Music Top Ten: My Five All-Time Favorites, And Five Current Favorites

Their own bio says it best:

"Counting Crows is one of those bands you follow for the long haul. For those that first heard them opening for Bob Dylan long ago, or subbing for Van Morrison one memorable night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, much of the soundtrack of our times comes from the Crows -- from their vivid musical landscapes as well as the feverish brilliance of singer/songwriter Adam Duritz."

I've loved Adam Duritz's unique, sad tone since time immemorial.

My favorite song is Mr. Jones... honestly, although I've heard it thousands of times, I never bothered much to try and find out what it means to the writer (I tend to analyze everything like that, I think because it bothers me when an artist says "it's up to you to interpret what this means" -- it's like a cop out, avoiding taking responsibility for the message. Very off-putting).

To me, it is the perfect complement to those basic, unchanging emotions that make me who I am:

Believe in me,
Help me believe in anything
'Cause I wanna be someone who believes

or

Well, I'm gon' paint my picture
Paint myself in blue and red and black and gray
All of the beautiful colors are very very meaningful
Yeah well you know gray is my favorite color
I felt so symbolic yesterday
If I knew Picasso
I would buy myself a gray guitar and play

Oddly enough, those are my favorite colors, and I do paint... but I don't have much affection for Picasso.

And this, I think, is the most beautiful piece of the song:

I wanna be a lion
Yeah
Everybody wanna pass as cats
We all wanna be big big stars
Yeah but
We got different reasons for that
Believe in me 'cause I don't believe in anything
And I
I wanna be someone to believe
To believe
To believe in

I like that he goes from wanting to believe in something to wanting someone to believe in him. To me, I guess it's a symbol of growing up... we figure out what we really admire, and then we strive to emulate that.

I'm not sure if that makes any sense, and it sounds corny as hell, but that's what I think.

Also, I'm a Leo, so the album's title, August and Everything After, is somehow appealing, as is that line I wanna be a lion.

I dunno. This band always felt so personalized.

Another great song is A Murder of One. Beautiful.

 Really, this was a toss-up between her and Incubus.

They're both my go-tos when I'm so angry I can't think straight (however, when I'm feeling homicidal, I like Lamb of God... but they're more therapy than a favorite, so they don't count).

But I've known her longer, so she gets the spot.

Ironic is a great song for blinding rage.

"What does the song American Pie really mean?"

"It means I'll never have to work again."

Smart fella, this one.

But seriously, who doesn't love Don McLean?

Like the Crows are my themeband (If Stephen Colbert can be recognized for "Truthiness", I think Themeband should be a word), James Taylor is my mother's themeartist (that one, too).

Enough to be on Your Way in particular.

Said they turned her out of Texas
Yeah she burned 'em down back home
Now she's wild with expectation on
The edge of the unknown

Singing oh
It's enough to be on your way
It's enough to cover ground
It's enough to be moving on
Home
Build it behind your eyes
Carry it in your heart
Safe among your own

I love James Taylor because my mom does. In basic training, when I got a little homesick and was lucky enough to have ten or twenty minutes with my iPod (and couldn't use the phone), I'd crank up James and think about mom.

Besides, he's got one of those voices you just don't hear anywhere else.

Unfortunately, these days he's a little confused in ways I'm not at liberty to discuss.

No, I have not seen The Notebook. I do not want to see The Notebook. I know a girl who cries every time someone even mentions The Notebook, and that tells me it is one of those revolting "chick flicks" (I despise that term) that I simply do not care to see.

That said:

I love artists who are not afraid to get a little graphic and really say what's on their minds.

Southern trees
Bear a strange fruit
Blood on the leaves
And blood at the roots
Black bodies swinging
In the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging
From the poplar trees

Pastoral scene
Of the gallant south
The bulging eyes
And the twisted mouth
Scent of magnolias
Sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell
Of burning flesh
Here's a fruit
For the crows to pluck
For the rain to gather
For the wind to suck
For the sun to rot
For the tree to drop
Here is a strange
And bitter
Crop

If I could write songs like that, about unjust, disgusting things people do...

Someone would eventually tell me to stop writing so damn many songs.

This band is based in Finland, but their lead singer is Irish.

Locking up the Sun:

They're locking up the sun
They have their chosen one
You know this time they'll make him play along
They're taking to the arms
The fathers and their sons
There's nowhere left to run

It's a bad trip on a sinking ship
When no one seems responsible
Scapegoat to rock the boat
Yeah we need someone expendable
Volunteers to face the fears
Can we be sensible
And find a way to break the fall
Find out the cure for all

Is there a hero somewhere
Someone who appears and saves the day
Someone who holds out a hand and turns back time
Is there a hero somewhere
Someone who will never walk away
Who doesn't turn a blind eye to a crime

Diamonds for Tears:

In these days of manmade wonders
We still bicker over flies
When you come seeking for forgiveness
I'll be forced to choose my side

If I deny you what you're searching
Do I do it out of fear
Am I ruling out my reason
Killing that which I hold dear

Out of my way I'm running
With an excuse just underway
Reality's so daunting
And I've got no way to explain

'Cause when you're sleeping right next to me
I know you're the one
So when I hear you calling my name
Why do I turn away and run
I guess that's why it's raining diamonds
Sweet happiness in tears
Crying heaven shed your diamonds
Diamonds for tears

Can you tell I like bands and artists that write about important issues?

Anyway, this band is amazing and addictive. Go here:

www.poetsofthefall.com

And buy some albums. They're incredible, and I can't do them justice here.

This guy is also amazing. He's solo now: he used to be the vocalist for System of a Down.

His solo album, of course, is the source of the lyrics I used in my Hub Lie Lie Lie. It was all so oddly appropriate for the situation.

Sort of one of those "angry" artists I listen to when I'm feeling irate, but he's got a tad more sadness to his typically-twisted style. Empty Walls is a good example.

I've been listening to these guys since they came out. What with my habit of applying lyrics to life, a lot of it has either felt sympathetic and made me feel less alone, or it has lifted me up out of a bad time and given me a much-needed recharging.

Especially after the release of Citizen/Soldier. I know it was written for the National Guard, but it applies to all branches of the military, and listening to it before each mind-numbing body-breaking hope-destroying day at work always reminded me of what I was there for.

When there're people crying in the streets
When they're starving for a meal to eat
For when they simply need a place to make their beds
Right here underneath my wing
You can rest your head

Hope and pray
That you never need me but rest assured I will not let you down
I walk beside you but you may not see me
The strongest among you may not wear a crown

 Must be heard to be believed.

Seriously. Although, like Mike Noonan, I may have a hundred and eighty special words at my disposal, you just have to listen to this one to understand.

This is another one I've liked for a long time, and began liking more when they came out with a song that I could directly apply to my life:

Don't shoot
Until you see the red and white
And blue in my eyes
They say we're straddling fences
And it's not so comfortable

He thinks he grew up to be boring
And so he goes to change his life
I saw you get up on your toes
But don't step back too fast
Or you'll cut yourself in half

I wanted
All I wanted was to find
Something here inside of me they couldn't keep
They woke up to hear me screaming

Just shoot until you see
The red on white
And blue in my sky
The proof is in the pictures
And it's not so comforting

He knows that one day they'll ignore him
And push him to the side
He said he'd kiss the flag before he died
He took one for his country
She said I'd do anything to have him back

God help us
God where are you in this fight
'Cause no one knows whose side you're on
Anymore
Anymore
I'm lost and by myself

Also, this guy's voice makes my skin all tingly.