at once captures loneliness and a complete willingness on the part of the songs narrator to unfold and release himself to the trusting arms of another. 23. On a Tuesday in Amsterdam Long Ago Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings I think of this song a bit like a poor mans Raining In Baltimore. The thing is that Baltimore is a such a good song that even a poor mans version is perfectly worth listening to. Its Counting Crows at the bands most down-trodden and melodramatic with a tragic refrain of the narrator pleading, come back to me. Its haunting. Its beautiful. 22. Baby Im a Big Star Now Rounders: Motion Picture Soundtrack This is a pretty infectious song, released as a hidden track on the vinyl version of This Desert Life and, more prominently on the Rounders soundtrack. It revisits Crows themes of disillusionment and self-loathing, with the catchiest of hooks that suggests an undercurrent of optimism and continuing to try. 21. Come Around Saturday Nights Sunday Mornings I remember listening to this track along a road trip to see my friends for the time in months after I first moved to Baltimore. The song perfectly encapsulates the spirit a reunionthe idea that old friends and family will find a way to come back around to each other, surviving all manner of short-term relationships and other pursuits. Sure, theres an underlying tone of abandonment and heartache to lyrics like, What I know is, shes going. When you know it, its all right. So you put yourself between you and your pride. Just the same, the song has more of the trappings of recovery than misery, and as such functions as an excellent track to close an album. 20. Have You Seen Me Lately Recovering the Satellites Throughout this countdown I refer to the narratora term that my background in writing workshops and literature classrooms has driven into my skull, demanding that the consumer never assume the author speaks for herself. That said, Duritz has been pretty open about the autobiographical nature of Recovering the Satellites (not altogether different from the bands other albums). The dynamic is particularly true of this song, a meditation on exploding from artist to superstar based on the commercial success of August and Everything After . and trying to decipher real relationships from faux ones real identity from public persona. On top of all of that, its a kickass rock song that subverts the expectations set by the songs that immediately surround it. 19. Holiday in Spain Hard Candy This whimsical, but downtrodden piece about a narrator retreating from a stark reality to an exotic location ostensibly caps Hard Candy (excluding the hidden track cover of Big Yellow Taxi). One of the sensations this band and particularly this song captures with pure artistry is the sense of keeping busy, keeping up appearances, and trying to stay cool when all the while you know your life is in shambles. For me, this is a song about attempting to recover, and just the same acknowledging that the flying away to someone new is part of cycle, not an elixir in and of itself. 18. Sullivan Street August and Everything After The debut album from Counting Crows is full of heartbreaking music. This conflicted song is all about the desperation that comes with a relationship falling apartthat uncomfortable period in which youre still together, but know that it will be over before long. From what Ive heard, Duritz wrote the song when he was in the habit of driving a girlfriend home, but the lyrics double up with the sensation of fighting a losing battledoing drivebys past an ex-lovers place with no real reason for doing so, no intention of stopping in. 17. Up All Night Hard Candy To me, this was the sweetest surprise of the Hard Candy album, a song that starts melancholy and lonesome that keys into feel like a late-night adventure, albeit one for which the narrator may still be forlorn. Indeed, Duritz ostensibly sounds as though he cant sleep for his dreams having slipped away. He acknowledges its too late to get high, in the same breath observing that his sleepless night may well give way to a cycle of sleeping through the daylight hours. The song seamlessly weaves together sensations of a partying and sex with disillusionment and disappointment, all against a backdrop of booming piano chords. 16. Hard Candy Hard Candy The title track of its album is all about memoriesstudying old photographs, remembering the best parts of a relationship past. The imagery of a girl standing by the water as a smile begins to curl and the evenings on Long Island when the colors start to fade always grab me when Im listening to this songwe may not all of have quite the same memories, but I reckon every one of us has specific people, signature landscapes, and moments that make us smile and sigh and reflect in all of the happiest and most gut-wrenching ways imaginable. 15. Catapult Recovering the Satellites This opening track is certainly off beat. It starts out with dreamy a quality before a solitary electric guitar chord shakes up the scene, crystallizes the vision, and stirs the listener to wakefulness. The song encapsulates longing, fear of abandonment, self-realization and so many other themes of the album that it functions something like a de facto overture. Ironically, its a song that I think listeners tend to overlook for such a loaded album to follow, but regardless, it is not a track for any serious listener to sleep on. 14. Hanginaround This Desert Life I know plenty of Crows fans tend to look down on this song as lightweight and uninspired. I think the lack of doom and gloom makes this song all the more special to me, thoughdespite the undercurrent of hanging around too long, theres also an unapologetic air about this song. Its not quite a party song, but more so a chill piece about hanging out with friends with nowhere to go, nothing to do, and little interest in changing all of that. Moreover, the song is smarter than folks may give it credit for, recorded using looping techniques that repeat the drum and guitar riff over and over again in a song about hanging around the same place. 13. Round Here August and Everything After The opening flicker of an electric guitar and lyrics about stepping out the front door at the beginning of this song function as an iconic introduction to the Counting Crows catalogthe first track on the groups first studio album. The song proceeds to take listeners along an emotional roller coaster about coming of age and disillusionment. The song most truly comes to life on the positively electric bridge segment about the girl in the car in the parking lot who says man, you should try to take a shot. The song comes full circle with a soft outro for which the instrumentation falls away to leave the narrator all alone, just like he started. 12. Angels of the Silences Recovering the Satellites For me this has always been a song about wanting to believe, and I love the choice for it to be an upbeat rocker, bursting with youthful energy. The sentiment that, all my sins, I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you, is a perfect encapsulation of bargaining and the desperation to hold onto something thats already gone. Moreover, I appreciate the songs vacillation between bitterness, regret, desire, philosophy, and crises of faithperfectly conflicted and perfectly complete. 11. Miami Hard Candy I love the economy of this song. It, at once, has the mellow easy feel of a vacation song, but just the same, an undercurrent of longing for Duritzs angel who wont return his calls, and the borderline epic feel of a heros journey in the triumphant closing lines about shutting it down in New Orleans. The song also has its double meaning embedded in the title, with Miami purportedly equating to my Amy, a frequent Crows muse, and a brilliant way of showing the way in which a person and a place can be become one in a persons memories. 10. Rain King August and Everything After No doubt, Rain King charts as one of Counting Crows most recognizable songs, and fittingly so. In its original recording, despite bits of doubt and discontent, it nonetheless sounds like a carefree, rocking pop song. Moreover, Duritz has talked about the song in the context of an artists statementa song about being an artist and all the disparate pieces of a life that come together to manifest in the form of self-expression through music and writing. The song also accounts for the intrinsic sense of deserving morethe sensation that the artists work is worth more than hes getting credit for at this point. The closing exclamation of yeah, registers as something akin to Duritzs barbaric yawp. While Im focusing on original recordings, its also worth noting this song as the one the Crows may have reinvented more than any other on the live stage, and used as a portal to cover many, many other songs. 9. Good Night Elisabeth Recovering the Satellites Its difficult for me to separate this song from Rain King, for its most iconic line at the climax of the song. Theres a sparseness to this song that, for me, has always encapsulated loneliness, or perhaps more precisely the feeling of missing a specific person. The song portrays Duritzs lullaby to a lover he lost when he was on the road. The final verse in particular captures him in a phase of simultaneous acceptance and complete denial of his circumstances. Hes accepted he wont be with Elisabeth and readies himself to sleep with someone else, all the while thinking of, waiting for his true love. Its a beautiful, tragic, and very real song. 8. Mrs. Potters Lullaby This Desert Life This elaborate dreamscape of a seven-minute song probably never should have been released as a singlefar too long, thoughtful, and abstract for a top 40 audience. Duritz reportedly wrote the song as an ode to an actress, hence the references to singing to someone on a TV or movie screen and imploring her to come meet him he his framed the song as introducing himself, by way of encapsulating everything going on his mind. Lines like theres a piece of Maria in every song that I sing, speak to the roots of a writerthe people and the concepts that inform everything he does. Moreover, the song somehow manages to connect all of these disparate, abstract vignettes into one epic, greater whole. Its an unforgettable memoir of a song. 7. A Long December Recovering the Satellites Though I tend to think of Counting Crows signature sound as skewing melancholy, a disproportionate number of the bands singles are upbeat pop songs. This is one of the most prominent exceptions, probably the bands second most famous song after Mr. Jones and one of their most melancholy numbers. Its a song about everything going wrong, spending long nights in hospitals at the end of a cruddy year. And, just the same, its a song of remembering better times, like when all at once you look across a crowded room and see the way that light attaches to a girl. Better yet, theres the closing sentiment of getting out to see the ocean, which carries the suggestion of rediscovering the things that used to make the narrator happy. I listened to this track on repeat in my earbuds, walking alone, my very first time setting foot in the Pacific Ocean four years ago. 6. Raining in Baltimore August and Everything After When I first heard August and Everything After at the ripe age of 10, I remember being struck by it. It was tragic, and as such it was beautiful. Before I had experienced any real sense of heartache or loss in my own life, I instinctively embraced this song about being so far away from the person you love that it actively hurts. This song took on another level of meaning for me when I moved to Baltimore, closer to three hundred than three thousand miles from the people I knew and my girlfriend at the time, but nonetheless recognized so many of the sentiments of the song, perhaps on an altogether too literal level. As time has gone by, Ive developed a greater appreciation for a handful of Crows songs that I feel encompass not only sadness, but an additional layer of conflict and redemption. Just the same, the song remains a key teacher in my emotional education and a track that still holds up after all these years. 5. St. Robinson in his Cadillac Dream This Desert Life Excluding the hidden track at the end of the CD, St. Robinson wraps up This Desert Life and certainly fits as a closing numbercomplex, epic, and endlessly narrative. Its a song about dreaming and all the things that get between everyday people and all of the things they want for themselves. The song clicks on a whole new level for me on the devil-may-care FU to normalcy in the closing movements of the song, when Duritz retorts to whoever dare challenge him, there are people who will say that they knew me so well I may not go to heavenI hope you go to hell. The song ends on a delicious slice of Americana, the narrator inviting his lover get into his car, not to head toward any specific destination, but rather just to drive . 4. A Murder of One August and Everything After This is the epic, lovely, desperate, heartbreaking, rise-from-the-ashes finale of Counting Crows first studio album, and it is a masterpiece. The song is often misinterpreted as, in some way, being about homicide, and Duritz may well have been playing with that idea in a song ostensibly about an abusive relationship and urging someone not to waste her life. Just the same the song also seems to be about flock of crowsa murderand all the more interesting for the title suggesting a flock of just one. Like so many of my favorite songs, this one resonates me on a personal level. I remember listening to those gritted-teeth lyrics, Does he tell you when youre sorry Does he tell you when youre wrong as a junior high kid and thinking about the way my father controlled me and tried to tell me what was right or wrong from the perspective his aberrant and misguided sense of morality and prioritization. And I remember thinking of being feathered by moonlight as walking free and even taking flight. Counting Crows is often at its best on deeply conflicted song and this song nails so many emotions around confinement and freedom. I love it. 3. Recovering the Satellites Recovering the Satellites For me, this is a song about rediscovering oneself and the realization that time is fleeting. Duritz sings about getting back to basics and staring at the sky in a way that feels very small town to mebut maybe thats my small town upbringing and recollections of my first encounters with this song that inform that interpretation, and the reference to this angel town suggests it might have been written about Los Angeles, where other Crows songs from this era are set. Regardless, theres a sense of inevitable loss and yearning to the song, particularly in my favorite lyric: we only stay in orbit for a moment of time. And youre everybodys satelliteI wish that you were mine. 2. Anna Begins August and Everything After Duritz inked this song in remembrance of a love affair he engaged in, backpacking through Europe in his youth. In my totally subjective opinion, its the most beautiful love song ever written. I can take or leave most of the verses, but each chorus pulls at my heart strings to truly profound effectthe sentiment of falling in love for every minor gesture a woman might make, such as sneezing the idea of lovers understanding each others every nonsense-sleep-talking mumbled syllable. Perhaps the song is a bit melodramatic, but as such it captures young love and infatuation in strikingly earnest ways. 1. Mr. Jones August and Everything After For all of my self-professed modesty and focus cast on the craft of my art as opposed to recognition, I cant deny the impulse to strive toward fame and fortune. The American Dream is engrained in me like so many of my contemporaries and those who came before me, indoctrinated in a culture of self-betterment and boot strapping, and the implicit suggestion that celebrity is the natural and inherently desirable reward of all that hard work. The song is about seeking celebrity without a concrete sense of why youre doing so, and the companion amorphous desires for love and companionship and influence, all couched with in the setting of San Francisco dive bar, making bold claims with a drinking buddy whilst watching a flamenco dancer strut her stuff. Mr. Jones is nothing short of a portrait of a generationa song all about dreams and desires that closes on the sorrowful, unspoken recognition that the narrator may never achieve his lofty goals. Read stories and miscellaneous criticism from Mike Chin at his website and his thoughts on a cappella music at The A Cappella Blog. Follow him on Twitter miketchin. Check out more articles on BuzzFeed