Fountains of Wayne - Traffic and Weather

Wit, Whimsy, & Wistfulness

Fountains of Wayne specializes in clever pop storytelling. To enjoy them, you need to appreciate the way a small detail tells you everything you need to know about the characters -- whether they are being described or singing -- in their songs. Almost every lyric here has its moments: some of the lines here are genuinely funny while others are poignant.

"Someone to Love," which kicks off the cd, sets us up beautifully: the whole time we are listening to the song, we think that these two people are made for each other. Even their names (Seth and Beth) rhyme. We hear how Seth "calls his mom / Says he's doing fine / She's got somebody on the other line." That's brilliant -- Seth is a corporate lawyer whose mother has more of a life than he does. Beth's "job of her dreams" is banal: "re-touching photos for a magazine aimed at teens." She wears contacts (presumably to make herself more attractive) but has nothing more to look forward to than a bad sitcom and "an hour in the shower." But rather than put these two together, the song ends with Beth cutting in front of Seth and leaving him "for dead" just to get a taxi. That kind of ironic sucker-punch is wholly unexpected but makes the point that these people will remain alone unless they completely change the way they go through their days.

Most of the other songs are strong as well. "Strapped for Cash," "I-95," "New Routine," "Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim," "Hotel Majestic" and "Seatbacks and Traytables" are particularly good. "Planet of Weed" is hilarious once you realizes it is making fun of the whole stoner mentality (especially when the speaker can't focus long enough to come up with a line to rhyme with "Oliver Stone"). Oddly, the title track is uncharacteristically a little too repetitive.

Lyrically, FoW compares favorably to other bands who prefer wit and whimsy over bombast. They are as clever as Barenaked Ladies but without the occasionally juvenile humor (I like BNL, but in their hearts Page and Robertson are still in 9th grade) or as They Might be Giants without being obscure or arch. They can be as sharply ironic as Elvis Costello, but they aren't angry. Their love songs are sweet but not treacly. Musically, the band shows quite a bit of range on the pop spectrum. You can hear influences from the Beatles to Gram Parsons to the Grateful Dead to Jackson Browne (more than the Eagles, which others have mentioned) to Joe Jackson to Squeeze to Weezer.

This is adult music -- smart, funny, and melodic. Many reviews here say that FoW doesn't take itself seriously. That's misleading. Good pop song-craft is serious. But Collingswood and Schlesinger aren't trying to change the world, and they aren't trying to be poets. And as much as I appreciate bands trying to do the former (U2) or the latter (Death Cab for Cutie), Fountains of Wayne's irony and intelligence will get you through more of your days smiling. April 11, 2008

Incredibly catchy storytelling

This Fountains of Wayne album isn't 100% stellar. The track "Michael and Heather" is a snoozefest, for example. Yet the standouts Traffic and Weather, Yolanda Hayes, Someone to Love, This Better Be Good, and New Routine are absolutely incredible. (Hence the 5-star rating.) The powerpop is, in traditional Fountains style, catchy and undeniably enjoyable, but the real treat is the lyrics:

"Five forty, Channel Six News Team
Breaking story 'bout a get-rich-quick scheme
One anchor turns and faces the other
Says, It's time that I made you my lover
Ooh, we belong together
Like traffic & weather
Like traffic & weather"

and in New Routine:

"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 eggroll'"

Because not every track is incredible, you may want to purchase the best tracks separately, such as on Amazon MP3 (preferably) or iTunes. March 2, 2008

You can tell it's become a job.

I personally really liked their previous album, "Out Of State Plates". Considering that it was a collection of leftovers and demos, some of the songs were outstanding. I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of their next studio album. I waited and waited, and finally came "Traffic and Weather."

I found it very anticlimactic. On a first run through, some of the songs sounded like they had some promise, but none of them grow on you. There's no depth to them. It gives me the impression that they were contractually obligated to do this album, and they begrudgingly tossed a bunch of songs on it. The schtick that worked for them on previous efforts just feels forced here. February 22, 2008

Decent Release

Talented band, decent release, good harmonies. I question the strength of the songwriting on this, and prefer their earlier work. February 19, 2008

It's about life...

The latest release by Fountains of Wayne is entitled `Traffic and Weather,' and while absent the pop cross-over hit Stacy's Mom found on `Welcome Interstate Managers' album is an overall much stronger work.

Listening to this band is a lot like watching Seinfeld in that unless you really think hard about what is going on, you tend to actually believe that "it's about nothing." And it is intellectually fatal to fall into that trap because in doing so, you'll miss that lifesaver that is being thrown by the band. You see, the material is so absolutely analogous to the life that you/me/us/them live every day: sometimes mundane and tedious; other times painful and - on rare enough occasions that we really need to celebrate their occurrence - giddily warm and tender. Because of that, I do not think it unfair to compare Schlesinger and Collingwood to Ray Davies in their ability to chronicle life at a personal level that is equal measures of cutting, insightful and loving..

Whether relating trials of the bureaucracy (Yolanda Hayes); dealing (or trying not to [hint: don't make eye contact!]) with those who may be in need of psychotropic drugs (Revolving Dora); enduring the seeming endless agony of not being in control of your life (Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim) or that need to get to the one you love (I-95), Fountains of Wayne provides insight, sympathy and just enough of a smirk to help you get though it all.
January 14, 2008

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