Fountains of Wayne - "Traffic and Weather"

Everyone will appreciate well-produced melodic pop with the right kind of musical schooling.

-- Geir Hongro, Tuesday, April 10, 2007 4:25 PM (1 hour ago)

So I bought this, listened a few times, was bored with it, but then my wife started playing it constantly and now it's grown on me, to the point that I think I like it as much as Welcome Interstate Managers -- though there's nothing on ToW to compare to the 1-2-3 punch of "Bright Future in Sales," "Mexican Wine," and "Stacy's Mom."

But really I just came on this thread to say that "Leave the Biker" is plainly about the inadequacy of the viewpoint character -- it's not the biker, but the lonely guy who bitches and moans about how nice guys can't get girls, who's the butt of the joke here.

Certainly #4 qualitatively as well as chronologically among their albums, and it does contain their flat-out worst song ("Revolving Dora"), but it's still pretty solid. Three tracks stand out for me:
"This Better Be Good," which almost matches "Bright Future in Sales" for the savagery with which it hangs its protagonist out to dry. The lame rhymes and strained "donut shop" verbal riff in the bridge seal the deal for me. Still makes me crack up.
"Hotel Majestic" may be their weirdest song yet.
"New Routine" is the true gem. It nails the mockery/empathy balance on a much grander scale, and can probably be read as a metaphor for the band's whole career.

I like this better than the debut, as it is more powerpop and less grunge.

Weirdly I gave this album it's annual spin this morning - it's still one of the most banal albums ever made by a band with two excellent albums kicking off their career (though Uptopia Parkway does lose the plot towards the end). Dug out Interstate last night, standout tracks are thin on the ground, 'Supercollider' is one of the worst songs anyone can imagine them producing. Is it supposed to be a sincere tribute to 'Shoulder'-era Oasis? Because that's exactly what it sounds like. Ridiculous.

At least Weezer guarantee a few excellent songs every album these days, no matter how nasty the production has become. With 'Someone To Love', you get the impression FoW were begging to stay in the spotlight. Roll on album 5.

FoW albums operate on a strict rule of alternating excellence.
1st - classic
2nd- dud
3rd- classic
4th- dud

Except Utopia Parkway is totally not a dud!

I beg to differ.

I listened to this a few days ago and though you can poke and prod at pretty much everything it has held up well. "Maureen" was the first time I ever noticed a track sounding like shit because of loudness war/overuse of compression and T&W was more of the same. The fictional characters with stupid everyman stories and ridiculous names approach self-parody. You can tell their hearts aren't in it and they hate their fans. But it's still a good album anyway.

Skip OTM. The loathing that seems to lurk within them is my big problem. Too often there's no empathy for the characters in their songs, just contempt, which gets terribly tiring, and makes you think: it's no wonder you've not become stars if you hate all your potential audience that much. Live, too, they've always looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. I've seen them a lot over the years (for all my reservations, I love hearing those big melodies played on love guitars), and back in 1997 they looked like they'd rather be anywhere else - Chris Collingwood especially. It wasn't so much of a problem when they were playing tiny clubs, and you could mistake the attitude for ironic distance. But in recent years it's become apparent that they really don't give a shit about playing live. Rarely seen a band go through the motions so obviously.

I saw them at the Highline Ballroom on the T&W tour and like you write, those big melodies are worth hearing in person. But even going in knowing what to expect, the bored sneers and rote playback were shocking. They made half-hearted shoutouts to New Jersey while mocking the New Jersey bridge & tunnel crowd that made up the majority of the audience (and of which I was one). They are still one of my favorite groups but it's sure as hell not because of a personal connection with the band members.

Rarely seen a band go through the motions so obviously.

You should see Magnetic Fields sometime!

But -- last time I saw them was on the Jersey Shore and it was great, no sense of sneering. But whatever all you guys perceive as sneery about them is lost on me in any event.

No one likes "Fire in the Canyon"? That's the best song on here!