The tunes review of what’s new

The MC Music Man takes on: Fountains of Wayne

By: Dustin Looney
Features Editor

Throughout the history of rock ‘n roll, a lot of pop bands have been labeled “one hit wonders,” a band with a single, memorable song that blasts through the charts and gets the band a lot of attention, and then...nothing further. Many people might label Fountains of Wayne as a typical one-hit-wonder band: most people don’t know of them for any song other than the immensely popular (and very funny) “Stacy’s Mom” which was released in 2003.

Despite that easily reached misconception, Fountains of Wayne, or FOW, has a lot more to offer than a single hit. For one thing, “Welcome Interstate Managers,” the album that introduced “Stacy’s Mom,” received a Grammy nomination--no small feat for an alleged “one hit wonder” band. Recently, the band released their fourth studio album, “Out-Of-State Plates,” and it contains some real gems.

Fountains of Wayne has been together for about 10 years and features Chris Collingwood as the lead singer and backup guitarist, Adam Schlesinger on bass, Jody Porter on lead guitar and Brian Young on drums. Their style of music has been described as anywhere from “power pop” (due to some killer guitar licks) to “nerd rock” (lyrics about teeny bopper love).

Collingwood and Schlesinger are the band’s driving force and they are known for writing witty, often funny tunes that usually tell a story as the song unfolds. They generally write their songs in other people’s shoes, so one song might be about a grade-school boy lusting after his friend’s hot mom, as in “Stacy’s Mom,” and the next might be about a young college quarterback, as in “All Kinds of Time.” Both songs have made their mark as background music for commercials for Pepsi and the NFL, respectively.

FOW continues their knack for amusing lyrics in “Out-Of-State Plates,” which was released in 2005. The two disc CD is a collection of songs written and recorded by the band over the last 10 years that were not included on their previous studio albums. It also has two new songs, which are perhaps the best tracks on the album.

“Out-Of-State Plates” also illustrates the diversity in FOW’s music, as pop, rock ‘n roll and acoustic music can be found on the CD.

The two album CD offers plenty of examples of the band’s style: Disc one contains 14 tracks, while the second disc has 16 tracks. The following tracks are some of my personal favorites from the CD:

“Maureen” is one of the two new songs on the album. It illustrates FOW’s style perfectly: an irresistibly catchy, upbeat song that tells a sharp story about a girl who can’t keep her love-life to herself--told from the perspective of a “platonic” boyfriend who just does not want all the details. He pleads with her to “keep it light and keep it clean.”

The next track on disc one is “California Sex Lawyer,” which, as indicated by the title, exemplifies the band’s humorous and unique lyrics. According to the liner notes, Chris and Adam came up with the title while sitting in the quiet of their lawyer’s reception area.

“I’ll Do The Driving” is one of my personal favorites on “Out-of-State Plates.” It’s a slow song for FOW’s style, but it is catchy and has clever metaphors throughout the song. It also reveals a common theme of FOW songs: the desire to take care of girls with problems. According to Chris’ notes, the song really pisssed off his wife. A favorite lyric: “I turn my head and pretend not to hear what she said.”

Another song that really showcases the band’s diversity is “I Want You Around,” which has a 70s feel with strong back-up vocals.

The first musical track on the second CD is the other new song, “The Girl I Can’t Forget.” This fan favorite is another hard-driving pop/rock song with a memorable story and lyrics, such as, “And I wondered what I did or said that I might soon regret/ It was the night I can’t remember with the girl I can’t forget.”

The song tells a story about a guy who has a date with a really cool girl, but he ends up getting drunk and doesn’t recall a thing, except that the girl was really special. The next day he is told by friends that he got into a fight and had to be bailed out of jail... but all ends well: the girl e-mails a message the next day to meet her and give it “one more try.” Every guy should experience at least one night (and one girl) like that in his life.

The next track on the second CD is “...Baby One More Time,” which is a cover of a well-known Britney Spears pop song. I never thought I would stoop to review a Britney Spears song, but FOW turns it into a slow rock song, and if any band can pull it off, it’s them. In an NPR interview after the release of “Welcome Interstate Managers,” the band members claimed, somewhat immodestly, to be the best cover band ever. Believe it or not, another “cover” song on the album is a Dionne Warwick tune, “Trains and Boats and Planes.” The liner notes recommend that you do yourself a favor and get Dionne’s version.

Another catchy song on the second disc is “Elevator Up,” which is something of a tribute to the 60s and shows off the band’s musical skills, ending with a stellar guitar solo. According to Chris, it is “a song about drugs, culled from extensive interviews with people who have actually done them.”

“These Days” is another song that shows the diverse style of Fountains of Wayne. The song displays Collingwood’s versatile voice in a cover of a Jackson Browne song, a slow, mellow number that sounds much like a Bob Dylan song.

The songs I mentioned are some of my personal favorites, but there are several other great tracks on the album. Considering “Out-of-State Plates” is composed mostly of tracks that did not make the cut for FOW’s previous albums, I think it is a high-quality CD.

I saw Fountains of Wayne perform live shortly after they released “Welcome Interstate Managers.” It was an outdoor concert, performed in a downpour (the band was in a sheltered area). The band had high energy and the crowd was unbelievably enthusiastic, despite the rain. Every song was performed just like they sound on their albums.

FOW’s first CD is self titled, their second CD is “Utopia Parkway” and their third is “Welcome Interstate Managers.” I highly recommend them all. The group is currently working on their fifth studio album, scheduled for release this fall.