Rant: Counting Crows Delay New Disc

My patience is growing thin, my tolerance is waning, and I’m on the verge of losing my mind. Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic but I’m certainly tired of waiting for a new Counting Crows album. Suffice to say that I’m not pleased the band’s forthcoming effort Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings is being pushed back to January from its original November release date. For God’s sake Adam, I’m one of your biggest fans but would you just put out a new CD already?

Back in August, I wrote an article that was more or less on the band's side with regards to their lengthy absences between albums. I’m not ecstatic about having only four releases of original music over the course of fourteen years, but since all the discs are of excellent quality, I don’t make a fuss. Hey, I’m a die-hard Blue Jays supporter, once again in agony from missing the playoffs, but two World Series wins in twenty years is a dream come true for some poor fans, so I digress. The point is, I’ll take quality over quantity (are you listening Woody Allen?). Two months ago I was all for Adam taking his time to ensure us a great record, maybe even the Crows best yet. But now? Now he’s crossed the line.

Five years. It’s been five years since the release of the Crows last album Hard Candy, and now I’m just wondering what they’ve been doing all this time and how the hell two months is going to make any difference? December is pretty much a wash because everybody knows it’s for lazing around the house watching every Christmas movie known to man and opening presents, so technically all they have is one extra month.

As if directly responding to my inner-menace, Adam recently told Billboard, “Between all the touring and the traveling and the mixing and mastering of the new album and putting together the package ... we just let some little things fall through the cracks. There are videos and singles and so many things to decide on and finish and it's just not the time in our career to be rushing important decisions.”

Pardon me Adam, but did you just say you’re on crack? I’ve always thought Duritz was a little strange (and it’s not just the hair), but this seems like a load of codswallop. Making us wait five years and then delaying for two months might seem trivial, but I say it matters plenty. Why? Because it makes me indifferent. It’s like anticipating the lemon meringue pie after Thanksgiving dinner and then realizing in horror that the crazy Aunt who was responsible for dessert forgot the meringue. I mean sure I’ll eat it, but it’s just not the same; it’s not even like lemon pie anymore, but merely yellow slop with a crust under it.

Instead of highly anticipating Saturday Nights, Sunday Mornings, I’ll now probably forget about it until January, whereupon I’ll remember how angry I was and proceed to begrudgingly buy it in hopes of the only thing that can save it: perfection. So here’s to you Adam, I trust you’ll skip TBS’s twenty-four hours of A Christmas Story and I hope you find whatever it is you’ve dropped down the rabbit hole. I mean the cracks.