Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CLVII--Dave Matthews Band: Crash into Me

I've often thought I should be a big fan of the Dave Matthews Band--it's a bunch of laid back dudes known for their musicianship who play thoughtful pop tunes.  But--much like the Grateful Dead--for me it never happened.  Which isn't to say, obviously, that both bands haven't had a moment or two that's captured my fancy...much like this week's tune.

Formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991 the Dave Matthews Band has had quite the successful run over the past twenty-six years.  Their nine studio albums and numerous live albums have sold better than 50 million copies, and they've had a summer tour virtually every year since the band's inception.  Their last six albums have debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, and their six #1 albums ties them with the Eagles for the most #1 albums by an American band.  They've been nominated for many Grammy Awards (winning once), and are known for their offbeat music videos.  The band's charitable foundation has donated over $8.5 million dollars to various causes, and their coolness quotient rates high thanks to their concerts in support of the candidacy of one Barack Obama, a President whose class, grace, intelligence, and love for his country far surpasses that of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Released in 1996 on their career defining LP Crash, "Crash into Me" reached #19 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100.  The band's performance was also nominated for a Grammy in the longest category title in the history of award category titles:  Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.  Ten words--for fuck's sake, it's almost as long as a song.

In a VH-1 Storytellers appearance, Dave Matthews said the song was about a voyeur looking through a woman's bedroom window at night, so any mystery as to the song's meaning is pretty much rendered moot.  Still, for as creepy as that seems, there's still an innocence (if you can get past the more erotic lyrics) to the man's viewing--there's a lot of the romance of loving someone from afar in his thoughts and words.  Matthews (somewhat like the vocals in "Sex and Candy" as I noted a couple of weeks back) makes good use of cadence in his singing, drawing out certain words and deliciously half whispering the word "crash" before completing the chorus.  The song is sparse--a little guitar, a little bass, some drums, a sax, and Matthews vocals.  In the end, it's one of those songs that has just stayed with me these last twenty years and that I enjoy hearing every bit as much today as I did in 1996 when it was first released.

Lyric Sheet:  "Sweet like candy to my soul/Sweet your rock/And sweet you roll..."

Enjoy:

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emaycee