The first time I heard the music of Fountains of Wayne, or at least one half of Fountains of Wayne, I had no idea who they were. It was the title song of Tom Hanks’ directorial debut, That Thing You Do!, a burst of bubble gum pop that perfectly created the sound of the Beatles-wannabes chronicled in the film. That was in 1996, and it wouldn’t be until three years later that I caught on to the band and discovered they were behind that tune.

1996 also marked the release of Fountains of Wayne’s self-titled debut album, a tight bright collection that perfectly introduced their sound and sensibility. I’ll spend this week featuring songs from that album and the four that followed.

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