Customer Reviews

Traffic and Weather

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A few years ago Fountains Of Wayne looked ready to explode with their MILF fantasy, complete with Rachel Hunter video, with the hit record Stacy's Mom. I can only speculate why the dynamite fizzled out.

Maybe because the band has such a quirky sense of humor that infuses all their songs that critics find it hard to take them seriously when, clearly, they don't take themselves seriously.

Or perhaps because hip hop/rap, the purported music of the inner city, is actually selling to suburban kids looking for some way to rebel against the dull sameness of their upper middle class lives spent in manufactured communities with their green lawns and cul de sacs. Consequently, Fountains Of Wayne are the "Kings Of The 'Burbs'" whose music is full of references to shopping malls, airport terminals, Costco, diners and the DMV, can't break through because these are exactly the things the teenagers this music is supposedly geared towards are trying to rebel against (even though their intelligence lyrics are clearly Baby Boomer directed).

And more's the shame because Fountains Of Wayne have developed into the quintessential American Pop band with one brilliant song after the other, all with great lyrics and perfect arrangements and relatively free of angst thanks to their sense of humor. This time around they even show evidence of being influenced by a pair of bands that once wore that crown, the Eagles (on "'92 Subaru" and "Fire In The Canyon") and America (on "Michael And Heather At The Baggage Claim" and "I-95") and have delivered a CD that can more than hold its own with those groups' classics.

My favorites are the optimism of "Someone To Love" ("Don't give up, one of these nights you might find someone to love"), title tune "Traffic And Weather" in which one TV anchor turns to the other and proposes ("We belong together like traffic and weather), the bizarre DMV romance "Yolanda Hayes," the story of the need for newness and big life changes "New Routine" ("they talk about real estate, prostates, Costco"), and the haunting CD closer "Seatbacks And Traytables."

And, if there's any musical justice, there's the humorous "Strapped For Cash" with its cool horn chart which deserves to be this year's big summertime smash, much like Stacy's Mom was once upon a time.

This is just an outstanding CD and if I sound like a shill, so be it. Give it a listen and see if you disagree.

TRAFFIC AND WEATHER is brimming with power pop galore. Fountains of Wayne sprinkle this musical effort with overwrought top 40 radio influences of the likes of eighties bands and solo artists of yesteryear. The fourteen tracks on the album have a time on the road theme that describes the people and places one may meet along the way, hotel stays, and airline routines, which are fittingly portrayed through their playful and creative words and music.

For those who remember the synthesizer tinge 1980s, most of the tracks echo that particular music era and a little 1960s thrown in for good measure. The title track, "Traffic and Weather" has a "dirty laundry" feel, "Yolanda Hayes" is fashioned with a little psychedelic Beatles sound about the woman at the DMV counter. Two songs on the record, "Fire in the Canyon" and "Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim," have a poetic and storytelling quality. "I-95" is one of the other slow-paced songs, but do not be fooled with the strumming acoustic guitar-middle of the road feel because behind the music it is all tongue-in-cheek, especially for those who have traveled along that route. And the album ends with the waltz-like and country-western-campfire sounding "Seatbacks and "Traytables."

After listening to TRAFFIC AND WEATHER, one may categorize most of the songs as looking out the window while traveling songs. Overall, Fountains of Wayne will keep the wheels rolling along the road, which may have one humming along to all of the songs.

I've been a big fan of FoW since I first heard "Radiation Vibe" on the radio when they released their first CD. I loved their first album, but found that their follow up album, "Utopia Parkway" lacked the energy and consistency of their previous work. When they finally released "Welcome Interstate Managers," I gave them another shot and it has become one of my all-time favorite CD's. I've always admired their clever and witty story-telling abilities, but the music on this CD is fantastic. Since that time, I'd made it a point to periodically scour the internet to get updates on their plans to get back in the studio.

I was ecstatic to hear that "Traffic and Weather" was coming out after 4 long years, and I made sure to pick it up on my lunch break on 4/3. Given that the two original songs they wrote for "Out of State Plates" were great, I thought they were definitely going to put out a whole album of that caliber. But to be honest, the sound is just not very good. As I listened to it for the first time, I slowly became disappointed as I hoped each new track would be one of those catchy tunes I came to love from their first and third albums. Before I knew it, I was at track 14 wondering what I had waited 4 years for. The whole "Power Pop" phrase that has been tagged to their music seems irrelevant with this effort; there's not a whole lot of powerful music on this disc.

Fans of Fountains of Wayne know that strange sensation. The first time that you listen to a new FOW album, deep down you realize that all of these strange unfamiliar songs will soon enough become as familiar to you as your old concert t-shirts. They'll fit perfectly. They'll be comfortable. They'll even become nostalgic.

Fountains are the current kings of the singalong. I defy those familiar with their last three albums to put one on and not sing along. Impossible.

This new one threatens to be as addictive. Clean and sparkly production brings the smooth personal voice of Chris Collingwood to the fore-front and leaves plenty of room for the wonderful arrangements of Adam Schlesinger.

Possibly stemmed form the huge success of Stacy's Mom, the new album seems to lean towards the novelty songs. Character studies and pop references are crafted with amusing rhymes. That's all wonderful, but I'd love to hear a little bit more of the more earnest side Fountains of Wayne.

The stand-out track for me is just that. A true earnest song, with little self-conciousness. It's "Fire In The Canyon". Probably a Collingwood tune , it continues the tradition of "Valley Winter Song" and "Troubled Times". I think it is in this realm that the Fountains really, really thrive.

Their clever novelty songs are perfect, don't get me wrong. They harken back to The Cars, or They Might Be Giants, or even some of the Beatles. But the band steps into a whole different level with their more heartfelt numbers. This is true songwriting talent.

But the rest of the album is wonderful, too. It's so nice to here some music in the main stream media that isn't all about fashion and money. We could use more albums like this one.

It's great to see that at least one of the bands out there with well-crafted, detailed, honed, and moving songwriting is getting the respect they deserve. If you dig this album (and you will) you might consider digging a bit deeper into the works of some of Fountains of Wayne's related bands like School for the Dead The New You, Henning Ohlenbusch Looks Like I'm Tall, Winterpills The Light Divides, The Posies Dear 23, or The Potatoes.

Some irony that folks like chopsuey ryan who got into FOW with Stacy's Mom now declare the band has lost their "edge". I suppose it's inevitable that the band will lose some of the top 40 crowd. If there is any justice though at least one of the tracks on Traffic and Weather will be a hit.

Messrs Collingswood and Schlesinger deliver the goods again. Pop songs that are bathed in sonic perfection and lyrics that stay just this side of parody.

A bit too early to pick out the favorites but "I-95" and "Strapped for Cash" in the early running.

A great effort. Worthy of your hard earned cash.

After their last full studio album "Welcome Insterstate..." I thought this would be their Bohemian Rhapsody, say an artistic summit that would mark the beginning of a steady decline; I was completely wrong!!! Traffic and Weather is quite simply the best pop_rock oriented album this year so far. Why aren't FoW huge then? well, their music is mainly directed at young audiences but so delicately sophisticated that they sometimes miss the target. I'm a translator and the lyrics, amazingly enough in rock music these days, are way way way above the average: short stories about everyday situation, about the American way of life, about relationships, about you about me. I bought two, one for the car, one for home! "Someone to love", "Traffic and Weather" (I play the opening riff on my Gibson all the time) should make their way to the top of the charts and "Fire in the Canyon" is the most elaborate song EVER written about an ailing relationship. Come on, just buy it!
Pierre

Fountains of Wayne prove once again that they are the reigning kings of thoughtful power-pop. Less angry than Weezer and tons more insightful than anything on the airwaves today.

Do yourself a favor and pick up Traffic and Weather today. The infectious hooks will be stuck in your brain after the first listen.

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 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" (with its great line about old men who "talk about real estate, prostates, Costco"), and "Hotel Majestic" 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 rhyme for "Oliver Stone". On the other hand, "'92 Subaru" is hilarious on first listen: "Pumping in / Oxygen / From some Swiss mountain / Alarm system so confusing you can't even get in / This thing is a beast / Value will only increase / We're negotiating terms like peace in the Middle East." Be forewarned: you'll never be able to take any rock song about a car seriously again. Oddly, the title track -- though clever in spots -- 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 ELO 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.

Fountains of Wayne's newest album is a catchy, up-tempo collection of memorable songs with fresh, often surprising lyrics. In this day of homogenized, unimaginative lyrics and chord progressions, "Traffic and Weather" couldn't be more different. Songs like "Someone to Love", "Yolanda Hayes", "Traffic and Weather", and "Michael And Heather At The Baggage Claim" are remarkably clever and infectious. You'll find any one of them stuck in your head for hours on end. One of my favorite parts of their writing is the *specificity* of their lyrics. Unlike most pop songs today (which can do little more than shuffle around the three or four "good rhymes" in a hackneyed refrain about "love"), FoW's writing is full of pop culture references and complete character names and personalities. They're storytellers, these guys!

Another reviewer mentioned influences like The Eagles and America. I'd say you can also hear echoes of Weezer (in "Someone to Love"), Robyn Hitchcock (in "Revolving Dora"), The Foo Fighters (in "'92 Subaru"), and Crowded House (listen especially to the title track and see if it doesn't make you think of Neil Finn). Fans of "Traffic and Weather" who are unfamiliar with any of these acts should check them out right away.

Altogether, it's a great record for fans of "Welcome Interstate Managers" (my only previous experience with the band). I'm not acquainted with any of FoW's earlier albums, but on the strength of their two most recent, I'll definitely be looking for more.

Long-time fan here, and I'll be brief: it's not a bad album, but it's a let-down. I bought their original release in '96, I had most of "Out-of-State Plates" from bootlegs before it was released, and my copy of "I want an Alien for Christmas" is the original CD single. So I'm not some casual fan. The album just sounds like we've heard it all before. A few catchy tunes, but overall nothing that great that stands out. Just so you know where I stand, I rank WIS as my favorite FoW CD, followed by their debut. This ranks behind them, near Utopia Parkway. Just my $.02!