Fountains of Wayne may have just been the best pop band of the 1990s. Passionately admired by some, and completely ignored by most, the band created some of the sweetest, most cleverly melodic guitar music ever recorded. It’s clear to me that Fountains of Wayne is one of the greatest alternative rock bands.
But just how clear is this truth to anyone else? Just how many remember the outrageously strong songwriting of Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlessinger, the Lennon & McCartney of their time?
Let’s act while we still can! These are the 10 best songs by Fountains of Wayne.
Top 10 Greatest Songs by Fountains of Wayne
10. “Leave the Biker”
Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell loved The Beatles as well. They just knew how to hide it better. You had to dig deep in Nirvana or Soundgarden’s music to find the Lennon/McCartney connection.
The opposite happened for Fountains of Wayne. The group was formed, especially, because of a sincere passion for 60s pop. Instead, it needed to align itself with the grunge and alt-rock movements that were still popular in 1996 when the “Fountains of Wayne” debut came out.
Few other bands of the era could produce songs as memorable as “Leave the Biker.” The song establishes a pattern for memorable melodies and tender lyrics, filled equally with jokes and poignant observations about the world at large. Critics, as you can imagine, loved them.
9. “Red Dragon Tattoo”
How many songs did Collingwood and Schlesinger write about unrequited love? Possibly most of them. But, still, few of those compare to “Red Dragon Tattoo,” a sadly undervalued single when it was released in 1999.
It’s all a dream about a girl who’s just out of the protagonist’s league and who doesn’t know what she’s missing. It’s no wonder that you can hear hints of Fountains of Wayne on hits by bands like Wheatus or Neon Trees.
And while Ric Ocasek always bragged about getting the girl in the end, there’s no such luck here. Just a bunch of beautiful, melancholy songs.
8. “I Want an Alien for Christmas”
There’s a strong possibility that Fountains of Wayne could have produced songs on a dime and about any topic. It only makes sense, then, that their discography would include a Christmas number.
Quirky, fun and well-natured, much like the band itself, “I Want an Alien for Christmas” is another earworm for a group that specialised in them, and good enough reason to pick up the odds-and-ends collection “Out-of-State Plates”.
7. “Hey Julie”
The Fountains of Wayne’s debut album taught audiences to expect striking dynamics. That’s precisely why “Hey Julie,” a song, essentially, written around one guitar groove, is so striking. No, the chorus fades into the verse. But just as well, the days of the protagonist blur into each other, until they can see Julie one more time.
“Hey Julie” is a gorgeous love song. And, if Paul McCartney hasn’t heard this one yet, I sure hope that he will some day and see what kinds of artists he’s helped to inspire.
6. “Stacy’s Mom”
Yes, it’s a perfect pop song. And, sure, the Universe was balancing things out when it finally offered Fountains of Wayne the big hit that it deserved.
But, oh, what the cost! What can you expect when the music video features a beautiful Rachel Hunter and gets shown on MTV all the time?
Perfectly constructed and, as always, funny, “Stacy’s Mom” puts Fountains of Wayne in the bizarre predicament of being occasionally classified as one-hit wonders.
While that’s preposterous, and the band has far better songs, not to include the song on this list would still constitute a crime against pop music.
5. “I-95”
You’d expect Fountains of Wayne to produce some beautiful love songs. You’d also expect the band to write the kind of love songs that nobody else could come up with.
The lyrics to “I-95” read like a list of text messages that turn into love letters. The gas station only sells junk, the road signs fade into view, and the distance feels unconquerable. But true romance vanquishes everything.
Critics praised this song upon its release. And while the “Traffic and Weather” album didn’t become a top seller, it’s another cult classic by one of the most underrated bands of all time.
4. “Denise”
There were a few songwriters who got their start in the 1990s and promised to break the code on pop hit singles. And while not many of the Collingwood and Schlesinger tunes actually became hits, I doubt anyone had a better understanding of how guitar pop music worked.
“Denise” is a flawless, effortless power-pop song. One of the most direct tunes that the group ever produced, one that perfectly highlights the involvement of guitarist Judy Porter and drummer Brian Young, “Denise” is the song that, once heard, has to be added to playlists of favourites as soon as possible.
3. “Radiation Vibe”
Songwriters need to study Fountains of Wayne songs carefully. Collingwood and Schlesinger were the closest that alt-rock got to producing a Lennon and McCartney partnership.
But, odds are, that you’ll discover this band late. Why? Blame much of it on the marketing. Pushed into the mainstream, labels didn’t know whether to sell Fountains of Wayne as an eccentric pop band or a meat-and-potatoes alt-rock group. Neither quite fit.
That’s because even on the early single “Radiation Vibe”, there’s great sophistication to the duo’s power-pop songwriting. While it sounds deceptively simple, who else could create that setup for the perfect chorus?
2. “Hackensack”
Like Ween or Bowling for Soup, the members of Fountains of Wayne used jokes as a way to break the ice. But, in the case of this New York City quartet, the humour never outweighed the soulfulness of the song.
“Hackensack” is a masterpiece that starts as a joke and leads toward tragedy each time. Casual audiences probably just got a kick out of hearing Collingwood’s pleasant vocals. However, the lyrics tell a tale of obsessive fandom and regrets for the one who got away. Typically, the storytelling is always punctuated by an irresistible chorus.
1. “Sink to the Bottom”
Fountains of Wayne didn’t make trivial alt-rock. And, no matter how much they were pushed in that direction, they were never just going to rely on Pixies-styled soft-loud-soft dynamics.
When they do approach that territory with the glorious “Sink to the Bottom,” the complexities are in the details. They’re in the way that the chord progressions are set up, in the melodies, or in the manner in which the group quotes The Cars for a new generation.
How this wasn’t as successful as Weezer‘s debut beats me. The songs and performances are sensational, and a must-listen for all fans of power pop.
“Sink to the Bottom” is the shining moment of a short career full of glorious highlights by Fountains of Wayne. This is one of the greatest songs of alternative rock music ever produced.
