Unable to let go of the golden age of corporate modern rock, your intrepid blogmaster still gets giddy when he comes across somebody else who remembers Hum or Sponge.
If you've been in a Best Buy recently, you know they've made some mistakes in the last few years in regard to exclusive CDs. Guns 'n Roses' Chinese Democracy is the biggest example, but you can still find minimum 6 or 7 copies of Scott Weiland's Happy in Galoshes in any Best Buy as well.
For Black Friday 2008, Best Buy sold six-song EPs of greatest hits from Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, Weezer, the Cars, Three Doors Down, and Linkin Park. They cost $5.99 and were placed in prominent positions for people to buy as stocking stuffers. The Weezer one contains "Buddy Holly" and "Say it Ain't So" (but nothing from Pinkerton), while the STP one has "Sex Type Thing," "Wicked Garden," "Big Empty," etc. Not a terrible idea, and they probably sold quite a few to clueless parents who were just looking for something their kid would like.
The problem is, Best Buy manufactured waaaay more than they sold. And now, two and a half years later, their mistake is your gain. Happened to be in Best Buy yesterday, and I saw that all of the six-pack CDs are now on sale for 99 cents. And there were a lot: I counted roughly 30 STPs, 20 or so Weezers, 25 Three Doors Downs. I already own STP's greatest hits and the Blue Album, but I did pick up the Cars one. Chances are these things will be on blowout prices until they're gone, so if you're interested, swing by and pick one up.
I've been out of town, and my inbox has filled up with lots of tourdates. So here's a round-up:
* Alanis Morrisette (still not fat), September-November, US and Canada * Less than Jake w/Rancid and Reel Big Fish, September, Pacific Northwest and Canada * Nine Inch Nails, now through October, US and Mexico * Cake, September and October, Canada and the Northeast * Counting Crows, on tour through October with Maroon 5, US (plus Toronto) * Jackopierce, September-November, US * Beck, August 21-October 3, US * Everlast, August 15 - October 29, US * Juliana Hatfield, September, major US cities * Smashing Pumpkins' "20th anniversary tour," August 8-20, Midwest and Southeast * Liz Phair, performing Exile to Guyville in its entirety, August 27-29, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston * Everclear, August and September, Midwest and Northeast
Over at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, they've got a couple of mp3s from the new Counting Crows album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings, out March 25. And... I'm not that impressed. The faster track, "1492," dates to at least 2000, and possibly as far back as 1997. The softer song, "When I Dream of Michaelangelo," deliberately echoes a 1996 hit, "Angels of the Silences."
Make no mistake, this is almost surely Counting Crows' last shot at being a big-time mainstream band, and not a cult nostalgia act. Their last big hit was almost four years ago and was a goofy, out-of-character pop song from a Shrek soundtrack. The hit before that was a Joni Mitchell cover with Vanessa Carlton, from 2003. To find the last time a real, sounds-like-Counting-Crows song was all over radio, you have to go back to 1999 and "Hangin' Around."
Now they still have a fanbase: they did a tour of minor-league baseball stadiums last summer with Live and Collective Soul (here's "Hangin' Around" from Tulsa with Graham Colton helping out:)
When you consider every one of their original albums has hit the Billboard Top 10, and a live album released last June managed to land at #52, maybe they'll be OK. Or maybe that's a sign that, like REM, Pearl Jam, or Tori Amos, they've got a fanbase who will buy anything the first week. Look at their sales figures: 1994: August and Everything After - 7x platinum 1996: Recovering the Satellites - double-platinum 1998: Across a Wire: Live in New York - platinum 1999: This Desert Life - platinum 2002: Hard Candy - gold 2004: Films about Ghosts (best of) - gold Now consider that their live performances in the last few years can charitably be called erratic (I personally witnessed Adam Duritz have some sort of on-stage breakdown during a show in Atlanta in the summer of 2005, and have heard other stories), the long layoff and the fact that many of the hardcore fans were turned off by the Joni Mitchell cover and the Shrek song. And this might not turn out so well.
Now, supposedly Duritz has dropped 50 pounds and conquered his demons, and the band is ready to retake their spot atop the pantheon. I hope it happens. When they were at their best, they were a great band. Maybe they can be again.
