Adam Duritz doesn’t care if you think he’s cool or not

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows really couldn’t care less whether the music world finds him cool or not, writes Ed Power

ARE Counting Crows as important as Nirvana? Such was the case put forward, sort of, in respected online journal Grantland recently, with author Steven Hyden drawing fascinating parallels between these two icons of the early 1990s.

“Both bands were signed to the same label, Geffen. They even had the same A&R guy, Gary Gersh. They were both known primarily for songs – ‘Mr Jones’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ – that commented ironically on the entertainment industry. August and Everything After [Counting Crow’s debut] and Nirvana’s Geffen debut, Nevermind, were both pop-oriented smashes that led to noisier, angrier, and less successful follow-ups… Both bands were fronted by singer-songwriters known for their struggles with mental illness and love lives that unfolded in the tabloids.”