Fountains of Wayne’s fourth, and most recent, album is 2007’s Traffic and Weather. It’s similar in tone and content to their previous three although, for my money, the songwriting isn’t quite as strong.
Traffic and Weather continues the FOW pattern of turning life’s mundane details into pop art. The album features a song about a guy crushing on a pretty teller while waiting in line at the DMV; one about buying a ’92 Subaru (with an “alarm system so confusing we can’t even get in”); another about a drive down I-95 to meet your girlfriend.
‘New Routine’ is a peppy gem tucked away toward the end of the album. I like how the narrative hops from one character to the next, a sort of six degrees of dissatisfaction. The references to Costco and La Quinta are typical of this album (the first single describes a man who listens to Coldplay and a woman who watches ‘The King of Queens’). As much as I love their real-world poetry, I wonder how well these songs will play 50 years from now.
Though I suspect, God willing, Costco will still be around then.
Both of them look quite a bit like Carl Reiner
One of them is smoking even though the sign says not to
The waitress says to stop, he says sorry but I’ve got to
They tell each other jokes that they both know that they both know
They talk about real estate, prostates, Costco
And when they finish up they leave a twenty on the table
The waitress picks it up with their half-eaten bagels
And when her shift is over she goes back to Mineola
Sits on the couch, opens up a diet cola and says
I’m so, I’m so sick of this place
I’m so ready for a change of pace
I’m just looking for a new routine
So she spins her globe
And the next thing you know
She’s living in Liechtenstein
She doesn’t speak German, only high school Spanish
But within a few weeks she discovers she can manage
But there’s not much going on except for banking and skiing
So she breaks up with the man that she just started seeing
He drops her at the airport in a diesel Mercedes
Thinks to himself I’m so feeble with the ladies and I
I’m so, I’m so sick of this place
I’m so ready for a change of pace
I’m just looking for a new routine
So he grabs his cap
Throws a dart at a map
And now he’s living in Bowling Green
He talks his way into
A job at La Quinta
Falls for the manager
Who’s moving back to Canada
She’s tried Roanoke, Rekjavik, Rome
Says you’re really sweet but I just want to go home
Two men sit in the corner of a diner
One of them says I might take a trip to China
It’s one of those things we should do before we’re too old
Thanks but no thanks, bring me back an egg roll
Bring it back
Bring it back
Bring it back
Bring it back
Meet Me In Montauk 
I was so hoping to find a clip from a recent episode of Modern Family, when Mitchell and Cameron shop in Costco. Hilarious stuff. Alas, no luck.
I tend to think that the works (novels, movies, songs) most fully invested in their time tend to be the ones that stand up best throughout time. They become a sort of time capsule in addition to the wonderful book/film/song they initially were. Sure, future audiences will need to consult a dictionary of cultural literacy to get all the jokes, but doesn’t that make the process all the more rewarding?
Hey, if they don’t want to work that hard, they can always flip to the FOW cover of Britney Spears’ gem 😛
I’ve always thought that movies designed as period pieces age better than others… not sure if that supports or contradicts your theory. Dazed and Confused is a wonderful depiction of the 70s that could have been filmed in pretty much any decade. It is dated by what has been deliberately placed in front of the camera, not by the techniques and atmosphere behind the camera.
Oh, and I know the Costco scene you’re talking about. “What is this place?” That’s a good show.
Are you watching Modern Family? We’re loving it.
Anyway, I remember being in 9th grade reading Shakespeare plays containing numerous phrases and references unique to that time. Each was footnoted to explain the reference. Quite honestly, after about the 50th footnote, I found the exercise entirely tedious and remember thinking how much more effortless and enjoyable the play would have been back in the 16th century.
In hindsight, I’m sure the way we studied Shakespeare was the worst way possible. It would have been far better to have seen the play, preferably live, letting the dated references wash over us so we could just obtain an overall enjoyment and appreciation of the story and structure. Then, after having that base level of appreciation, we could have gone back and discussed the references, which would have presumably enhanced, rather than detracted, from the experience.
So note to person who finds this blog or song 50 years from now, just listen to the song first and then, if you dig it, go back and look up the Costco and La Quinta reference. FN 1
By the way, my bet is that Costco survives, but La Quinta doesn’t. Unless, of course, by that time, Costco contains a La Quinta in the back corner behind the tire section. Seriously, “what is this place?”:)
1. “Dig it” was a phrase first made popular in the 1960’s, meaning “Can you appreciate it?”
Funny stuff you guys, and in my research for hotels and motels that take dogs, La Quinta is one that does, so I hope that they’re around and available as we make our way south 🙂 Costco will survive because as someone once said to me, “if you haven’t shopped at Costco, you have nothing to talk about”
🙂 my favorite line from the Modern Family Costco episode was when Cameron finally gave himself fully over to the Costco experience and wanted to buy two years worth of diapers. When Mitchell asked him where they would store all the diapers, Cameron says, “They sell sheds.” 🙂
LOVED IT.