Spring Break
Crowing for the fans
Counting Crows new album is one that fans will enjoy
Jesse Fernandez
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Features
Counting Crows' new album, "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings" is about losing your sense of self in the emptiness of fame, alcohol, and parties on Saturday Nights, and then waking up on Sunday Mornings and trying to put the pieces of yourself back together.
I've always had a peripheral affection for Counting Crows. When one of their songs would come on the radio in my car, I'd rejoice at the prospect of my next 3 or 4 minutes of the drive being signified by contentment. These minutes stood in contrast with my usual waiting for the commute to be over while Outkast's "Heya" plays for the billionth time.
I popped in "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" into my CD player, and the first track, "1492" began to play. Just a few seconds in I thought, "I am not enjoying this." A short while later I was fully under the impression that "1492" is a tower of hubris.
In the first verse, lead singer and songwriter, Adam Duritz sings "I bought a gun cuz it impresses all the little girls I see, and then they all wanna sleep with me." Call me crazy, but this is arrogant.
Sure, the choruses make the point that fame and fortune doesn't last and that many parts of that famous lifestyle are shallow and don't last. But still, so much of the song just feels like bragging.
Almost 100 percent of the time I will let poor lyrics slide as long as the song is musically enjoyable. But this one wasn't. This song was too repetitive.
Thankfully, the rest of the CD is much catchier. The emotion of much of the music draws you in, and much of Duritz's lyrics and intonations sound like genuine, humble, and engaging reflections of himself.
Duritz's is at his best when the emotion of a song reaches its boiling point. At these moments Duritz's voice seems to become uncontainable-outside of the control of even Duritz himself-as it reflects that passion. The end "Sundays" is a good example of this overflow of emotion and my favorite part of the CD. As Duritz repeats the chorus, "And I don't believe in, I don't believe in anything, in anything," you get the impression that something is welling up inside of him. Then, as if a damn had broken in his subconscious, the same chorus bursts from his throat, but this time with so much more meaning, emphasis, and emotional impact.
Overall, "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" is a good CD, but this is all dependent on whether or not you like Counting Crows. People who couldn't change the radio station fast enough when Counting Crows came on in the past won't suddenly become fans because of this CD. But if you're into Counting Crows, you can't go wrong with "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings."
Jesse Fernandez can be reached at jfernandez@statehornet.com
I've always had a peripheral affection for Counting Crows. When one of their songs would come on the radio in my car, I'd rejoice at the prospect of my next 3 or 4 minutes of the drive being signified by contentment. These minutes stood in contrast with my usual waiting for the commute to be over while Outkast's "Heya" plays for the billionth time.
I popped in "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" into my CD player, and the first track, "1492" began to play. Just a few seconds in I thought, "I am not enjoying this." A short while later I was fully under the impression that "1492" is a tower of hubris.
In the first verse, lead singer and songwriter, Adam Duritz sings "I bought a gun cuz it impresses all the little girls I see, and then they all wanna sleep with me." Call me crazy, but this is arrogant.
Sure, the choruses make the point that fame and fortune doesn't last and that many parts of that famous lifestyle are shallow and don't last. But still, so much of the song just feels like bragging.
Almost 100 percent of the time I will let poor lyrics slide as long as the song is musically enjoyable. But this one wasn't. This song was too repetitive.
Thankfully, the rest of the CD is much catchier. The emotion of much of the music draws you in, and much of Duritz's lyrics and intonations sound like genuine, humble, and engaging reflections of himself.
Duritz's is at his best when the emotion of a song reaches its boiling point. At these moments Duritz's voice seems to become uncontainable-outside of the control of even Duritz himself-as it reflects that passion. The end "Sundays" is a good example of this overflow of emotion and my favorite part of the CD. As Duritz repeats the chorus, "And I don't believe in, I don't believe in anything, in anything," you get the impression that something is welling up inside of him. Then, as if a damn had broken in his subconscious, the same chorus bursts from his throat, but this time with so much more meaning, emphasis, and emotional impact.
Overall, "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" is a good CD, but this is all dependent on whether or not you like Counting Crows. People who couldn't change the radio station fast enough when Counting Crows came on in the past won't suddenly become fans because of this CD. But if you're into Counting Crows, you can't go wrong with "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings."
Jesse Fernandez can be reached at jfernandez@statehornet.com
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