It's Tough Being a Counting Crows Fan

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Tonight I made the decision, as I have many nights here, to attend the free entertainment going down at BU Central. This particular night was comedy night, or so they would have us believe. Put plainly, the two comedians featured just simply were not funny. The 1st was pitiful. The 2nd was doing a somewhat better job, showing potentially good humor but lacking good comedic delivery, when I stopped mid-laugh.

He began a joke about how Blink-182 and The All-American Rejects were on tour together. He considered this the worst tour possible, bringing together two "fake punk" bands, and proceeded to list three things he'd rather see up on stage: 1) a pile of leaves, 2) Counting Crows, 3) .........   Needless to say, I didn't even hear what he said third.

Counting Crows are generally considered uncool.  Despite having produced eight Top 5 singles in their career, firmly placing them in the mainstream, they are clear misfits.  The white boy dreads of singer Adam Duritz contrast with the trendiness of most rock acts.  Adam's vocals are not the strong, technical sort that has become a requirement of modern rock in the last decade.  Their songs are somber, emotional, folksy, and perhaps to pansy for the rock star image. Like the scrawny boy with glasses in grade school gets bullied, Counting Crows have been an easy target for humor.

I am a Counting Crows fan and I am not ashamed to say it.  I wear each of my three Counting Crows shirts with pride, display my Counting Crows sticker-adorned bass speaker prominently in my dorm room, and collect with a hunger unreleased tracks and  live recordings.  The fact is, while music pundits use them as a proverbial chew toy, Counting Crows' track record holds up.  They have the critical acclaim.  From their debut album August & Everything After, which, with a little help from chart topper "Mr. Jones", turned them into an overnight sensation, to their 2008 effort Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, every record Counting Crows have put out had garnered high critical remarks.  And, perhaps more importantly, they have the impact.  Perhaps due to the somber nature of their music, Counting Crows has been the biggest influence for many of the emo bands that have been all the rage in the last few years.  Think Panic at the Disco who plays a Crows tune "Round Here" in nearly every show. Think Dashboards Confessional. Heavy Metal band Between the Buried and Me lifts their name from Counting Crows song "Ghost Train" and cites the band as a huge influence.  Indie rock darlings The Gaslight Anthem, who lifts a few lines from "Round Here" and The Hold Steady who lifts a plot from "Another Horse Dreamer's Blues".

Truth is, who doesn't love Mr. Jones? A Long December?  For those too young to know those two, what about "Accidentally in Love"?  Those listening to adult alternative radio no doubt heard a full 1/3 of the last album rise to the top of the AAA charts.

Counting Crows has the hits, the success, the acclaim, and the impact.  Their reputation is tainted only by the shallow humor of pop culture pundits always looking for the next thing to call uncool.

As for tonight's comedy show, I first zipped up my hoodie to hide the Counting Crows shirt worn under it. Then, I zipped it back down.