Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CIV--Counting Crows: A Long December

As we near the end of a not particularly good year (Hillary, Hillary, Hillary...and the Senate, too and that's not even counting the personal ups and downs), we're featuring a song about a not particularly good year but one in which, like 2016, there is still  "reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last."  Plus we're like two days from Christmas--gotta offer something hopeful....

Counting Crows were formed in Berkley, CA in 1991 by songwriter and pianist Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson (the only two constants in the band's 25 years, though several members have been around for most of the ride).  While they've had a good deal of success with their studio releases, most of it came very early in their career and they've only released 7 studio albums in that time (with sales of over 20 million and counting).  Counting Crows are known for their live performances, and have toured virtually constantly since their formation.  There's not a lot of glory there (though they have been nominated for an Academy Award for best song, "Accidentally in Love" from Shrek 2, which, truth be told, is not one of their better efforts), but if they're still selling records and performing this far down the road, they most certainly must have done something right.  And I have to admit that though they'd never make my top twenty-five favorite bands, I've always had a bit of a sneaking kindness for them and enjoy listening to their greatest hits now and again and again.

While "Mr. Jones" is by far and away their best known and most played song (and a fine tune it is), there's a subtle beauty to the way Duritz melds sorrow to hope in "A Long December" (released in 1996 on their Recovering the Satellites  LP--reached #6, with a bullet!on the Billboard Hot 100).  Duritz has said the song is about a particularly difficult time in his life, when a friend was seriously injured after being hit by a car combined with the stress of trying to make another hit album after the success of their debut, but I've always thought the song epitomized the existential juxtaposition of finding that sliver of hope while still in the throes of depression. There's a wonderful line in the song where Duritz sings "...And the feeling that it's 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 in those three lines are all the hope and possibility you need.  The song is driven by a catchy and stark piano, some seriously honest vocals by Duritz, a nice, though uncomplicated, guitar solo midway through, and closes with a minute or so of "Da da da das" which are interspersed nicely with some well-timed "yeahs."

Ain't it the truth, dept.:  "...It's been so long since I've seen the ocean...I guess I should..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
But have a happy holiday anyway...
emaycee