I don’t know that “carefree” is an adjective generally applied to the music of Counting Crows. Formerly dreadlocked Adam Duritz¹ and his homeboys usually traffic in earnestness or a plaintive sadness. So it was nice to hear the band chill out a bit and lead their third album, 1999’s This Desert Life, off with the comparatively raucous “Hanginaround”. The song’s a barrel of fun, guaranteed to put a smile on your face (unless you really dislike Counting Crows; in which case, pull the stick out of your ass already.) Maybe the band looked at a royalty check before going into the studio to record. Maybe Adam finally realized that he was dating super-hot Hollywood starlets when he was (subjectively, of course) an attractiveness “5”. Knowing that you’re batting way out of your league and crushing it anyway is bound to make anyone cheese grin for at least a few minutes, eh?

¹-About. Damn. Time.