Whatever happened to Fountains of Wayne? (c/d?)

B-b-but..."Hey Julie" and "Hackensack!"

Fer crying out loud people! What about their unquestioned masterpiece, No Better Place? Their best evah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, the WIM hate on here is bananas.

Data point: downloaded the album last night, went to bed, woke up feeling kinda miserable, ate breakfast, started playing new album. Instantly felt less miserable!

Also, WIM is jam-packed with hits.

This new is actually pretty good, I can see myself returning to it a lot more than Traffic and Weather.

All the talk about the mellowness of much of the new one has me hesitant to even listen, even if it supposedly better than the last one. But probably will

It's more of a grower than any of their others (I know that's a weird word to use when describing a power pop band known for instantly likable hits), but worth the effort I think. About a million times better than Traffic and Weather. I'm really enjoying this new one.

They're alternating electronic and acoustic shows on their current US tour (or at least the DC area gigs offer 1 of each)

Electronic?? What have you done with my Fountains of Wayne? (Guessing you mean electric, but if they've gone the full-Mould, it could be...interesting?)

ha

At the time it seemed good, but there's a smarminess to Traffic and Weather that's hard to identify until you hear it alongside the other albums--something in the production is really off and the Desmond & Molly-itis is almost unbearable at times. I think the debut is missing some polish but I can see why people prefer it to their later stuff. IMO the highs aren't as high as on WIM or Utopia.

1. WIM
2. Utopia Parkway
...
3. s/t
....
4. Traffic & Weather

My back of the envelope 1-CD greatest hits would have 4 from FOW and T&W, 5 from Utopia, 8 from WIM, and Maureen. The new one will probably slot in at #4 ahead of T&W. I've listened it to it 9-10 times already and it's holding up. The shirt they give you with the Yep Roc package is also nice.

OK, I take back what I said about "Richie and Ruben". That is some catchy shit.

The Summer Place, Richie & Ruben, Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart and A Drop In The Ocean = great new FoW songs.

I like this more every time I hear it. The only one I'm not sold on right now is "Radio Bar." Think it's the sax.

My wife doesn't understand why I like this band, btw.

I also just realized how much this band reminds me of Grandaddy circa Sumday. "El Caminos In The West" could have been a FoW tune. Anyone ever make this connection?

Gotta say I've never made the connection to Grandaddy, but I have made the connection from both of them to Electric Light Orchestra so there's probably something in that!

I love this record.

Me too. Weirdly, something of a grower, but I find myself passing over, cooler, more recently acquired other things to hear it when I'm driving. I like every song except "Radio Bar" (still not sold on that one).

I chose walking in the sunshine to give this a first listen, and it worked alright, but I'm still not pulled in. I have a feeling that at some point in the future, I'll put it on and it will click, because I can tell that's it pretty solid even if I'm not yet overly-enthused. But the summer season is waning and I feel I need to act right now.

"summer place" was in my head today.

Thought this would be about Hurricane Irene flooding.

We're having a rough time here in NJ. Take a look at Wayne's Willowbrook Mall, just about a mile from what once was the actual Fountains of Wayne store....

http://media.northjersey.com/images/0830a_a3willowbrook.jpg

http://media.northjersey.com/images/0830a_a3willowbrook.jpg

Back to the record, this is quickly becoming my #2 Fountains of Wayne record, right behind Welcome Interstate Managers. It's so much better than Traffic and Weather.

Your second sentence is definitely true, but I can't imagine ranking WIM over either of the first two.

I think I'm with kornrulez

Maybe its nostalgia and all the hours I spent with the first two albums in college as an antidote to all the awful music my roommates were playing at the time, but I think those first two are pretty much perfect power pop albums. I'd rank 'em as:

Fountains of Wayne
Utopia Parkway
Welcome Interstate Managers
Sky Full of Holes (although, with time, I think this may climb to #3)
Traffic and Weatehr (definitely their worst)

I like this new record quite a bit after a couple of listens but unlike their other three good albums, I can't get into it TOO much because there's one song ("Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart") that is so far ahead of the other songs, it's absolutely perfect, maybe the best song they've done since the second album, so the other songs haven't had a fair hearing from me. Might listen to it front to back while skipping that one...

jon OTM. First album is just classic after classic. Traffic and Weather was, I think, them trying too hard to be Steely Dan for middlebrow people, but mostly failed. (Although "Someone To Love" is still great.)

Yeah, a lot of enjoyable but imperfect tracks on the new one. Even "Someone" has a repeat or two too many. Better than traffic and weather which is full some superficially well written songs that are just not that fun to listen to.

I agree that track is the obvious standout though.

Xgau's certainly given them a lot of coverage lately (given his word limit). I dunno, they seem better as singles artists to me.

Just scored their catalogue up through & including Out of State Plates for $6 at a library sale.

"Welcome Interstate Managers" owns

Yes. I love that record.

when I was 14 I was silly and didn't care for "Halley's Waitress" or "Hung Up on You", but I can't really blame myself for being young

Word on the internet street is that Adam Schlesinger has been placed in a medically induced coma as he's treated for COVID-19. Press isn't reporting it yet, but apparently known friends of his have confirmed it.

Hope it's a lie tbh, but also hope he beats it if it's not.

Fuck

Jesus christ

Not in a coma: https://variety.com/2020/music/news/adam-schlesinger-coronavirus-coma-fountains-of-wayne-emmy-winner-1203549825/

well that's...probably good news at least

never seen his credits listed all together before, between all his projects dude has written a frankly ridiculous number of great songs

https://variety.com/2020/music/news/adam-schlesinger-coronavirus-dead-dies-1203552130/

Fuck. Only source I'm seeing so far, but Variety says he died. Hopefully this is proven wrong or premature, damn.

Hell.

local station played radiation vibe the other night as a get well, such a great song, one of the great alt rock songs

Confirmed by Rolling Stone now too, dammit this one stings a lot. Been a fan since catching "Radiation Vibe" on 120 Minutes or something way back when, don't think they ever released a bad album. Also dug that Tinted Windows power-pop confab way more than I would have expected.

Fuck COVID-19.

RIP. The sound of my tweens.

wow

Holy shit... RIP.

Everything's ruined, indeed.

very shocking. this virus does not only hit the elderly or those with (known) pre-existing conditions.