Here's the return of the (dare I say) incredibly buzzworthy new weekly (if I feel like it) feature where I talk about older albums I really like that have not gotten the attention I feel they deserve.
Today's going to be a little different: I'm going to be talking about two albums from New Jersey power pop band Fountains of Wayne because a) I was unable to choose between the two albums, b) I wasn't able to post anything last week and consequently feel I owe an extra album this week, and c) this is my blog, and I can do whatever the hell I feel like doing, ok? Now let's get to the writer-crutch headings...
Band: Fountains of Wayne
Genre thoughts: It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone reading this (unless I'm still getting Russian traffic, in which case за ваше здоровье!) that I am a big fan of the musical genre known as power pop. Taking a step back a bit, one of the great things about music is that it can be so many different things to a person, changing constantly with a person's current situation, their mood, hell even the weather. Because of this, I try not to disparage any artist or genre as being too mellow, or too sad, or too intellectual, or too aggressive, or too whatever, because I know there may come a time when that type of music is exactly what I want. To everything there is a season (I just came up with that).
Consequently meditations on mortality, loss, social injustice, or the trials and tribulations of the Tibetan people have their place, but if I'm reaching for them more often than every once and awhile, something may be wrong. The majority of my life I hope to be in a happy mood, and the music I'd like to listen to is something that matches that mood, namely something preferably upbeat and hopeful with a melody that's catchy and can get stuck in my head. And it is precisely here where power pop delivers.
Most here are probably at least somewhat familiar with Fountains of Wayne; I'd imagine everyone has at least heard their 2003 single "Stacy's Mom" (except again maybe the Russians; I don't really know how many years behind us you comrades are pop culturally). What a lot of people probably don't realize is that I consider Fountains of Wayne to be the best American power pop band of the past twenty years, provided Neko Case's American citizenship doesn't make the New Pornographers an American band (and it doesn't, by the way).
First Album: Fountains of Wayne
Year: 1996
Background: Made back when Fountains of Wayne only consisted only of the duo of Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood (they would later go on to add two more members), this album of tight catchy pop songs was recorded in only five days. Considering 1996 was right in the smack dab in the middle of the post-grunge phase (or grunge's second wave, or third wave, or whatever: it was when bands like Bush and Everclear were seemingly everywhere), Fountains of Wayne stood out for being comprised of straighforward angst-free pop songs. If you've encountered this album by accident before, chances are it was one of two songs: either "Radiation Vibe" or "Sink to the Bottom."
Is it any good?: Personally, I don't think Fountains of Wayne has ever been better than on their debut album. The one thing that has been consistent with all the Fountains of Wayne albums - in addition to Adam Schlesinger's writing of "That Thing You Do!" (arguably my favorite original song in a movie ever) and contributions to the soundtrack for Josie and the Pussycats (which may need its own underrated blog post: the album was produced by Babyface, sung by Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley, and features writing contributions from Schlesinger, Adam Duritz, Matthew Sweet, and the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin) - is that they seemingly effortlessly write catchy hooks, and their self-titled debut is no exception. Any one of these songs can get lodged into your head for weeks on end.
What separates this album from some of their later albums is that this one still has a little bit of a jagged edge to it. This may be because of the quick recording process, but more likely it's just because crunchy guitars were very much de rigueur in 1996. However, whereas some of their later albums' clean production combined with catchy melodies can lead to too much of a sweet on sweet scenario, here the guitars provide a nice contrast: the songs are hummable, but the guitars still pack a bit more of a punch.
Further, the fuzzed-out vibe really fits with the band's slacker ethos at this time. Take opening track "Radiation Vibe": the thing manages to get into my head, but not only do I have no idea what they're singing about, the song barely even has any lyrics. In 1996 a lot of bands passionately sung about how little they care, but Fountains of Wayne managed to genuinely appear as if they did not give a fuck.
Two other standouts on the album: "Sink to the Bottom," which is the only song I heard from the album while in high school and managed to inform a cynical romanticism in me that I am more than a little embarrassed to say led to some overwrought behavior and more than a little bit of terrible poetry, and "Leave the Biker," which is probably my favorite Fountains of Wayne song and features catchy bouncy guitars. I kinda wish the chorus rhymed, but one can't have everything.
Selections:
Radiation Vibe
Next album: Welcome Interstate Managers
Year: 2003
Background: This actually is the band's third album: in between Fountains of Wayne and this, Schlesinger did his aforementioned soundtrack work, the band picked up two new members, and they released 1999's decent but not great Utopia Parkway. This album, though, is the one that primarily put Fountains of Wayne on the map, primarily on the back of lead single "Stacy's Mom," which was seemingly everywhere in 2004.
Is it any good?: This is a stupid heading: would I be writing about the album if it wasn't good? This album will likely go down as Fountains of Wayne's definitive career statement, and if that ends up being the case, the band should be pleased with themselves. As I mentioned above, the production is a little cleaner here: there are still some uptempo rock songs, but they no longer have a grungy veneer. Along with that the band seems to have dropped the slacker vibe as well: they're still miles away from being self-serious, but you actually can tell what subject matter the band is singing about, and those subjects are at least slightly more varied than just romantic longing.
I would say this album has a few more duds than Fountains of Wayne (Welcome Interstate Managers is a bit front-loaded), which is why I slightly prefer their debut, but I'm not so sure the highs here aren't higher. Ubiquitous pop songs tend to be denigrated a bit after the fact, but "Stacy's Mom" deserves a better fate: if making songs this pleasing were easy, everyone would do it. "Hackensack" displays the maturity I was discussing earlier: it manages to be catchy and melancholic at the same time. Behind the unassailable glory that is "The Super Bowl Shuffle", "All Kinds of Time" is probably the second best pop song about football ever. I enjoy "Little Red Light" because of how outdated it is not ten years later ("Do kids even know what an answering machine is anymore?" he asked cantankerously). And finally, "Hey Julie" is just a light-hearted enjoyable song that I can't stop humming (it also was prominently featured in a later season episode of Scrubs).
Selections:
Stacy's Mom
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