It's Another State of Mind

Too Poppy-approved releases out today ...

Fountains of Wayne - Sky Full of Holes (iTunes / Amazon)
Guster - On the Ocean EP (iTunes / Amazon)

Imaginary Airport Breeze

Adam Schleslinger has been busy. First the announcement that his "side project" Ivy is releasing a new album and now we're only a couple weeks away from  Fountains of Wayne's new album Sky Full of Holes! The album is out 8/2 and plenty of pre-order options are available, but you can now download the single Someone's Gonna Break Your Heart. Preview it below. The new Richie and Ruben is also available for download.

Personally I'm glad it sounds a bit like they're getting away from those novelty tunes.

We Shine Like Potential on an Unimagined Day

Listen up, Dubuquers. You people in northeast Iowa will be treated to something special tonight. Given that I am 3+ hours away, have a day job, and am not the young buck I once was, I must live vicariously through you. Jon Auer has found a break in his tour of bigger cities with Fountains of Wayne to return to your fine city:

[T]he Silver Dollar recently announced that Jon Auer will make a special appearance at the Cantina, Thursday, July 9. Those who missed his previous show might want to get there early as anyone who witnessed it will surely be there on the ninth.

Evidently back in 06 he blew everyone away. Naturally. Enjoy the show for me.

Here are the other dates for his tour with FoW. And you must acquire his solo masterpiece Songs for the Year of Our Demise. It is my favorite album of the past five years. Favorite.

I Set Out Searching

Fountains of Wayne are summer touring...

6.26.09 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
18+ | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale April 20th

6.29.09 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
18+ | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale May 8th

7.01.09 Bay Shore, NY Boulton Center
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale April 1st

7.02.09 Tarrytown, NY Tarrytown Music Hall
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale April 3rd

7.03.09 Sellersville, PA Sellersville Theater
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale March 31st

7.05.09 Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale May 4th

7.07.09 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale April 24th

7.08.09 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
18+ | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale April 9th

7.10.09 Chicago, IL Park West
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show | Tickets on sale April 18th

7.11.09 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show

7.12.09 Munster, IN Centennial Park
All-ages | Full-band acoustic show

Go to their official site for all the details.

Shake Up Your Whole World

With representatives of Fountains of Wayne, Cheap Trick, Smashing Pumpkins, and Hanson, Tinted Windows is bound to be something special.

Your summer soundtrack arrives next Tuesday.

Tinted Windows "Kind of a Girl"

Previously...

I'm Groovin' On

Fountains of Wayne is releasing its first ever DVD!

For the band’s first-ever live DVD, fans are treated to a career-defining set with punchy performances of their hits including “Stacy’s Mom,” “Sink To The Bottom” and “Radiation Vibe.” Having perfected the sounds of summer buzz with tight rhythms, carefree melodies and humor-laced lyrics, the indie pop quartet takes the stage in prime form, knocking out favorite after favorite.

No Better Place was recorded in Chicago back in 2005 before the release of the ultimately underwhelming Traffic and Weather. It hits stores on March 3.

I've Waited So Long

Billboard.com recently spoke with Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger to get a progress report on the next FOW album:

"We still have a ways to go, but we have eight songs that are relatively close to complete now. We're looking to regroup after the New Year and do the second batch," Schlesinger tells Billboard.com. "I think we're trying some different things on this record, but we're still the same band, to me. It's kind of too early to say what direction it's going to as a whole."

I hope doing "different things" means getting away from the Stacy's Mom FOW and back to the Troubled Times FOW - or at least finding the right balance of the two. The last album faded fast for me because it seemed too gimmicky.

He also reported he's working on a new Ivy album as well. It'll be a long while before that one's out, though.

Fit So Well Into Your Plans

Someone uncovered the Japan-only video for Fountains of Wayne's classic Trouble Times. Great tune.

Also noteworthy, Dar Williams covered the tune on her new album Promised Land. I prefer the original, but if you're into lady folksters, here you go.

FOW is playing a few acoustic shows in early January. Jon Auer (of Posies fame and composer of one of my favorite albums of the past several years) is joining them on the following dates:

January 14th - Bellingham, WA - Walton Theater
January 15th - Seattle, WA - Triple Door
January 16th - Portland - Wonder Ballroom

Here are the other dates sans Auer:

January 18th & 19th - SF - Cafe Du Nord
January 21st & 22nd - LA - Largo
January 23rd - San Juan Capistrano - Coach House
January 24th - San Diego - Anthology

More tour info here.

Puts Coldplay On, Pours a Glass of Wine

Check out the sparkly new video for Fountain of Wayne's Someone to Love:

An Hour in the Shower Is the Best That You've Got

Perfect.

Traffic and Weather by Fountains of Wayne is out today.

Just perfect.

UPDATE: One of These Nights You Might Find Someone To Love

Swoon. This is why I even bother with this dang blog. The new Fountains of Wayne single, in its entirety, is on iTunes. Just something to love on a Friday afternoon.

Previously...

One of These Nights You Might Find Someone To Love

Ahhhhhh. Glorious hooks from Fountains of Wayne's new single Someone to Love (thanks stereogum). New album will be released 4/3 and it can't come soon enough.

Such ... a ... small ... taste ... need ... so ... much ... more ... FOW!!!

Previously...

Don't It Make You Want to Get Some Sun

Billboard.com has more details about the new Fountains of Wayne album. The first single Someone to Love hits radio elbo.ws at the end of February.

"It's a little bit 'Elanor [sic] Rigby'-esque, in that it's about these two lonely people living in New York," group member Adam Schlesinger tells Billboard.com of the single. "It has a disco-y beat, which is something we don't do a lot of. Melissa Auf Der Maur sings backing vocals, and that's the first female vocal we've had since Dominique Durand from Ivy on the first album."

Previously...

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.

Deep In Another Dream

They've been around for a decade and have inexplicably only tripped the fringes of my music consciousness, until now. Ivy is awesome! I picked up last year's In the Clear and I can't stop listening. Thinking About You is near perfect. Ivy has a great sound that lies somewhere in the Lush, Garbage, Dido, Fountains of Wayne- range. They are less shoegazey than Lush, more organic and less personality-driven than Garbage, less smooshy than Dido, and full of the pop sensibilities of Fountains of Wayne (naturally because FOW's Adam Schlesinger is one of the three members of Ivy). Allmusic has their story, which, after reading it, I can't believe I never took the time to listen before now. Idiot. Ah well, at least it will be rewarding to backass my way through their career.

Watch their oddly compelling video for Thinking About You here.