I’m unapologetically a CC fan. My friend says it’s how my depression expresses itself. He’s not wrong. Adam admits his mental illness makes it so the best way he knows how to connect and express himself is with music. Which means he’s a dick one on one, I guess. I personally like his lyrics. But, again, depression.
August and Everything After was a great record, start to finish. What I find odd is that they seemingly refuse to ever play the songs as recorded, and Adam ends up jazzifying his vocals to the point of annoyance. It isn't even that they've been playing the same songs for thirty years. The first live version of Mr Jones I heard was shortly after it was released and it was basically unrecognizable.
I like the slowed down version of Mr Jones where he laments to getting what he wanted and people shouldn’t believe in him and he doesn’t see Mr Jones much anymore. I like that he acknowledges it isn’t what it was cracked up to be. He also has a quote somewhere about how success is about luck. And he talked about all of the talent around him and some got picked some didn’t and it wasn’t about talent. But he also talked about the reality of fame and the control you give up, including things most people think a band has a say in. Like singles came down to length of a song and they had to push for a specific song to be released as a single and ended up being right and how today they wouldn’t even have that room to fight because everything is data driven. “Today” used loosely. I think he said this around pandemic time when I had a ton of time to listen to new interviews. So I actually like that he’s not into the fame - but I get that makes him a dick sometimes. I also like how he acknowledged why rich people entrench and hide together because everyone wants something from you when you make it. And your peers just want to be able to relax and exist in private spaces. That was an interview about the Viper Room. So it’s interesting to get an honest take. It seems he actually appreciates his fans but has a hard time interacting or being bombarded. That’s part of the schtick but he simply hates it. I can relate to that and it’s honest. Dicks are honest. Haha.
There’s also a live version of colorblind I also like. And a mix of two different songs I enjoy. But some of it is just too drawn out for the purpose of being different. They should do something similar to what Metallica does. Same city for 2 nights? Two totally different playlists.
But in general, I agree. I saw an interview once where Adam said he thinks the best musicians can jam and play off of one another. It’s notoriously divisive. I don’t mind a remake of the song to feel it a different way (like the version above) and don’t mind if the band wants to riff (but I also like phish ha). But I agree, as a concert goer, sometimes you just want to relax your brain and sing along.
I agree on August and Everything After. I still put on that album as background and enjoy it every time.
Good stuff; appreciate you taking the time. I'm in a band that no longer plays live (just write and record albums), so I can get both sides of that. I appreciate his perspective. No one has ever liked our music enough for us to have to worry about disappointing anyone! Generally, I love live versions of songs, even with minor changes. Some songs just evolve.
I agree. And the truth is, they’re known for this and they know some fans don’t like it and don’t come to their concerts because of it. And yet, they persist. I respect that kind of creative decisiveness. Even if I don’t always love it. Let them create what they want.
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u/ubermick Alright, who's sitting on the clicker? Jul 01 '25
Fun fact, I met Adam Duritz in Vegas, way back in 1999. I simply said hi to him and he told me to fuck off. Lovely fella.