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E37: New Amsterdam (Live) with Kyle Meredith
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In this episode we review New Amsterdam: Live at Heineken Music Hall (2003) with esteemed music journalist and amazing interviewer KYLE MEREDITH! This time, it's Kyle's turn to be "Withed".
For more Kyle Meredith:
Kyle Meredith WITH (Youtube)
https://www.youtube.com/@KyleMeredith
Kyle Meredith WITH (NPR Podcasts)
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/733374323/kyle-meredith-with
Kyle Meredith's Daily Music Show
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Sullivan Street Podcast and Special Guest Kyle Meredith
00:00:17
Speaker
Welcome to Sullivan Street, where, Chris, I think we have our first, what I would call, double feature today, which is that we're, you know, get next on our album, you know, recap and roundup going through the Crows catalog, we're up to New Amsterdam, live at Heineken Music Hall, and that'll be fun to get into that.
00:00:36
Speaker
ah But the person... ah Joining us to review the album is a special guest ah you know himself, and we'll spend time first interviewing him, which is Kyle Meredith. Kyle, welcome to the podcast. Happy to be here. Thanks for having me here.
00:00:49
Speaker
So great. Ready to completely nerd out with you guys. Yeah. That's funny. Deep. and Yeah, that's what James Campion said when he joined the podcast. He was like, where are you guys in my podcast? Even with Adam, I'm not allowed to geek out about the Crows because he wants to talk about other things. So,
Kyle Meredith's Counting Crows Fandom
00:01:06
Speaker
yes. So let's, um you know, Kyle, we'll just start real quickly by the question we ask everybody. And and I as I said to you before we started the podcast, I wrote you specifically because unlike the other 20 interviews of him over the last five years, I said, OK, I'm
00:01:21
Speaker
This guy really is a fan. Now, they all say they are, but this guy knows some of the hardcore things. So when did you become what would call Counting Crows fan? And why did, you know, how is that like, you know, you obviously still are a fan, right? People become fans and they either stay or drop off. So talk about that.
00:01:41
Speaker
So um i'm I'm from the 94 crew. um ah grew up in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky, small town, Litchfield, Kentucky, ah one of those towns that you can buy live bait from a vending machine, you know,
00:01:55
Speaker
ah That type of thing. So, you know, it's not like we had the cool record store around, you know, we lived and died by MTV and um in pop radio, or you had a cool friend. And I just happen to have a cool friend. I'd love to know how he learned about it.
00:02:09
Speaker
um But I'm sure it was just as, you know, Mr. Jones was probably just getting started. and um And he did. He passed it over to me. And it wasn't what we were listening to right then, because, um you know, I...
00:02:23
Speaker
the idea of counting crows as the alternative van I know has been talked about on the podcast too. Yeah. But, um, but it still didn't sound like didn they didn't sound like green day and they didn't sound like sound garden and all of this stuff.
00:02:36
Speaker
So it, it surprises me now that I look back on that, that's, you know, we took to it so quickly just considering our environment, but it was, it was undeniable.
00:02:47
Speaker
Um, um, you know, him passing me the tape or the CD or whatever, and and then just it hitting. So I've been listening to the Counting Crows since 94. um Saw them the first time live on the next tour on the satellites tour. Oh, wow. With f an unknown Fiona Apple opening.
00:03:06
Speaker
Okay. and um and And that's a different story. I was about to go there. I was like, no, it's not a Fiona Apple podcast. Okay. You can tell that one too, though, if you want to.
00:03:18
Speaker
Well, but anyway, yeah. so So it became like I'd moved up to ah right outside of Louisville at that point. and And those friends were huge Counting Crows fans.
00:03:29
Speaker
And so I'd sort of found my people. And satellite, like for as as much as I liked August, it was satellites that did it.
Impact of Music on Kyle's Life
00:03:40
Speaker
Um, I was talking about my wife before i came down here because of the bands that I would say I'm um a little bit extra on, uh, dare to use the word fanatical sometimes like Pearl Jam.
00:03:52
Speaker
That's, that's, that's my, that's the one like all through my teen in 20 years. Like I've seen them, you know, 60 something times and all that stuff. Like I've came to know those guys, you know, they're they're on the show a lot.
00:04:04
Speaker
Um, But because I listen to them so much and I did so many deep dives beyond and I got to know them, I sort of listen to them less now.
00:04:14
Speaker
You know, it's sort of one of those things. REM is the same way. They're my holy, you know, trinity of of bands. Counting Crows has always been so special to me.
00:04:27
Speaker
that i've ah Not that I don't you know listen, when i ah you but but I've also sort of held certain parts of it at a distance, so it keeps that magic, if that makes sense. Right, right.
Significance of 'A Long December'
00:04:37
Speaker
If I get my say in things, Along December will be the last song I ever hear in my life.
00:04:42
Speaker
Which, when you're a big fan, is almost like, if you're a Zeppelin fan, you're like, Stairway to Heaven is the last song. Like, really? That's the song? But there's so much magic in that song from where it came from to me that, and and I feel like that I can do that about so many different songs on so many different accounting crows albums.
00:05:00
Speaker
So, so that's, that's all to say it's like from that moment, they instantly were something beyond just about any other band I'd ever heard and, and has continued throughout their entire career. I think, um,
00:05:17
Speaker
this part two ah Butter Miracle is still one of the greatest things that they've ever done. It's great. Yeah. You know, it's, and, and it's, it's a very rare point where I don't think that they've met that mark. And, and, and just to see them keep doing that, like how lucky are we as fans to have a band that continues to be able to do that, even if it takes them way too long to get around to do it. When we get to the album we're talking about, but yeah.
00:05:44
Speaker
Yeah, let's not even let's not even get into the 2010s. Thanks for all of that, guys. Yeah, right. It is interesting, though, that song, Long December. It's just interesting you picking up on that because it's it's such an interesting thing with that song where I think Duritz say that's his favorite the best song he's ever written.
00:06:00
Speaker
Right. And so many people, myself included, many of our guests would say that that is one of like the most important songs for them. It's really weird, I think, for a band to have but one of their most popular songs be both something that people feel very deeply personally about.
00:06:16
Speaker
um And then also the band feel sort of comfortable about that. Yeah, this is not, you know, because most, I mean, obviously, kind of grows in Mr. Jones, for example, or REM and Losing My Religion, right? there're People have weird relationships sometimes with biggest songs. It is a really unique thing with that song that everyone's just kind of like, yeah, that one.
00:06:34
Speaker
Yeah, I don't, no one complained, like they played it every show, it seems like since 1996. No one complains about that. I could hear it every single show. i don't Yeah, no, I do not mind at all.
00:06:46
Speaker
um But it's the same thing, you know, when Pearl Jam plays Evenflow or Black, like, I'm gonna go to go the bathroom. it's yeah It's like, I don't need to hear those songs anymore. You know, or it's something like that. But you're exactly right. It is how rare it is. I hadn't actually considered that that point, but...
00:07:01
Speaker
Yeah, and it is. there's it's That song is nothing but complete magic. And just about everything he touched at that point in in his career, you know, with Wallflowers and everything else, it's like, it's it's there's something there was just something happening in that, you know? Yeah.
00:07:17
Speaker
No, it's funny. I agree with you and even with the gaps and everything. And I think I said this in one of the podcasts that one, i mean, I don't know. I guess I want to say I got head over heels for crows by about the third album, because to me, part of it, I mean, part of it is about that consistency and about recognizing that it wasn't just the radio hits. Like they have so much depth to them and all the musicians are superstars in my mind. I think they're all so good and this consistent. And even though there's gap, just because it got released this weekend, I thought the same thing, to be honest. I'm a big fan of the Mission Impossible movies. I haven't seen the latest because I like to wait a couple weeks, right? Not fight the crowds a little bit.
00:07:56
Speaker
But one thing I always appreciated is maybe not everyone's a 10 out of 10, but they had consistency and they, you know, right. They went really, at least what I thought about the albums, ah about the movies over time, um over what, four decades, right? Because I think that first out, the first movie was 95 or something. Yeah, it was around there. Yeah. So, um yeah.
Kyle's Radio Career and Podcast
00:08:13
Speaker
So anyway, that that's always, it's so tough to do it. It never happens in really any kind of movie series or, or or um yeah, band. and And that's why they continue.
00:08:22
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. Uh, so, um, I, you know, I, apologize that I almost didn't get into your bio. We can, I didn't even explain who you are. i just assumed my audience knew and listened to your great, uh, interview, uh, with Adam a couple of weeks ago, but, uh, Kyle, uh, works, uh, for, what is it? W is it F F P K P K in Louisville.
00:08:46
Speaker
And so have you have you um you've always lived in Kentucky, right? Yeah, I've always lived to Kentucky. I do. As I say, I get to travel a lot and it's really nice to come back home here for all the great reasons.
00:08:57
Speaker
Yeah. um Yeah. i um I've been a radio for kind this would this will be my 25th year. and ah um So I started in 2000. at an alternative station here in Louisville.
00:09:07
Speaker
and And then I started FPK in 2008. in two thousand eight And, just kind worked my way up. i'm I became the program director this past January. so Congratulations.
00:09:18
Speaker
So, yeah. I mean, how many... And then, of course, you've published, I guess, write look short and long-form articles and all of the major music you know outlets, Rolling Stone, Billboard Spin.
00:09:29
Speaker
um And I'll just plug you now, and you can, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you both... There's your interview podcast that you had with Adam, which is... Oh, why am I forgetting the title now? It's my name. I tried to make it easy, so that wouldn't be the case. It's Kyle Meredith Whith. Whith, Whith, Whith. That's what was going to say, Kyle Meredith Whith. I thought there was two more words in it, but yeah, Kyle Meredith Whith.
00:09:51
Speaker
But also... on the on your and that's available on YouTube and streaming via NPR it's the official NPR podcast um and you also though if you go to the website and we'll ah put this on the connected to the episode of your radio station there's actually you also have every day there is a yeah what a your show is available. Yeah, I do. it I do a show. It's 6 PM Eastern every night. It's a four hour show. oh And I'm a big believer in recycling everything that I do.
00:10:23
Speaker
um and so my show, so what, what happens is I guess, uh, the short form is, uh, um, I'll do the interview and first it goes up to the website consequence, consequence of sound. Yeah.
00:10:34
Speaker
Um, we've sort of have a partnership there, so it, it kind of debuts there and, but it goes to all my YouTube channel and, and all the, yeah, uh, podcast places. And then I usually wait a few weeks and then I'll double dip again with that same interview and run it on my show on FBK that night, ah portions of it.
00:10:54
Speaker
um and And yeah, and I've done that with all the interviews for even before this interview series. There was one before it, well, it was two before it was Speed to Sound, but the big one was the weekly feed that was syndicated around the country.
00:11:07
Speaker
and And I still we'll go back and take some of those interviews and then replay them, which I don't know why more people in my situation don't like you do the interview and then it's almost like, well, we did it now. We'll never revisit it again.
00:11:20
Speaker
you know, it's like, why would you do that? If it's a, if it's, if it's a good content, trust me, the majority of the people on planet earth never knew it existed. So give it another whirl. So yeah, that's, so that happens there.
00:11:32
Speaker
Um, and, uh, and all of that keeps me insanely busy. I highly recommend if you're a music person, you haven't dove into like Kyle's archive and like WFPK's archive.
00:11:43
Speaker
There's so much there. I forget how I first came in contact with WFPK. Maybe like some, I think some indie band was playing a session and I was like, oh, that maybe it was Aquival River. I feel like you guys have done some stuff with them.
00:11:55
Speaker
um And then I went, oh, I wonder what else is here. And just... spent years just listening. Oh, who's playing, coming in and playing Louisville? I guess there's going to be a good session I can listen to. um So highly recommend that if you're, if you're an omnivore of of music, they have so much. I appreciate that.
00:12:11
Speaker
yeah That's an interesting point. I guess my instinct of that you made about repo, my instinct is like, Oh yeah, let them find it. Once it's out, it's out forever. But it's funny that just happened this week where on Reddit, which is the only place I personally post, Chris posts up some stuff on Facebook, but somebody started writing all these questions about round here, alts.
00:12:29
Speaker
And I felt a little jerky at the time, but I said, well, we actually have an episode from a year and a half ago where we did a deep dive and here's the playlist of all. And then a bunch of people thumbed up. Oh, I had no idea. So, so you're right.
00:12:42
Speaker
It's worth talking about. Most people have never seen anything that you've ever done. You can keep regenerating that over and over and over in every different way.
Role and Freedom of a Public Radio Program Director
00:12:50
Speaker
Forever. Dude, but you know as, as, um you know, i'm kind of, i used to be a big radio nerd, not so much anymore. It's what I really wanted to get into as if, I mean, if I had a first love and what I thought I would do for a living, it was radio.
00:13:04
Speaker
And in fact, Kyle, it was um like in college when I was playing around a little bit and I, severely untalented and won't listen to those tapes. But the yeah somebody said like I should get into NPR. And I did actually was on NPR a little bit volunteering because you know they thought I could do the car talk and the all things considered intro pretty well for that. Nicely. Yeah.
00:13:24
Speaker
The voice is right there, right in the pocket. So, um but but what I wanted to say is that before you get into some other stuff that, I mean, how rare is it nowadays with corporate owned media that you can be a program director of a station that people actually listen to their music, right? I mean, you know, a college radio station might have the program director maybe or something, or I know they have small forms, but even program directors now have very limited choices in what they can actually do.
00:13:51
Speaker
I mean, that's the great difference in being in public radio as a first, ah you know, to ah to commercial radio, which, again, that's where I so started in commercial radio at WFPK. its It's called a AAA station, um which is not a it's not a genre, but it is a format. And we're the only one that's like that. Okay. A jazz station plays jazz music. A pop station plays pop music. A AAA station, what the fuck is It's crazy.
00:14:13
Speaker
And it's a shortened it's it's adult alternative. Okay, great. I don't know what that means either. Well, it's college radio for adults, but also everyone else. um You know, I try I said it i one.
00:14:27
Speaker
I met a person at a party once and and they said, Oh, what kind of station is it? And I said, Oh, it's AAA and I was expecting to get what is that? And he goes, I said, Do you know what that is? He goes means you play a lot of Wilco.
00:14:38
Speaker
was like, yeah, it does. It does mean we play a lot of Willco. Wait, what's the third A about again? Album alternative. Oh, the album. I forgot the album part. Yeah, it's it's ah that's the only bit dated part right about it. I mean, it just, did you know, from what it meant when it started and in the beginning of the 90s, which is sort of in the same way that album-oriented rock, AOR, came from AM radio when FM started. You know, it meant that you could go deeper.
00:15:05
Speaker
You didn't have to live and die by the singles. You didn't have to wait for, you know, whatever to come through, which we still really pride on ourselves on. So, but yeah, it is, ah I mean, um our hosts, it's sort of a marriage. um You know, I'll choose some songs for the hour, ah especially like the new, yeah because yeah we still have a current rotation um and and some songs that sort of keep us uniform. But the hosts really do have a lot of freedom every hour to kind of play what they want to. So it's,
00:15:30
Speaker
To be a radio station in 2025, it's not lost on us. That's, you know, but there's always been something that's trying to kill radio. There's always been something.
00:15:43
Speaker
Yep, that's right. and there was And there's a study that comes out every few years, and every few years it says the same thing. To everyone's surprise, the majority of Americans, at least, um almost by like 70% of the country, still get their music from radio, even when though you wouldn't think that.
00:15:59
Speaker
Now, it changes when you break it down into specific demos. Like if you're, you know, 13 years old now, you know you're not growing up with MTV and the radio. It's obviously different. So, you know, that's that's YouTube then Spotify.
00:16:12
Speaker
Except when I have my kids in the car, I usually put on the radio. I mean, I sometimes put – there's some CDs i I've got that I either like or that I know that they'll love some pop and et cetera. But I'll put on the radio a lot. Now, where I live, surprisingly, there's not a lot of – like AAA stations or whatever. It's more pop-oriented here in LA. Yeah, New York Radio, not other than WFUV, is not uv great the moment. will work for FUV.
00:16:34
Speaker
yeah Oh, that would makes sense. FPK, FUV, XPN, there's it's like a a five of like the great indie like rock stations. We're all like best friends. We all know each other. the guy that One of the guys that runs XPN ran FPK before.
00:16:50
Speaker
It's his job before. So and then and then F.U.V. really Houston. I knew her forever and ever. And yeah, it's great people up there. Yeah. Before we get into um Adam and the Crows, I have just I just thought this would be interesting. And I'm guessing you I was going to put you on the spot and quiz you that for your podcast.
00:17:07
Speaker
Do you know and you've interviewed so many famous musicians. Do you know what your three top videos are by views? Oh, oh My top three videos by views. You'd think I know this because I really do stay like daily by the hour, included in my analytics sometimes.
Kyle's Notable YouTube Interviews
00:17:26
Speaker
Um, and it's funny that I don't know if, um,
00:17:30
Speaker
21 Pilots? 21 Pilots is number one. So you know you're number one. And I did that one like 12 years ago or something. So that's not even reason. And that's why it got my attention because they are not the most you know famous person that you interviewed. I mean, um so 21 Pilots, yeah, it has, right. You know, each inching towards a quarter of a million views. Yeah. After that, I started to lose track. I mean, I know ah like less clay pulls on my show. number ago other Number two. So that's one that's one of the from Primus. Yep.
00:17:58
Speaker
Yeah, he's on here a lot. I can't tell you number three. Arctic Monkeys. Arctic Monkeys. Yeah. Yeah. but i That just that kind got my attention because I just that's how I sorted it. I was like, OK, what are some, ah you know, and again, I know that's just the YouTube.
00:18:10
Speaker
But then I saw, geez, there's all these, you know, Michael Stipes down there and Moby and Sting and at and Arctic Monkeys. Really. But that's just somehow that's just how it works. Right. As I say, slave to the algorithm, man. It's you know, you never know.
00:18:23
Speaker
know You never know. That's so wild. So you got to... um So when I looked this week, at at least on the YouTube channel, I think there are now three interviews with
Interviewing Adam Duritz from Counting Crows
00:18:33
Speaker
Adam. Have you interviewed him more than three times? No, it's just the three times. we We've met more and we've talked more. ok um But we've only done officially three interviews.
00:18:44
Speaker
ah The first one ah was the... ah I think that was during the ah the Outlaw Roadshow, right? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And... um And it was fine.
00:18:55
Speaker
i remember having a good time. It was fine. I remember that he he sort of let us go because it because it was a tight whatever, tight 10, tight 20. um And then he kind of waved off the manager and they're like, you got to get to the stage. And he's like, yeah, give me another minute. And I was like, that's that's decent.
00:19:10
Speaker
ah But I also remember coming out and going, God, I hope I get to do another one. i can do I can do this better. i can do this so much better. It took a few years, but luckily we did get around. And that one was in person. See, that's why it was a little odd. And you had to focus on that. So you had to promote that and then talk about, oh, what's it like to play with? Right. So I totally understand you couldn't get into some of the... That was not the appropriate time to get into the agencies of their catalog. No, no, no. You really did want to talk about a lot of the ah you know the other bands and stuff like that.
00:19:39
Speaker
I do remember yeah my favorite line because i think I just made an offhanded. i don't remember how exactly we said it. I remember making an offhanded joke about the whole celebrity thing in the 90s. Yes.
00:19:51
Speaker
And him going, man, if I slept with half the people that yeah no he's maybe i do. did you know and By the way, I guess that's that. I mean, we I guess i don't know if we talked about this, Chris. That's kind of the the point of the holiday in Spain. Right. It's like the stories how we slept with all the movie stars. Right. That I think that's what he's making fun of a little bit that that he didn't that according to him, at least I mean, I'm guessing what had happened is that most of the women that he was connected to he either hung out in a circle or maybe he went on a couple of dates with. But that's different than you know bringing back to your apartment or whatever.
00:20:22
Speaker
um So, yeah, actually, but you know, it's interesting, Kyle, is the one line that actually caught my attention, which I think was very, I think the word is prescient. um And I don't think Adam realized it at the time because of when that interview was Was that right before Saturday Night, Sunday Mornings, or right after? it would have been after. Right after, right, right after.
00:20:43
Speaker
But that was kind of the demarcation when he got less personal with his songs. And you actually asked him about that. Like, are sometimes things too personal? And he any it was he' liked the question, and he was kind of, you know, nice thinking about it off the top of his head.
00:20:56
Speaker
And then he's like, oh, the more personal, the better, and all this kind of stuff. But actually, he made a point, and even mentioned in interviews, to be a little less autobiographical.
00:21:06
Speaker
you know, a little less personal and more indirectly personal, I guess, where it can sneak out. The personal can sneak out through third person stories or something like that. So that was interesting. that I don't remember that. Yeah. But it's been a long time since i heard that one, but yeah.
00:21:23
Speaker
Yeah, but i how um but how, I mean, I guess this happens with all of the people you talk to. I mean, Adam talks about meeting, you know, like he still has trouble having a conversation with Bruce Springsteen. He always brings that one up as an example.
00:21:37
Speaker
But how cool is it for you that you've got to, ah you know, meet and talk to both on the record and off the record, some of your, i guess, idols for lack a better word. I mean, it's it's really um ah to quote Adam, you know, because he has his disassociation thing. Yeah.
00:21:53
Speaker
And I sort of I don't have what he has. I'm not trying to make light of that. But but it is just sort of like that. Right. It's it's severance. You know, i go into the elevator to do the interviews. Yeah. um And ah and then it's only afterwards.
00:22:09
Speaker
ah But I mean, yeah, it's those are the moments, right? Having Paul McCartney, you know, saying my name and, and, and yeah joking and all this stuff and, and, and and on and on and all of ah those moments.
00:22:21
Speaker
um Yeah. I've kind of had to shut it off completely right before the interview. And luckily it is kind of like a switch there and and maybe you do the same thing, but, but it's that moment right afterward, right after I'm done that, you know, if I'm home, I like run upstairs immediately and tell my wife, everything that just happened. it's like, Oh my God.
00:22:42
Speaker
And Adam said this, and then Adam, you know, like I was talking to Hank Azari and he started doing the Simpsons voices. Oh yeah. oh How cool would that be? ah um I'm so jealous of that. No, I felt the same way. I, and I like, and it's, and it well, and it's neat about you in particular that you're kind of known for this and that's, you know what i mean? You're known for it.
00:23:00
Speaker
not just interviewing one or two, but a a wide variety of of famous people through the deck. No, I felt the same way when I interviewed like Matt Molly, um, from the it was just a great feeling. i always wanted to talk to them. Yeah. Kept it professionally. Right. Um, and, uh, I was in, I was in Philly for the counting crows, uh, show, uh, at the non convention.
00:23:19
Speaker
And, uh, and so we went back afterward and, uh, and, and Adam and I were talking about stuff. I'm still ribbing him about, uh, Eggman. Um, He's like, it's not going to happen, man. It's not going to happen. I was like, no. is it was this was this Oh, you saw him after your interview? Yeah, after the interview.
00:23:33
Speaker
Oh, okay. So we were we were backstage and and I was just kind of nudging about that. and He's like, you know, it's the whole joke and everything. Anyway. No, that quite, by the way, that question comes up every two months on Reddit. Some random person will join and ask about, egmman and before you get to your end of the story, I actually think one of the most interesting things of that interview with you is that he admitted he actually kind of likes the song and says, it's a great pop song. So I never even heard him say that.
00:24:00
Speaker
I think what you're in the door with rat Kings. Yeah. song yeah Like, cause that's, that's what I keep telling. was like listen, man, it's not about you this time. This time it's about us. And and it's it's it's amazing, even a morsel, not even the song. Like, you know, if he just works the lyrics into, it's like, it's just going to, everybody's going to flip their lid.
00:24:21
Speaker
And that's all you got to do. You don't play the song. You just have to drop the lyrics in there, which, you know, he does every time all the time. be Right. Yeah, exactly. Got plenty of opportunities. Just drop some lines in. yeah That's it. <unk> it's And that's it. we Our day is made. My day is made.
00:24:36
Speaker
That's all I need. And it would work so well in that song. And anyway, so we were leaving and, and, you know, he was already focused elsewhere and and he rounded the turn and and me and my wife were headed out. with Like we'd already said goodbye.
00:24:52
Speaker
We weren't in the same part of the hallway anymore. And then i heard, all right, Kyle, ah'll see you alex I'll see you next time, man. And when you're talking about like meeting your heroes, like that was the moment. Yes.
00:25:03
Speaker
I didn't see him. We weren't looking at each other. We were in two parts of a hallway, you know, and, and right before he went out the door, he thought I'm going to tell Kyle by one more time. I'm like done. I'm done.
00:25:15
Speaker
And don't anything else today. I'm good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I felt the same way recently. I didn't want to say too much about it, but what I've sent you the video and put it's up on the a are Sullivan Street YouTube now when Kobe Brown played with Emmy and they played Hospital and I got to talk to Emmy briefly.
00:25:31
Speaker
But one cool thing is that um I got to talk to Emmy, but it wasn't the conversation. i mean, that was good too, but Kobe, at in the beginning one of the songs and then Emmy said something later, but actually said, oh, ah somebody interviewed me about this song recently on the Sullivan Street podcast. They're there. And then Emmy also like clapped and said, thank you for doing the podcast. Basically, as you said, that was that was the moment.
00:25:52
Speaker
Like, not like, oh, who who's this kind of weird fan did a podcast like thank you for doing that. And I was like, hey, that night's night's done now. I can go see what you need. Oh, by the way, you made a great analogy on the 2001, not analogy, connection, because we do these on the podcast. So one thing that all Crows fans like is the repeated themes. And and Adam said with his interview with you that sometimes they're deliberate.
00:26:19
Speaker
um Oh, I should reference this or whatever. But at other times, they're not deliberate, but it's just he's the same person. And that thing rumbling around inside his brain. Exactly. maybe, you know, yeah.
00:26:31
Speaker
Maria had an effect on him 20 years later, not just one year later. So they could reference that. And I said something. Um, so I, so we, sometimes we look for these little connections. Like I like all the references, the satellites and, and et cetera. And I, I said to Chris on the last podcast with the butter miracle, uh,
00:26:47
Speaker
that I thought, was it that, oh, on the song, what is it, the Virginia song? I think he says so something like Across the Garden, but I thought he was going to say Across the Wire. And I was like, oh, no, he didn't do it. But what you made a connection that I didn't think I ever thought of, which was the Can You See Me?
Recurring Themes in Counting Crows' Music
00:27:03
Speaker
That comes up all the time. And then Adam even said, oh, yeah, good one. Oh, yeah. And you forgot, Kyle. I also say it in Miller's Angels. Right. yeah So that was neat. That one. That's the thing. that's that that's the stuff that of the times I've talked with Adam that that's what I want to do.
00:27:18
Speaker
yeah want to hear that among about it. We've got business to do. I know we've got to talk about the new record and and and you know we get to talk about the new record, and but there's this certain business. But and when I get down to it, that's that's what I want with him. It's like, why?
00:27:33
Speaker
Why is the circus so relevant throughout? Yes. And that's what's it going to take to get someone to write this novel? You know, that that tells the story of of all of these characters within the story. All right. and And yeah, it's fun. That's the one I'm still kicking around, um which, you know, we throw the line out there and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It was because ah in in Spaceman, I also brought up to see if there was a possible connection also with American Girl.
00:28:05
Speaker
Yes. American girls. ah Because Mr. Jones, that's the easy one, right? That's the easy one. Like, I feel our our narrator in Mr. Jones is now, it has become Bobby, you know, and and and we're hearing about that.
00:28:18
Speaker
um But I was hoping to get a little bit further with the American girl part of it. that' It's the second verse of a Spaceman that talks about her. Yes. Yeah. yeah But, you know, i admit and and I think I just missed that one. That one was a whiff. But I feel like, you know, for fan fanning here.
00:28:38
Speaker
No, I can see that if he would say that, it wouldn't surprise me. um But it sounds like a whiff. But again, it might have been an indirect. Right. out The way he... Gosh, you know you know what's funny? The Eggman thing didn't break my heart as much because I liked that he had said something positive about it.
00:28:53
Speaker
But what broke my heart a little bit is what I always hoped Adam would do. And it sounds like he just briefly flirted with the idea, but I don't think it's ever going to happen, and is to ah perfect and record some of these demo songs. I don't, it doesn't have to be all in one because I even heard, you know, and I guess I didn't have it exactly right, but when 1492 was on Saturday nights, I know that was kind of an older song and some of those other ones. It's like heart candy era.
00:29:19
Speaker
Yeah. From heart candy. I thought it was back from recovering because it was a little harder, but exactly. And I thought, geez, we'll be great if he could do that. and And what was the one he said he did go into a little bit? I forget now on your podcast. They've worked on Marjorie a bunch of times he talked about.
00:29:32
Speaker
yeah And I guess I get, and that was actually really interesting that we were talking about that, that, Why he thought that song wouldn't work and how he tried to rework it and like what didn't it just wouldn't go the right places, which I get as a writer. I write comedy and stuff. And sometimes you're just like, it can't it doesn't it can't untangle like something that's short. Sometimes you can't break it apart in the right ways.
00:29:56
Speaker
um It was also interesting um to hear him forget Suffocate. He's like, he's talking about that one. and You're like, oh, man, because that's a really good song. But I think that one's if you can't remember what it's called, I'm guessing that one's in the drawer. I've always hoped they could find the he's talked a lot recently about how they've the different pieces of stuff from satellites and how that got like chopped up in different places.
00:30:20
Speaker
I've always hoped they would find at least whatever version was recorded for that, because it'd be interesting to hear it. I doubt they're going to play it live. But I mean. You know, that's a great, we have a terrible recording from like a Viper Room show or something like 95.
00:30:33
Speaker
If we can get the B-Sides record, we got the covers record, you know, one done. so it's sort of a good look at that. But what I took away from that interview that I had never really thought about, because we're talking about the the unreleased songs. Yeah.
00:30:48
Speaker
Or the unfinished songs that, you know, they played live like Marjorie and that. And and and And this also plays into how my mind was just blown when he's like, yeah, I wrote five songs. These are the five songs you know for for for the new suite.
00:31:05
Speaker
was like, dude, like. Like what confidence that these songs are going work? Like, beat because you hear bands like, dude, we we wrote 75 songs and we picked the best 10, you know?
00:31:18
Speaker
Like I wrote five songs and I knew these were the best five songs, even though he had a crisis of faith before that. but but But when I look back and and with exceptions, um I think he's right that like Marjorie,
00:31:36
Speaker
It's fun to listen to. i love I love that, you know, of the many cities that he names across his entire catalog, we get, with that's ours. He says Lexington, so we made it. We're in Kentucky, he says that.
00:31:47
Speaker
So we made it into the ah of the the mythology. um But, you know, it's it's not it's not a Finnish song, I guess. And like, to know yourself so well,
00:32:00
Speaker
yeah I cannot name one other artist. um That's not true. Rage Against the Machine said they did that. What you heard was it. They didn't record anything else. Now, I don't think that everything they recorded was absolutely the best thing they ever did. Whereas when I think about the Count of Crows, I'm like, it's everything you did is like the best thing every time.
00:32:19
Speaker
Almost.
00:32:22
Speaker
but Yeah. But yeah, to kind of hear that, to kind of hear that, like he cannot figure out Marjorie. Like, okay, I believe you. yeah made In the title track, to August, you know, the title track, when they finally did record that. Yes. i don't know you felt, but I was like, I went, oh, that's why it wasn't on the ah the album. You know, it's like fun to hear, but...
00:32:45
Speaker
Yeah, I remember because when he they played it, he played it on piano a little bit in like 03, maybe like three or four times. And you're like, well, that is eight minutes long. It's pretty interesting. And it's it's fun from like a mythology perspective. But like, is that is it that a Raining in Baltimore? I think I'm taking Raining in Baltimore. And you're right. like there's Like there's a lot of bands.
00:33:05
Speaker
I mean, they're going on tour with Gaslight Anthem this summer. I love Gaslight Anthem. They have songs that are like the B sides that are like, oh, that's the best song on the record. What were you thinking? right That's that's the easily the top two or three songs there.
00:33:18
Speaker
um Whereas the Crows don't really have that. They have some interesting side things in some of the covers. You go, that's interesting. And but nothing quite where you're like, oh, how could they toss that one away? and um Outside of baby, I'm a big star now, which he of course says, what the fuck was I thinking? and i'm i'm i'm I wave the Chelsea flag.
00:33:38
Speaker
yeah, love it. The greatest ones of all time, too. But yeah, absolutely. Love and Addiction is mine, though, that I'd want him to try to fix up. But i there's one thing I kind of, I don't know, disagree, or this is something I'd i'd have to say to Adam.
00:33:50
Speaker
um It looks like Chris might have dropped out, but that's okay. the um Is, um oh, that he... I kind of... There's part of me that thinks with... the item And I know he's older. We're all older. ah the His current songwriting process.
00:34:07
Speaker
You know, he said with the current five songs that he had all these ideas, but once he... He couldn't believe how quick it worked once he invited three of the band members over. and so part of me thinks with some of these songs, like Marjorie, I bet you if the whole band was there, they might be able to work through it.
00:34:22
Speaker
Because if you also talked about some of his earlier albums, like Desert Life and Recovering the Satellite, some of those he... wrote himself, but they only came to him super quickly when the whole band was there.
00:34:33
Speaker
i think sometimes that pressure on him makes this forces his genius out. That's just my take on Adam's personality and how his genius works. I'm sure he does a lot of stuff by himself, but I also think when he's in that room with others bouncing off ideas, so that that that that would be my challenge to him.
00:34:50
Speaker
Revisit Marjorie with everybody kind of being and milard and Jim and I, you might, cause you know, they add some greats and he admits that he said, you know, some of these songs didn't even um A to Z, which is his favorite song off the new album. He said, you know, until Emmy came in and started playing off him a little bit, that's when it became a 10 out of 10 to him. So apropos to none of that, by the way, just reminded me of this, but in our, in our most recent interview,
00:35:16
Speaker
when ah when he was talking about Boxcar. Oh, yeah. And he was doing that. He goes, and I had this melody and a coronavirus, coronavirus. And he kept going. He goes, man, that's good. I want to keep that riff. Took everything I could not to tell I was like, has no one told you? That's Buck Cherry's song that you just did. That's the Buck Cherry single. I love the cocaine. I love the cocaine. Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:35:39
Speaker
I didn't want to break his heart. I'm just saying it here now that it's on record. And I've been telling you, my kids. And you know, it it goes a different direction. you know It does look like it goes a different direction. it's Well, thank you so much for, um and and and and we already mentioned on our last episode about that you found out about the Amy hit, yeah because that was one of our themes of our podcast about why Amy doesn't get played, so we know that.
00:36:00
Speaker
So, but the but the one that, because you brought up This Desert Life, but actually the one that, um there's two songs that get brought up about that, about not being played enough. Amy, of course, is the obvious one, because it hasn't been played since the album was released. But the other one is All My Friends, which used to be in their rotation, and it has not been, we were surprised, like,
00:36:18
Speaker
was it like 15 years or it was a wall? It's longer than um it feels. I think cause I, cause sort of allied that song in high life a little bit. And so I think like I feel like every time I go to think, Oh, it's been a while since they played all my friends. Like, no, it's, it's been like 15, 20 years at this point.
00:36:32
Speaker
And David Lowery asked us which songs they were playing off that. And that's, that's when we investigated. So, ah but yeah, if you, if you get a chance to see Adam, you might ask about all my friends. Cause I love that song and really want to hear it. I don't think I've heard it live. I think that's on my, that's my ah white whale in that they would,
00:36:49
Speaker
probably play and and just haven't ah recently. Yeah. ah Okay. So do you, have ah yeah we can go right into the, the album. um I wanted to say originally like, Oh, this is almost their first regular official live recording, but that's not really true. I mean, because I didn't think of across wire as being kind of a real live album because they were TV specials and such a unique, it's my all
Creation and Release of 'New Amsterdam' Album
00:37:15
Speaker
time favorite. Oh yeah. So I'm live album. I was curious what, and I haven't looked back in the podcast to see, but because technically, technically speaking, right, this would be their second live album, but there was also the, this little deal. Like, does this count? Now, which one is that? Because we did the Woodstock. is live at the Fox Theater. Ooh, we didn't do that one. Yeah. We have not done that as a full record because that was kind of a side. Which is only four songs. Okay. Yeah.
00:37:44
Speaker
So I didn't know if that counted, but I did the two bootleg ones, which is the face of promised land. And um why by the time yeah we get to Woodstock, which which I didn't realize at the time ah that that that one by time we get to Woodstock and this one do share some similarities in that they're from multiple.
00:38:02
Speaker
shows put together, which I really didn't know, Chris. I have to be honest, when I bought this and played it in my car going to work all the time in 2006. two thousand six So I'll just say that this was released in June of 2006 from recordings in 2003, February 4, 5, 6.
00:38:19
Speaker
ah Chris will get into a little more about the history of this. I do want to say, though, so it was four years after Hard Candy. ah It was the kind of the live premiere of ah of a number of these songs, I guess the ones from Desert Life and and and Hard Candy. I'm sorry.
00:38:35
Speaker
Album premiere. Album premiere. But this ah debuted almost in the top 50. It was number 52 in the Billboard 200 without really a lot of marketing or anything from it.
00:38:47
Speaker
um And there is an accompanying. So this is where you're going explain a little bit, Chris, that there is not only the c CD album version, there is a one hour YouTube special, which has some of the same songs. We'll talk about that some different.
00:39:03
Speaker
And, and of course, not all three days, not all of those songs made it to the CD. So ah Chris, I was going to be the platform to talk about the kind of the putting together of this. Yeah, so it's kind of interesting because it's three nights in Amsterdam, February 4th, 5th, and 6th, 2003.
00:39:19
Speaker
um Interestingly, so Jim Bogius has been a member of the band for about three weeks publicly at this point. um they Because they Ben Mize finished up at the end of 2002. And then so they've been playing Europe, mostly the UK, for about a few weeks before this. So that's but that's all they've done at this point.
00:39:38
Speaker
Um, three shows that there is video that presumably was shot for a potential DVD and they decided not to release it. It was released on access TV or whatever HD net or whatever that channel with all the live music shows and documentaries was called it at that point.
00:39:54
Speaker
Um, it's good footage. I've always heard that maybe they didn't like how it looked or didn't like something about it and decided not to put it out as a DVD. Um, Other interesting things, ah two of by the most popular songs that are from the record are um our bonus tracks.
00:40:12
Speaker
So Mr. Jones was a bonus on the UK version, and Big Yellow Taxi was a version a bonus on Best Buy. um There was also an iTunes bonus track of Black and Blue.
00:40:23
Speaker
And Blues Run the Game was a Barnes & Noble bonus track. So again, if you want to date this to 2006, this is when they were attempting to see with bonus tracks how many different versions of a record at various stores they could get you to purchase. Now doing color variants. That would be the... call Yeah, exactly. Now it would just be, oh, we'll make it a purple version of the record and then you'll make it buy it twice.
00:40:43
Speaker
That's what this was. ah So three three nights, and and we'll talk we can talk, there's tapes of all three nights. Yeah. The interesting thing, the most interesting thing I think about the three nights is that one of the nights is just a fully ah acoustic show, basically.
00:40:58
Speaker
um They opened each of the three shows with the same three songs. Have You See Me Lately, Richard Manuel is Dead, Mr. Jones, which they did for basically like several months there.
00:41:09
Speaker
That was basically what they were opening with. But if you have tracks, don't even make the record. Two those tracks don't make the record. um And then, but and it's interesting. You listen to the three nights, but the fifth it's, it's totally different versions of those two songs.
00:41:22
Speaker
So this is part of where the band was, I think in 2003 was that the catalog that they were playing was not the most massive of the like catalogs of, of the, over the years of their touring.
00:41:35
Speaker
But from like a night to night, like things were getting interesting perspective. This is like, again, literally it's, it's completely different versions, which I think is fascinating. This is kind of where I, you know, i have an interesting relationship to this record just kind of in general. Cause I feel like I was listening to the tapes so much at this point that I feel like this record barely registered for me. Like, I know I own the record, but I was kind of like, well, I got to listen to the next night's show.
00:42:03
Speaker
um And I was, because it this is kind of 2003 is when I started, i had high speed internet in college. which is great, you know? um And so I was downloading tapes and listening, like the 2003 shows, I was telling Eric, as I was listening to this, I'm like this, like I can smell my college dorm room listening to these versions of the song. I'm like, Oh yeah. How did I feel listening to this for the first time?
00:42:28
Speaker
Yeah. Somewhere in like 2003 or 2004. It's a, I don't know. where Where were you Kyle? Like when you were here, what like with with your band the band around this time, Yeah. And, you know, it's it's it's it's funny hear you say that, you know, it barely registered.
00:42:42
Speaker
ah My relationship with this ah album ah has to do with my relationship with Live Across Wire. Hmm. because Because I think it is one of the greatest documents of all time.
00:42:55
Speaker
So yeah it's it became very hard that if I was going to listen to one of their live albums, what am I going to be listening to? Now, of course, it has the plus because there's there's more songs for more albums you know on on this one on Amsterdam. but um But i sort of I think I did the same thing. you know that's it's That's really typical with any fandom for any band um to have the 10-year rule. um it's it's ah It's a bane in a band's existence. yeah You have to overcome the 10-year thing.
00:43:26
Speaker
And what you have is band fatigue. ah In different ways. Sometimes that means you drop out altogether. And if you get lucky, the band sticks around where you come back later. And sometimes it means that you're just listening to them in
Evolution of Counting Crows' Live Performances
00:43:37
Speaker
a different way. Right. So yeah where you and I was doing the same thing with Pearl Jam, it's like I was doing because they released every single one of their shows and I was maxing out my credit cards to make sure that i could buy everyone.
00:43:48
Speaker
ah So i you know in the stuff that they would officially release around that time, and it was kind of the same thing. So I completely get that. I have listened to it on and off through the years, you know just randomly here and there. And I'm always so pleasantly surprised.
00:44:01
Speaker
um Because the one of the great things with Counting Crows here is the evolution of the songs live. yeah And there are some songs that continue to find new life.
00:44:14
Speaker
And I think there are some songs that you can go... I think that one kind of hit its peak right there, you know, or like that. Whereas I really do love certain parts of how they do ranking now, you know, where it's got where the band drops out and it's, you know, the whole thing, but there's also something about, i think they hit the pinnacle of the rock version on this tour right here, you know, like, so when I do listen to it, like there are those moments I'm like, Oh Yeah.
00:44:44
Speaker
But at the same time, and i'm I'm looking at the track list, you know, they're just like catapult. It's top three song for me, but I'm going to go back to live across the wire. You know, it's something like that, you know? Yeah.
00:44:58
Speaker
It's interesting because I was, I was listening to the other ah tapes from the other shows and going like, should they have replaced, like, did they get the track list right for this? And it's kind of hard because there's a lot of other great stuff on these shows.
00:45:12
Speaker
um But to your point, There's a lot of other great stuff where you're like, oh, man, they there's and the the acoustic Have You See Me Lately. How'd they leave that out? And you're like well, it's on Across the Wire. It's better.
00:45:22
Speaker
And you can't, you're not going to repeat that. Same with angels. There's an acoustic Angels, The Silences, and an acoustic Mr. Jones. But like, what's the right answer? It's Across a Wire for those, you know? Yeah, I would have flipped. First off, the fact that they've actually never put Mr. Jones on a live album yet, like,
00:45:38
Speaker
Am I wrong about that? ah Well, other than Across the Wire. but the no right so the yeah, the VH1 version, yeah. And I guess I'm talking about the full band version. like it's never It's never made it beyond that. Well, I guess the August, when they did when they did Town Hall, the August album, there it's on there. But that was after this, right? Yeah, I'm sort of not counting that too much, just because it's you know bonus. what a yeah it's debate I'm going to debate myself on that one in in real time here.
00:46:00
Speaker
um I agree with you on that, Kyle. But but the version of Mr. Jones that didn't make this album from the tapes, That's a really good version. Yeah. I like to have heard.
00:46:11
Speaker
Same was I've, I've sort of got a weird relationship with four white stallions, especially in contrast to blues run the game. I don't love, I would have preferred blues run the game. ye Yeah. I'm ah um' with you on that. Yeah. I might've got mercy mercy's on there and it's, that's a,
00:46:25
Speaker
They're crushing that song at that point. Yeah. um I can't, yeah, I kind of can't believe they didn't put that one on there instead of, although again, there's a lot where you could kind of argue a little bit, but it's not, the only one, the only thing that I kind of can't believe um is that they didn't put, they played Speedway too of the 90s and Speedway is awesome and they were playing it pretty well.
00:46:46
Speaker
Yes. Good time is on this record. And ae if you could have swapped Speedway for Good Time, that's a pretty in my book, that's a pretty wide gap there. You could have really it's like a 10 percent improvement of the record if you swap Speedway for a Good Time.
00:47:01
Speaker
And they're kind of the same in the same way. Pacing wise, you could have swapped it in there. um Now, listening this time, I'll also say that. um
00:47:11
Speaker
You know, ranking into Richard Manuel is dead. It's so perfect on this album that I find myself and and I only realize that after I'm like listening this time around, like when I hear ranking live, I almost expect to hear Richard Manuel out of it because for me, it's so perfectly done on this record.
00:47:32
Speaker
yeah so So I think they did nail those moments you know here and there. so yeah i Which is new thing, though, because that's a construction, right? they they Rain King didn't open any of the shows, and it did not go into Richard Manuel. They felt it, too. They're like, you know, it's going to work better.
00:47:44
Speaker
Exactly. This just works, yeah. Well, the Acoustic Rain King, I think, is one of their great openers. i was actually kind of surprised. i was like, oh, it didn't actually open a show, because they've opened a lot of shows with Acoustic Rain King. um And I really... I also think this is a pretty unique version. I don't think...
00:48:01
Speaker
i've I've listened to a lot of Reign King alts in my life. I don't think this... If a if he sung something like this one or two more times, I guess it wouldn't shock me. It's certainly not a common Reign King alt. um Whereas the other two they played over the course of the shows are Thunder Road, which they've done million times, and Oh Susanna, which again they've done a million times. so i was like, that's ah also a good call because you the more...
00:48:22
Speaker
yeah the you have the more Everyone can go find the other ones. You know what mean? There's a bone here. Yeah, exactly. That's a nice nice bonus for everyone. yeah I'll give a different take because i and this is why I have Chris on because Chris is the the live guy, that I did not, I didn't have the um the official bootlegs because I think I said I missed the order of them and I was traveling. You know, YouTube didn't have it.
00:48:45
Speaker
um I was just not bootleg. music collector for whatever reason. I just liked official studio album. So because of that, this was like the first sense of live music that I had heard so much about outside of those TV recorded shows, you know, by by by who owns a biacom at the time. forget.
00:49:03
Speaker
um And yeah I would have swapped you right Mr. Jones ah with Rain King because we did have a ranking acoustic and across the wire. And I agree with you. i would have swapped out Blues Run the Game with Four White. um Well, Chris knows I like good time, so would have kept that.
00:49:17
Speaker
but and But I would have added um yeah maybe a couple more Desert Life. But what I thought was amazing about the track list is that it, except for ranking acoustic, correct me if I'm wrong, but none of those other songs were released in the prior release, right?
00:49:33
Speaker
that um That they weren't in the Across Wire, in in this version, right? Because even Catapult was just the acoustic version, did not have the hard version.
00:49:44
Speaker
right So to me, I was like, oh, they did that on purpose. And that's why they left out um Long December and Round Here. This is in my mind. I don't know if it was the reason for it. Is that, oh, we already have that. And I was surprised by Mr. Jones.
00:49:58
Speaker
so i thought this was um So I thought that was pretty unique. Oh, one random thing about the album is, I don't know who realized this, and I i think I heard it once and had forgotten, is that the cover artist... is the same one who later did all the art for, uh, somewhere in the wonderland.
00:50:14
Speaker
Hmm. Yeah. I'm surprised by that now that you say it. Yeah. And I remember, and I think, I think on when Adam talked about someone in wonderland, he briefly mentioned that, but you could see, um, so I almost don't like that because I like that every album is very unique and has a new artist. And I love all the cover artwork. So, um, yeah,
00:50:33
Speaker
Yeah, what I think is interesting and why Good Time is an interesting choice, Chris and Kyle Kirkman, but maybe except for Perfect Blue Buildings that they don't play much um anymore, but that the non-single songs that they play here, which would be Richard Manuel, Catapult.
00:50:50
Speaker
Now, Goodnight LA, they don't play. And I love that. We can talk about that later. Catapult, um Miami, Good Time, St. Robinson, Goodnight Elizabeth and Heart Candy. So that's a ah big chunk of the albums are still songs that they play pretty regularly to this day.
00:51:06
Speaker
Yeah, even if they're not. must So that to me was kind of interesting. I was like, wow, even Richard Manuel, they still play pretty frequently. And this was the first. um So anyway, that was just one observation I had.
00:51:17
Speaker
um I didn't know if you wanted to, sometimes when we do this, Kyle, we go through like three songs at a time and say, does anybody, you kind of did this a little with the Raiden King, Richard Manuel and Catapult. So Kyle, it's interesting. i thought that, because this is kind of the version of Catapult that they play now, right? And where they add that extra drum part of bum, bum, bum.
00:51:37
Speaker
And I love This version, and this to me was when it first appeared. Now, I don't know if it did appear, but it's definitely different than the recovering and very close to what we hear still nowadays. yeah i mean, I'll never, ever complain to hear it. I want to hear it every time. Yeah, yeah. You know, we're only splitting hairs here, really, yeah about, you know, preferences. did Did you say on the podcast, and I agreed with you if you did, um I actually think Catapult's their best opener in all their albums. I agree with you. and i just It's like we're being different.
00:52:07
Speaker
Those keys come in. Yes. Yeah. that's That's everything. Yeah. It's one of the most unique songs and it's so different. And I was like, you just know right away that the first opening lines all of a sudden.
00:52:19
Speaker
Yes. You know, it's it's it's like it's like um Joshua Tree, you know. Yeah. When you get the first line is I want to run. That's point. You when the streets have name. It's one of those moments right there. Yeah.
00:52:33
Speaker
so So I guess, just let you know, when you say that stuff on the podcast, I'm like, yes, finally someone told him. That's that's that's the opener that, I love a lot of their openers. um So then we go into, and we briefly touched on this, Goodnight LA, Four White Stallions in Omaha.
00:52:47
Speaker
The full band version of Goodnight LA, which they dropped pretty quickly after this. I mean, he played it on piano into Goodnight, into Long December a lot over the next few years, but like, the band version of good night, LA disappeared pretty quickly after this. It would pop up.
00:53:00
Speaker
It's popped up occasionally, but um so it's nice that they have a proper recording of that. I think it sounds great. and I think they should. Yeah. ah Yeah. And Kyle, I think was it, all I think it was also on your podcast that he mentioned by name that a couple of songs that he said, I wish that if I played these songs that the crowd would go nuts. And I think he mentioned Good Night LA as one of those. like he thinks He thinks that if maybe, I don't want put words his mouth, but like if I was Bruce Springsteen, Good Night LA would be one of the songs people want to hear.
00:53:33
Speaker
because But i through more casual fans, they don't have that deep dive relationship with me right now, maybe ever. Um, so an incredible song. Um, you know, um, because, because words, you know, I'd like to see it right next to Los Angeles yeah as often as possible. Why, why aren't we doing that?
00:53:55
Speaker
Uh, so why are we doing either of those two songs that I'm getting to Los Angeles, a great song. You should play that. I did talk about Los Angeles little bit because, because we do quote a little bit of Los Angeles around the house. Yeah. and you mentioned balcon and yeah Walking in skinny girls and tacos and all that. Yeah. But it gets funny. work There's a longer version of that. That's where just, it just keeps going. The talk.
00:54:15
Speaker
Yeah. There's like a, like a, maybe like a demo or something where it just kind of keeps going in that vein. Yeah. um Yeah. He talked, right. He talked about Sundays and Los Angeles on your, but that's, I just love that. Cause who talks about those songs? Oh, I love it.
00:54:31
Speaker
And then he, ah out of the, he made hanging, I guess, did he mention hanging tree? Yeah. We did we talked about 1492. Cause it's, you know, which I love maybe, arguably the hardest rocker, at least the hardest record they've done so until, you know, yeah, that and Cowboys are, are this too. Yeah. Right. Yeah.
00:54:47
Speaker
Angriest kind of hard rocker. oh yeah. Um, Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, no, i I mentioned it a couple times on the podcast. He randomly played 1492 when I saw them in England, and I couldn't believe it. That was the first time he played it in years and just played it one night. So, yeah,
00:55:03
Speaker
so yeah okay. So on the next one, we have – so one, two, three, four. Oh, Omaha. This this version, right? he Like now, even back then, he doesn't have the audience. Right now, he always has the audience singing on certain Omaha. I don't think then he did – um, my, also have the wonder with that, if they were, if the mic crowd wasn't mic'd,
00:55:22
Speaker
There were some things as I was listening. You get Goodnight Elizabeth with the mic crowd. That's true. And the crowd is very loud for that. So yeah, maybe it would have been would have been fine if the crowd. Maybe it's just the Dutch love Goodnight Elizabeth more than Omaha.
00:55:34
Speaker
Well, one thing I noticed, Chris, is I was going to say this. Listening both on the YouTube version. I didn't go into i didn't get to listen to all the songs from the um the other versions or the other days that you showed. But both on the CD and on the YouTube ah video of those songs.
00:55:48
Speaker
I found them to be very loud for all of the hard candy songs, which, which I, my guess on that, besides maybe the Dutch preparing saying, Oh, this is their most recent album. I'll get it.
00:56:00
Speaker
But was, um, I think they juice the mics. Well, maybe. And, but did holiday in Spain, was that also, was that already a single at that point with bluff? And then they, so they went out and bought that CD hard candy. That's later. Yeah.
00:56:14
Speaker
Okay, but maybe that song was a single? I'd have to look that up. But but by yeah, anyway, that was one thing that came to mind. I could be wrong. I think they're just i think they are just really popular in the Netherlands. I mean, there's... Okay.
00:56:26
Speaker
and And I think they they sing. um Technically, it was May of 2004, apparently, when that was released. I don't know when Bluff's version. Okay. Okay, so that was after this. because this Yeah, but... Because there's a version from, like, 2002 um of of Good Night Elizabeth, where the crowd just kind of takes it.
00:56:46
Speaker
And Adam at the end is like, I was going to bring it back to the the sad part, but I didn't, I mean, everyone was so happy singing this. So like I just thought we couldn't, we just, well, let's just end it. um Because the crowd really, we'll get there in a second, but the crowd really just takes some of these songs. Oh, yeah. um So good call, I guess, in recording in in in Amsterdam, because that's a, in terms of crowds, singing crowds, ah very few are better, I think.
00:57:09
Speaker
the um And then it gets then it gets to maybe the most interesting track. I don't know. the um Amsterdam's version of Chelsea, I would say, which is Hazy. we skip Miami.
00:57:21
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Sorry. Skip Miami. right right and i wanted i I only brought us back there because I love i love Miami on this record. i wish i I wish I'd wrote down the note that I had in my head as I was relistening to the album yesterday.
00:57:32
Speaker
It's something about his vocal take on that one. yeah Just the passion that comes out of that. I don't know if it's any different than any other thing he did at the time, but I feel it on that record, on this one, you know?
00:57:43
Speaker
ah Chris, wasn't that about the same time that I say his best performance of my... Like, I do think Miami peaked, I guess, at this era or something, and the crowd was always into it and jumping, because isn't that Pink Pop performance I always reference? Oh, there's Pink Pop. Yeah, Pink Pop would be a few months later from this. I think it was a few months later, and the crowd would be jumping up and down, and because it just crescendos into something great. So you're absolutely right on that, Kyle. Yeah, they're already clapping, you know, by the at the beginning, too. They're really getting...
00:58:08
Speaker
Charging them up. Yeah, that's that's that's great. ah So yes, Hazy, the unique song written by, was it him and Gemma Hayes, is it, Chris? Yes. An Irish, I guess somewhat famous Irish singer. And I think I mentioned before that I was able, so one piece of Counting Crows trivia was,
00:58:25
Speaker
is that in um was it Washington Square, when he mentions Valley Pourine, that is her hometown. Oh, cool. yeah So that is a small town in Dublin, and I guess he visited there because of her.
00:58:38
Speaker
um So if everybody ever wondered what that reference was too. But Hazy, so I definitely have seen him interviewed. Now, how many times did he record... to perform this. I think this is just the one. One, right? i think this is the only one.
00:58:51
Speaker
And he said he'll never do it. He said he tried to record it once or twice and it didn't, or he tried to recreate it and he didn't think it was as good and he said, this is it. I made a decision. I'll never touch it even though it's a great song. So it's kind of a And I think he liked that it was a bit of a mysterious one-off. He probably could do it if he wanted to. here's how I feel like a really bad fan right now because I appreciate every bit of that. And and you want that stuff.
00:59:19
Speaker
yeah And that song just kind of comes and goes for me. it's a oh really? i heard it it's like i it's good and's and That's funny. see I feel the same way that I felt about Chelsea, even though they're even though Chelsea's longer and has the horns. I don't know why. I love Hazy, but... It's lovely. I mean, don't get me wrong. you know it's But yeah, it's just sort of... Yeah, that that's funny. I love that he talks about, like, that was it, man. this' this but It's so special. And I go, oh, cool. Well, good for you. Good for you, buddy.
00:59:44
Speaker
Well, and also, I think it works. I'll split the difference here. I think it really works as what it was here, which is a long December intro. Because it goes in live. it goes It went into long December, and they cut they cut that part. um Oh, okay. You know, it's...
00:59:58
Speaker
there's sort of these things of like him and a piano before long December and those just sort of work. And I think it sort of sits nicely with the covers he's done, right. You know, the one and live forever. And um yeah, i've I like it, but you know, it's also interesting around this time.
01:00:15
Speaker
there were ah other things that he was sort of playing kind of by himself on piano that ended up going on the next record, like Washington square, um, on a Tuesday in Amsterdam is almost like a year to the day from, from this stuff, which was around for a while before it came out. and to think he really, again, like only played it once on piano.
01:00:32
Speaker
Um, so it's something I guess he was maybe toying with, right. Of, of these plays, just kind of playing things on piano and seeing where it goes. And I guess this one kind of, um didn't go anywhere.
01:00:43
Speaker
also kind of wonder, does i mean, because I think he said that, you know, they were romantically involved in some sort. I don't want to remember the details. um Certainly, I think he talks about like Washington Square was about like texting or whatever version of texting existed in 2003. And so I also kind of wonder if it was one of those things where it was like, don't really want to go back and finish this now in the same way that, so I will say, going back to our conversation earlier, the one buried thing that I think is a mistake is barely out of Tuesday.
01:01:13
Speaker
But I think he said specifically, he's like, I didn't want to finish that because I worked on it with Courtney Cox and then we broke up and I didn't want to, but barely out of Tuesday is a great song.
01:01:23
Speaker
Like, I mean, there's great. That's a great. You can get it there. You can get it there. Yeah. That's if you wanted to. Now, if they had left, if hazy on this album, had been left as the intro to long December as it was, I might've had a completely different relationship with it.
01:01:38
Speaker
and I don't know. i yeah electricity Yeah. Because, because there are those moments, of course, as we're talking about with other songs where, you know, the, the, whatever, it becomes an intro to it for a while. And i always love those moments. So I wonder if I would have had a different relationship with this song, had it been left intact as it was in the show.
01:01:55
Speaker
yeah super Super interesting. Thank you. yeah So the more controversial than I thought because every so often I see posts about, Hayes is the most underappreciated song by Counting Crows. um Okay, great. But that's cool. I wanted to put, by the way, so because I was living in Ireland ah recently in 2022 for a little bit, Kyle, and and I think only about that time I realized, mean, Ballypoorin is like some town of like 200 yeah middle It's not a big city, but I almost thought about going there to to do my Crow's
Highlighting Standout Songs in Performances
01:02:22
Speaker
bucket list. ah I did walk through the park mentioned in the
01:02:27
Speaker
yeah but by the way that in Saturday night, Sunday mornings in Ireland. but Okay, so here we go. ah The next three songs, Good Time, St. Robinson's, and Perfect Blue Buildings.
01:02:38
Speaker
um We already talked about Good Time. For me, I'm just going to say that I thought this, I love St. Robinson. I thought this was, I think this is almost maybe, that I think it's the highlight of the, album for me um and because i love this song so much and always have especially live i almost think it's better song live but he hits the he i think this is one of the few songs he has trouble hitting the super high notes at the end um nowadays and he kind of in the in the in the last crescendo he does it a little differently now and i think this is just perfect uh so to you to you too
01:03:11
Speaker
His vocals are so good all through this record. um maybe Maybe his peak moment on his vocals, in fact, around this era. um I agree. And and and St. Robinson.
01:03:23
Speaker
i'm i'm i'm with I'm with you, man. I love good time. I've got no problem with good time. It's a mood. it's um It's not something I would have expected. And I don't even know that I would have made that decision. But I'm never mad when I get to it. um and And that's one of the songs, by the way, i don't think i don't think there's a moment where I went like, oh, I want to listen to good time.
01:03:44
Speaker
I'm going to put that song on. But when it comes up, I shut down. That's who I am, yeah. yeah Yeah, so I like that in in St. Robbins, yeah. and And Perfect Blue Billings is, you know, every time. i'd sick Again, I'm never going to complain about that one. so It's a great version. It's a terrific take. He had a great version. he he had They weren't doing around that time the like the outro thing.
01:04:05
Speaker
which they went back to a few years later. And it's hard for me to hear it now without the sometimes it snows in April part. I like that so much, but it's, it's sound great. One other thing I noticed is I was like, again, I was like kind of listening to the other tapes.
01:04:17
Speaker
They played over the course of these shows, pretty much all of August, save for Raining in Baltimore and Ghost Train. So in that slot, yeah, could you have put Sullivan Street?
01:04:29
Speaker
Sure. ah Time and Time Again, it's a great version. um So all those songs are played and they sound great, but at the same time, there's a little bit of like, I don't miss any of them because again, they did the whole record and released it a few years later.
01:04:44
Speaker
um So it's not like we're lacking for a great live take of any of those songs, um nor is there great, I mean, they have Rain King, they do Rain King Thunder Road on that record. So like, got a great take of that. So there's, it's almost like a part of me, as I was listening, it's like in 2006, I might've said, oh man, it would've been good to get more of these August, these takes of of these August songs.
01:05:05
Speaker
But in retrospect, they fixed that. a few years later and so yeah if you want to hear those august songs there's a great version and like a really um oh man i'm really excited i hadn't even thought about it it's eventually we're gonna get to talk about that record eric and i've loved that's one of my favorite live albums of all time too but um anyway we'll get we'll we'll pause but but that's the thing yeah i mean obviously this is this is a document of the hard candy tour you know for so for it to be heavy on that's I mean, that's that's that's the that's the issue with every new tour, right?
Tour Setlists and New Songs
01:05:37
Speaker
It's like, we know that they're to be, whatever for every band, and it's going to be heavy on the new record. What's going to be left behind? you know and that's and And it's what I still appreciate about the Crows. I mean, I know they play more hits now at the concerts than they used to, I think because of them when they play in the sheds and the demographic and changing things. But they still, i mean, just the fact that that one tour, they played the suite every time. they They still want to play. And i think...
01:06:04
Speaker
um um um I'm speaking for Adam, but I almost think he liked doing the four songs, then the five songs, because he wants to play the new songs, and now he only has to play out of a bucket of five instead of a bucket of nine or ten.
01:06:18
Speaker
it feels like he's shortchanging. Now he's like, okay, I can play three of these five songs every night. And I think that's my guess of what but he's going to do. I don't know if he'll play all five songs. but um But yeah, I appreciate that they...
01:06:29
Speaker
Because I actually hate when there's when when you love a band and they have a new album and then they play one song or something. And I know that they're catering to the mass audience. But um OK.
01:06:40
Speaker
ah no no oh by the way, Kyle, I'm not going to say you who likes what one kind of inside joke or sorry, ongoing joke we've we've kind of dropped for a while. Are you team Ghost Train or Time and Time Again?
01:06:52
Speaker
Oh, that's like one. That's always like a 50 50 for, for hardcore Crows fans. We know where we sit. Okay. I'm going to, this, this is a non-answer. I like singing along the time and time again, but the mood of ghost train is unbeatable.
01:07:11
Speaker
I think that's my answer too. I mean, yeah, I like Ghost Train better, but I think I like singing to Time and Time Again more. I think that's a great take on it, Kyle. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. I'm here for the takes.
01:07:22
Speaker
They're great songs. I like singing. I like singing more. Maybe that's that's the answer there. ah could be It could Ghost Train's not an easy song to sing along to. mean, we do. I'm sure we do, but it's not easy. In time, you've just got the big chorus on it.
01:07:35
Speaker
um Yeah. Yeah. So we'll we'll touch on, I mean, we'll mention some of the other songs that are in the YouTube I know, and maybe the other ones I know Chris might have a stake. So the last four on the CD version, Hanging Around, Goodnight Elizabeth, Hard Candy, and Holiday in Spain. um The only two things I want to highlight is I think Hard Candy is the,
01:07:53
Speaker
Second best performance for me on this outside of St. Robinson. I i mean, Goodnight, LA, I loved here just because I love that song and Catapult. But um I think this is a great, and we had just done the Hard Candy review, and it just reminded me how great that song is. And i was it was on all cylinders, and you could really hear how much Charlie adds to the song.
01:08:11
Speaker
It's amazing. So I love that. And Holiday in Spain, you know, it's it's it's interesting. This was like a sign and that it started the closing of the shows. The only thing that was kind of a letdown to me, Chris, is by this point, I think, or maybe after Bluff started doing it with them.
01:08:27
Speaker
And the fact that they're in the Netherlands and Bluff is not on there, even though I think that version got recorded later, seemed disappointing to me. I mean, of of all recordings, it's in the Netherlands. Right.
01:08:40
Speaker
ah Yeah, and it's so good. Oh, that version is so good. We'll have to find some context to talk about that at some point. i I'm sure we have, but we'll, again. Well, we did a little bit on the Netherlands show with Sist. Oh, right, right, yeah. But yeah, so anyway, do so Kyle, do you have any take on the last four songs? On those last four, mine are really on the other two. I was thinking about hanging around, and it's sort of that moment in the show where like, oh, okay, we're just hanging around, you know, and it's such a fun song.
01:09:04
Speaker
You have the Adam Duritz pop songs, which I count that in, you know, whether it's Accidentally in Love or Spaceman. I would count that in there now, too. and And I think Hanging Around, to me, is the best one of the pop songs.
01:09:19
Speaker
um I say that you know as a personal um preference. ah So it's one of those things. It's another one of those times where I think, oh, I don't need to hear Hanging Around. And then they do. it's like, fuck, man, this is so fun.
01:09:34
Speaker
Yeah. you know And everybody's clapping and doing the thing and everybody's kind of bouncing around and it's like, I can't not have a good time. Yeah. Yeah. Although it does probably like because it's the end, it's already at this point by this even 2003 where, you know, like when they play it, you know, the show's about to end. And so there's a weird tinge of like, oh, man, that again, because it means the show's over.
01:09:55
Speaker
Yeah. It's not again. The song's great. You're happy when like they're playing. You're having a good time when they're playing it. Then you're like, this means that there's not much more. Right. dar was It's funny, Kyle. I actually think for album versions, I think Hanging Around Clearly, not I don't want to say clearly because I love Spaceman and Tulsa. I think Hanging Around the Album Version is the best of their pop songs.
01:10:14
Speaker
I almost wish on one tour they would drop, like it's been in so many tours and with the group, I almost like hope they kind of drop, like I don't think they will, but like just to make room for something else. Sure.
01:10:25
Speaker
Because I've seen it so much and I know it's not a must-must like Long December, but that's just my hot take. It's such a great riff. I know. And as you said, the crowd is so good, you know. And I know he loves bringing up the opening band if they're sometimes available. And um but sometimes they even bring up their kids now or whatever. So, yeah. um Or even random. I mean, like who's like at the ah Carl Perrazzo, the guy from Santana.
01:10:51
Speaker
play just like there's a version of like, uh, hanging around last year where this guy's just like going off on percussion. You're like, well, that's fantastic. Yeah. I didn't know I needed that. I, that's terrific. So I'm not, uh, I'm not much of a fan of accidentally in love.
01:11:04
Speaker
Um, so I'd rather hear hanging around. Um, um New Frontier would be cool because it's rare, but I'd still rather hear Hanging Around. ah Yeah, it's it kind of cut that's what it comes back to
Emotional Live Renditions of Songs
01:11:15
Speaker
for me. It's like, yep, happy to hear Hanging Around.
01:11:17
Speaker
never Never said it. yeah Although that is one of the songs that was left off, ah was that they did play New Frontier one of the evenings. Yeah. it's it's It's there. They could they could have put it on there.
01:11:30
Speaker
Yeah, yeah they they played New Frontier. It sounds pretty good. I'm not a huge New Frontier fan, but i was like, it sounded great. They played it awesome. you know Well, speaking of their pop songs, on the YouTube video, which has 12 songs, I'll quickly mention the – for those listening – Oh, before we get to the YouTube thing, we should talk about it.
01:11:48
Speaker
This is an awesome version of Goodnight Elizabeth. The crowd totally takes it. And the It's Alright alt is great and there's some extra stuff in there at the beginning. But, like, just the crowd taking that song is so – I love it whenever that happens. It's such a great – it's It's so great. i want to the beginning too like He gives it to them right from the beginning and they're there. Yeah, that's true. I love that at the but even like the chorus, like he's trying to figure out how much to sing because he knows like he will sing differently than them.
01:12:17
Speaker
And he's like, this is really good. like There's an awareness already of like the crowd is really awesome. And so how much to sing and how much not to sing. um But that's a killer performance. Oh, good night, Elizabeth version. It's one of the best. i agree. Yeah, I agree. And I, and kyle if you didn't know Chris, that's one of his favorite songs. It's top 10, maybe top five.
01:12:37
Speaker
Yeah. I think it's also, it's good's because it's one of the quintessential kind of counting crow songs. And it's like, if you're, if you have the sort of like emotional relationship to this band and you, I can't imagine how you wouldn't appreciate, um, uh,
01:12:53
Speaker
if you wrap yourself in daffodils, I'll wrap myself in pain. If you're the queen of California, I'm the king of the rain. Like if you're, if you like, I can't imagine who connects to this band that doesn't go, Oh yeah. That, that set of lines. Yes.
01:13:05
Speaker
Um, I also like in this version, I'm always a fan of when Adam does the things where he'll kind of like respond to himself. And there's in this one, the, um, some of us are clowns. That's me.
01:13:16
Speaker
like Yeah. Hmm. That's good. It's great. yeah it's it's It's the opposite of that. You want to meet a boy looks like Elvis. It ain't me. Yeah, it ain't. yeah right Yeah, mean first but he's a client yeah but right.
01:13:27
Speaker
Exactly. Yeah, no, that that that's true. No, yeah. Yeah, I agree with that, the Chris. i I think from that album... Especially because it's sold, you know, and it's sold a lot of cup that maybe Goodnight Elizabeth and Catapult are very quintessential Counting Crows for more hard hardcore, not just the singles fans.
01:13:44
Speaker
So, OK, so. um But, yeah, those listening, um you don't have to to dig into the live. You go to the um there is a YouTube video and some of the songs are the same. It's only it's exactly one hour.
01:13:57
Speaker
Uh, there's 12 songs on that. And they, I think half of them are exclusive to the, uh, the video, which would be starts with, have you seen me lately? And they were so pumped up for this. Like they were filing on. ah And I love that as, I mean, for that, i I guess it'd be hard and I'm sure it's hard to sing, but for them to start this tour or any tour with, have you seen me lately before they get too old?
01:14:19
Speaker
ah the rocking version would make my decade probably. um yeah, that's great. And that's one one of the few things I was like, it would have been nice if they found a way to slip that into the album somewhere. Cause that's, it's, they're playing it really well around this time. i actually really like the acoustic version is great again, but we have the across the wire, the, the sort of mid between the mid tempo version that they were opening a lot of shows with around this time, I think is, is pretty cool. And it's shame that's not on a record somewhere.
01:14:47
Speaker
Yeah. And I saw Emily. Yeah. I always find the interesting even band. I don't know but how you describe it, but, like, Emmy was having so much fun playing this, et cetera, even though I don't, you know, I don't think he was on the original recording, but just seeing him loving the song and getting so into it popped me up. I mean, I could be wrong. I'm not sure.
01:15:03
Speaker
ah So, yeah, Mr. Jones ah was ah is exclusive to that. Speedway, like you said, Chris, Long December is on that one and ah and actually a great version. And speaking of the pop songs, Big Yellow Taxi is on there. And I kind of think that this is when they are debuting their...
01:15:18
Speaker
version of it? What would you call the version? with but a lot in The acoustic hip-hop version. The acoustic hip-hop version. Which, actually, again, i but they were so... again and They said, again, how weird i think they feel about that song being such a big hit. That version, at least, of that song.
01:15:32
Speaker
It is kind of odd to me that they buried this version on, like, a bonus track. Because, again, this feels like... these all the versions sound really good. And I, I much prefer the sort of live version to the version that became a pop hit.
01:15:49
Speaker
um And this is when I guess they started, they still play it that way today. Yeah. yeah With the, I mentioned before Kyle, but I think ah Matt, Matt's base on this is amazing.
01:16:00
Speaker
So one thing we didn't say is that we've said this a couple times on the podcast, but this is the few, um there's that little window that both Jim and Matt were in the band. So Jim had just joined and Matt would ah kind of you know, leave the band, what, six months later or something like that. the next Next year. But yeah, the end of the next year.
01:16:19
Speaker
But relative in the scheme of the band, a relatively short period of the two of them. Yeah. yeah Yeah. So it's pretty interesting. But anyway, I i think his, his, ah yeah, his base is awesome in this and black and blue, which I think you mentioned somewhere. was an exclusive ah to this. So, okay. Is there any, and if you end if you're an Oh Susanna fan, this, that version does have the rain King,
01:16:39
Speaker
With O.C. Zane. Oh, yes. Yes. Sorry, I put that. And the Dutch, again, a relatively good version of that because, again, the Dutch crowd just starts singing and it's a pretty good, you know, a version.
Significance of the 2003 Counting Crows Tour
01:16:49
Speaker
um It's an interesting, I think, did you guys see the band at all in 03? Because it's an interesting year. They played 122 Wow. It's the most they've played other than ah ninety seven it's tied with nineteen ninety four it's ninety seven And then 94 and 2003. The only other year that's close that hits 100 is 2000. So it's like a really, they played a lot of shows and I feel like it's an interesting year. I know you, I think Eric, you saw bunch the- I saw a lot. That's kind of when I got back in. I think I'd only seen them once or maybe once before that. That was when I finally had money and time and a car and was in the country.
01:17:30
Speaker
so um So yeah, I was able to see them a lot. I don't think I saw them on the 03 tour. There's been a lot of shows. that I do the thing now where I see the pictures like I was at that show. i Apparently I was at that show.
01:17:43
Speaker
But I think would have remembered seeing the County Crows that point. I don't think I saw him on that tour. I don't think I did. Yeah. the The summer they toured with um John Mayer, if that rings any bells. It was like they played sheds with Mayer.
01:17:55
Speaker
They played colleges in the spring in the U S and and a little bit in the fall. Well, no, I guess that was it anyway. Oh yeah. It looked like, yeah, the spring. Right. Cause that's the thing. They were touring colleges in the fall too, or something right. Of Oh two.
01:18:10
Speaker
So that was just a really yeah busy. i They played a crazy amount of shows. Yeah. Starting from like fall of Oh two through the end of oh three. um This was the first year I saw them. I saw them at Jones beach in, uh,
01:18:21
Speaker
in this end of the summer. thanks And it was delightful. They played a lot of these songs, although they played ranking with raining in Baltimore, which I would take probably over all of these versions, but that's, i just I'm I'm a raining in Baltimore guy. So, um but yeah, it's interesting. i feel like it's an interesting time period. It's interesting time capsule.
01:18:39
Speaker
Well, again, and it's also really because this is one of the last big popular periods for them, right? I mean, Oh three Oh four big yellow taxi accident. Love are amazing. are big songs. i mean, they've released like a greatest hits record. Geffen's pretty pumped up on them at this point.
01:18:53
Speaker
um At the same time there, they've released this record two years later. It's the last album on Geffen um and it doesn't have Big Yellow Taxi. It's recorded before obviously Accidentally in Love was written.
01:19:04
Speaker
It skips so many of the hits. It's and such an interesting, I think it's an it's a very Crows thing, right? That they went out and they released this live record that does not include a giant hit they'd had two years before that.
01:19:16
Speaker
um Or it doesn't have American Girls. It doesn't have American Girls. And it doesn't have around here Mr. Jones. And it's still got in the top 50 almost. They skipped around here. Although they did play around here at these shows.
01:19:27
Speaker
um it's ah The alt is the Van Morrison song Sweet Thing. It is like 13 minutes long. So if you had to pick, I assume it was kind of picking between Elizabeth and around here. And I think the right call was Elizabeth.
01:19:40
Speaker
Yeah. um Although I guess you could have gone, part of it, you could have done two discs, I guess. I don't think anyone would have complained. Although maybe Geffen was like, no, we're we're not going to produce two discs worth of this. I
Appreciation for Live Albums and Recommendations
01:19:52
Speaker
don't know. i don't know how much the cost is. Well, yeah, sure. No, because it's going to cost twice as much for the consumer.
01:19:58
Speaker
and if you're not you're not a band who can command that at the time, which...
01:20:06
Speaker
Could they? It's an interesting period. Well, the songs that you were talking about that they had on the the the the charts, the top of the charts, were both ah like the adult contemporary charts at that point. We're not talking about the top the alternative charts. We're not even talking about the the pop charts at this point.
01:20:21
Speaker
And the ah the the adult contemporary are not the people who typically buy live albums. Right. you know yeah So that might have been part of that. Yeah, and I like this is also around the time period where I think the cool thing was that live records are not fun, which was never my opinion. But I think people – I feel like I remember that magazine Blender um was doing these discographies, which ive I read that a lot around this time.
01:20:47
Speaker
And anytime they got to the live record, they're ah, it's a live record. And it's like, no, that's the good. I mean, that's great. But I think that was sort of the the common take was, oh, it's just a live record. um Obviously, we don't feel that way about Crows Live Records, but we're really a filler until I said I have somewhere around 300 Pearl Jam live album. So I definitely do not feel that way.
01:21:08
Speaker
Dave Matthews, too. My wife's ah ah that's hers. My wife is a Dave fanatic. And I love Dave as well. But. So the house is packed with five albums. I mean, there's a Grateful Dead box set over my shoulder. I mean, that's not a – I resisted for a long time becoming a deadhead just because I knew how many live albums, like live tapes I would have to listen to. As of like a tape person, i was like, that's just going to be – that's going to be a lot, isn't it?
01:21:33
Speaker
um It is. It's so many. There's so many. You were right. There's so many. So, Kyle, I did want to ask you before, we did you have anything because, you know, you're special guest and hopefully we can have you on again sometime.
01:21:44
Speaker
um But we would do you have any take either on anything we talked about today or just something else about the crows that you either just wanted to talk or ask a question? And thats if not, save it for next time and put side list.
01:21:56
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure I'll think of something five minutes after we get off. No, that's fine. But it does. It just goes back to how much I love that this band exists and without trying to get too sentimental on it. But yeah, it's like like they can go that long between albums and we are still so rabid when it finally happens. They can break up an album over four years and we're like, thank you, sir.
01:22:19
Speaker
Can I have another? Yeah. No, it's and the fact that it's just so good every single time. Like, we're very lucky that we get to be fans of the band. And and I'm so glad that we got to talk about this album, because as we were talking earlier, it's just not one that i think about. It's not one that I go to.
01:22:36
Speaker
So to really have this time this whole week to just put the spotlight right on here and enjoy it as much as I have, I really, really do appreciate that. So thank you both for allowing that. you're you're welcome. um Do you want to, before we wrap up this episode, and I've one or two questions for you after the episode, but um going back to your own podcast, do you have, and you can put Adam in there or not.
01:22:56
Speaker
do you have a couple of interviews that either you want the listeners to check out on YouTube or, or a couple that you are particularly, i don't know, either proud of or memorable. Yeah. don't want to say it has to be your performance, but yeah, in interviewing, but just to, you know, do you have any like that, that really stick out that you want to plug?
01:23:12
Speaker
Yeah. There's, there's so many interviews in it that it it sort of covers so many different genres. And of course there's a whole acting side as well. Yeah. So, you know, it's that, it's that generic line of ah there's something for everybody.
01:23:24
Speaker
Okay. For sure. But, But, you know, if you're a Counting Crows fan, and especially if you, you know, grew up with them in the 90s, I've got, boy, do I have a smorgasbord of artists for you. You know, ah the REM guys, they're on there a lot. And and the Pearl Jam guys and Shirley Manson from Garbage is on all the time. And Liz Fair and Sheryl Crow and and and Jacob Dillon.
01:23:48
Speaker
ah So um I have a lot of my regulars, which, you know, I'm hoping Adam becomes a bit more of. um We got three. We just need to them a little bit more often. So no, um yeah yeah they're all on there. So yeah, check them out.
01:24:00
Speaker
And thanks for dropping some particular names, because I do think that, you know, as you said, there are people that like the Crows that they also like those other bands from that, um you know, at that time period. that that that were So that's fantastic. Well, thank you so much for for joining us and for um for your interviews with Adam. and and And yeah, I know you have to like, how do I say you, you need to, when you interview him, you need to cover what he's plugging at the time, you know, generally like the new album, you have to make it accessible to a wide audience, but you also can get a couple inside questions that people care about. um even if I've got plenty of those left. So there's no short questions in my back pocket.
01:24:40
Speaker
so we'll get forward to the next one then. yeah well well Well, thank you. Well, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. Thank you, guys. Have a great Counting Crows year, and we will talk to everybody soon. Thanks for joining us down here Sullivan Street.