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Song of the Day #377: ‘I Wish I Was a Girl’ – Counting Crows

desertlifeIf Recovering the Satellites was a slight misstep, Counting Crows’ third album (1999’s This Desert Life) was a powerful return to form. The album marked an evolution for the band, particularly musically… there’s a richness and depth in these songs that stands out even compared to their great early work.

Kicking off with the feel-good party anthem ‘Hanginaround,’ This Desert Life makes quite the first impression. I’ve noticed that kids tend to like ‘Hanginaround’ (at least kids in my family) and I think that speaks well of its construction.

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Song of the Day #376: ‘Monkey’ – Counting Crows

satellitesCounting Crows’ second album, 1996’s Recovering the Satellites, was a bit of a letdown from August and Everything After, but I’ve grown to appreciate it over the years. Initially it felt a little too hard and a little too all over the place.

And I’ll admit, the extended coda of the otherwise excellent song ‘Miller’s Angels’ annoyed me so much that it turned me off the whole album for awhile. Duritz occasionally suffers from that Sting syndrome of not wanting to let songs end. And he can be a bit too in love with his own voice sometimes, noodling around with a phrase until you’re ready to smack him.

But that complaint aside, Recovering the Satellites emerges as a solid effort that avoids the fabled sophomore slump.

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(500) Days of Summer

500days(500) Days of Summer is a movie custom made for people who love Belle and Sebastian and The Smiths, Annie Hall and Memento, Wes Anderson and Charlie Kaufman. It’s a movie, in other words, custom made for me.

I’m not suggesting it’s as good as any of those things… it’s not. But it’s in their spirit and that counts for a lot.

As the dry narration says right up front, it’s a story about a boy and a girl but it’s not a love story. In fact, even that is a little misleading… it’s really a movie about a boy. The girl, Summer (well portrayed by the endearing, sweetly sexy Zooey Deschanel), is more a type than a fully fleshed-out character. And oh, what a type. Casually irresistible, she draws a certain kind of guy in like a magnet through no fault or design of her own. She ‘s never as into you as you’re into her but she’s just vulnerable enough to make you think that might change.

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Song of the Day #375: ‘Perfect Blue Buildings’ – Counting Crows

augustandAs I’ve mentioned on the blog before, it annoys me that Counting Crows don’t get the critical or mainstream respect they deserve. I don’t need to feel sorry for rich, famous rock stars, but Adam Duritz and company shouldn’t have such abuses heaped on them. So I’m doing my part this week to stand up for a band I’ve found consistently excellent over the 15 years they’ve been recording.

It’s rather fitting that this theme week follows the one I did on The Smiths because (as much as it will irk Dana to read this) the groups are similar. Not in sound — they’re quite different in that regard — but in that they both have self-indulgent lead singers with non-traditional voices that people either love or hate. Morrissey is accused of wallowing in self-pity in his lyrics but Adam Duritz puts him to shame in that department. That doesn’t bother me, though… I adore both groups.

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Song of the Day #374: ‘Let’s Get it On’ – Marvin Gaye

gayeThe thing I love best about this, the ultimate booty call song, is that in the middle of nearly 5 minutes of pleading and pressuring this woman to have sex with him, Marvin Gaye sings these lines: “I ain’t gonna worry, no, I ain’t gonna push, I won’t push you, baby.” Gee, imagine what it would sound like if he was gonna push her!

To honor the unabashed carnal desire of ‘Let’s Get it On,’ I will now present the poetic stylings of YouTube commenters who have chimed in on this Marvin Gaye classic.

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