As I try to create my year end list for 2022 (not an easy task this year!), thought it would be fun to take a break and talk about the Counting Crows. Specifically their sophomore release of Recovering the Satellites, along with the legacy of their hit song "A Long December".
Before we get to their popular song let's talk about the album as a whole. When Recovering the Satellites originally came out, the reception of it was fairly negative among music critics. It was an album that no longer had the radio friendly gleam of their first release, August And Everything After, and many considered the album to have fallen into the phenomenon of the sophomore slump. All of a sudden the lead singer (Adam Duritz) was signing about the issues of stardom and fame, which fans and critics can have a hard time relating to and makes it easy to poke fun of. So if the album is supposedly a slump, why am I writing about it?
Well simply put, if you actually take the time to digest the material, it's actually quit a relatable album. The themes of loneliness, failed long distance relationships, and grappling with your imperfections all resonate. Duritz becomes vulnerable in a way that's more then the superficial it's lonely being on top. Music critic Steve Hyden does a great job articulating these points more (linked below). The themes of Recovering the Satellites, I would say, all builds up to the penultimate song "A Long December". This is where the listener gets the payoff of listening through the album.
One of the things I love about " A Long December" is the discourse it has created over the years. Is it a Christmas Song? Or it is a song about the end of the year? Do you think Die Hard is a Christmas movie then? Either way, you can't argue how bittersweet and hard-hitting this song can be. It's always in my rotation this time of the year and is the balm that's needed to get through the happy, yet stressful holiday season (at least for me).
So on Dec 31, 2022 I would like to cap off this blog post by saying "hold onto these moments as they pass" as we head into 2023 and happy New Years!
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Highlighted song and lyrics:
A Long December- "I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower/ Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her"
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Similar bands to check out:
Hootie and the Blowfish, Matchbox Twenty, The Wallflowers, Dave Matthew Band
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Reviews and links to check out:
Avclub.com- Review
Rollingstone.com- Interview (in podcast form) with Adam Duritz
The Throwback Podcast- Retrospective of Recovering the Satellites
Uproxx.com- Counting Crows’ ‘A Long December’ Is The Best Holiday Song
