Dave Matthews Band – "Too Much" (1996)

Traffic jam got more cars

Than a beach got sand

Suck it up, suck it up, suck it up

Today is the first day of February.

If you’re a regular reader of 2 or 3 lines, you know that means that it’s time for “29 Posts in 29 Days.”  To quote our old pals Gilbert and Sullivan, “Oh joy! Oh rapture!”

Having two 2 or 3 lines posts a week to enjoy is pretty darn special . . . but having a new 2 or 3 lines post every day for an entire month is much, much specialer.  Even if that month is February, the shortest month of the year.

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This year’s “29 Posts in 29 Days” will feature songs by recording artists that I believe are underrated and overrated.

Many of you will disagree vehemently with one or more of my choices.  Whenever this happens, I would ask you to repeat this famous maxim to yourself: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

I would also ask you to remember that whenever we disagree on whether an artist is overrated or underrated, 2 or 3 lines will be right and you will be wrong.  Capisce, kemosabe?

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You can expect my February posts to be short and sweet.  After all, I have to crank out a new one every day, and I’m a very busy man – for one thing, my current Netflix “My List” has dozens of shows, with more being added regularly.

The “overrated” posts will usually be quite succinct – perhaps even terse.  The music of those artists will speak for itself, and the words that music will speak is “I SUCK!”

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Here are some quotes about the Dave Matthews Band from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website:

They have been called a college band, a jam band, a pop band . . . . Hailing from Charlottesville, Virginia, the band formed in 1991 and cultivated a trademark sound that includes long, intricate solos, non-traditional rock & roll instruments, unique time signatures, and an electric live show.  

[NOTE: “College band” = a band whose audiences are composed mostly of blackout-drunk students.  “Jam band” = a band that does not know when too shut up.]  

The band quickly generated strong word of mouth thanks to endless live shows and an active tape sharing community.

[NOTE: “Endless live shows”?  Truer words were never spoken.  (I didn’t say “endless” – that’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame talking.]

Dave Matthews Band became the top-selling live act from 2000 to 2009 and is the only band to have seven consecutive albums debut at #1.  

[NOTE: It’s truly astonishing that a band can crank out seven #1 albums and not have one single song worth listening to.]

The band has influenced a generation of acoustic-driven singer-songwriters like John Mayer, Jason Mraz, and OAR.

[NOTE: In other words, not only has the DMB produced a lot of crap music itself, it’s inspired many others to produce a lot of crap music.]

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This just in: although they won this year’s fan vote by a wide margin, the DMB were not included in this year’s group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

That is encouraging news for those of us who had pretty much given up on the RaRHoF.  But it was discouraging news for those of you who were still clinging to the hope that Americans aren’t a bunch of stupid wankers.

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So what’s the final 2 or 3 lines verdict on The Dave Matthews Band?  

OVERRATED!

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Click here to listen to “Too Much,” which was released in 1996 on the group’s biggest-selling album to date, Crash:  

The aptly-named song is too much, all right – like about four minutes and 22 seconds too much.

Click on the link below to buy the song from Amazon: