The Untold Truth of Counting Crows - Grunge (2023)

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One of the best-selling alternative rock bands of the '90s was Counting Crows.20 million records worldwide. They are also an incredibly popular touring band and are considered a staple of Generation X pop culture.

Since 1991 the band has gone through several changes. From acoustic duo to ensemble, singer-songwriter Adam Duritz has always been in command. Counting Crows burst onto the scene in Berkeley, California, and their signature American folk-rock sound is now known to many around the world. The band celebrated the 25th anniversary of their debut album in 2018, and as of 2021, it is ranked at number 8 on Billboard's Best Of All Time: Adult Alternative Artists 25th Anniversary chart. After several years of inactivity, Counting Crows released a new album titled Butter Miracle: Suite One in May 2021.

Whether you're a fan of their music or not, Counting Crows are a rare and enduring breed in the music industry, having survived in one of the prettiest companies on the planet since the early '90s. You might have a song or two of them in your musical history, no matter which generation you belong to, but there are plenty of weird and cool facts about the band's past, and their leader in particular, that you might not know.

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The story behind the name CountingCrows comes from a British fortune-telling nursery rhyme called "One for Sorrow" about the superstitious practice of counting magpies (better known in America as crows). Singer Adam Duritz became familiar with the rhyme after watching the movie Signs of Life.

If you're a Counting Crows superfan, you may already be familiar with Adam Duritz's serial habit of dating actresses. Even before the band arrived on the scene with their first album in 1993, Duritz is said to have been briefly dating actress Mary-Louise Parker, who starred in Signs of Life.."Girls have always liked Adam," said his sister Nicole.Rolling Stone. "Why not? He's funny, charming and passionate about what he does." So it's only fitting that the name of the longtime band came from one of Adam's relationships with an actress.

Hints to the band's name appear on their debut album August and Everything After on the track "A Murder of One".most popular rhyming verseis: "One for sadness, / Two for joy, / Three for a girl, / Four for a boy, / Five for silver, / Six for gold, / Seven for a secret, / Never to count."

Now you know you should never call heroCounting crows (a common mistake) because they just "count" crows.

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Counting Crows eventually became an ensemble band, but there were only two of them at first. Adam Duritz, who moved to the Bay Area from his hometown of Baltimore, was involved.numerous musical projectsand finally found moderate success in the San Francisco band The Himalayans, which received early local acclaim.90er. In fact, it was the Counting Crows hit "Round Here."originally a Himalayan song.

Duritz formed Counting Crows with producer and guitarist David Bryson, and the two became an acoustic team, performing throughout the Bay Area. Duritz, with his long dreadlocks and grunge emo demeanor, quickly became a standout artist who fit right in with the gloomy Generation X and mood of the decade.

The duo eventually became a five-piece two years later, in 1993, and got their first break when they were invited to perform at Van Morrison's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It would take nearly a decade for the band to grow from five to seven members by 2001.WNRN.

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Adam Duritz spoke openly about the effectby Kurt CobainDeath befell him as the band grew.Nirvanahad appeared on the scene just a few years before Counting Crows, and the news of Cobain's suicide shook Duritz.

“I met Kurt; we were labelmates, signed with the same guy [Gary Gersh],” Duritz said.Pittsburgh City Newspaper. "We were like his two younger brothers back then." Duritz admitted that the news "scared him to death." and he looks what happened to him," he said.

Duritz also credits the '70s and '80s band Big Star and Miles Davis.great influencesin his musical composition. Other more obvious influences include Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, The Band, R.E.M., Thin Lizzy, Tom Petty, and Pearl Jam.Rolling Stone.

legendary music producerT-Bone Burnetthe was responsible for honing their sound on Counting Crows' first album, August and Everything After, which became known as a dark set of tracks. His one-way ticket to being on everyone's radar and reaching the top of the charts, however, was the album's only upbeat and upbeat track, "Mr. Jones."

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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When Counting Crows burst onto the scene with their debut album August and Everything After in 1993, they caught the attention of more than one label. Rolling Stonehe subtitled it"America's Greatest New Band" that year, and a bidding war ensued between Geffen Records and eight other companies. Gary Gersh, the Geffen A&R representative who signed Nirvana, was "blown away" with their sound, which Gersh said was rare.

The album went platinum in just five months.Muere Washington Postnotes that it was faster than Pearl Jam's first album Ten and Nirvana's Nevermind. The gang soon became known to industry insiders as the Accounting Crows.

Duritz was wary of quick fame and success. "I'm happy with fame in a lot of ways. I'm not going to deny that," he told the Post. "But it's a little scary. Something definitely changed in my life and I can't go back now if I wanted to." Almost overnight, Duritz was dating famous women and megastars like Johnny Depp and Sean Penn, releasing platinum albums. He went on to compare the sudden notoriety to "wake up on mars."

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Some songs are abstract, but others have real stories behind them. In the case of Counting Crows' first big hit, "Mr. Jones," there was a real Jones they described.

The song is based on Marty Jones, former bassist in Adam's old band The Himalayas, and Kenney Dale Johnson (pictured), drummer in Chris Isaak's band Silvertone. The often-told story about the song is that it was written during a night in San Francisco when Marty and Adam were visiting Marty's father, David, who happened to be a flamenco guitarist. The story will be revealed in a 2011 documentary about Marty's father, Gypsy Davy. In the film, Marty admits that he gave up his successful recording career because he "was afraid of repeating his father's behavior," he says.diversity.

The connection to Kenney Dale Johnson is less clear. When Johnson heard that the song was also about him, he didn't know why. In fact, he didn't even know any of the Counting Crows. According to an interview withblogcritics magazine, Johnson saw Duritz at an airport and took him aside to question him about the song's content.

"People keep emailing me saying that onstage you said I was the inspiration for 'Mr. Jones,'" Johnson told Duritz. Admitting that he saw Johnson surrounded by girls, Duritz thought, "Yeah, by the time we release our album, we'll all be big animals too."

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Adam Duritz has finally spoken openly about his rare dissociative disorder, which he has struggled with for some 25 years and which became particularly difficult for him after the release of the Counting Crows album Hard Candy in 2002. "The less real things seem, the the more you start to move away and lose all attachment to the world.told of his disorder. She announced his diagnosis to the public in 2008 after suffering since she was 20 years old. Known as depersonalization disorder, it can make someone feel "disconnected from their physical body and no longer in control of their thoughts and actions," according to theCorreo Huffington.

in conversation withNew times in MiamiDuritz was asked if writing music had worked as a therapy for the disorder. "No, I don't think there's anything therapeutic about songwriting," Duritz replied. “You need to get your therapy out of things like this. But an album is probably a good way to gauge how the person feels."

Even Duritz's lifestyle as a traveling musician, he admits, doesn't help his disorder.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, please contact crisis text line HOME SMS to 741741, call them National Alliance on Mental Illness Helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

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David Lowery, former leader of the bands Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, co-produced the Counting Crows' third studio album, This Desert Life. The band met Lowery while on tour together in the early 1990s. Counting Crows rented a house to do pre-production work with Lowery for about two weeks, during which time he gave the band "advice on the structure and how they want to make the album", according tomtv.

The collaboration received mixed reviews.Mark Bautz, the Entertainment Weeklywrote: "Producer David Lowery brings a loose instrumental feel to multiple cuts, but few of these Duritz-centric songs have the vibrancy of 'Mr. Jones,' the love-or-hate 1994 hit.

The album cover was inspired by Neil Gaiman's book The Day I Swapped my Dad for Two Goldfish and was designed by the artist himself, Dave McKean. Despite lukewarm reviews, the album had some hit radio tracks, including "Hanginaround".

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Adam Duritz was active on the AOL and Twitter message boards in the early days of the social networking movement. won quicklymore than a million followerson Twitter in early 2010, boosting the band's popularity with a new demographic.

In 2011, Duritz allowed fans to create their All My Bloody Valentines album cover art by interacting with fans on social media while submitting their artwork. It is said that she recorded the album at night the week before her Valentine's Day.Wall Street Zeitung. All My Bloody Valentines is a cover collection that includes songs by Bob Dylan, The Cars, Ryan Adams and Tom Waits. Finally, Duritz received about1,400 entries. After narrowing them down to 25, she couldn't pick a winner for the design work, so she chose two lucky fans' artwork for the album cover.

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Can your musical preferences determine how smart you are? The jury has been around for years. Classical music, for example, has been associated with better concentration, but never before has a specific analysis of modern music been done alongside a popular aptitude test. Until the time came.

According to a data study conducted byAuthor of the software application Virgil GriffithCounting Crows listeners scored fairly high on the SATs, second only to Beethoven and close to other musicians like Radiohead, Beatles, U2, Bob Dylan and Sufjan Stevens.after cron. Griffith is known for having theWikipedia scannerthat recognizes where changes to the website originate from.

The study takes into account average SAT scores from specific higher education institutions and breaks down music by genre. According to their findings, Lil Wayne's listeners are in last place.

Of course, like many data sets, this find must be viewed with an alternative rock piece.

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Songs from Counting Crows have been featured in several films, including "colorblind, Featured in "Cruel Intentions" and Cover by Joni Mitchell "big yellow cab', which was used in the soundtrack of the movie 'Two Weeks Notice'. Adam Duritz also wrote the song "Accidentally in Love" for "Shrek 2",like thisa number of original tracksfor the movie "Josie and the Pussycats."

Writing the theme song for the Shrek franchise was a challenge for Duritz, whose personal and introspective lyrics come naturally. "I really struggled with it. I don't usually write songs on demand, and it almost got to the point where I thought I wouldn't," he told Billboard (via "Hoy"). To prepare to compose the music, Duritz traveled to DreamWorks Animation Camp to view part of the film, including the opening sequence where the music was placed. "I was just told that the music had to be uplifting. added Duritz of his experience. "They actually said, 'Don't write a song about Shrek. Write a song about yourself.

Her hard work paid off when the song was nominated for an Oscar.best original song.

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Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz has been linked to not one, but two 'Friends' stars and is known for being the series' famous quote.

Duritz had a high-profile relationship with megastar Jennifer Aniston in 1995. Counting Crows won two Grammy Awards in 1994, and Duritz reportedly wrote the hit "A Long December" about epic parties thrown at actress Samantha's home. Mathis during that time from a cape.not style. Duritz and Aniston were a Hollywood power couple on the rise. Unfortunately they lasted approx.two weeks. Duritz commented in an interview: "We never slept together."

Duritz is also said to have been dating Mathis around the same time and has also been linked to Courteney Cox and Mary-Louise Parker.

Years later, in 2009, he and Golden Globe-nominated actress Emmy Rossum were in a public relationship for about a year.rossum seaThe duo met on Twitter. "I was on tour with the band this summer," she said. “In fact, they invited me on Twitter. That's how we met, during a challenge. They challenged me to sing a song with them that I had never sung before... So I ended up going on tour with the band and it was really cool, really fun, creative and respectful," Rossum said of AdamPeople. They reportedly remain close friends.

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Counting Crows may have been inactive for a while and some members have come and gone, huhFounding member Matt Malley. However, they are still very close together and are expected to tour in 2021 to present their latest album. Still a prominent voice in American music, Duritz has become a deeply personal and introspective brand of fusion rock, lending his name to a multitude of projects.

Duritz was the hosta podcastnamed after Counting Crows' 2012 album "Underwater Sunshine" in 2018.Underwater Sun: The Podcast, co-hosted by James Campion, which will air weekly through early 2020. The podcast covered a variety of pop culture topics, including film and music. A personal friend of Duritz's, Campion is a writer on music and pop culture and co-author of a book. with Duritz.

SemesterMusic Festivalwith the same name followed in New York, which helps to highlight independent musicians. With Duritz and Barbara Garrett as executive producers and Kate Mullins as executive writer, the festival strives to create an "immersive" music experience. During the off-season of the festival, the brand features musicians on social media throughout the year and promotes individual artists through videos, interviews, and performance clips.