Shane’s Rock Challenge: COUNTING CROWS – 1993 – August And Everything After

Shane | 5 July 2014 | Reply

Shane’s Rock Challenge: COUNTING CROWS – 1993 – August And Everything After
By Shane Pinnegar
4/10

Mystery surrounds this compact disc: Why is it in my collection? Where and when did I acquire or inherit it? Have I ever listened to it? How did it manage to be such a huge hit? How did I listen to it in the car this morning without committing suicide?

For starters, I know I didn’t buy it. I wouldn’t buy it – then or now!! Maybe an ex left it lying around, or I got it in a grab bag of mid 90s releases?

I’m pretty sure I have never listened to it all the way through before… Id’ve remembered the misery it induced and avoided that at all costs!

As to why it was a huge hit… well, Round Here and Mr Jones are both pretty damn fine songs. In 1993 I suspect this was even considered alternative, at least a little bit, and it probably didn’t hurt that singer/songwriter Adam Duritz had dark, brooding eyes. Those two singles aren’t upbeat at all, though (Mr Jones sounds bouncy enough, but the lead character sounds like a creepy stalker – him and Mr Jones just wanna be big famous stars, but all they do, damn it, is look at pretty women. One step removed from Charles Manson, from the sounds of it…), and the rest of the album sounds like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers stuck in a really bad downer on Xanax.

So how did I listen through today without wilfully driving into a tree? Because of my dedication to the Rock Challenge, folks. I did it so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.