Friday January 7, 2022 “Bobby & the Rat Kings” Counting Crows
Here’s a recent release from the Counting Crows, a band that has been around for over thirty years, ouch. Lead singer and primary songwriter Adam Duritz always provides a unique voice and compelling lyrics along with inventive musical arrangements and today's song about that mythical band Bobby & the Rat-Kings is no exception.
Wondering where he draws his vocabulary and allusions from? Duritz said that his doctor parents moved frequently when he was a child and as a result he had no friends, so he read books…180 books in first grade and 218 in second grade.
Adam Duritz tended bar at Los Angeles' famed Viper Lounge throughout the entirety of the band's early peak of fame and continued until after the release of Counting Crows second album which catapulted him further into the celebrity limelight. He has been linked romantically to several high profile actresses, one of the benefits of being a rock star…or maybe a bartender.
The mid-song break clearly sounds very Springsteenish but the rest of the song is pure Counting Crows, and both of those are good things. I encourage you to stick with the lyrics below to enjoy the impact of Dutritz’ s imagery and story.
Stay safe and well…and I keep looking for the touring schedule for Bobby & the Rat-Kings because Adam Duritz has me wanting to see them…but they must already have gone away, and 'we’ll never be the same again'.