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Rating:
Why do so many people dislike Adam Duritz?
Perhaps because (I admit) sometimes he sings as if he had two bananas stuck in his nostrils, or because (it's rumored, but, you know, the tormented artist always has his charm...) he has gotten cozy with some notable starlets in the Hollywood area?
Some accuse him of being a pretentious person in disguise and of carrying on a stale and uninspired musical discourse, others say his band can't play; I say I like Adam Duritz, not because he's a handsome guy, understood... I'm not an Adonis either, but I'd like to have hair like his (I already have the belly like him) and, more than anything, I'd like to be able to write beautiful songs like he does.
In the end, when someone decides to make music, isn't that the only thing that matters?
There is an abundance of beautiful songs (in some cases splendid) in this disc released in 2003, a not entirely exhaustive summary of the first 4 albums of the Counting Crows; thankfully we are spared the notorious "Greatest Hits" (which for many bands should consist of at most 3 or 4 tracks) and opt for a more fitting "Best of...", thus also picking out worthy tracks that probably were never played on the radio, like the fabulous "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby", 7 magical minutes in full Van Morrison style, or "Anna Begins", perhaps the true gem of "August And Everything After" alongside "Rain King" (my favorite, a song that never fails to put me in a good mood).
The inevitable concessions to the charts are not missing, such as "Mr. Jones", "Big Yellow Taxi" (cover of the sublime Joni Mitchell) and "American Girls", perhaps the weakest of the batch along with "Hanginaround".
The impression derived from listening to the collection is that the CC manage to express themselves better when the sounds of electric guitars are less intrusive and melody takes over the rhythm, an impression confirmed, in my opinion, by their latest work, divided into 2 distinct parts, one more rocking and one acoustic; how to remain indifferent when listening to the wonderful root-style cover of "Friend of The Devil" by the Grateful Dead, or the splendid, pianistic "A Long December" (for me personally, full of meanings with which I will not bore you...).
"So this record has rock and guitars but also ballads with a touch of mandolin... What's missing, then?"
At a guess, I would say "August and Everything After" is missing in its entirety, a work still unsurpassed by them for the overall quality of the songwriting and raw emotionality; they have produced great things after that album, but nothing that has the same inspired melancholy and the same expressive urgency.
"Films About Ghosts" is nonetheless a more than good level album for lovers of these sounds, or in any case of music that is not too complicated and cerebral; today, however, the Counting Crows are probably better on a stage than on record.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Angels of the Silences (03:40)
Well I guess you left me with some feathers in my hand
Did it make it any easier to leave me where I stand?
I guess there might not be too many who would stand beside you now
Where'd you come from? Where am I going?
Why'd you leave me 'till I'm only good for...
Waiting for you
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming
Every night these silhouettes appear above my head
Little angels of the silences that climb into my bed and whisper
Every time I fall asleep Every time I dream
Did you come? Would you lie?
Why'd you leave us 'till we're only good for...
Waiting for you
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming
I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed
Little angels hang above my head and read me like an open book
Suck my blood break my nerve offer me their arms
Well, I will not be an enemy of anything
I'll only stand here
Waiting for you
All my sins...
I said that I would pay for them if I could come back to you
All my innocence is wasted on the dead and dreaming
I'm gone, I'm gone, I'll leave the day I'm gone
I'm gone, I'm gone, take me away
I'm gone, I'm gone, I'll leave the day
I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone
I'm gone
02 Round Here (05:32)
Step out the front door like a ghost
Into the fog where no one notices
The contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you
Angels get a better view
Of the crumbling difference between wrong and right.
I walk in the air between the rain,
Through myself and back again.
Where? I don't know
Maria says she's dying.
Through the door, I hear her crying
Why? I don't know
Round here we always stand up straight
Round here something radiates
Maria came from Nashville with a suitcase in her hand
She said she'd like to meet a boy who looks like Elvis
She walks along the edge of where the ocean meets the land
Just like she's walking on a wire in the circus
She parks her car outside of my house and
Takes her clothes off,
Says she's close to understanding Jesus
She knows she's more than just a little misunderstood
She has trouble acting normal when she's nervous
Round here we're carving out our names
Round here we all look the same
Round here we talk just like lions
But we sacrifice like lambs
Round here she's slipping though my hands
Oh, Sleeping children better run like the wind
Out of the lightning dream
Mama's little baby better get herself in
Out of the lightning
She says, "It's only in my head."
She says, "Shhh...I know it's only in my head."
But the girl on the car in the parking lot
Says: "Man, you should try to take a shot
Can't you see my walls are crumbling?"
Then she looks up at the building
And says she's thinking of jumping.
She says she's tired of life
She must be tired of something.
Round here she's always on my mind
Round here, Hey man, I got lots of time
Round here we're never sent to bed early
And nobody makes us wait
Round here we stay up very very very very late
I... I can't see nothing, nothing
Round here
(Ya) Catch me if I'm falling
(Ya) Catch me if I'm falling
(Will'ya) Catch me 'cause I'm falling down on you
I said I'm under the gun
Round here
Oh man, I said I'm under the gun
Round here
I can't see nothing, nothing
Round here
03 Rain King (04:17)
When I think of heaven
Deliver me in a black-winged bird
I think of flying
down into a sea of pens and feathers
and all other instruments of faith and sex and God
In the belly of a black-winged bird
Don't try to bleed me
cuz' I've been here before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying , I've been thinking
And I am the Rain King
Well i said
Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone?
I can't go outside
I'm scared I might not make it home
I'm alive, i'm alive
but I'm sinking in
If there's anyone at home at your place dalrin'
Why don't you invite me in?
Don't try to bleed me
I've been there before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been lying
I've been sinking
And I am the Rain King
Hey, I only want the same as anyone
Henderson is waiting for the sun
Oh, it seems night endlessly begins and ends
After all the dreaming I come home again...
When I think of heaven
(Deliver me in a black-winged bird)
I think of dying
Lay me down in a field of flame and heather
Render up my body into the burning heart of
God in the belly of a black-winged bird
Don't try to bleed me
'cause I've been here before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been dying
and I've been drinking and I am the Rain King.
well i said i am the rain king...
04 A Long December (04:59)
A long December, and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'
Now the days go by so fast
And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven....I wish you would
The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that its all a lot of oysters, but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
To see the way that light attaches to a girl
And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think you might come to California...I think you should
Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two a.m.
And talked a little while about the year
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her
And its been a long December, and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean..I guess I should.
05 Hangin' Around (04:16)
She sat right down on the sofa
And says where have you been
Ive been waiting for you
And last night I had something so good
These days get so long and I have nothing to do
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
We spent all day getting sober
Just hiding from the daylight
And watching tv
It just look a lot better in the blue light
Well you know I gotta get out
But Im stuck so tight
Weighed by the chains that keep me
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
This girl listens while the band plays
She says where have you been
Been laying right here on the floor
I got tall this time to be waiting for what is mine
To be hated for what I am after the light has faded
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
Iv e been hanging around this twon on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way too long
Ive been hanging around this town on a corner
Ive been bummin around this old town for way, way, way too long
06 Mrs. Potter's Lullaby (07:46)
Well I woke up in mid-afternoon cause that's when it all hurts the most
I dream I never know anyone at the party and I'm always the host
If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts
You can never escape, you can only move south down the coast
Well, I am an idiot walking a tightrope of fortune and fame
I am an acrobat swinging trapezes through circles of flame
If you've never stared off in the distance, then your life is a shame
And though I'll never forget your face,
sometimes I can't remember my name
Hey Mrs. Potter don't cry
Hey Mrs. Potter I know why but
Hey Mrs. Potter won't you talk to me
Well, there's a piece of Maria in every song that I sing
And the price of a memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings
And there is always one last light to turn out and one last bell to ring
And the last one out of the circus has to lock up everything
Or the elephants will get out and forget to remember what you said
And the ghosts of the tilt-a-whirl will linger inside of your head
And the ferris wheel junkies will spin them forever instead
And when I see you a blanket of stars covers me in my bed
Hey Mrs. Potter don't go
Hey Mrs. Potter I don't know but
Hey Mrs. Potter won't you talk to me
All the blue light reflections that color my mind when I sleep
And the lovesick rejections that accompany the company I keep
All the razor perceptions that cut just a little too deep
Hey I can bleed as well as anyone, but I need someone to help me sleep
So I throw my hand into the air and it swims in the beams
It's just a brief interruption of the swirling dust sparkle jet stream
Well, I know I don't know you and you're probably not what you seem
But I'd sure like to find out
So why don't you climb down off that movie screen
Hey Mrs. Potter don't turn
Hey Mrs. Potter I burn for you
Hey Mrs. Potter won't you talk to me
When the last king of Hollywood shatters his glass on the floor
And orders another
Well, I wonder what he did that for
That's when I know that I have to get out cause I have been there before
So I gave up my seat at the bar and I head for the door
We drove out to the desert just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars
We stand up at the Palace like it's the last of the great Pioneertown bars
We shout out these songs against the clang of electric guitars
You can see a million miles tonight
But you can't get very far
You can see a million miles tonight
But you can't get very far
Hey Mrs. Potter I won't touch and
Hey Mrs. Potter it's not much but
Hey Mrs. Potter won't you talk to me
Hey Mrs. Potter won't you talk to me
Hey Mrs. Potter won't you talk to me
07 Mr. Jones (04:34)
Sha la la la la la la uh huh
I was down at the New Amsterdam
Staring at this yellow-haired girl
Mr. Jones strikes up a conversation
With a black-haired flamenco dancer
She dances while her father plays guitar
She's suddenly beautiful
And we all want something beautiful
Man I wish I was beautiful
So come dance the silence down through the morning
Sha la la la la la la la yeah uh huh yeahh
Cut up Maria!
Show me some of that Spanish dancin'
Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones
Believe in me, help me believe in anything
'Cause I want to be someone who believes
Yeah
Mr. Jones and me
Tell each other fairy tales
And we stare at the beautiful women
"She's looking at you.
Ah, no, no, she's looking at me."
Smiling in the bright lights
Coming through in stereo
When everybody loves you
You can never be lonely
Well I wanna 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
Mr. Jones and me
Look into the future
Yeah we stare at the beautiful women
"She's looking at you.
I don't think so.
She's looking at me."
Standing in the spotlight
I bought myself a gray guitar
When everybody loves me,
I will never be lonely
I will never be lonely
So I'm never gonna be
Lone...ly
I want to be a lion
Yeah everybody wants to pass as cats
We all want to be big, big stars,
But we got different reasons for that
Believe in me
Cause I don't believe in anything
and I want to be someone to believe,
To believe,
To believe
Yeeeaahh
Mr. Jones and me
Stumbling through the barrio
Yeah we stare at the beautiful women
"She's perfect for you,
Man, there's got to be somebody for me."
I want to be Bob Dylan
Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky
When everybody loves you,
Oh! Son, that's just about as funky as you can be
Mr. Jones and me
Staring at the video
When I look at the television, I want to see me
Staring right back at me
We all want to be big stars,
But we don't know why and we don't know how
But when everybody loves me,
I'm going to be just about as happy as I can be
Mr. Jones and me,
We're gonna be big stars
08 Recovering the Satellites (05:25)
gonna get back to basics
guess i'll start it up again
i'm fallin from the ceiling
you're falling from the sky now and then
maybe you were shot down in pieces
maybe i slipped in between
but we were gonna be the wildest people they ever hoped to see
just you and me
so why'd you come home to this sleepless town
it's a lifetime commitment
recovering the satellites
all anybody really wants to know is...
when you gonna come down
your mother recognizes all your desperate displays
and she watches as her babies drift violently away
'till they see themselves in telescopes
do you see yourself in me?
we're such crazy babies, little monkey
we're so fucked up, you and me
so why'd you come home to this faithless town
where we make a lifetime commitment
to recovering the satellites
and all anybody really wants to know is...
when are you gonna come down
she sees shooting stars and comet tails
she's got heaven in her eyes
she says i don't need to be an angel
but i'm nothing if i'm not this high
but we only stay in orbit
for a moment of time
and then you're everybodys satellite
i wish that you were mine
so why'd you come home to this angel's town
well it's a lifetime's decision
recovering the satellites
all anybody really knows for sure is...
that you're gonna come down
09 American Girls (04:36)
She comes out on Fridays every time
Stands out in a line
I could've been anyone she'd seen
She waits another week to fall apart
She couldn't make another day
I wish it was anyone but me
I could have been anyone you see
She had something breakable just under her skin
American girls, all weather & noise
Playing the changes for all of the boys
Holding a candle up to my hand
Making me feel so incredible
She comes out of closets every night
But then she locks herself away
Where she could keep everything from me
I could have been anyone you see
She's nothing but porcelain underneath
her skin
American girls, all weather & noise
Playing the changes for all of the boys
Holding a candle right up to my hand
Making me feel so incredible
Little shivers shaking me every day
But I could get the same thing anywhere
So if she goes away
Well, it's all right and I'm ok
Hey, she said, Come back again tonight,
And I said I might, I might, I might,
She said well that's all right.
If it's alright, if it's alright with you,
Then it's alright, it's alright with me.
I waited for an hour last Friday night
She never came around
She took almost everything from me
I'm going through my closet,
Trying on her clothes almost every day
I could've been anyone you see
I wish it was anyone but me
There's nothing but pills and ashes
Under my skin
American girls, all weather & noise
Playing the changes for all of the boys
Holding a candle right up to my hand
Making me feel so incredible
If I made you cry, please tell me why
Cause I'll try again if you let me try
American girls all feathers & cream
Coming into bed so edible
American girls oh
American girls
American girls
Oh, oh, oh, oh
American girls oh
American girls
American girls
Oh, oh, oh, oh
You make me cry,
You make me cry,
You make me cry
Yeah, you made me cry
You make me cry
Hey, miss American girl, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah
10 Big Yellow Taxi (03:46)
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to see them
Now, now, now
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey Farmer Farmer
Put away your DDT
I don't care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey now,
They paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
Why not?
Listen late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took my girl away
Now, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey now, now
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone
They paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
Why not,
They paved paradise
To put a parking lot
Hey hey hey
Paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
I dont wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna giving it all away?
Hey, hey, hey
Now you wanna give it
Ah she wanna give it
Why she giving it all away
Now, now
I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna giving it all away?
Giving it all, giving it all away
Yeah, yeah
Why you want me
Why do you want me
Cause she giving it all away
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
11 Omaha (03:41)
Start tearing the old man down
Run past the heather and down to the old road
Start turning the grain into the ground
Roll a new leaf over
In the middle of the night
There's an old man treading around in the gathered rain
Well mister, if you're going to walk on water
Could you drop a line my way?
Omaha
Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door
Start threading a needle
Brush past the shuttle that slides through the cold room
Start turning the wool across the wire
Roll a new life over
In the middle of the night
there's an old man threading his toes through a bucket of rain
Hey mister, you don't want to walk on water
You're only going to walk all over me
Omaha
Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of the matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door
Start running the banner down
Drop past the color come up through the summer rain
Start turning the girl into the ground
Roll a new love over
In the middle of the day
There's a young man rolling around in the earth and rain
Hey mister, if you're going to walk on water
You know you're only going to walk all over me.
Omaha
Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door
Omaha
Somewhere in middle America
Get right to the heart of matters
It's the heart that matters more
I think you better turn your ticket in
And get your money back at the door
13 Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman) (03:54)
Albert's always sincere, he's a sensitive type
His intentions are clear, he wanna be well-liked
If everything is nothing, then are we anything?
Is it better to be better than to be anything?
And Albert's vision is blooming uncontrolled
All his wings are slowly sinking
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
All the king's men reappear
For an eggman, fallin' off the wall
Who'll never be together again
Einstein's down on the beach staring into the sand
Cause everything he believes in is shattered
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway-ay
We all get burned as:
One more sun comes sliding down the sky
One more shadow leans against the wall
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
For an eggman, fallin' off the wall
Who'll never be together again
Albert's waiting in the sun
On a field American
For the cause of some inflated form of hit and run
One more sun comes sliding down the sky
One more shadow leans against the wall
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
For an eggman, fallin' off the wall
Who'll never be together again
Albert's fallen on the sun
Cracked his head wide open
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
For an eggman, fallin, fallin
The world begins to disappear
The worst things come from inside here
And all the king's men reappear
For an eggman, fallin' off the wall
Who'll never be together again
No never be together again
No no never never never again, uh huh
What you fear in the night in the day comes to call anyway
14 Anna Begins (04:33)
My friend assures me,
"It's all or nothing."
I am not worried,
I am not overly concerned....
My friend implores me,
"For one time only, make an exception."
I am not worried..
Wrap her up in a package of lies,
Send her off to a coconut island...
I am not worried,
I am not overly concerned....
'bout the status of my emotions,
"Oh," she says, "you're changing"
But we're always changing...
It does not bother me to say, "This isn't love..."
Cause if you don't want to talk about it
Then, it isn't love
And I guess I'm gonna have to live with that
But I'm sure there's something in a shade of gray
Or something in between,
And I can always change my name, if that's what you mean
My friend assures me
"It's all or nothing."
But I am not really worried
I am not overly concerned
You try to tell yourself
The things you try to tell yourself
To make yourself forget
To make yourself forget
I am not worried
"If it's love," she said "then we're going to have
to think about the consequences."
And she can't stop shaking,
And I can't stop touching her
And this time when kindness falls like rain
It washes her away
And Anna begins to change her mind
"These seconds when I'm shaking leave me shuddering for days," she says
And I'm not ready for this sort of thing
But I'm not gonna break,
And I'm not gonna worry about it anymore....
I'm not gonna bend,
And I'm not gonna break...
I'm not going to worry about it anymore
No, no, no, no, no
It seems like I should say
"As long as this is love..."
But it's not all that easy
so maybe I should
Snap her up in a butterfly net...
Pin her down on a photograph album...
I am not worried..
Cause I've done this sort of thing before.
But then I start to think about the consequences,
And I don't get no sleep in a quiet room
And this time when kindness falls like rain
It washes me away
And Anna begins to change my mind
Everytime she sneezes I believe it's love, and
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
She's talking in her sleep,
It's keeping me awake...
And Anna begins to toss and turn...
And every word is nonsense but I understand and,
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
Her kindness bangs a gong, it's moving me along
And Anna begins to fade away
It's chasing me away....
She disappears and,
Oh lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing
15 Holiday in Spain (03:51)
Got no place to go
But there's a girl waiting for me down in Mexico
She got a bottle of tequila, a bottle of gin
And if I bring a little music I could fit right in
We got airplane rides
We got California drowning out the window side
We've got big black cars
And we got stories how we slept with all the
Movie stars
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drink my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new
Hop on my choo-choo
I'll be your engine driver in a bunny suit
If you dress me up in pink and white
We may be just a little fuzzy 'bout it later tonight
She's my angel
She's a little better than the one that used to be with me
Cause she liked to scream at me
Man, it's a miracle that she's not living up in a tree
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drive this little girl insane
And fly away to someone new
Everybody's gone
They left the television screaming that the radio's on
Someone stole my shoes
But there's a couple of bananas
And a bottle of booze
Oh well, happy new year's baby!
We could probably fix it if we clean it up all day
Or we could simply pack our bags
And catch a plane to Barcelona 'cause this city's a drag
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Flush my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new
Take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drive this little girl insane
Fly away to someone new
Fly away to someone new
Fly away to someone new
16 She Don't Want Nobody Near (03:09)
She don't want nobody near
But you can't get away from that
They appear and disappear
And they all get a string attached
Pretty soon they got you hanging on a line
Pretty soon they're singing one by one the same old rhyme
They say, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."
She don't want nobody home
Cause it's a little too crowded then
But she don't wanna be alone
So they just keep pouring in
Pretty soon they got her headed for the door
She comes home to find that they're not hanging 'round no more
She says "I'm alright, you just can't get home tonight."
Don't you wonder what she looks like in the light?
She says "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."
Pretty whitewashed lies
Endless alibis
And the reasons that need cleaning every night
Half a world away
You can't wash away the stain of the deceiving
And the things that you cannot believe, and well...
She don't want no one around
Cause she don't want anybody to see
What she looks like when she's down
Cause that's a really sad place to be
Pretty soon she gets them crawling up the walls
Then she wonders why they beg her please to never call
She says, "I'm ok. It's alright. Hey, look who's on TV tonight."
She says, "I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."
Don't you wonder why it's dark outside at night?
She says, I'm alright, I just can't get home tonight."
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