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E21: This Desert Life (Review and Song Ranking), Part 1
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Eric, Chris, and Geoff are joined by guest hosts Kevin Tellie and Sara Goodman.
Together, the group discusses the Crows' third studio album (and fan favorite) "This Desert Life".
Geoff and Eric get into the history of the album; as well as some trivia. Then, the group gives their ranking of songs #11-#6
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Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:13
Speaker
Welcome to episode 21 of Sullivan Street, where we are going to get into the Crow's third studio album, This Desert Life, and and a real fan favorite among many hardcore Crow's fans. We'll get into that in a bit. But first, I will say hi to my co-host, Chris Miggs, who has not yet missed an episode with me. So thanks, Chris. Here we are. Oh, we're here. We're always here together. Yeah, we got to keep doing this together. Um, a band favorite too. I mean, the band loves playing this record, you know, over the years. It's, it's kind of interesting kind of, as we were talking, we were we were talking to David Lowry note. He's like, do they, do they play this? He's like, pretty much, pretty much this entire record still gets played. So they must like it too. No, you're, you're right. He said, um, I think he said during one of the live shows I was at that, or maybe it was, ah oh, no, no. It was an interview when he was um promoting one of the tours and he said, um, he has no interest in doing another like all August tour, but he said if there he goes, I'll never do it. But if I ever
Special Guests and Fan Stories
00:01:11
Speaker
did a tour with, we just play one album front to back, it would actually be this desert life.
00:01:15
Speaker
because he said we have most we we we really enjoy playing those songs live. ah So was speaking of trivia about the band and how they might feel about this desert life or any other background information about the album, we had to bring in our historian Jeff Harkness. Jeff, how are you doing? ah Very good. Thanks for having me back. Always always fun to to be here and sit in and This album, I think, especially, is just so special ah for the real Counting Crows. Like, if you're a Counting Crows fan in 2024, this is a really special album to you. And you you probably know it and and love it. So it's I'm like really excited to talk about this album in particular, um as much as I love the band's catalog. And actually, this is not my favorite Counting Crows album. um it's It's so great. I mean, i just it's a 10 out of 10. I absolutely love this album. and i'm super excited to just talk to everybody else about it today. Cool. I need to follow them around on that hypothetical, this Desert Life tour. He's given up. He's given up. at You're ready to drive it around in a camper van and he's just right just all over the country.
00:02:24
Speaker
I'm with it, yeah. Well, actually, it's um my the first time I saw them was on this Desert Life on this tour about, I don't know, two or three weeks after the album was released. And then I saw them two other times within a few months of that. And I think that really this period solidified my fandom um in ah in a big way. I actually realized I saw them play every song from the album between those three shows, which is fun. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah, we will definitely talk about that. And we also have two first time guests, two fans of the podcast, dare I say, ah or maybe not fans of the podcast, but fans that counted Crows and fans of this desert life and both wrote me and said, hey, I really want to be on this album. First, we will say hi to Sarah ah and then Sarah, ah just say hi. And since your first time on the podcast, maybe talk about how you became a big Crows fan and what you know keeps you with the band today.
00:03:24
Speaker
Okay, hi, I'm Sarah and um I've been a Counting Crows fan since I was about 14 years old when I heard a long December on pop-up video. How's that for a blast from the past? And then we were having a neighborhood block party and I just kept playing along December over and over again, which is which is a real great song to play at a pool party. And someone said to me, you know, they they have another album. It's called August and Everything After. And they introduced me to the song, Mr. Jones, and and then it was all over. And I've been a fan ever since. And for me, I think it's really the lyrics. I know there was a prior guest when you had the mother and daughters on who who stole my line, which is Counting Crows are the soundtrack of my life.
00:04:16
Speaker
um And about 75% of the time if I say, you know, this reminds me of a line in a song I'm about to cram to quote a Counting Crow song. All right. Fantastic. Thanks so much. and I do like your kindly friend, but I I do question when whether again they were trying to be kind or they just wanted to play Mr. Jones at the barbecue instead of like long December. They were like, this is just. Long December is really not the right mood music for a pool party and a barbecue. Yeah. but that like i will we'll We'll ease you off this with Mr. Jones. That'll at least. Oh, that's funny. And our fifth panelist today, Counting Crows fan, Kevin, ah please talk about how you got into the crows and what keeps you with them today.
00:05:04
Speaker
Yeah, thanks y'all. So growing up, I got into them in 2002. But before that, my mom was a huge music fan. So I remember, you know, when I was a young and in the 90s, driving around with her listening to August. And I remember she actually bought me a lot on recovering the satellites for the long December as a single. And then a few years later, picked up this desert life because I loved hanging around on the radio. And I was probably like, you know, 12 at the time to date myself, but for some reason this desert life just clicked and I've been a diehard since. So it's been 22 years of fandom and I keep going back. I think a lot of it is just the live shows. I, you know, they're my Grateful Dead. I love, you know, seeing them when they're in my city and and traveling up and down, you know, the East Coast and the Midwest and whatnot.
00:05:52
Speaker
um And also just, you know, Adam is so prolific at introducing fans to other music. And I value that so much. He's definitely opened my ears to so many the other bands through the years. Cool. And just out of random
Album Significance and Production Insights
00:06:06
Speaker
curiosity, even though we don't have a lot of time today, whats what's one band that you is a regular listen for you now that you got exposed to because of Adam? No, man, so many. I mean, I think, of course, like Big Star is right up there. I'm so glad to know about that band from The Crows. Yeah, Big Star. Great. I will say I ah was at a piano karaoke bar last night, and the song list had Ballad of El Guido. And I'm not sure anyone but me and the piano player enjoyed, not that they didn't enjoy, but like no one was else was like, man,
00:06:41
Speaker
big star at a karaoke bar, but i I had a great time. It's one of my favorite songs. So I'm with you there. Oh, fantastic. You all kind of hinted about this already, but before we get into the album um and the tracks and some of the details and trivia, maybe just real quick about... and you because Some of you just said this, but again, maybe elicit of your memory of this desert life. um and i've already This is the one album, I guess I've already talked about it on the podcast, that I think this was the I think this was the first album of their that had all three in order. But this is the first one that I bought the day it was released.
00:07:21
Speaker
And I was kind of in between. i was I worked for a couple of years and then I took kind of a gap year, if you will, after my first job. And ah interesting timing given though the it's been in the news this week, but I was actually working at Red Lobster for a couple months while I was deciding if I wanted to you know just travel my whole life or you know whatever. live with my parents be in the streets move to the big city I didn't know and um I just remember that somehow I timed it I think what happened is I picked it up before my shift right if I was working like a night shift I picked it up and then I said something for some reason this sticks with me too and I remember saying something to the host
00:08:00
Speaker
of um because you know if I was 25, maybe the host girl was 18 or something. And I think, I don't know, somehow it came up and they're like, oh, where'd you go before? Oh, I had to pick up Cannon Crows this desert life. And then she was like, oh yeah, that's cool. like almost ah but But it was interesting, because I was like, oh, even someone seven years younger knows of the Crows and knows that they're a happening band. Because it was definitely a positive thing, even though she was a little like, you had to buy it like the second it was released. You were that big of a fan? You had to. Yeah. And then I've talked about before how I listened to it all week preparing for the concert. So let's go to Chris. What about your experience, ah your memory first with the album? So this is an interesting one because I um i was a big fan of the song Colorblind from the Cruel Intentions soundtrack. We'll talk more about that later. But so I'd heard I'd heard that. And somehow, though, like when the record came out, i like I didn't rush out and buy it. And my good friend Adam Zamora gave it to me as a Christmas present.
00:08:59
Speaker
in 1999. So I unwrapped it and just avoided my family and started started listening to the crows. But yeah, it was ah it was a a Christmas present from a friend, interestingly enough. But yeah, let's go to Jeff. You're experiencing picking up this Desert Life album, CD. I'm guessing you actually picked up a physical copy at some point. Yeah, so this was my first real job ever in my life out of college was as a music journalist, which was the greatest still than probably the greatest job I ever had. And that um year I got a copy I did get a copy of the album and their press kit, which they sent out.
00:09:40
Speaker
and got to go see them and review them in concert. That was the first time I saw them. So I wrote a review of that show. I actually wrote reviews of all three of those shows, but also eventually got to interview Charlie too about the album. um I think it was before the the live concert or the live tour that they did. So I got the album as as part of that. And you know must have I must have had it like right when it came out. But um this was probably, it was one of those albums that I would have had immediately because it was kind of, I was such a big fan of recovering the satellites. And it was maybe like right at the at the beginning of the height of my Counting Crows fandom or something like that. So yeah, loved it. Loved it ah from the minute I heard it. Did you have it before release day?
00:10:32
Speaker
Probably like right i mean right as it came out. i mean One of the great things about that job was that they would, the record companies would send you the press kit and the new CD in hopes that you would review the album and um you know even even you know write about the group if they're on tour or something. so Like I said, it was it was still the best job I ever had, because when bands would come to town, you could you could like bid to, you know, oh I'll review that show. and And so you get tickets to the concert. So that's definitely how I saw Counting Crows the first time was writing a review of their show in Kansas City at Memorial Hall. And I think they did. They played like maybe eight of the songs from the album that night. So, yeah, incredible. And Sarah, what about you?
00:11:14
Speaker
So I had seen them in concert for the first time um one week before this album came out. So I'd heard a couple songs on the internet know back when you could you know spend 15 minutes downloading a song. And then I heard a few songs a week before that album came out. And I actually don't remember specifically where or how I got the album, but I am very confident that it was on November 2nd. like i probably stopped on the way home from school and picked it up only because the store wasn't open on my way to school. That's
Commercial Reception and Promotional Strategies
00:11:52
Speaker
that's funny. Uh, Kevin, uh, your memory, although you kind of hinted at it a little bit, but yeah, I did. I instead a little bit, but again, I purchased it, you know, probably in 99, um, for the hanging around single. And then, um, you know, at that time that's kind of all, like I would put it on every now and then they'll listen to hanging around again. That's pretty good.
00:12:12
Speaker
But ah my family and I, we we did a little family vacation the summer of 2002. And I brought just like a book of CDs and brought this desert life again, just for hanging around. That's all I had. And I remember putting it on in the car and none of my family, therere they didn't really care what was on the radio. And the album played over and over. And I was like, again, awakened to this masterpiece. And there's one song on the album that like, you know, really dug its its fingers in as you will and I and I can It's in the rankings. I'll allude to it once we get there. All right, thanks so much. ah So this is the part of the podcast where we let Jeff do his magic and talk about some trivia, fun facts, background about the album without giving away too much, because, of course, he would still prefer if you pick up a copy of Ring King.
00:13:05
Speaker
um
00:13:08
Speaker
And so please, Jeff. Great. And if I go on too long, just give me the the cutoff signal. So for the first album, they had the 15 song demo to choose from. For Recovering the Satellites, half the album was written and road tested before they went into the studio. But this time, they're going in without as much material for album number three. And also, Adam is looking for a reset. I think the response to recovering the satellite um made him want to show a different side of the band, like a lighter side of the band. He wanted to move their image away from the stereotype of being this kind of mopey and oppressed. It's how we get from round here to accidentally in love, this through like this desert life. So for example, he gets Neil Gaiman, known for the children's book, The Day I Swap My Dad for Two Goldfish, to do the cover art.
00:13:58
Speaker
and and basically is looking for something lighter. In April 1998, they played two shows at the Viper Room, um and they debuted three songs, St. Robinson and his Cadillac Dream, Sundays, and She Don't Want Nobody Near. All three songs are going to come out, but only one of them is going to come out on this desert life. um They choose Dave Lowry and Dennis Herring to produce, Harry was a producer of the final two Camper Van Beethoven albums, and Camper Van Beethoven was a Northern California band ah that was popular in the 80s, and David Emerglock played with them. And um that's how they met Adam, and they had kind of run in each other's circles for a long time and and knew each other.
00:14:40
Speaker
um So they, again, were recording in a house, this time overlooking, as we learned from the pod your podcast, Overlooking the Hollywood Bowl. Adam didn't live in the house. um It sounded like the production team lived there so that the band could kind of show up and and record any time that the muse struck. um In May, they did some preliminary work with Dave Lowry in the house. And Lowry talked about how hanging around was one of the early demos that Adam had brought in. And Lowry sort of seized upon that as as having some potential to be a single and thought that it and kind of kept bringing the band back around to that song.
00:15:16
Speaker
um Recorded on a casino in a hill. Emming was on hand much more. They had a private chef. ah There's a full-size basketball court. So it's a pretty relaxed atmosphere. In September 1998, they come up with, Baby, I'm a Big Star Now, um the great song that ah was going to be used in the and was used in the movie Rounders. Adam decided that he wanted to keep the song. He wasn't going to give it away and let them use it on the soundtrack. So he said, you can use it in the movie, but you can't put it on the soundtrack. And then when he decided not to use it in um and On This Desert Life, they decided not to do a rounder soundtrack. So the song kind of never came out. It was only in the in later that it was sort of semi-released. But the great lost song from this album.
00:16:02
Speaker
In January 1999, Gethin announces that they have become ah part of this conglomerate merger with um A and&M Records and Interscope. And effectively, Counting Pros is now working for Interscope Records and label mates with Limp Biscuit, Nine Inch Nails, M&M, and Soup Dog. And the corporate bean counters from Interscope ah show up to the mansion to hear what they're working on for the new album. Adam plays them Mrs. Potter's Lullaby, the eight minute song, which they, needless to say, cannot envision as a single. In March, Colorblind comes out on the Cruel Intentions soundtrack. It's not really necessarily a hit, but it's kind of a well-known song, gives them a little bit of a boost.
00:16:46
Speaker
um In May at the Shim Sham Club with Emmy, Adam announces that they have finished the album. They play Four Days and Mrs. Potter's Lullaby at that show. And then they tour that summer. They go out on tour with the album finished. um They play Hanging Around, start playing it. They play Woodstock 1999 or Woodstock 99 on July 24th. On Halloween, they played the famous Devil and Bunny show dressed in the pink bunny suit. And um and then Hanging Around is released in October 18th as the lead single with the video. It hits number one on the triple A charts. And it's their biggest charting hit. It hit number 28 on the Billboard actual like top 100 song charts. The album itself is released um November 2nd, 1999. It goes platinum.
00:17:36
Speaker
um and peaks at number eight on the charts. The band plays Conan O'Brien. They play Hanging Around with Joe 90 and the Jigolo Ants joining them. We'll talk about that later. And um then they play Letterman doing Hanging Around solo. They do a whole bunch of touring for this album, including the co-tour with Live. And um ah that is that's ah that all will stop there that's a little bit of that kind of a lead up to it. Sorry if that was too long. No, no, no, fantastic. it Exactly what I expected. And you you took a couple lines. I was, Chris, did you want to comment on any of that? um
00:18:13
Speaker
No, okay. ah I'll keep going. Yeah, it did it is true. Yeah, and as I mentioned on the podcast before, I actually, it was just random. I wasn't, ah parched you know, or purchased in front of my TV at home. But I remember when they yeah release or when they first ah made a big deal about the video on total, I guess it was total requests live or whatever that one that they did in downtown, or in Times Square, right? With with with Carson Daly, what is it, right? yeah And then I remember he's like, yeah, here we go, the world. And i again, it's weird because you know that that that kind of mixed opinion, especially in the 90s, where you want like your favorite band to get a lot of exposure because they deserve it. But then you know part of it was like, I don't know, right? is it Is this too mainstream? I don't know. But I loved seeing that video. And I was like, wow, the crows are still on top of the world. um Interesting. And you also have to watch TRL.
00:19:03
Speaker
the rest of TRL to get you to the Crow song. Yeah, and I don't think I did. I think I just I think they kicked off the show just by with the the with the with the debut and then went into the actual request after that, I think. ah Yeah, you know, it's it's funny, Jeff, one thing I thought of um with this album was that hanging around was such a major hit. And
00:19:29
Speaker
we could talk about this but why like they did release official other singles but they didn't make a major video with them um like you said it reached platinum after a couple months uh january of 2000 i almost think it could have went multi-platinum if they did better promotion of the other singles i've always been curious about that because officially they released mrs potter single in in in august of 2000 so that's almost like a year later And then even the video you could tell was kind of you know done fairly cheaply and not I don't even know if it was played that how much on VH1 or MTV at all. I remember watching it on the the internet.
00:20:05
Speaker
Yeah, right. they're All My Friends, I think, was a single. Exactly. I was just about to say All My Friends, which looked like it was basically shot on somebody's camcorder. And so it it was, right? We even talked to Matt about that a little bit. And as you said, Colorblind was officially not a single. So especially back then when they charted so well and were popular, like, why didn't they make colorblind a single and have a video i think i don't know i think they would double their album sales i'm not sure if they were fighting with the label or with the label but yeah you can see that if if the first single didn't do well but it very well so what do you say yeah i think i think that's part of the issue here with this record from a commercial. Perspective not not as a ah record but.
00:20:48
Speaker
um I think hanging around is so disconnected from the rest of the record that it's a wonderful single. But I don't think any of these songs, I mean, other than that, are really commercial songs in 1999, 2000, maybe Colorblind, if they'd agreed to cut down Mrs. Potter's, although good on them for not doing that. um I don't know, mate could saint could St. Robinson have been a single? Maybe. like But it's a really, I find hanging around is sort of disconnected from the record in that way. And I think that's maybe why it it didn't get become bigger, although again, it sold a million records. so you know that static That's true. It might have been them trying to find the the the label trying to, I mean, just because of kind of the tightness of it. Yeah, maybe you'd even
Song Rankings and In-Depth Analyses
00:21:34
Speaker
argue four days could have been possibly.
00:21:37
Speaker
but that's But you're right, that there is some limitation there. ah Yeah, thank you, Jeff, for your thoughts. And Adam, though i i because I have no good research skills, I just went right to Wikipedia. And Adam, the quote that they had was Adam said that this ah album is that life is about confusion and change. And we'll maybe talk about that confusion and change. And David Lowry said, like you said ah kind of hinted at, maybe a little brighter, wanted to show some of their humor and reverence is is what he said. ah The last part of trivia I'm gonna mention before we get into our song rankings, which is the main point of today's show, which is um I always like looking at who wrote the songs, right? So so ah Adam, of course, wrote all the songs and many himself, or he gets at least partial writing credit of all of them. ah So Dan was a major contributor on this. So both High Life and Speedway was written by Adam and Dan.
00:22:35
Speaker
Which I find totally fascinating, Amy Hit the Atmosphere, written by Adam and Matt. I think it's the only song that they did together. Hanging around was a team effort as it had Adam, Dan, Ben, and Bryson, I think if I remember correctly. And then colorblind and I wish I was a girl, Adam and Charlie and nobody else. That's also interesting. I found that also interesting that Charlie was a writer of that, given that in concert. Oh, no, no, oh no that's right. No, Charlie does play the play the piano on that. And that's it. Well, in one interesting thing, which we didn't talk about, Jeff, is is that when actually
00:23:15
Speaker
and I didn't research it, when actually does Emmy become a member? Emmy's in the out em emmy's in the photo right in this desert life. But interestingly enough, especially compared today, he has no writing credit for any of the songs. so yeah Yeah, and he he played on the and some of the songs, but not a lot. He wasn't as deeply involved in this album as he would become with the things, the albums that came after it, so. Exactly, yeah. Harkini was kind of a transition and then of course now he's heavily involved, so I thought that was interesting. Okay, let's go. Adam of course always writes 100% of the lyrics, so when he is collaborating with the band members, it's on the music, but the lyrics always are 100% Adam as well, so. That's true, that's for that that's that's worth repeating and noting.
00:24:01
Speaker
Okay, so here we go. There are 11 songs. We decided, as usual, to officially include Kid Things, the very 90s, early 2000s bonus track you had to go into a little bit. And we will talk about Kid Things. So 11 songs, so 10 songs plus Kid Things is 11. Here we go. Everybody sent their list ahead of time. As always, they don't know what each other put. I do. I rank them. Here we go. Let's start. This is official, right? Once it's done, this is, you know, can never change. The band should know about this. It is canonically true. It's canonically true. Exactly. Until next week when we listen to it 20 more times, our next year when we listened to it 30 more times and thought, you know what, I always did like that one a little better. Okay.
00:24:47
Speaker
and So here we go, the number 11. Oh, and by the way, the interesting thing, this was actually the hardest album for me to rank, especially in the middle. I kind of had my top ah two and maybe my bottom four or five, but the ones in the middle, I was like, this should be three or nine. I'm not sure whatever it is. I'm i'm not sure. And that came across in the rankings. And so that's worth saying, where number one and two were clear one and two. The bottom four were pretty clear bottom four. But numbers is three, four, five, six um and seven were almost a tie. I mean, there were a couple points of things. So but yeah, so that'll be interesting. So here we go. Number 11. And actually, this was a clear number 11. Here we go, Jeff. I know you'll be interested in this one. Kid things.
00:25:34
Speaker
Kid Things, and I joked about this because Jeff actually put it as his 11th and he's like, oh, probably the only one. and and And the reason I laughed about that is because if you go, I'm not a big message board person, but if like if you go to message board or Reddit, it seems like Kid Things is this huge fan favorite of the hardcore fans. And so interestingly enough, um three of us had it near the end, including me. Two of us, though, did have it in the middle. So I'll start with them. It's actually our two guests. So we might not invite them back. um But no, Sarah and Kevin both had it, number five. So Sarah, I'll start with you. Why did you rank Kid Things pretty high? I didn't i did number seven. Oh, OK. Fifth from the bottom. Oh, yeah, right. Fifth from the bottom. Exactly. Sorry. Number seven, yep. I mean, it's OK.
00:26:23
Speaker
um you know one On other albums, it would not have ranked as highly. But I mean, sorry. another you know it It's a decent song, but i don't I don't love it. And there's just other songs I like more, but there's other songs I like less. That that makes sense. What about you, Kevin? Yeah, I had this pretty pretty close to you, Sarah, at number six. um i So many songs on this album are just looser than I feel like many of the other Crows songs, which really comes across in the beginning. But like you have this fun, loose country rock sound.
00:27:04
Speaker
And I love that Emmys, he plays like the electric mandolin on this, but I feel like they made that decision because it mirrors a fiddle. So I feel like there is that cool like creative instrumentation in the song. Obviously like Charlie's on guitar, which is funky. But for me, yeah, I think it's a great fun song. So I had it pretty much like smack dab right in the middle.
00:27:26
Speaker
Yeah, thank thank you. I actually noticed that little ah thing that you said too about about the instrumentation was pretty interesting. um I don't have too much to add about kid kid things. I think this is like, ah and I'd be curious to know why some Crows fans have it in like their top 10 songs or things that they really want to hear live. I thought it was like the perfect extra track. I don't think it's as good as the other 10. It's kind of a nice little thing. It's kind of jammy and and both and then of course in the recording they add that little right, beginning part to it where they're talking and a little bit afterwards about where they're kind of teasing each other um at the end of that recording, which I which I always thought was funny. And I was trying to always listen to something. Can I learn something about the band? I think it's that they're waiting for Adam. Right. They say like, no, go I think it's that they're waiting for Adam to get ready and they're just kind of teasing each other and having fun. um i Jeff, am I wrong? I always thought it was like a kind of a Rolling Stones tributish kind of sound.
00:28:25
Speaker
I can hear the dead flowers kind of connection there and the little country honk sort of spirit of it. Yeah, it is interesting. Fun fact, they played this live, chose this song to play live when they played The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for this album. you know And so you can go to YouTube and watch them play it with Charlie on guitar. And as Kevin pointed out with Emmy playing the electric mandolin, which is just interesting to watch anybody play that instrument. But yeah, to me, a hidden track is
00:29:03
Speaker
Like, has there ever been a hidden track that's like, oh, man, that's the one, you know, nobody puts the hidden track is the best song. Even Dave Lowry talked about, oh, we front loaded the best you catchiest songs at the beginning of the album. So the last song and the hidden track is never going to be the single. It's never going to be the one that the band thought, oh, this is the this is the key track to the album or it wouldn't be hidden. Right. I mean, it seems to me like just by nature, a hidden song can't be the best song on the album because it's a hidden track. You're ticking off those Chelsea fans again, Jeff. We already had this no idea. Also hilariously, right, that turned into ah with with Big Yellow Taxi, which we'll we'll get to down the line, but right, that was a essential yeah it was a hidden track that turned into a giant single on a remix. so They had that one hide it. Yeah. um yeah i just think I actually think this song is sort of better
00:29:59
Speaker
To put it this way, I think this song is better as a song disconnected from this record. It feels like at the end of this record, it feels like a bonus. um I think if you take it maybe in another context, you'd hear it and you go, oh, maybe that is something that's really interesting. But I don't know, something about hearing at the end of this record, I was like, no, that's yeah it's the end. That's the bottom um of of my list because of these other didn't hit me the way some of these other songs do. But I think part of that is just like the way it is very different contextually from the rest of the record. Oh great, thank you. yeah and oh yeah So it came across as kind of a fun song and a jammy song, but not as deep ah lyrically and musically maybe as some of the other songs on the album. Okay, here we go. Number 10.
00:30:41
Speaker
This is also, and this was actually, and this was my, I think I'm the only person that actually had this exactly 10th, but other people did have it low. Now of, but somebody, yes. So this is the only person who's going to be annoyed by this will be Chris. So number 10 on our list is Speedway. Oh dear. So let's start with Chris, who had it as his third favorite song on the album. This is yeah this is one of my this is one of my favorite Crow songs. um
00:31:14
Speaker
And i I think I talked a little bit about this in the podcast, but this was a white whale for me. I had a a real moment with this song about 10 years ago, went to a show where I think I later saw the set list and they had scratched it out. It had been a scratch out. And then it took me a solid decade ah to see it. Then I saw it in 22 and 23. I think this is from a vocal, like one of Adam's best vocal performances on the record. um he he crushes this and particularly that bridge. And in listening to this again, you can really feel the the what's beautiful about the singing in the bridge is the way it rises up out of the quiet of the rest of the song, which really kind of mirrors the the emotional content of it, right? Which is this guy is kind of feeling kind of trapped in and doesn't know what to say and and you know almost almost mute. And then he like sort of finds that voice in
00:32:12
Speaker
in that bridge and and that line you know the bottom line all this time the bottom line is you don't know how much i feel and just like that very straightforward always always hits me um it's uh i i think it's a i think it's a fantastic song but apparently i'm outvoted thank you so much let's go to jeff who um at the next highest he had a number eight so Okay, yeah. So I do think that there are other songs on the album that are in this same vein that are better. In my in my rankings like Amy hit the atmosphere and all my friends specifically to me are better kind of songs in this vein. um For a song called Speedway, it does just kind of sit there but
00:32:59
Speaker
um What's cool to me is how the different instruments are used sporadically. They sort of come in and out. And it's a real feature of the production on this Desert Life and something that I think really sets it apart from their other albums, even albums like Recovering the Satellites and Hard Candy that have a lot of this kind of stuff going on. Speedway, like the bass comes in after verse 1A, which I was obviously geeking out and listening to this really, like you know, closely, but the bass doesn't come in until after basically the first part of the first verse. um Just like in high life, it's the same thing. And so the use of space is so prevalent in this song and in this album. They don't fill every possible inch of space with fills and little foofoos and stuff like that, particularly on this song. Listen to the ending of this song. The musicians hold the line
00:33:49
Speaker
There's this sense of restraint. They hold the line all the way. There's no big finish on this song, which like there could be, but they hold it. They hold it. And and there's a real discipline to that use of space. And it's going to come up. I think it's used even ah more prevalently and better. But this this song to me is like the dividing line between the songs that I just love and the songs that I don't like as much on this album. There are some songs that I don't like as much. But Speedway, I think, has a lot to offer because of those qualities, which I really do admire in the song. you Thanks, Jeff. I had it as my second lowest next to kid things. I don't really have too much to say. It's just at the other nine songs I've all loved in various ways or maybe even been in my top three, depending on the year. But this one, um yeah, I always liked it. But it's funny you said that, Jeff, because in the last five years, even though I like the song, ah but it's clearly maybe my least favorite of the main 10, I did notice what you said. And I always appreciated that.
00:34:49
Speaker
yeah like you're absolutely right in in then the restraint and the production and the idea and I did get to see it uh live in 2022 and it it was still it was a pleasure to listen to and it was great I guess he kicked I think he started right he was starting off some um concerts with that right as the opener for couple yeah it was like an ah an occasional it was in the opener rotation in 20 years in the opener rotation and he said he kind of liked uh starting off with that So, ah great. I won't add any more. And I don't know if Sarah and Kevin have anything particular to say. Both of you. We'll start with Sarah. Both of you had it as um number 11 on your list. Yeah, I just find it boring. Okay, so that's that that's the commentary. A little, a little. A couple years ago, and
00:35:37
Speaker
I couldn't even remember what song it was. it yeah We were halfway through the song before I even figured it out. and yeah I don't know much else to say. Thank you, Kevin. yeah um I had a ah note here, Chris, about the the vocals on the bridge. you know I had this ranked number 11, but the vocals on the bridge are fantastic. I think to me, It touches on a lot of the themes of this album, which I think it's more of Adam living with fame as opposed to like, you know, have you seen me lately? I just got famous. It's more like, this is my life now. And here's how I'm dealing with it. And I feel like the lyrics and speedway are just a little too general for me and unrelatable. I hate to make this comparison. I don't want to bring in other albums, but it reminds me of anyone but you off Saturday night and Sunday mornings, which is a little bit of a low point. So that's why I had it in number.
00:36:33
Speaker
All right, thank you, Kevin. So let's go on to then our next ah one, which would be number nine on the list. So. yes Yeah. so As I said, I'm generally happy because my love is too. or so I knew that, at least for me, things would start getting controversial because I basically love all of the top nine songs. and yeah so this is one I guess I have this highest on my list. this is and I already mentioned it once on the show. This has always been one that I just think, oh, right. we kind of ah Chris, our last episode, we kind of
00:37:07
Speaker
loosely said was underrated songs. Although I had somebody text me and be like, how can you put rating in Baltimore is underrated. Everybody loves that song. I don't think that's i someone else said that to me too. I don't think that's true. I think there are people who love that song, but I also think that is not a lot of people's face anyway. But it is funny and in daylight failure. It's a single. How can that be underrated? at the top um But no, so this is, I actually think this is their first maybe criminally underrated song from the first three albums, which is four days.
00:37:39
Speaker
And so um we have ah Kevin had it the, the well, i'll talk I'll guess I'll go first since I had the highest. I put it as a number five. Yeah. And I was, um yeah, is that correct? Yeah. And I was kind of waffling on different ones. I think I had it as high as three, four, five. I just think it's, it's tight. Yeah. I atmosphere ically it feel like when when one of the things i love about the crows and this will come up a lot and i think he does a great job of this ah of in summer somewhere under wonderland is when he has lines. And you can see kind of already said this in speedway but you can almost like.
00:38:22
Speaker
The lyrics themselves also match the music and you could really vividly picture the video almost or some kind of imagery. and I feel that about the like the but is it the Black Ohio Skies when when he mentions it in four days. I just think it's it's such a tight song too, which is why I said it could be a single. It's not excessive that kind of goes into jeff maybe your part that I love the production on this album. right like Every song, sometimes there is like added layers, sometimes there's not. and um And as someone who and maybe Jeff and Chris or the two of you can comment, I'm not a 70s rock aficionado, but to me, this sounds like a real tribute to like 60s and 70s kind of rock with the harmonies. And anyway, that's, I just thought, i yeah, this is not a skippable song for me. yeah I love the middle part of the album. Let's go to who had it next high. Jeff, actually, it was you. You had it as number seven.
00:39:17
Speaker
Yeah, well, this is, ah again, a song that I love on this album, I think. So here are are a couple of interesting things that I learned even just in preparing for our talk today. um Dave Lowry said that this was the first real song that the band wrote for the album. He said that on your podcast. um Emmy is playing bass on this song. And you can tell that he's playing bass. Now, i I didn't know this until I'd been listening to it for a while, but I've been listening to it closely and going, it's interesting in this song how the bass is really the driving instrument. It's really doing most of the heavy lifting, um even the little solo part at the end of the chorus before the turnaround.
00:39:54
Speaker
uh to the second verse is like done on the bass it's usually the guitar is doing this type of thing and i was going like wow matt malley come on you're amazing and then i found out i looked at the credits and i was like oh that's emmy so that makes a lot more sense that a guitar player is doing this um the guitars are much more foundational uh to compare to the bass lines and that's one of the things that i think actually makes this song sound interesting it's such an interesting sounding album yes the arrangement of the instruments and the fact that emmy's playing the the bass in almost the lead way on this song i think makes it an interesting sounding song now another little piece of trivia clay jones one of the unsung heroes of the album
00:40:33
Speaker
somebody who I'd love to hear an interview with on Accounting Crows podcast, for example, Clay Jones is a bluegrass musician from North Carolina who comes in and does a little Scotty Pippen on this album and um and becomes like the key man to Adam's Michael Jordan. And so on this track, not so much, we don't hear the real Clay Jones sound. We'll hear about him later. But he's actually the guy playing the electric guitar on this song. It's not Dan Vickery. um Now, again, he holds back. He doesn't play at all during the first verse, and then just a few simple lines on the guitar, or a few little lead lines. You think it's Vickery, but it's not. So, um again, we have those intricate, like, this is the California sound with the interwoven harmonies.
00:41:16
Speaker
that are the real hallmark of an album like this and Hard Candy that I think, again, make this a standout track for me. So, yeah, I love Four Days. I think it's i think it's very cool. And also, I think that the shakeup of the instrumentation and of the players on this song make it different sounding than anything else. Yeah, yeah, thank you. I it's funny. i I'm glad you put it that way because I yeah that I'm thinking that I love the harmonies in this which again, I've said a lot of times they're so unappreciated by the harmonies they do. I think that's what kind of grows actual legacy is their harmonies um for a more right, especially for in the 90s and after. um But yeah, almost cars have the beach boys, you know, right.
00:41:59
Speaker
That's right. ah But Jeff, yeah, I think the the guitars themselves actually play in harmony in this song more than in the other song. So I agree with you. And of course, you know, yeah, has typical Crows lyrics about, you know, mentioning, you know, whatever ex-girlfriends and everything else. So let's go to ah who had it next. Let's, ah well, no, the rest of you basically had it the same. So we'll go to Jeff, ah who, I'm sorry, Chris, who had this as number nine. Yeah, well, I actually think ah Eric, I don't think it's about an ex-girlfriend. I think it's about a current girlfriend who has gone away for a bit. Yeah, he did mention that. In Ohio, I believe. You're right. said i'm just you know I'm just joking. Girlfriends, ex, future, whatever, yeah.
00:42:42
Speaker
Um, no, I, and I, again, this is where I was looking that I had this at number nine, but really from four to nine, I have a lot of those songs kind of grouped in a lot of ways. And this one, maybe just from like a lyrical perspective, didn't just quite hit me as much, but to Jeff's point, It's a really cool and interesting song, ah ah kind of a fun song to hear live. ah Particularly, it's it's also kind of an interesting song live because if they do play it in Ohio, it does get a giant cheer. And they do seem to remember, as much as Adam you know is a little resistant to like like playing to the crowd, they'll play four days in Ohio and get a big cheer on on Ohio Rising. So, um yeah. I did not realize that that was ah not Dan on that one. i had to
00:43:28
Speaker
Interesting. Yeah, so that, yeah, I always think of this one Ohio and I'll guess I'll give a shout out here because he's the one who sent me a lot of bootlegs, including when we talk about face the promised land and by the time I got to the Woodstock he actually had original copies my friend Dan buckler who used to follow I don't want to say follow them around but he was a really hardcore fan he thought that this album was the pinnacle of their Musicianship, I guess if you will and he's from Ohio originally. So yeah, I always think of him when I hear this too Let's go to Sarah who had this as number nine. I Don't really have
Live Performances and Song Impact
00:44:04
Speaker
much to say about this song and there's There's other songs on this album most of the ones coming up that I have a lot to say about and this one I don't so it
00:44:14
Speaker
I had it at number nine. All right, Kevin, let's go to you who had it number 10, a little lower. Yeah, lower as well. Just two things. First, I love how Lowry and Herring put the acoustic guitar up front of the mix. I think, Jeff, your point along with the bass, the acoustic is like nice and crisp and really driving, so we love to see Bryson getting his flowers. um But also, I don't want to steal any thunder, but this is a part of the The trilogy, right? The four days, get things Mrs. Potter's all about. So maybe we'll save that. but
00:44:48
Speaker
Definitely something to call it. I think that's just such an interesting tie to those three songs across the album and so forth. Oh, that that that's cool. Thank you. And you know what's so funny about you saying that? I thought you, cause you said, would you say the first of the trilogy? And it's so weird that you say that, and I'll mention this when we get to some of the higher rankings. I have my own personal trilogy in this album and it's just tracks four, five, six. I just love, I mean, I liked, I love the whole album, but I love that middle part. I'll never skip it. And it to me, it starts with four days and there we go. So, in the want to So this is number eight now, and I want to say the final song we'll talk about in the third tier, if you will. As I said, definitely top two songs, and then kind of the middle all lumped together, and these bottom four were pretty clear, the bottom four. And this, I guess, a quick review seems to have been the most controversial song, and I'm absolutely not surprised by this, ah which is that
00:45:44
Speaker
Most of us had it fairly low. Somebody had it very high, which is the song from Cruel Intentions, Colorblind. So let's see who had it the highest. Chris, it looks like you did at number two. So let's talk to you. so you might be Again, so Chris is really, two of your big songs, Colorblind and Speedway has been sideswiped by the rest of the group. so
00:46:12
Speaker
Chris, we'll go to you. yeah ah You're muted, Chris, I think. yeah This to me, it's this one's a a classic. i'm i'm I'm kind of surprised. i First of all, i saw I saw cruel intentions in the theaters. because to date myself, I'm 16 in 1999. So yes, indeed, I'm going to see Cruel Intentions. um It's such a beautiful use in the movie. It's it's sort of memorable. I actually can sort of still, I don't remember much about that movie at this point, but I can still see ah Sarah Michelle Geller like coming up that escalator to see Ryan Phillipi to this song. And it's like a very, um it's a beautiful kind of moment in the movie.
00:46:51
Speaker
And I've always found it just be a beautiful love song. Adam talks about how he doesn't write love songs a lot. But I think this is a really beautiful love song. In fact, one of the tables at my wedding were named after songs. And there was a table named Colorblind, because that's a song both my wife and I really love. And I think it's a... It was a beautiful one. So yeah, I'm surprised. I mean, in terms of say about the song, it's a beautiful arrangement, a beautiful piano moment. It's also, I mean, I wonder, you know, it's become a song that's played a lot. It wasn't for a long time. I remember a time where them playing that song was like, oh, shoot, they're playing colorblind. And obviously, it's become something that's very, very common for them. But
00:47:42
Speaker
I still like it anytime it comes on and I'll i'll listen to it. um Yeah, surprise, but I accept. I understand. This isn't isn't just about me. No, and I think you called it for me. The rest of us had it almost all exactly the same. I'll start first. I put it at as I guess I had it number ah number nine on on my list, although now in retrospect, I actually should have had an eight. you You sold me on moving it up one spot, Chris. um but yeah yeah you know And I do think you're correct that maybe the kind of being played a lot in concert has as lowered it. but I mean, I will say that when this when I first heard the song, and that's why I said everything in the top nine has moved from like you know one to nine through the years. When I first had the album, i this was probably my number two song or number three.
00:48:30
Speaker
I do think the the p the arrangement, as you said, is like a 10 out of 10. I love that xylophone that they play at the end, right? I think that's brilliant. I said i think his singing actually. both live and on the track, get um almost kind of what you were talking about with Speedway, I think is singing for the song is a 10 out of 10. I just like other songs better and um the lyrics to me are not, I know what he's getting at, but I don't love them as much as some of the other lyrics with the coffee black and egg white.
00:49:01
Speaker
but But The I Am Fine, ah you know yes, my when we first got the album, we heard The I Am Fine. I remember me and my friend having a few beers and almost like kind of, I don't know what the word is, not shaking, but like we were like, whoa, this is this is moving us. This is why we love Adam. So let's go to Jeff and I forget where you had it. 10 maybe, number 10, I think. Yeah, number 10. Yeah, sometimes the crows get into this lane and I don't like it when when they're in this lane. And to me, this this is ah just an example of that. um I like the xylophone notes. Dave Lowry mentioned on your podcast that this song was particularly sort of challenging or difficult to to get right. um the The one thing that I will say about Colorblind, though, is that
00:49:50
Speaker
This has never been a song that i I liked from the first time I heard the album or whatever. Every single time I have seen them play this live, it gets me. And I mean gets me 100% where I'm like, this song's the best song I've ever done. Every time they play this live, I'm going, oh, God. As soon as they start it, and by the end of the song, I'm like, this is their best song. So there's something about this song that despite despite the fact that I would not rank it highly, like I said, they convinced me every single time they play it live that it's one of their best songs.
00:50:24
Speaker
Thanks, Jeff. I will say, Jeff, the one thing I do think is ah you a difference that comes out when we do these rankings, I really like this lane of the band. I think that's ah a difference as we go. But I really when they're when they're playing, it's Adam in a piano or like very that always always works for me. Yeah, me too. Yeah, sorry. i was saying I like that lane too. But sometimes, I don't know, there's just a way that they... Is this, I kind of hinted at it. We'll have to think about this and maybe correct me if I'm wrong throughout the pie. Is this the like, only piano driven song, like the reigning in Baltimore long December type of Goodnight l LA that Adam doesn't play?
00:51:02
Speaker
that you know that charlie actually plays it it might be so i'd have to think uh would certainly yeah if you all if you're defining sort of like the quiet piano yeah yeah the quiet piano stuff yeah i mean because there's a couple of i would think well there's one song mrs mrs potter's i would say is kind of a piano driven song same right yeah um even like like holiday in spain is in a lot of ways piano But there's much more full arrangements that, you know, as opposed to this. That's true. And that Miller plays that one, right? Is that the one that Millard sometimes plays? Yeah, obviously. But by the way, Chris, I also did see cruel intentions in it and kind of like the TD at Total Request Live.
00:51:41
Speaker
And actually, ironically, I saw the movie in Poland, of all places. I was backpacking, and I had one of those, like, I don't want to see a museum today. I just want something American, right? There there was very little internet back then. Or maybe you go to the internet cafe just to check your you know Yahoo email or something. And I was like, OK. kind of uh you know right i wasn't too far from that age and i but i remember thinking like yeah i love that my favorite band is getting exposure like i yeah i loved it i'm like yeah see i i know good music and they're in this and it's in poland so right with the overdubs eric what's what's more crows-esque than backpacking through europe well but yeah seeing a kind of crows driven
00:52:22
Speaker
Exactly. I loved it. So let's go to you, Kevin, since you just said hi. You had this. Don't forget it. You had it number eight. Yes, yes. I had it a little low. But you know, I think that obviously, I think Adam is pushed back when folks are like, Oh, you're you're a poet. And he's like, I'm not I read songs, which is obvious. But I remember hearing that in a couple interviews, I do feel the The lyrics to this song are so delicate and simple. I feel like it really does read like a piece of poetry, which I love. And I think that's what makes it so unique. But I had it solo, I think, because of what we all said. I've heard it in concerts so many times. And I think what's so funny about seeing it, Adam is so he's acting when he sings the song. he has He's got all the I'm covered and in skin and you know kind of the emotive hand motions, which I love. But I don't know. For me at this point, I'm kind of like, OK.
00:53:18
Speaker
Yeah, we're good. um But in Chris, to your point too, I, I always read this song is like, is it, is it an early representation of the dissociative disorder that he had gone through some of the mental health issues, and yeah which I think is really interesting upon this. Yeah, thanks, Kevin. I think you're right there. um No, that's a great point. Sarah, let's go to you at it. Number eight, you know, kind of mid to low. So I thought that I was going to drag down the rankings on this one and that more people would have it higher like Chris did. um And also it kind of surprises me that I don't like this song more because I really like other songs in this vein. Like Raining in Baltimore is probably a top three song for me on that album. Along December is a top three crows song for me. And so I feel like I should like this one, but I don't.
00:54:12
Speaker
But I do recognize that it is a pre-song and a lot of people like it. All right, thanks. By the way, this is just reminding me of why I like the crows that there is sometimes these instrument changes. Like we just say, oh, Miller plays piano now. and And Adam doesn't always play piano on the silent piano songs. I actually love that, that that it that it's sometimes unpredictable, interesting. It shows that they're all great musicians, which we've always said, even though they might do things a little different. and they like I think they like challenging themselves too, which which is part of it.
00:54:43
Speaker
okay I think it's one of the advantages of a band size too, right? They yeah they do have seven people. and And again, but to your point, though, also, Eric, the challenge and the egolessness, right, where you're like, well, I can just stand over here and, like, play a shaker if I need to. Oh, right, right. now big geative For Dave on Vigila Taxi, right. Yep, yep, absolutely. ah So let's, okay, so that's the bottom four. Now we're going to go into the mid-tier, where, ah jeep I mean, Jeez, I guess, ah what Seven was one point look but really three points separated these so if one person had placed it a couple points higher or lower It would change all these rankings, but we did ah develop ranking I guess there's only one official tie that would be for fourth place, ah but let's go with number seven and so ah Okay, which is just Amy hit the atmosphere We'll get right into it the person who had this highest was Sarah who put this number three on her list So we'll start with her um
00:55:42
Speaker
I really liked this song. i I saw them play in concert before the album came out. And I had heard this song on the internet. And this was the song that I really wanted to hear them play. And I still remember being a 16-year-old at my first Counting Crows concert and having this amazing moment when I heard the opening of Amy Hit the Atmosphere. But no, that that that's great. Who put it? You know, it's funny you said that. I guess I'll just go with me. I had it number eight, so this matched where I put it. um Again, this is more of just that through the years, I like the other songs better, and I've talked a hundred times, or Chris and I have talked about how they haven't played it live in forever, and we're hoping to get the ground swelling that they'll eventually, which is funny, because it's not like it's my favorite song. I put it number eight. I'm just like, come on, this is just a song that fans do want to hear live. But Sarah, to your point,
00:56:38
Speaker
um And i think kind of like colorful I think when the album was released, I want to say this is the one that grabbed my attention. i might It might have been my number three for the first couple of years of release. And just like you, I think this was the song that I was most excited to hear live. And they did play it live in that one time I saw them. So um I understand that. let's go to ah Let's go to Jeff who had it number six. Yeah, another song. I really love this song. This is one where I really think that that use of space is so done so well. These long, deliberate pauses. um Adam is on piano on this. And see, I like this this lane. Maybe like just don't bring in the horn, and I'm good. um the The harmonies, once again, the background vocals on this. At one point, Adam is doing his own countervocal, which is just incredible. It's so cool.
00:57:34
Speaker
um And I think that the harmonies had just really developed in some interesting ways on this. I guess Dan Vickery apparently has a lot to do with that is what I think Dave Lowry said that on your podcast. um When I interviewed Charlie about this album, he was talking about this song and other songs like this and talking about he said, You know, the first album we were kind of figuring out who we were and the second album we had a lot going on instrumentally and it was a bit chaotic, but he said, this album, we really, this is the sound of the band. We found the sound of the band with, them you know, the harmonies and everything else, the xylophone here.
00:58:10
Speaker
it's almost so like a horse dreamer in this kind of winding swirling harmony so i love this song i think it's such a this is one of those songs it just sounds so great on this album and i think it's a real standout so the song like this it's hard you go like this this could be a lot higher on my on my rankings but um Oh, absolutely. Yeah, I wouldn't feel bad putting this like number two or three and I put it number eight. That's why I said this did this was the toughest album for me. I mean, this song, I think it's like perfectly done. I know I know that he would. Adam says he only has like maybe one perfect song long December. I can't think of anything that would be changed on this. And what about the the change of pace at the end, which is funny because he mentions change of pace in the song. Right. Where the i writer just comes that that I want to know all I really know is right. That kind of comes out of nowhere.
00:58:56
Speaker
um Anytime, by the way, I think it's all Dan Vickery. I've mentioned this a couple times. Anytime that I hear the, and he obviously does it, I wanna ask him about it, and i and when I met him last year, I forgot to ask him about it, but he always, anything that like has something about like stars or satellites, and he does like those kind of spacey sound effect thing with his guitar, you know what I'm talking about, Jeff and Chris? like ah he does it ah He does it a couple times, and this is one that also has that. So let's go to Chris, and where did you have this? I had at number eight, um, again, this is getting that group where I have them pretty tight and it just sort of landed at at the bottom. Um, really again, I think more from the the lyrical content, not hitting me as much. Um, cause it's a beautiful arrangement and I would love to see them play it live. Cause I think it'd be really interesting to see them arrange it for live performance and current day. Um,
00:59:52
Speaker
there's, again, the real movement. The backing vocals are kind of a really cool, stunning piece of this. um And it's a beautifully arranged song. So I, no criticisms but of this one. I actually really like, I like the song. It just sort of did land towards the top on that for me on that one. All right. Thank you. Let's go to Sarah. Oh no, sorry. You already talked about Kevin. Yeah. I had this one at number four. this is This is one of my favorites. I think just in terms of ah a lush sounding song, there's so much to hear. I feel like every time I listen to it, I mean, as we've all said, the arrangement is is brilliant, but I'm not surprised Adam wrote it with Matt because there's a sitar on the outro. Like what gets more lush in sixties and seventies rock than putting a sitar there? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can hear it like at the very high end.
01:00:43
Speaker
maybe in the last like 20 seconds, which I just think is it's fascinating. It makes it so unique. But the background vocals, I always think of like a hidden track. You listen to it and you're like, what is he saying? you know what's What's kind of the counter melody here? I love it. And just as something funny, I remember telling my wife, we were, you know, we were very kids, what we named them and I was always like, well, Amy is one of my favorite names. So thanks to this track. So wait, so did one here? Oh, did you say you don't have children? No, we don't have children. No, but but back you know but amy's in the running Amy's in the running because of this song. After the running, yeah yeah. Okay. Absolutely. Yeah, I always laugh at that. That's how my daughter came to be named Horse Dreamer, which is really, yeah, so it's just weird that you say that. Well, no, it's funny you said that, because that's when we were saying that, because Amy, this one always like,
01:01:32
Speaker
Right. Like for some of these names, like Maria, like, you know, somebody has more positive connotation, but I always thought that Amy and um I guess like Marjorie, like you said, a dreaming of horses, like you could name you know your daughter that. But then for some reason, some of the songs came across that they might have been a little troubled, too. So I don't know. But she gets out. She gets out in the song. She's she's the character is troubled, but she ah she does get to a nice place. Oh, that that's that's good. Well, and in fact, to be honest, that that could be right more of a Yeah, because that's how life is, right? Someone that could deal with the challenges might be a better
01:02:06
Speaker
a better one. now thats that's great yeah Jeff and and Kevin, when you were talking, part of me that, I guess, I don't know how to say it another way, but this is a really good example that if it was done by, like if they wrote the same song, but it was done by a different band or with fewer people or without the complications or without the arrangement of production, it wouldn't be as perfect, right? like Like that I could see someone else recording this song and it's not that good. And
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01:02:35
Speaker
then to here, I just think it's like, it's perfect. So, okay. Let's now move to the next one, which is only one point higher. This would be number six. So right in the middle of our ranking, exactly in the middle. And ah let's see where people put this. i had ah Jeff and I, yeah, Jeff, see, we're friends in this one. We're friends with kid things. and
01:02:58
Speaker
Both of us had it in our top three. ah Chris had it down a little bit and then and Kevin had it in the middle, Sarah had it quite low, which is high life. So let's start with, I have some thoughts, but let's start with Jeff. Jeff, you and I both had high life in our top three. We both had it number three. Yeah, absolutely. Well, to me, there's something about High Life that is like the quintessential Desert Life song. And I know I'm stealing one of your lines here, Eric, because I've heard you say something like this, too. and Yeah, good. And I was going to say it again. So thank you. I'd love to see if we're all finally on the same page after all these albums. But we're exactly on the same page with that. I heard you say that on an episode, and I'm like, yes, this is right.
01:03:44
Speaker
and There's something about this song that's just the quintessence of this album with the instruments floating in and out and, you know, here comes percussion. um Adam Duritz, it's one of his finest vocal performances on this album. I'm a, I'm a sucker for a great singer and he's such an amazing singer. And when he, when he really, you know, throws down on a song like this, then I'm i'm always interested and and sold on it. I think this is a song and there are many of them on this album that shows how nicely they incorporate strings into their music without it being sort of imposed upon the song or like sound. It could easily you bring in the strings or the horns and and immediately we're going from Louie Louie to we're creating art now. And so that that can be the the you know the death of any great rock and roll band or any great rock and roll song but
01:04:36
Speaker
Counting Crows use strings so well. And I think this is a song where they do it, where they're just, they kind of come in naturally and they're just exactly where they should be. And Charlie Gillingham apparently does a lot of the arrangements. So credit to to Charlie for his work there too. But yeah, this, I just, I love this song so much. It's one of my very favorites. And for some reason, when I think of this Desert Life, this is the album I think of. So it doesn't surprise me that that's where they took the title from. Yeah, thanks, Jeff. And ah since I also had it number three, i'll you basically said exactly what'll what I wanted to say. um The only two things I'll add, one of them being ah that along with one other song we didn't get to, I find that it is um so original. Like, I mean, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I don't know music enough. i don't I don't think I've ever heard a song like this. I don't know if anybody else could have done this. And I'm not talking about the lyrics, yes. But like even the spotters, could someone else have written that music besides The Cannon Crows? Probably, I think. right They didn't. but But this song, I just think the arrangement and the idea of it is so interesting. It has that and and has that like kind of Adam rambling at the end. And someone would be like, what is this? and it But it fits in perfectly. And I always get um
01:05:52
Speaker
kind of the chills in in the line partly because he mentions the album of but oh this desert life this high life because it you know it's kind of maybe a negative pessimistic song on some ways or mixed uh mixed uh and then he has that like line of optimism or mixed with that pessimism and of course referencing the album uh i love it so thank you and let's go to uh chris who had it number seven right in the middle yeah i again no No negative words to say about this song. um I find this song very much twinned for me with all my friends. I think they're very similar songs in a lot of ways, particularly with the strings and the pacing of the arrangements and the lyrical content. um On this listen through, I found myself connecting a little bit more strongly with all my friends. And I was thinking about, we'll we'll talk it there in a second, obviously.
01:06:45
Speaker
Um, I was thinking of like, of the two that I feel are so twinned, all my friends feels a little bit more successful to me, but it's just, it's just a smidge. I also picked up this time thinking about the song and my general conception of the song. I always struggle a little bit with, am I rating the song? Am I rating the, do I incorporate the live performance? Like what, is what exactly am I rating? And I think that. that end part is something that Adam has perfected live over time. And now going back and listening to it on record, I think he doesn't quite get there. Whereas if you listen to a version of that, you know, again, I haven't played over the years recently, but like now, like he really crushes that that end part in a way that I don't think he does on this record, um that I think was sort of kind of pulled it down a little bit for me in my conception there.
01:07:43
Speaker
Kevin, let's go to you who had it number five. So you also thought it was a good song since you had it in your top five. Yeah. I kind of, uh, yeah, towards the top, literally have a note here that says quit essential, this desert life song. So I'm, I'm right on board with everyone here. Um, I dunno, everyone, correct me if I'm wrong. I feel like I read somewhere that Adam sang this song upside down to get the vocal take. Can anyone chime in on that? Does that sound familiar? Not that I know, but something worth- I think that sounds vaguely familiar. Yeah, I don't know where. I think that may have been like Anna Began's back in the day, but I love listening to the song, thinking about the dirt just upside down, dreads hanging on the floor. But I read the lyric of this song. I love the lyrics of this song because I think it is, again, just am coping with this new life of fame. But even reading the lyrics, you know,
01:08:37
Speaker
the The line, we have we have begun to change into the worst kind of people. So unkind is such a biting line um to put down on on paper. I mean, it's such a, I don't know, a harsh kind of realization with, I don't know where he was in what in his life. I'm not sure who the we is, but anyway, um I think the lyrics are just fantastic. And I do love Jeff, after point, like, It starts with Ben on the brushes. We've got the acoustic guitar and then Matt comes in with that bass groove to really take this off.
01:09:09
Speaker
Yeah, get good point, Kevin. i Thanks for bringing up that line. I know that maybe this will get you know featured in a song spotlight in future years, and and ah but I do try to note some of the powerful lyrics. And you're you're absolutely right that that we turned into the worst kind of... And yeah, you could say that it's about him and other celebrities, or him and the band, or him and his friends that are hanging that used to hang out at the Viper Room or whatever, or him and his girlfriend at the time. um Yeah, although it's yeah it's so interesting given what what David Lowry told us though, which was that
01:09:44
Speaker
that some of this, this song and Mrs. Potter's might've been influenced by the fact that this, correct me if I'm wrong Jeff, that this recording took or the process took quite a bit of time and then they would, and then David would take Adam out to the desert. So, so yes, it is dealing with fame and that was recovering, but part of it is also like things he was kind of writing on the spot maybe six months after they started recording the album and then thinking about hanging. the desert war or something who knows uh but fantastic so sarah let's go to you uh and i think you um yeah you had it you had it uh low on your list which is fine number 10 yeah and this is uh this is the first one that as you guys are talking i feel like you've convinced me that i should have ranked it higher um especially kevin you mentioning starting with the brushes i i
01:10:36
Speaker
had aspirations of being a drummer in my younger days. So I tend to appreciate good drum parts of songs. And that is that is a nice drum intro. um But i I still ranked it low. But ah sorry to you guys who had it in your your top three. I i i wish I'd ranked a little higher now. That's all right. It all ended up in that mid group anyway, so that's fine. All right, that's it for episode 21 of Sullivan Street. Be sure to check in in just a few weeks. We'll we'll release episode 22, counting down our top five songs from this desert life of all with all sorts of trivia, inside information, and personal stories. Thanks for joining us.
01:11:27
Speaker
you