Save the cash and catch Petty at either the Tweeter Center or the Garden.

Guaranteed good show.

Lord, that's even worse.

According to the press release it is a co-headlining summer tour featuring the Counting Crows and Maroon 5.... With Agustana and Sara Bareilles each opening various dates.

August and Everything After is a pretty strong record in my opinion, and the times I saw them in Providence in 94 or so at Lupo's and The Strand (opening for Cracker) were both quality shows.

The Maroon 5 lead singer has been a good interview on Stern, that is all I can say about them...

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080324/lam057a.html?.v=1

Yeah, the co-bill with the Goo Goo dolls a couple of years back was really sad. The Goo Goos are downright ridiculous.

I wish CC would just go solo in a smaller venue.

Tom Petty as a consolation? No thanks. I'll just stay home and stream "Lost" reruns.

I think you could only say that, Duncan, by ignoring the lyrics. At his best moments, Adam Duritz can write lyrics as well as anyone out there today. He doesn't always hit that best, but who does? There may not be a lot separating the Crows and the Goo Goo Dolls in terms of the music, I'll grant you that, but I think the lyrics are a different story.

Sadly, I know more of them than you might expect, since Run'n'Gun has a few of their tunes in their catalogue. I do pay attention to lyrics, though; I always have. I would rather listen to a great melody with great lyrics than a great melody with mediocre lyrics. I know lyrics don't matter much to some people, but for me they are an important part of the package.

Ha! Hootie and the Blowfish as the top match is pretty funny. I'm not even sure why I'm arguing this point--I'm not really that big a Crows fan. I just think the lyrics--or even sometimes the idea of the song, as in Mr. Jones or I Wish I Was a Girl--rise above what I normally hear from popular rock artists. But I agree with you that the music is nothing special.

Not only do I think that Duritz's lyrics are a cut above (not just other bands of the genre, but bands in general), but I think his vocals are outstanding, in the tradition of Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, and Richard Manuel. Live he does some great things with the songs.

As for similarities with Goo Goo, sure, they're both white bread rockers. I actually like a couple of GG songs. It's their persona that drives me nuts. Live, it was all kinds of overused rock schtick. Adam Duritz is, mybe surprisingly, a pretty original performer.

Just for th sake of it, what bands do you mean, Duncan, that aren't as watered down and do the genre better? What is the genre? I know that CC touches on alt-country, but only a little.

 

I'm going way off topic here but, fuck it. I downloaded The Best of the Replacements...and I just don't get the appeal. Maybe becuase I wasn't a music buying child of the 80's--Howard Jones, Poison, or The Replacements, hmm so many choices-- I just don't see the big deal. There are some good songs, but that mid level studio 1980's production kills it for me--I kept thinking "make up your mind go lo-fi or chorus effect on the guitar glam"

They remind of the Strokes in the sense that there is critcal praise and tremendous hype yet it never caught on for them-- just spawning more commercially sucessful clones.

The Counting Crows are terrible.  Bologna on White Bread terrible. Morrison, Springsteen...Durwitz? I couldn't agree more with Duncan's list (add Ryan Adams).

Then again, my opinion is coming from someone who caught Maroon 5 in concert last fall...so what do I know.

Don't get me wrong. I place the Goo Goo Dolls at the bottom of the barrel (even below Petty).

Whether you are too busy or don't have a shortage of things to listen to, Duncan, is weak.

Most of the bands you've listed bear little resemblance to CC. I, do, however, like many of them.

You're probably right about my thoughts on Petty. But you haven't provided any for the bands you routinely dismiss on this site, either.

I could play that game and authoritatively say that Petty sucks, and that the bands I like are awesome because...well, because! I think it's better that I surrender, and just chalk my opinions up to personal taste. I obviously can't proclaim any particular wisdom from on high. Oddly, you do all the time.

The one puzzle, to me, is this: some bands get slain on this site to no complaint, while others have all the tastemakers crying "foul."

I think the Replacements hit their peak on Tim. "Littls Mascara" is a masterpiece of a song--with some pretty amazing lyrics, in my opinion. A beautiful portrait of a life gone wrong.

Paul Westerberg to me is similar to Bob Mould--both artists who broke in with loud music for kids, but then matured into really interesting songwriters.

 

thinner does a smokin' version of little mascara.

my scientific ranking of mats rekkids:

let it be

pleased to meet me

tim

hootenany

all shook down

don't tell a soul

sorry ma, forgot to take out the trash

I gotta say, I just heard Counting Crows on Stern and they we're pretty damn good. They even did a mean version of Friend of the Devil.

Quote:

Jim wrote:
The Crows have also covered "Meet on the Ledge," by Fairport Convention. You're not going to see most of these other bands we've discussed doing Fairport Convention covers.

just as a sidenote: R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction" and 10,000 Maniacs 'Wishing Chair" are both produced by Fairport Conventions producer Joe Boyd and both cover FC.

I was laughing this morning when Counting Crows came on Stern this morning. The first part of the hour+ appearance was an interview with Adam. I honestly listened and tried like hell to just be objective but he was dressed in a giant bunny suit and was acting like a douchebag. He's a 45 year old guy who sounded desperate to come off like a tortured teenager.

Then the band played. I thought they sounded really good. Tight, polished and all that stuff. I don't care for his singing voice, it's a little too affected for me but they did sound good. I listened to the lyrics and didn't connect all that much with them. I started thinking about some Red House Painters songs that they reminded me of "Grace Cathedral Park" specifically. Then they started talking about Van Morrison then the Grateful Dead and I was laughing so hard because of this message board.

The cover of Friend of the Devil was good. I have always enjoyed the sing along quality of that song, especially the chorus.

Then they did a chorus of their song "Rain King" and went into their version of Thunder Road. Instantly the lyrics touched me, even the corny ones. So I was left considering why I like some things and why I don't like others and I have come to the conclusion that I don't really care why and that it doesn't matter.

where do you stand on Springsteen as a lyric writer?

I like Bruce, though I'm not his biggest fan. However, I think the CD Tunnel of Love is a work of genius, both lyrically and musically. I can never get enough of that CD. Those songs are heartwrenching.

Ha ha.. hey Pretender was a great album!!!!! "In my opinion"

and yes I did get the latest Crows album. I like it. thats just me..