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E2: August & Everything After--Song Ranking (Part 1 of 2)
784 Plays2 years ago
Eric and Chris welcome Jeremie Harris and Dan Piling to the show. Together, they talk about their earliest memories listening to and buying the Crows' landmark album August & Everything After.
Then, together, they rank songs #11-#6 from that album (with the rest coming in Part 2).
If you want to hear more from Dan Piling, you can find him on his podcast Danny P on Cars
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/danny-p-on-cars/id1671466836
Feedback or want to join the podcast as a guest? Email us at
SullivanStreetPC@protonmail.com
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Transcript
Introduction and Listener Feedback
00:00:00
Speaker
Before we get into episode two of Sullivan Street, a Counting Crows podcast, just a few quick announcements. Number one, I want to thank you for listening to episode one and your positive feedback and comments. We really do appreciate it. If you do have any particular comments or questions, or maybe you even want to be a guest on the podcast at some point, please email us at Sullivan Street PC. That's Sullivan Street spelled out PC for podcast at protonmail.com.
00:00:29
Speaker
And last, this is a two-part episode of our ranking and review of August and Everything After, part one right now, and part two coming up in a couple weeks. Enjoy.
Meet the Hosts and Guest Introduction
00:00:57
Speaker
Welcome to episode two of Sullivan Street. I am Eric Vogelsang. And today we're going to rank and get into the Cannon Crow's most famous, I guess, or popular album as far as a unit sold goes August and everything after. But first, let's talk to our co-hosts. As always, we have Chris Miggs. Chris, how are you today? Hey, I'm good. And I'm really appreciative of the positive feedback we got on the first episode. Glad people enjoyed it.
00:01:27
Speaker
and glad to start kind of down the journey of looking at, you know, looking at the records, looking at the different things we want to discuss and really diving in and really glad to have a couple of guests today to do that with us. Yes, we could not, we could not, you know, a record that
00:01:44
Speaker
started at all if you will we could not do that without uh and if we're doing the quote unquote official ranking tongue in cheek we couldn't do that without two more super fans and so the first let us introduce uh germany aris from arizona germany how are you today and also well anyway how first how are you i'm doing great i'm really happy to be here and i appreciate you guys uh include me in this episode here no thank you for joining us so
00:02:12
Speaker
Can you tell us a bit about, we like to ask everybody, what got you into Counting Crows?
Jeremy's High School Connection to Counting Crows
00:02:19
Speaker
What brought you to it? Why do you keep coming back? Why did you write me and say, hey, this podcast is great? Yeah, sure. So for me, it was around late high school. Mr. Jones was on the radio all over the place, and everybody was talking about how much they loved it. And this was a time in my life when I started really getting into the lyrics of a song.
00:02:39
Speaker
and really looking a little bit deeper into it. It wasn't just the poppy radio stuff I wanted to hear. And what kind of drew me to it was that all these people are saying, you know, this is such a great song. It's so happy. They're dancing around at the school dances. And for me, somebody who's trying to look a little bit deeper into the lyrics, I'm thinking this is not a happy song. This is kind of an awful song. You know, not that it's an awful song, but just the message behind it is so much sadder than the tone of the song comes across if you're not paying attention.
00:03:08
Speaker
And then I just kind of listened to the whole album all the way through. And that was one of the first albums I think in my life where I could listen to it, you know, cover to cover and just enjoy all of it. And that's what really stood out to me and kind of what kept me coming back for more with The Counting Crows.
00:03:27
Speaker
Fantastic. Yeah, it is in like re-listening to the record. It's sort of, you know, obviously we'll get into like, we're ranking these songs, but the song that I have 11th would probably be my favorite song from a bunch of different bands. You know, it is one of those still like classic kind of all the way through records. Great.
00:03:45
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you, Jeremy. Thank you, Chris. And let's go to our other guest.
Dan's Discovery of the Band
00:03:52
Speaker
Here we go, Dan Pilling, originally from the UK. Yeah. Hey, thanks for having me.
00:03:58
Speaker
So yeah, I grew up in the UK, but now live in Seattle, Washington. I've been here for about eight and a half years. I got exposed to The Crows while I was at school as well. And I remember a Q magazine, which was a music magazine in the UK, and every month they would produce a CD on the magazine and it would have a set of songs. And this magazine, this particular one, had 14 songs.
00:04:26
Speaker
had the likes of Gemara Choir, Oasis, Stone Roses, and at number 14 on this album, was round here by Cannon Crows. And it just blew me away. And I can still remember where I was the very first time I played that CD.
00:04:42
Speaker
And that got me hooked for life. I didn't get to see them the first time they came to the UK, but did get to see them when they were covering the satellites tour. And they played the Royal Albert Hall, which is a significant music venue in the UK. So I've just been hooked since then and 38 concerts later, I've got two more lined up this summer and yeah, just love them. Great, thanks so much. The kind of super fans we're looking for.
00:05:08
Speaker
And I do I will say I miss I used to love like getting those record those music magazines that had CDs attached to them Especially because in the US if you saw like cue or any of the other ones that had that it was also It was it was import, you know, I mean, this is what's happening on the other side of the pond You know, I mean, it was always a very very very big deal. I miss those those CDs were kind of awesome I guess they just take playlists now, but it's not quite the scene So let's now get into
00:05:37
Speaker
August and everything after, why we are all here today, as I said, the album that started it all.
First Experiences with August and Everything After
00:05:43
Speaker
So first, I guess, before we start ranking them, let's go one by one and talk about, I guess, our first exposure to the album as a whole, or, you know, why you bought it, how you bought it, if you remember, was there a particular single that attracted you to go buy it? Dan, let's go back to you.
00:06:03
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, Round Here introduced me to the band and then I bought the album. And for me, it's my favorite album of all time. It's an album I tend to gift to people. So, you know, it's just, for me, it's just a fantastic album from start to finish. And, you know, it's up there for me. What's the best experience you've had gifting it to someone?
00:06:26
Speaker
I think people then buy me concert tickets and taking me to a concert. So I had a good friend of mine and he bought tickets for the next tour and didn't tell me and then was like, Hey, what are you doing? We can not much. We're going to go see kind of kind of grows. So I think that's probably the best. Yeah. Has anyone else had anything like that? No, that's a great idea to give the CD or whatever. I guess now you have to give the MP3, but I love the idea of forcing
00:06:56
Speaker
Yeah, I did randomly, a lot, not for this, but just on the longest same lines, I forced somebody recently to listen to Holiday in Spain like six months ago. And he just, and he's like, Oh, yeah, it's good. He just wrote me this week and said, you know what, that song is really, really, really, really good. And they're not a cruise fan. So Gerber, what about you? What about your memory with August and everything after? So I distinctly remember that this was the first album I ever bought on cassette.
00:07:22
Speaker
And then immediately followed up and bought the CD after I got my CD player, which was probably only a couple months apart. And that took me down the long rabbit hole of replacing all of these old tapes that I had. But what August and everything after means to me, it's a CD that I'll get out and play for people and just talk to them about what the songs mean to me like we're going to do here today.
00:07:49
Speaker
I think you can really learn a lot about a person through their interpretation of a song. Right. So I, you know, you want them to be fans also. Um, but not just that you just want them to understand how you feel about the music, how this music makes you feel. And maybe, you know, if you can give some insight into the writing of the song, you know, um, I know Adam gives us some snippets sometimes about his thought process. And I like to share, you know, just some extra knowledge with the people that listen to the song with me.
00:08:17
Speaker
Fantastic. Yeah, I like what you said about.
Chris's Rediscovery in College
00:08:21
Speaker
It tells a lot about the personality, about how they interpret the song. I guess maybe this is what I don't want our listeners to know about my psyche once we get into what kind of deep thoughts are in his mind. Yeah, it's not always the best. Chris, what about yourself? Again, I think I'm a little bit an outlier of the group here in that I, as I may have mentioned on the last show, I think I didn't
00:08:45
Speaker
I heard the songs initially in the radio, Mr. Jones around here, but I was a little bit younger. I was 10 when the record came out, so 10-11 when the record was really, really big. I didn't buy it at the time. I ended up recovering the satellites and had a longer journey. I went back and bought the record when I was a freshman in college.
00:09:11
Speaker
Part of the thing that did strike me in listening to the record, again, for however many of the time, but listening to it as I was ranking it this week was
00:09:19
Speaker
It kind of makes sense to me in retrospect that I didn't latch on to it when I was younger because it's kind of a record you need to have lived and had some experiences for. What a lot of this is speaking to is these feelings, and I think it's a very great sort of late high school college record because all these feelings of trying to figure out who you are and maybe being
00:09:43
Speaker
a little ashamed of that sometimes and maybe not liking who you are, but wanting to connect with people that kind of comes out in the themes of it that kind of makes it, well, it's like, whoa, that mental really hits you. If you're 19, maybe I don't think would have hit me all the way through when I was 11.
00:10:03
Speaker
But yeah, bought that Ardmore music in suburban Philadelphia, if anyone. I think they're still around. I think they moved a little bit further down the road. I think Ardmore music is technically in Brynmore now. But if you ever find yourself driving through, driving down I-30 in suburban Philadelphia, you know, Pennsylvania, Lancaster Ave.
00:10:26
Speaker
No, you make a good point. I'm sure we'll talk about that throughout here in the podcast about this coming of your exact I was trying to think when I've heard Adam interviewed recently about like why the album resonates with with individuals and why they're still super fit because it is kind of a coming of age album and I like what you said because even
00:10:45
Speaker
Yes, there are the, you know, teeny bop or pop songs that talk about love and, you know, a lot of songs talk about love, but this is, yeah, the love I think that he talks about in this album is that first, I don't know how to say, right? True, but maybe first love you have as a mature, right? A mature, maybe 19 year old compared to a 15 year old where you have that complication of trying to figure out who you are exactly and trying to figure yourself. Right. You're out. Yeah.
00:11:16
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, my yeah, it's funny. I thought about this and I think I'd like to think I have a photographic memory and I could not and like you, Jeremy, I also had the tape and then what and I actually thought about this. This was the first album. I think I think I mentioned here that I've had it
00:11:36
Speaker
I think I've had like five different copies of it and not that I bought multiple because I had the tape and then I think at some point I eventually got the CD I guess maybe a year later because you're right it was on that cusp.
00:11:50
Speaker
And I think at the time, my only CD player also had a tape, and then the car had the tape. So I thought, why do I need a CD? But I'm like, well, I like to help them so much. I'll just have to buy the CD. And then my friend, as I mentioned in the first podcast, my best friend from high school, he got me the, I don't know if any of you seen, I guess it was the first remaster and it was gold plated.
00:12:10
Speaker
i don't know if any of you the mobile fidelity the sound yes yes and he knew i was such a diehard fan and then someone's like oh it's just the same cd but
00:12:21
Speaker
better. Does it sound better? No, not at least in my system. But I loved having it because it was such a special album for me. So you know, I don't remember. And then I got the and now that's the one I own. I bought the deluxe edition because it has all the extra tracks. And then I kind of joke and bought the mp3 of what is it live at Town Hall. So you know, it's basically of course it's different. But I said, Yeah, I've had five guys. So I don't remember actually,
00:12:48
Speaker
buying the tape the other ones i kind of remember getting at certain times but yes i kind of said the last time i guess my memory is just that it kind of hooked me and you know i guess i've had other albums that every song is great i mean you go back to even i don't know michael jackson's thriller or something you can say well every song here is really good or some of the i don't know i like the beastie boy's first album oh it's like but there's something about this with all levels and i was just like this is incredible
00:13:15
Speaker
And then it wasn't until subsequent releases that I realized that maybe how special the band was, but I knew that this particular album was special. So. OK, so let's start off with the official official rankings cannot. But by the way, of course, as a lot of you said, when you sent me your rankings ahead of time, you're like, this change from last year, this was debating four or five and seven for three hours this week.
00:13:44
Speaker
So obviously these these lists change and if we had different fans on or if we talked to us, I know that if you had me write the list a year ago, it would have been or five years ago, it would have been different.
Ranking of Ghost Train
00:13:56
Speaker
So what's your list change a lot? Well, so what I did, I did this very unsigned because I knew if I would take like the whole week, if I if I really tried to really break it down. So what I did was I kind of like I listened to the record and I sort of ranked it as it went. I tried to sort of just kind of put it and
00:14:12
Speaker
let that feeling in the moment sort of resonate. And I was kind of surprised at a couple of them, I was surprised at a couple of things that came out lower than I thought, which I'll guess we'll talk about. But I'm curious, we'll start, what is number 11? And then we'll start talking about where we had it and what's our number 11 song here?
00:14:31
Speaker
All right, number 11 on our list, the lowest ranking, but it's like ranking your children, right? You love them all just some better than others. All right, so number 11, which two of us had as their lowest ranking song, and another two had it also pretty low, but not the last, was Ghost Train. So Dan, why don't you start off commenting about Ghost Train, why you ranked it, or just any other memories of the song or anything?
00:14:59
Speaker
Yeah, I think to your point firstly, I don't think there's a bad song on the album. So it's tough to choose as you kind of go through this stuff. The other thing that had a big influence on me is when hearing them live, I think they have a higher impact on my list. And Ghost Train is one that doesn't tend to get played as often live.
00:15:22
Speaker
So I, you know, I've got a recording of it, but I don't have a live experience in my head of it. And that's, that's kind of why I put it at number 11, just because, you know, 11 great songs, but there always has to be one at 11 and Ghost Train's mine. Absolutely. Jeremy, what about yourself? I actually had it ranked at 11 as well. I was kind of surprised. I thought I was going to be the outlier here and I was going to get beat up, but I'm kind of glad to see that's not the case. You know, it is a good song, like we said.
00:15:52
Speaker
It's just, it doesn't resonate with me quite the same way that some of the others do. I just don't find it quite as relatable. And maybe I just don't know the deeper meaning behind it, but it's just, it's not one that I'll skip, but it's never been one of my favorites either. Yeah, I had it at number 10.
00:16:09
Speaker
So just a slight step above. And yeah, it's a good, I mean, not a bad song at all. I kind of like the lyrics to it. The idea of like, is a love is a ghost train. Like you're dragging all these like things behind you when you're with someone, which is kind of nice. It's kind of nice, but it's kind of interesting. You know, remember everything she says when only memory remains is a pretty good line.
00:16:33
Speaker
But yeah, just as a live, it's kinda, I don't know, it's not as exciting a song musically. It doesn't sort of, I feel like some of the other songs have, in addition to the lyrics, some musical moments that are really like spectacular. And I feel like Ghost Train is a good song. There's nice, just a couple of, you know, live, there's some good guitar solos there, but it doesn't, again, this doesn't hit me the same way as some of the other ones.
00:16:59
Speaker
Yeah, I have to I gotta rework my spreadsheet to see what songs I've seen live and most of my notebook. I don't think I saw Ghost Train live, but it's interesting Dan when you commented about the live that Ghost Train of course is I will mention this in a future episode is in the across the wire. So that is one where they tried to write play it a little different.
00:17:20
Speaker
Like you, Chris. So I had it. I had it. I guess I want to say much higher. I had it number eight. So I actually I think I even remember writing my friend Todd like 12 years ago and saying Ghost Train might be their most underrated song from that album. So I've always known that I had it a little higher than others. And like you said, Chris, that actually line about like only memories remain or something that that that that line I think is not
00:17:51
Speaker
I don't know if it's one of his best, but it certainly haunted me and still haunts me a little bit to this day, this idea of, you know, right, every day that we go, anything else is in the past and what you remember about it. And sometimes you don't remember things. And then it's almost like it never happened, right? Or if you have someone in your family struggling with Alzheimer's or something like that.
00:18:16
Speaker
And when you think about relationships that end, the only thing you have are memories after that. I also think, this is kind of esoteric, but I almost think that kind of chorus, how do you do? I don't know if I ever heard anybody cover it. I think that would be really tough to sing. I'm not even saying it's the best chorus, but I don't think anybody could sing it better than Adam.
00:18:41
Speaker
like the tone and pitch wise I was re-listening to that I'm like that takes a lot of skill to sing it how he did I don't know just kind of random thought it is also interestingly I was because the point about the life it is there it is the next to last played song in terms of plays at least according to setlist.fm which I think is relatively accurate that's right and the the lowest one I actually think it's it's a little bit of a
00:19:08
Speaker
because the one that's lowest is reigning in Baltimore, which of course is an alternate many times. And probably if you tally up the alternates talks, they play that a lot, like probably would be ahead, you know, of ghost train. So ghost train is sort of the, the low man on the totem pole in that regard. Although there's a couple that are surprisingly close. I will talk about them as we get there, but just interesting point that it is interesting. Ghost train reigning in Baltimore probably are played the least amount.
00:19:37
Speaker
And OK, so here we go now, number 10. And I guess I'll preface by saying that I think by casual listeners, particularly the rank of all four of us together, this was probably the most surprising ranking.
Mixed Reviews on Omaha
00:19:51
Speaker
So coming in at number 10, some people had it at their lowest. Some people quite higher is played all the time in concert, which would be Omaha.
00:20:01
Speaker
So Dan talk first about Omaha and you might be surprised because you had it fairly high. Yeah super surprised and it's funny because the tour is kicking off in Omaha and I'm due to go. I want to hear them play Omaha in Omaha but
00:20:20
Speaker
Yes. Knowing Adam, he could choose not to. He will. He did a lot. So recently. I just, I mean, I love that song, especially live, you know, and you've got that accordion with Charlie at the front, you know, when he comes to the front of the stage. Yeah. So for me, that was my number five. Interesting. I had it number 11. I would say I had it number 11.
00:20:47
Speaker
And really just because in part, I think they've kind of like overplayed it a little bit live. But I feel like a little bit I've lost, if there was a different time where they were playing it less frequently, I feel like it's awesome if it's luster to me, maybe just because I've heard it so many times in concert. Jeremy, what about you and your ranking of Omaha? I actually had it in number 10. So I'm sticking true to form here so far with our average. Again, I like the song.
00:21:15
Speaker
If it comes on the radio, I will listen to it and I will sing every word of it. And same thing in concert. I love hearing it. It's just to me, it almost sounds like it was written just for radio, to be a radio single. And I'm not actually sure if it ever was, but it just comes across as very poppy to me, which is okay. But it just, again, kind of like with Ghost Train, I just don't feel the meaning behind it as much as some of the others.
00:21:42
Speaker
Again, a great song. I don't want to bash it if anybody's listening and they're a big Omaha fan. Don't send me hate mail, but just doesn't do it for me like some of the others. Yeah. I will say so too, the lyrical aspect of it, I do think that's part of why it's down. And just in terms of connections to the lyrics are great, but don't connect to me the same way.
00:22:02
Speaker
I'm glad you asked that. Before we went to the rankings, I was actually going to say a couple things about the album. But one of them that I was going to say is at least that I did with my quick reference check, because I had to check myself. Obviously, I knew Mr. Jones around here were official singles. But I guess official singles were Mr. Jones around here, then Omaha, then Rain King, and actually Murder of One, at least in some places, in some markets, was released as a single.
00:22:28
Speaker
So I think the only three I heard on the radio were Mr. Jones around here at Rain King. I had Omaha. Actually, I'm with you, Dan. I had it higher. And in fact, I think if you asked me like three years ago, I might have had it as number four, but I knocked it down to number six. So I still had it right in the middle. And the one thing I agree with what you say about the lyrics, etc.
00:22:52
Speaker
And I also agree with what Dan says about being a crowd favorite. I'm starting to warm to songs that are a crowd favorite. I think the recording is amazing and so uniquely Counting Crows. And I remember the first time I saw Omaha live and Immy did play that, you know, that mandolin part, that little stringing in the middle. And I was like, okay, this is going to be a great concert. They have all the little touches.
00:23:17
Speaker
I mean, they do some of the little important touches, but at the same time, change things also, right? That they kind of have that great mix. So I had that and, you know,
00:23:28
Speaker
The only thing I'll say about Omaha, and I had it, number six, that I am not sure how or why that song works, right? There's other songs that you're like, hey, I know why this is great and why this is a single. I wouldn't, I mean, it's funny that Jeremy said that about it being a single, because I probably wouldn't have chose it as a single if I was a record exec. But yeah, somehow the song works. So a genius to the crows there. Okay, so no other comments about Omaha. Let's move to number nine.
00:23:58
Speaker
and this one this one was one of the few universal although one person had it a little higher but it was kind of universally about the same ranking which is time and time again so let's go with Dan on that
00:24:11
Speaker
Yeah.
Debating Time and Time Again
00:24:12
Speaker
I mean, for me, it's, you know, it's good, but it's not on the top in the top list for me. It almost, I mean, I don't participate, but it, it reminds me of like a stoner song, the sort of thing you'd have on and you were just chilling out. And, um, yeah, but it's, uh, yeah, it's not, it's not near the top for me. Jeremy, what about yourself time and time again? I actually had that one as number nine as well. And I think, you know, high school me love this song.
00:24:40
Speaker
It just sounds like a kind of a typical breakup song, but the longer, the more time has passed and you've heard some of these other breakup songs and relationship songs that Adam has done. This one just feels so inferior compared to some of those. What I do really love about it though, is the line I wanted to see you walking backwards to get the sensation of you coming home. I think that's a great line. It's just not in one of his better songs in my opinion.
00:25:07
Speaker
Yeah, that is classic. How about you, Chris? Oh, it's the first one where I'm a little bit off the off the group here because I have this. Number five. I have always I've really loved the song and I love the music to this song. The outros to it, the bridges that like the one of you coming home bridges is pretty great. And the way it kind of plays out
00:25:35
Speaker
I have a really distinct recollection of seeing this song at a show in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 2006. And maybe it's probably kind of the first time I had like really, really good tickets part of it, but like, and just that whole show, I'm sure if you listened back to it, you'd go, this is a pretty, it's a normal show, but maybe where my mind was at the time, that show just really hit me like a train and particularly time and time again, really like hit me like a ton of bricks.
00:26:05
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's great. And it's actually, it's interesting. I asked my wife last night, I was like, just out of curiosity, what's your number one on this record? And she had this number one. Wow. So I would imagine, again, this is where, you know, literally everyone's going to have hate mail for all of us probably, or at least hopefully not hate mail, but a negative, a disagreeing comment. Yeah, I think it's I think it's a great song. And just a
00:26:30
Speaker
like a glimpse into sort of the genius of how these songs are uniquely kind of constructed, that like they could have these, the way they move. It's so unique in that regard, but. Yeah, with you, I had that, you know, I think for a while, this moved up a little bit on mine. I think, and I appreciate your thoughts. I think when I was younger, this might've been the lowest ranked song and it's kind of moved up. I had it number nine. So yeah, I think Chris, you kind of summed up what I like about the song. I mean, I do,
00:27:00
Speaker
I have to admit is I know that, you know, people that don't like to count in crows kind of say, oh, Adam's kind of whiny and that album and stuff. And never I, of course, love the singing. But you're starting off the I wanted so badly. Right. That either that either really hits you like there's somebody other than me staring back at me that's either going to hit you and be like, wow, this is powerful or like, what's he whining about? He's a rock star.
00:27:26
Speaker
I love it. I love it. The only line on the whole album that kind of makes me laugh, and he actually does kind of a fake laugh in it, right, is that, and I walk on water every chance I get, and he's like, I walk on water, and then he's like, ha, every chance I get or something.
00:27:44
Speaker
Yeah, so thanks, Chris. That's how I feel about also a good concert opener that when they've used it, they have occasionally used that as an opener. And I've actually always liked that as a like way into the show. Actually, I like I will say is we talk more about this. I like a lot of these songs as intro songs to the show. I think a lot of them, for whatever reason, work really well in that space. But I think time and time again is one of the.
00:28:07
Speaker
one of the good ones for that. Yeah, I would like to see it. And I wish I'm going to check that this is another song. I don't think I ever saw, you know, my 15 shows or whatever, 20 shows. I don't think I ever saw that live at all. I'd have to, I'd have to check that. Okay. So moving to number eight, getting closer. Here we go. Now this is the first one that, well, actually it wasn't all over the place. Two people had it quite low and two people had it in the middle. So that's how it ends up in number eight, which is perfect blue buildings.
Perfect Blue Buildings and Themes of Depression
00:28:35
Speaker
Let's start with Dan.
00:28:38
Speaker
Yeah, that's funny because I had that at my number 10. It's a good song, but it just wasn't in that top list for me. Jeremy, any thoughts on Perfect Blue Buildings? You had it quite high. This is the first time the list has been different than your list. Yeah, I was number five on this one. I think the opposite of how it was with Time and Time again, the younger version of me would have really not been into this song, but the more
00:29:08
Speaker
I guess life experience I've gotten and the more things I've been through, it's kind of climbed up the list. And it just, to me, it, it speaks to depression and longing and, uh, almost a little bit of self-loathing, um, which, you know, it doesn't make for the happiest theme for a song, but I do think it, it brings a lot of meaning, um, kind of gives you a picture into some of the things that Adam was going through when he, when he wrote this song. You know, like, I can't keep myself away from me.
00:29:36
Speaker
You're your own worst enemy sometimes. And that's kind of where this song lands with me. So I like it. It's not upbeat. It's not something you want to sing along to in the car all the time. But when you're sitting around listening to music by yourself, it just kind of resonates with me.
00:29:55
Speaker
Right. Great point. Chris, what about you? I had this, I'm with you. I'm with you. I had this at number four and I'm with you on sort of the way, I don't know, the song makes you feel. And, and if you have, again, if you, if you connect to this song, I think it's a really sort of beautiful expression of that feeling of again, being kind of self-defeating in some ways and really kind of questioning, you know, your, yourself in that regard.
00:30:20
Speaker
I think there was a time, I think there's pretty sure it's this one. There's an early bootleg where he says, Adam says this is his favorite song on the record. Now I'm sure that's changed a few times since, you know, August of 1993. But, you know, it was one of Adam's favorite sort of at the beginning. I think I'm also a little influenced here by sort of how good the song is live, how beautiful the sometimes it snows in April into what became Miller's Angels' outro is.
00:30:47
Speaker
I remember when they started going back to that, and I want to say it was 2007, they started doing that again after certainly not having played the song very much. It is, by the way, just above Ghost Train. And time and time again is just above Perfect Blue Building in terms of live plays. But when they went back to that, I lost my mind when they went into the outro. I was like, oh, shoot, he's doing it, he's doing it, he's doing it.
00:31:12
Speaker
again, kind of a weird thing to sing along to, but screaming, you know, about how you'd haven't gone outside in a day. You know, but it's, I mean, that's, I think part of what I love about that song. I've always imagined it, I think it'd be interesting to really hear that stripped down acoustic, which they have not done very much. I think there's something really plaintive and beautiful that you could find there. Yeah, he did. I know he's talked about this in concert. Like you said, did he also say once that it was like the hardest
00:31:42
Speaker
to record or to get right. There's something like it was the last one they record or I think it's Omaha actually. I think Omaha they played. I think it's the one they played a million times as a story that they like just could not get right. If you hear the demo, it's one of the few like the Omaha demo and the final version are different songs, right? Yeah, or it might have been the writing of this was a difficult something. I think even in Town Hall, he actually intros it a little by saying some kind of difficulty or some kind of special or as you said that he definitely liked it quite a bit from that first career.
00:32:10
Speaker
Okay, great. I had it. I have to admit I had it. I was the only one I guess I had it ranked lowest perfect blue building. So yeah, that was number 11. 11 for me. So yeah, I do like perfect blue buildings. And yeah, it's a great song. But just compared to everything else. It's always been a little lower.
00:32:31
Speaker
OK, maybe you're just less sad than the rest of us. So yeah, well, we see you here. Oh wait, yeah. Well, once we get once we get to number 20, you'll be sending me flowers and and making sure I cannot touch booze or something. I don't know. So let's go into number seven. Here we go. This one. OK, couple people out in the middle. One person had it relatively low and then one person had it relatively high, which is raining in Baltimore.
Analysis of Raining in Baltimore
00:32:59
Speaker
Let's start with Dan.
00:33:01
Speaker
Yeah, this was my number nine. It's a great moody song, right? And, um, for me, I can imagine the location when he's sort of talking about the lyrics and stuff, but it just wasn't one of the killer ones. Jeremy, what about yourself? Yeah, I had this one at number eight personally, and this was really the part of the list where it started getting difficult for me. I think kind of the middle section where they could have gone anywhere, but I really had to listen to them again.
00:33:30
Speaker
and just try to get my thoughts straight on them. And I think this one I can relate to a little bit because I've moved around a lot in my life. And there are those times when you're just sitting there thinking about where you came from and the people you miss and the things you miss. And to me, when I hear him say repeatedly, I need a raincoat. I look at that as you need something to shield yourself from some of the painful memories that you had. But then you also need the phone call to bring you back to some of the good memories.
00:33:59
Speaker
It just, uh, I really liked song. I think it's one of their, their better ones on the album, even though I had it ranked all the way down there at number eight. Hey, I see. I'm already questioning my ranking as we're talking. Stay tuned next week. We'll re-rank everything. I'm going to stay with, I'm going to stay where I'm at. Chris, what about you, Chris? So again, I think I'm the high vote here. I had this at number three. This is.
00:34:24
Speaker
And again, part of this is, I love this song in a lot of different ways, right? I think the piano version that is on the record is incredible. I think Adam is an underrated piano player. He's not a technically amazing piano player.
00:34:40
Speaker
But there's a bit, let's think if there's a Jenny Lewis comment from someone. He's like, we'll get someone better to play the piano. And it's like, no, no, no, like you have to do it. You have to feel it, you know, because you feel this out. And I think when you hear him play piano on this, it's like you hear him sort of getting that aspect of it, like this, the lyrics going with his playing. I think it's part of why. And just again, the connection, that feeling of disconnection and that need for
00:35:13
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I need a raincoat, right? All I want is something to cover me and something to keep me warm. I love it in the middle of Rain King. I think the two songs fit together so beautifully. I actually like it in the middle around here, too. They've done it around here. I like it better in Rain King, but I like it around here. Have you ever heard it played
00:35:37
Speaker
The piano album versions? Yeah, I don't think I have. Okay. 2008. Okay. Bowery ballroom. Ballroom, right? Which I was pretty sure that's the only one because they did they played it in 97 a bunch. And there's some good video from some of those versions where it's just it's actually beautifully lit. It's Adam at the piano.
00:35:57
Speaker
And like Charlie's playing accordion and they have like kind of a beautifully kind of very soft lighting on it with like a like a lamppost kind of thing. And it's really, really cool. If you look up the one, it's like Devore, California, which I know I have up on YouTube. That's near me, by the way. Yeah. So which I didn't know. Yeah. Anyway, yes. So that's yeah, that's a great that's a great concert. I forgot that they played that in that one. Yeah. And so that's it is it works real well that way as well.
00:36:28
Speaker
I've always loved the story actually behind this one, right? Which is that he wrote this intending to give it to, I think it's Bonnie rate.
00:36:35
Speaker
And T-Bone Burnett, T-Bone Burnett heard him like working on this in the recording studio and like recorded. And he was like, he's like, what's that? You haven't played this? Oh, I'm going to give that. That's for like Bonnie. Right. And he's like, hell you are. That's that's going on the record. Yeah. And T-Bone and it's interesting because Steve Burnett, he probably could have gotten it to Bonnie. Right. If he wanted it to. But he was like, no, no, you should you should keep this one.
00:37:02
Speaker
The only other thing I'll say about this one, personal memory. I have find this song very comforting. And when I was a, I was a college debater. So I was sitting at, as a George Washington university at, before one of the biggest rounds I was ever going to have was working on something, what we were going to do. And there's like, we're in this like student center, right? And so over off to the side, there's a piano and there's a kid just kind of tapping out reigning in Baltimore.
00:37:30
Speaker
on piano and my partner's like, oh, I can't hear anything. And I'm like, no, this is a good sign. This is a very, very good sign. It's going to be, it's going to be okay. I know we feel like real nervous right now, but the song is playing. It's, it's going to be good. And so, and we did, we went and won that round. So I've always had a sort of a personal sort of appreciation for it. It's actually weirdly
00:37:53
Speaker
The other weird thing about the song, it is in karaoke books. So if you wanna go to karaoke and really just crush the energy of the room, like if someone's just saying, like, don't stop believing and everyone's like, bye. You can just walk up and just start singing, reigning in Baltimore, just to really crush the energy. That is an option in many karaoke books in this country, just FYI.
00:38:19
Speaker
That's fantastic. Although, that's why I love having different opinions because I would say this is the one song. What did you call it? Comforting? Comforting, yeah. Yeah, I find about seven songs on here, comforting. That would not be one I find comforting at all. In fact, one of the reasons I ranked it where it did, I was like, oh, that was the first Counting Crow song. And I was on the first listen, maybe a year into it. That made me cry. So thank you. And I still. I think comforting in a good way, but like making you cry now.
00:38:49
Speaker
No. Yeah. Well, what about it? I don't know. But I will say that although I was laughing today, because in the social media world, he might have to change it. But I know the I need a phone call line, it gets gets gives me the feels if you were. Now it might be I need a text message, or it might be I need a phone call, because everybody only does text messages. So maybe you need a real phone call. Yeah. Yeah, I just love the PA. You know, it's funny, I guess I knew that there were
00:39:15
Speaker
I yeah, definitely one of my first favorite songs that someone is just on the piano and kind of saw and I was yeah, I was kind of blown away. I had it. Although not one of my top five. I had it. There we go. I had number seven. So so about in the middle. But yeah, I love Breaking in Baltimore. Maybe it's lost a little luster to me and I'd love but I'd love to see it live.
00:39:35
Speaker
Also, it's a relative to Omaha, you know, in songs that work in sort of odd ways. Right. I remember talking to someone about this song and Adam hits the line. It's like I can always hear a freight train if I listen real hard. And I'm like, oh, that's so good. And someone's like, why? Why is that good? And I'm like.
00:39:55
Speaker
I don't know, but it is like it's just it's the exact right thing to say. But yeah, it's not like a lot of it lyrically is not clear why it works, but it evokes something that is so like it's a picture. I don't know.
00:40:13
Speaker
No, that's right. All right, we're gonna keep going. We're moving along, so I'm gonna keep going with the list. We are now at number six, so right in the middle.
Final Thoughts on Themes of Life Choices
00:40:22
Speaker
And most of us had this in the middle, but one person had it a little lower. And that would be number six, the capper, if you will, murder of one. Let's start with Dan.
00:40:33
Speaker
Yeah, this is number four for me. So it's higher. I just love this song, especially live. You know, for me, it's a great way to kind of close out the album. And I think I'm right in saying there was a lot of pressure on the band for this to be the first single. And it didn't become the first single. But yeah, just just a super cool song. And you've seen it live a number of times. I played it too much recently.
00:41:02
Speaker
Yeah. Just fond memories of seeing it live. That's fantastic. Jeremy, what about you? Yeah. So I had this one at number seven, and this was another tough one because I really do love the song. And this is one I'll rock out to in the car and sing along. You know, one thing I really love about this one is the word play on the title, right? So obviously, you know, a murder is the term for a group of crows. So he's talking about being a murder of one. So solo.
00:41:30
Speaker
But also, you know, the song to me is speaking about maybe living your life for the wrong reasons and for the wrong people. And all these things that we think are so important in the moment, they kind of turn out to be meaningless at the end of the day. And you waste your life on these wrong things and then you end up alone. So you're a murder of one because you're alone, but you also end up, you know, murdering who you could have been. So I kind of like that.
00:41:58
Speaker
kind of the dual meanings of the title of the song to me. And I don't know if I'm the only one that feels that way, but that's okay.
00:42:03
Speaker
Oh, no, absolutely. Chris. No. And so I'm a low vote on this. I hit number nine, although I also, again, love this one of those classic like I don't I love this song. It just didn't seem to hit above certain other things. Part of it, I was trying to think about how much I should let the live versions of this of the songs influence my rankings. It's hard. I was letting the same issue. Yeah. Yeah. I was live like the CDs. Right. Like you might like the Heineken and then live that you've seen live. So you have both of those.
00:42:33
Speaker
Right. And I think that it's hard because I love this song live. It's so incredible and the energy that it brings.
00:42:41
Speaker
And, but part of it is sometimes the different versions. And I was listening to the, um, just the deluxe edition this week. And it's like, well, this is, it's incredible. I mean, it's a 15 minute, that, that version from Paris, it's like a 15 minute version of the song. And it's so far beyond what the original is. Right. And it's like, am I ranking sort of ranking the sorted humor song Doris day two? Like, I don't know. So that's where this kind of dropped, like the song.
00:43:08
Speaker
sort of on its own, sort of fell down a little bit the list as I was looking at it. But the song as like part of the catalog and certainly as part of the live catalog is incredible. So no disrespect there. I just didn't get all the way up there. But I'm with you.
00:43:27
Speaker
And Dan, I'm with you. I also had it, number four. And out of the top six songs for me, I almost didn't know what to comment about it, except that I just think it's a great song. And I know for a fact, I think I've only seen it live maybe two or three times. I know I loved it. But I know for a fact, Chris, to answer your question, that the live from a 10 spot version did affect my vote. And that moved, I mean, I don't want it to, but I know it did.
00:43:54
Speaker
And when he mentions, I mean, I do think too, one thing that cracks me up about this song is I don't know how he gets away with, and it's so natural of naming your own band in the song in a first album. And somehow it does not come across as too excessive or egotistical or anything. That is amazing to me. Do you have any comments about them mentioning Counting Crows in one of their songs?
00:44:20
Speaker
It's, yeah, you're right. It's an incredible bit. Like it's incredible that he kind of pulls that off. I also, I always like live that, like when in that, that outro about. I've been to Paris, I've been to Rome, I've gone to London, you know,
00:44:33
Speaker
that you can kind of get Adam's vibe of the time about whether he screams, I am all alone or I am not alone. Yes, exactly. I was thinking the exact same thing. Well, that's the end of part one of our ranking and review of August and everything after, as I said before, part two coming up in a couple of weeks. Until then, we look forward to seeing you down here on Sullivan Street.
00:45:09
Speaker
you