# In Utero v. August and Everything After **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 19, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265 "2013-09-19T21:22:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/1 "2013-09-19T21:22:31Z")
It’s the 20th anniversary of two seminal American records of the 90s. Nirvana’s _In Utero_ and Counting Crows’ _August and Everything After_ came out a week apart in 1993. Which do you prefer? Why? Has your opinion changed over the years? Here’s a [link](http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9680725/nirvana-utero-counting-crows-august-everything-20-years-later) to an article about them from [Grantland.com](http://Grantland.com). ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/2 "2013-09-19T21:59:18Z")
I read that article. I think it is a reach. But I never really took to Counting Crows; I respect the talent but found their stuff a bit too whiny for my tastes. In Utero holds up well. I just wish we had more material to assess Nirvana/Cobain by… ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/3 "2013-09-19T22:33:27Z")
I loved _Nevermind_, and I remember feeling that _In Utero_ was a little too raw for my taste at the time. _AaEA_ definitely embodied the whiny, slacker movement of the early/mid-90s. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/4 "2013-09-19T23:18:46Z")
I can’t believe it is a tie, then again it is only 3-3. In Utero is pretty close to perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/5 "2013-09-20T00:01:35Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I can’t believe it is a tie, then again it is only 3-3. > > In Utero is pretty close to perfection. 5-5 now. And I’m surprised it’s still a tie. I like that Counting Crows album, but In Utero seems like a no-brainer to me. Go figure. Different strokes… ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/6 "2013-09-20T00:09:56Z")
The Counting Crows album is certainly more “accessible” and was much more successful, so I imagine a lot of people remember it fondly. It is, after all, an opinion poll. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/7 "2013-09-20T01:30:20Z")
In Utero is an amazing followup to Nevermind. It’s different and manages to show an entirely different side of the band’s genius. It’s the better album by a mile. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/8 "2013-09-20T02:14:57Z")
Never much liked the Counting Crows, so this is an easy one for me. (Plus, _In Utero_ is just a phenomenal record without needing to be compared to anything.) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/9 "2013-09-20T06:53:54Z")
Counting Crows gives me the smooth, mellow hives. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/10 "2013-09-20T11:33:44Z")
_August and Everything After_ does it for me more. Same in '93. I just prefer the lyrics and the music style of Counting Crows. Additionally is the fact that A&EA is a debut, whereas IU was a sophomore effort (and [I didn’t like it](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophomore_slump)anywhere near as much as _Nevermind_) (ETA or not, forgot about Bleach) Now _A&EA_ or _Vs._, **that’d** be too close to call for me. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/11 "2013-09-20T12:57:16Z")
With all the great bands out there I truly cannot understand any fondness for Counting Crows. Seriously. What is their appeal? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/12 "2013-09-20T13:02:26Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > With all the great bands out there I truly cannot understand any fondness for Counting Crows. > > Seriously. What is their appeal? People like all kinds of different things Although I’m in Seattle, I don’t care for Nirvana. Some people like jazz, some people like the Carpenters. It’s a crazy world. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/13 "2013-09-20T13:07:50Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > With all the great bands out there I truly cannot understand any fondness for Counting Crows. > > Seriously. What is their appeal? Really? They sound kinda singer-songwriter with a bit more oomph to their sound. Very much in the tradition of the Laurel Canyon 70’s-type stuff - you can argue whether they do a poor, good or great job of it, but that is what I hear. There’s a fine line between perfect crossover rock - e.g., Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours; Sheryl Crow’s first few albums - and blandness that just goes in one ear and out the other…I think the CC’s are more than just bland (that’s matchbox 20 to me, from the same era), but it just happens that I don’t like their approach to getting above the bland - again, per my post upthread, I find them too whiny… ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/14 "2013-09-20T13:23:13Z")
I don’t see how these two albums have anything to do with each other in any way other than they were released a day apart. I can’t imagine a great many people own both of these albums; we may as well be comparing **Slayer** ’s _Seasons in the Abyss_ with whatever crap Celine Dion was putting out at the time. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/15 "2013-09-20T16:25:15Z")
Counting Crows has some nice poetry. That’s their appeal to me. Kind of like DMB but with less pretention (but there is definitely _some_ pretention!) I’m not voting…I like them both, for different reasons. Apples & oranges. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/16 "2013-09-20T16:42:57Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I don’t see how these two albums have anything to do with each other in any way other than they were released a day apart. I can’t imagine a great many people own both of these albums; we may as well be comparing **Slayer** ’s _Seasons in the Abyss_ with whatever crap Celine Dion was putting out at the time. I’m going to go out on a very short limb and assume that 90s teenagers surely own/owned both. I know I do. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/17 "2013-09-20T16:46:41Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I don’t see how these two albums have anything to do with each other in any way other than they were released a day apart. Well, they’re both part of the generic alterative 90s music landscape and would get played on the same radio stations (at least here in the Chicago market you’d here both Nirvana and Counting Crows on Q101 and WXRT). And it seemed like everyone in college had a copy of both at the time, at least among my friends. ETA: Ninja’ed by **Justin**. I personally didn’t own a copy of either at the time, but it didn’t matter, as their music was _everywhere_. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/18 "2013-09-20T16:46:44Z")
These two albums shouldn’t even be uttered in the same breath. Nirvana is a classic and Counting Crows is whiny drivel. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/19 "2013-09-20T17:22:43Z")
August and Everything After vs. Pearl Jam’s Vs. would be a much harder choice for me. I never much cared for Nirvana. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265/20 "2013-09-20T17:35:25Z")
Yeah, there is no doubt to me that _In Utero_ is the better album. But I still prefer to listen to _August And Everything After_ more often. So I voted for that. Of course I would pick _Vs._ over both of them 90% of the time. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-utero-v-august-and-everything-after/669265.md?page=2)