I'm going to show my crazy a little here so, forewarned. My close friends know that I was diagnosed with several mental illnesses when I was a teenager, and more later as an adult. I have, over the years, come to not be ashamed of them (for the most part) - they have helped make me who I am, and I am strong as hell. Anyway, EVERYONE knows I am a Counting Crows fangirl, and if you were to ask me about them you would get waaaay more information than you intended. If you want to read my embarrassing open letter to the singer, Adam, you can do so here.
When I was a teenager I, somehow, got a CC's Cd - probably from the used disc place my friends and I used to frequent. Around my friends I mostly listened to metal or something aggressive and dark - NIN, Pantera - that kind of thing. However, when I was alone I toned it way down. I was more an ALT girl than a metal girl at heart. I really loved the grunge scene, and I found that there were a lot of really great songwriters around that were more pop or alt. I can remember laying on my bed, my big 6 disc changer on my dresser that I randomly loaded skipping to a new CD, and being completely blown away by what I heard. I had, of course, heard the Crows before. Mr. Jones was pretty hard to escape, and while I liked that song a lot it was Round Here that Really spoke to me. It made me ache. I felt this connection - I understand these emotions; I know this feeling. I cried. I literally cried. When I rediscovered CC's in 2011 (? or so) I had that same feeling.
I started watching more and more videos of the Crows online. I watched live performances; I listened to them in the background while I worked on homework. Sometimes a song would grab me and I would have to stop what I was doing so I could sing along. During what was absolutely one of the worst times in my life (when my mom was dying) this band got me through the bleakness. How do you thank a band for saving your life? Besides not pirating their music?
Counting Crows will be here in my hometown in a couple of days. I, much to my disappointment, do not have tickets. I entered every crappy contest I could find in an attempt to win a pair, but have not heard back from anyone so alas, my destiny has been denied. My birthday is tomorrow, but we are broke, so I do not have any expectations. Maybe next year? I know I will be watching my concert DVD that night and pretending that I am there.
This post is about a specific band that means something to ME, but I know that any audiophile will relate. There is that one band that speaks to your soul - I often wonder what that band is for friends and family of mine. For my dad? Probably CCR. One of my best friends is most likely Oasis. My mom? Who knows - she loved so much music. Who is that one band for you?
