Tag Archives: Fountains of Wayne

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Song of the Day #6,400: ‘Radiation Vibe’ – Fountains of Wayne

Continuing a countdown of my favorite albums of 1996…

#9 – Fountains of Wayne – Fountains of Wayne

It was power pop band Fountains of Wayne’s second album, 1999’s Utopia Parkway, that brought them to my attention, but after falling in love with that one I quickly sought out their debut and found it equally thrilling.

This collection of a dozen tight, smart pop rock songs is a perfect encapsulation of the talent and ingenuity of band leaders Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger. Every track is catchy and fun, but none of them feel tossed off. There is an attention to craft that was evident on all of the band’s future work.

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Song of the Day #5,398: ‘Denise’ – Fountains of Wayne

When today’s SOTD popped up as the random selection, I was certain I had featured it before. But it turns out I’ve given Fountains of Wayne’s 1999 album Utopia Parkway less attention than I thought.

I posted two songs from the album more than a decade ago, plus two more on Random Weekends over the years. But none of those was ‘Denise,’ the first Fountains of Wayne song I ever heard.

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Song of the Day #4,580: ‘The Senator’s Daughter’ – Fountains of Wayne

Yesterday’s featured artist was a first-timer on the blog, but today’s is a grizzled veteran. This is the 24th Fountains of Wayne track given Song of the Day treatment, and the 10th to show up on Random Weekends.

‘The Senator’s Daughter’ is the closing track on 1999’s Utopia Parkway, an album I rank alongside Welcome Interstate Managers as the band’s best work. And as much as I love Interstate, with a gun to my head I’d probably go with this one.

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Song of the Day #4,566: ‘Hate to See You Like This’ – Fountains of Wayne

Fountains of Wayne’s fifth and final album, 2011’s Sky Full of Holes, is the one I know least. It’s nice, then, to see it pop up on a Random Weekend and treat me to a “new” song.

‘Hate to See You Like This’ is a sweet plea to a loved one who is suffering from depression. I like that the music is more power pop upbeat than you would expect from the lyrics.

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Song of the Day #4,494: ‘Bright Future in Sales’ – Fountains of Wayne

Oddly, my #6 album of 2003 might be even higher on this list if it were a few songs shorter. Fountains of Wayne’s Welcome Interstate Managers starts off with a bang but ends up fizzling out.

But, oh, what a beginning! The first six tracks (‘Mexican Wine,’ ‘Bright Future in Sales,’ ‘Stacy’s Mom,’ ‘Hackensack,’ ‘No Better Place’ and ‘Valley Winter Song’) make up one of the greatest runs I’ve ever heard. Smart, hooky power pop peppered with a couple of melancholy ballads, that stretch is a display of pure songwriting genius by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger.

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