You're Doing That Thing

Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, That Thing You Do!) wrote several new songs for the new movie starring Hurl Grant and Spew Barrymore called Music and Lyrics opening Feb. 14 (aww, must be a romantic comedy). The plot:

A washed up singer (Grant) is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an admiring teen sensation. Though he's never written lyrics in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman (Barrymore) with a flair for words.

You can see the trailer here. It doesn't look terrible, but there seems to be a recurring joke about Grant's tight pants, which I'm particularly not interested in, even in a comedic way. With Adam's talent somehow involved, I'm curious. I just wonder if the new songs are pseudo hits for Grant's fictional 80s band like That Thing You Do, or if it's just soundtrack fodder.

In Fountains of Wayne news, the new album Traffic and Weather is finished and will be released on April 3. Can't wait. Hopefully they weren't pressured into writing clones of Stacy's Mom despite it being a good tune. USA Today previewed the disc. Sounds like another thematic masterpiece.

And finally, Adam and fellow FoW Brian Young are involved in the reunited America, which also features guest appearances from Ryan Adams, Ben Kweller, Nada Surf, My Morning Jacket and others. I like America in a cheesy 70s AM radio kinda way (Sister Golden Hair rocks), and with some of those guests, this will be a must listen. Here & Now is co-produced by Adam and will hit stores next week (evidently it's already available via iTunes if you just can't wait). Watch the video for Chasing the Rainbow here ... and now.