That's a pretty cold sentiment and Duritz knows it.

"'You Can't Count on Me' is about that — uglier than I actually am," he said.  "'All this pain gets me high and I get off.'  Well, I'm not really that way but I might as well be because - what started to occur to me at that point is you can have all the good intentions in the world.  I don't cheat on people, I'm a good guy.  If you hurt people over and over again, does it really matter?  By the same token if you have all the worst intentions in the world and the most selfish motives, if you do good things, does it matter? I don't know. I'm not sure."

Most artists have, on some level, a desire to have their work understood.  For Duritz it seems all the more important that his work be understood because he and his art are inextricably linked.  Understanding Counting Crows' music may not reveal all there is to no about the man, but it seems virtually impossible to understand the man without understanding the work.  That link between life and art is something Duritz explores in "When I Dream of Michaelanegelo."

"'Michaelangelo,' you're dreaming about reaching something divine in your art but you realize - the real point of that song is you've spent your whole life reaching for something and you forgot to touch anyone real," he said.  "You have no connections to real people... the guy is starting to realize that he could change but not in time for her.  He can't keep himself focused on her so he's going to leave her."

The lyrics don't leave much hope for redemption but the final notes of "Come Around" haven't completely crushed those hopes, either.  Maybe it's because there's an optimist in you, hoping that all the pain and loathing leads to something more than an incredible record.  It could also be guilt working - guilt that you see more of yourself in some of the dark corners of the record than you'd like to admit or guilt because you've enjoyed a record born of so much pain for so many people.

This is Part 2 of my interview with Adam Duritz.  You can read Part 1 here or you can hear the entire interview as it was recorded for the B-Sides Concept Album on BlogTalkRadio.