Well, Valentine’s Day (or “Singles Awareness Day” as I was recently corrected) has come and passed, but regardless of whether you celebrated on Tuesday or were waiting for the weekend to get down to business we have our lock for Artist of the Week ready for your reading and listening pleasure. When everyone else is buttering up on the romance and the chocolate and flowers, this blogger is choosing to brush up on his witty, irreverent, and sometimes (often) bitter musical catalogue; primarily the power-pop part of that catalogue. Our artist this week most definitely falls into this category. Ladies and gentlemen, we here at Enter the Shell bring you Fountains of Wayne as your Artist of the Week.
Somewhere down the line you’ve likely come across the song that, for a brief time in the early 2000’s, sky-rocketed the garden state band into the spotlight. Yes, we all remember the catchy melody accompanying the neighborhood boy ogling Rod Stewart’s wife for the music video to “Stacy’s Mom,” but what few people truly seemed to grasp was the talent and intellect behind the song. While most people write off Fountains of Wayne as a one-hit-wonder, those who are willing to delve deeper into the band’s library discover a couple of friends who are capable and bright songsmiths with great insight into the progression of an individual’s life.
Adam Schlesinger and Chris Collingwood first met at Williams College in Massachusetts in 1986, but little did they know that they would later become an international sensation. After a few years of playing in bands and, under the guise of Pinwheel, trying to get an album released, the two parted ways until in 1996 they reunited and signed to Atlantic to make what is today the band we know and love. Schlesinger and Collingwood, the primary writers for the band, then enlisted Jody Porter and Brian Young as part of their team and began writing some of the best music a young individual could need to deal with the pointless and pedantic frustrations (or as I call them: the finer points) that typically plague a young suburbanite. For years their power-pop has outlined in comedic form the maturation of youth, the college life, and the struggles of a single adult, giving the listener the feeling that someone out there understands their life’s vexations.
The writing talents of Schlesinger and Collingwood would not stop with their own music however, as the two have expanded their penmanship to the world of the big and little screens. Many movies and TV shows you may not have even realized they wrote the music for. Schlesinger alone has had his work written for or featured in movies such as That Thing You Do! (wrote the title song, performed by longtime friend Mike Viola), Josie and the Pussycats, Music and Lyrics, and has written songs and scores for the Tony and Emmy awards, Stephen Colbert, Howard Stern, Sesame Street, and countless others.
Yes, Fountains of Wayne have certainly done much in their 16 year tenure, their most recent production being 2011’s Sky Full of Holes, with the same loveable power-pop that has served them well, but with a slightly darker side, dealing with the escapes and doldrums of adulthood. The band still serve up their dose of entertainment, and now signed to Yep Roc with the likes of Nick Lowe, Gang of Four, and Liam Finn, they’re in good company. As per usual, get your fix with the links below. Enjoy!
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