Einstein On The Beach (For An Eggman)

With references to the classic children's poem Humpty Dumpty (the "eggman" in this song), this can be seen as a statement on what we're able to achieve if we accept the possibility of failure (falling off the wall). Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz tells us, however, that it's "Just kind of a goofy thing I did." He does concede that it might have some meaning, though. "It sort of takes the idea of, what if you're someone who's a brilliant mathematician like Albert Einstein or any of us doing creative work on something that seems so clean and brilliant, and then it turns out to be an atomic bomb," he said. "It's your idea, which is so amazing and graceful in and of itself, but it turns into something not so great." Duritz wrote the song with the band's guitarist, Dave Bryson.

In Adam's estimation, this song was recorded around 1991 when the band was just starting out, and it was a home recording. He didn't consider the song for their debut album August and Everything After, but when their label, Geffen Records, asked him for a song they could use on their DGC Rarities Volume 1 album, Adam turned it over, figuring that nobody would ever hear it. These "rarities" albums were a way for record companies to make use of the musical detritus that wasn't otherwise released. Rarities Volume 1 also contained songs by Nirvana, Weezer, The Sundays and Teenage Fanclub, but nothing that would interest radio. "Einstein," however, was pegged as a hit and the label sent it to radio stations. The song made #45 on the Billboard Airplay chart and topped the Alternative Songs chart.

When this song caught on, it caused Adam Duritz considerable consternation, as he was trying to avoid a Hootie & the Blowfish situation where their songs got played so much that listeners turned on them. To guard against overexposure, Duritz refused to make a video for "Rain King" and cut back on promotion for the album once they saturated the airwaves.