Adam Schlesinger Fully Understood How—and Why—to Write a Pop Song
Now everyone has lost a friend to the coronavirus. Adam Schlesinger— songwriter, co-founder of Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows, Oscar and Tony nominee and Emmy and Grammy winner— has died of complications from covid-19 at age 52.
Schlesinger came to the world’s attention in 1996 with Fountains of Wayne’s self-titled debut album. Its single “Radiation Vibe” was a hit on the alternative-radio format and reached the top 40 in the UK.
That same year, Tom Hanks and the producers of That Thing You Do! put out an industry-wide open call for a title song, and after receiving hundreds—allegedly including entries from established acts like They Might Be Giants and Gin Blossoms—Hanks settled on a submission from then-unknown Schlesinger. It is in fact not possible to imagine the film without this particular title track, which manages to parody and celebrate 1964, be hilariously vague and intensely personal, and get stuck in your head for the rest of your life all at the same time.
At the same time as all of this, Schlesinger continued to write and record with his first band Ivy, a trio featuring a French lead singer who had never sung a note before joining the group. Ivy was the sophisticated, European-flavored counterpoint to Fountains of Wayne’s pure American power-pop, and their first full-length Apartment Life came out in 1997.
Fountains of Wayne’s second album Utopia Parkway came out in 1999, and while it got strong reviews and spawned fan favorites like “Red Dragon Tattoo” and “Troubled Times,” its low sales got them dropped from their label.
Schlesinger got back to work with Ivy, releasing Long Distance in 2001, which contained the single “Edge of the Ocean.” He also co-wrote and produced a number of tracks for the 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie, and his work is a big reason why the film remains a cult classic.
Fountains of Wayne returned in 2003 with a new label and a new album, Welcome Interstate Managers, which spawned their biggest hit “Stacy’s Mom.” You’ve heard “Stacy’s Mom.” If you really want to feel something today, listen to “Hackensack.”
Welcome Interstate Managers is the perfect distillation of Fountains of Wayne: power-pop chord progressions and breezy melodies masking some deep suburban despair. Schlesinger understood that when you’re listening to good pop music, you’re on your way to work, or driving to a high-school football game, or heading to the airport for a conference. Your experience as a listener isn’t as glamorous as the experience of the band, this album said, but your experience is equally worthy of being celebrated. The whole album should have been huge. Instead it gave the band the one hit that got them called one-hit wonders, and earned them a nomination for Best New Artist after they’d been on commercial radio for seven years. No respect.
Ivy released the covers album Guestroom in 2002, and 2005’s In The Clear contained the single “Thinking About You.”
A few years later, and it is still utterly mind-blowing that this happened, Schlesinger formed the supergroup Tinted Windows— with Taylor Hanson, James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick— and released one perfect album.
He also worked extensively in television, composing music for Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live, and, somehow, Crank Yankers. He produced clever mashups for the TBS musical comedy show The Wedding Band, and co-wrote the timeless Tonys production number “It’s Not Just For Gays Anymore.”
He was also the main songwriter and music producer for the CW show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which won him an Emmy for co-writing the stigma-busting mental health anthem “Medication Is So Not A Big Deal.”
Adam Schlesinger is survived by his ex-wife and two daughters. “All Kinds of Time” comes from Fountains of Wayne’s album Welcome Interstate Managers.
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