Forsgren: Fountains of Wayne – The Band That Feels Most Like Fall
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It’s that time of year again. The days are getting shorter. The leaves are changing colors. And pumpkin spice-flavored everything is threatening to overthrow all of civilization, invading everything from Oreos to pancakes at IHOP.
Fall is my favorite season. The shorter days and cooler temperatures invite sipping cocoa and curling up in a favorite blanket. I favor my zebra-striped Snuggy as it has pockets and sleeves. It also makes me feel kind of like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.
Autumn also stokes my feelings of wistfulness and introspection. Such emotions deserve to be accompanied by the appropriate soundtrack. And while metal, my favorite kind of music, is more thoughtful and intelligent than most folks give it credit for, the aggressive riffs and earth-shaking percussion doesn’t make me take stock of my life so much as it makes me bang my head and jump about playing air guitar and flapping about like a balloon with a hole in it.
Luckily, I found the perfect band for autumnal introspection: Fountains of Wayne. While these guys can bring the sunny summer guitar pop with the best of them, what F.o.W. really excels at is yearning, nostalgic stories set to jangly guitars. That sound feels so much like fall to me that I can’t listen to F.o.W. without feeling a chill in the air that has me reaching for my favorite hoodie. Here are a few Fountains of Wayne songs to help illustrate my point.
”Too Cool For School”
O.k., so maybe this isn’t the jangly guitar I promised up front, but Fall means back-to-school and this song reminds me of freshman year in high school. I can see my younger self watching the senior and junior guys weave through the crowded halls. There was always that one guy who managed to crack jokes, flirt with the hot girls and look totally freaking cool doing it. I so wanted to be that guy. Instead, I’ll dedicate this tune to Big Men on Campuses everywhere.
”I-95”
I don’t know about you, but I actually prefer going road tripping during the autumn months. The heat’s not so unbearable, so you don’t have to run the air conditioning. The summer crowds have all gone home, so the traffic isn’t too horrible. And you can marvel at the gorgeous fall colors, which is one of the best things ever. Fountains of Wayne hits my fall road trip sweet spot with this tune.
”Laser Show”
The F.o.W. boys know that when the weather cools down, you need to substitute activities. So why not join them at the Hayden Planetarium for some Laser Metallica or Laser Floyd. Pink Floyd, that is.
”Sick Day”
Sometime, autumn weather is just dreary. Sometimes, you wake up, look outside at the dreary weather, and want to go right back to bed. Of course, this can happen during the summer, too. But, at least to me, this song has a distinctly autumnal feel to it.
Hackensack
In the cycle of my life, winter seems to be something I just survive. During the spring, I make a ton of fabulous plans. I prepare to conquer the world. During the spring, I can take on the whole Empire all by myself. Then summer rolls around, and I rarely accomplish anything I wanted to accomplish. Fall… Well, fall is when I sit around reminiscing about all the cool things I had planned and bemoaning what I didn’t get done. Kind of like this song.
”All Kinds of Time”
This is the most epic autumn anthem Fountains of Wayne has ever put on wax. It details the closing moments of a football game, and the ice-cold performance of a young quarterback. The song builds from a relatively quiet moment in the young player’s head, then triumphantly explodes as he fires the winning touchdown pass. Fall is football, and this song captures the triumph of victory and the nostalgia for younger days so well, it’s scary.
So, if you’re feeling autumnal and looking for a suitable soundtrack, try spinning some Fountains of Wayne. Just don’t play “Stacy’s Mom”. That song’s about as non-autumnal as it gets. Happy listening!