Not Guilty Just Pleasure - Fountains of Wayne Tiny Desk Concert

I know that you all know that I'm a big fan of the Fountains of Wayne. From the first time I heard them back in the 90's I was hooked on them. Amazing musicians, superb lyrics, super fun.

Earlier this week, Fountains of Wayne co-founder Adam Schlesinger died from complications caused by COVID-19. It's heartbreaking news for his family and friends, not to mention all of the fans of his wonderful songs.

For today's "not guilty just pleasure" post, rather than just share one song, I'm going to share a Tiny Desk concert from 2013. It's four songs by Fountains of Wayne. I've been listening to them A LOT over the past few weeks because hearing their music always makes me feel good. I hope watching this little concert helps you feel better too.

Stay safe everyone, wash your hands and hang out at home... after all, it's where your records are xo

Maybe one day soon it will all come out

How you dream about each other sometimes

With the memory of how you once gave up

But you made it through the troubled times

Not Guilty Just Pleasure - The Girl I Can't Forget

As it's Friday and the last day of January, I'm sharing something that makes me feel happy and warm inside. Ever since I first heard their debut album in the 1990's, I've been a fan of the Fountains of Wayne.

The summer I met Mark, we spent a lot of time driving back and forth between Kingston and Toronto. I'm pretty sure that the only two records I listened to in the car that summer were Wilco's "Summerteeth" and "Utopia Parkway" by Fountains of Wayne.

A silly aside,  when I met him, Mark was driving an old, blue Toyota Tercel. When he picked me up for our first date, I noticed that on the gas tank door, he had a Southern Culture on the Skids "Plastic Seat Sweat" sticker. At that point, I had a feeling that things were going somewhere good.

Anyway, in 2005, Fountains of Wayne released a wonderful compilation of b-sides, covers and rarities. The album was called "Out of State Plates" and it also featured two new songs. I'm sharing one of those songs today, "The Girl I Can't Forget." I remember the first time I heard it. I hit the repeat button and probably listened to it 10 times in a row. In my opinion, it is an absolutely perfect pop song.  If you haven't heard it before, you're in for a big treat.

Enjoy it kiddos and have a wonderful weekend xo

And now that I'm with her

The whole thing seems a bit absurd

Though she never fails to tell the tale

Of the time she had to post my bail

And for giving me a second chance

I'm forever in her debt

Since the night I can't remember

She's the girl

I will never forget

Because It's Tuesday - week of May 22

Hope you all survived / enjoyed the long weekend.  I know that summer officially starts in a month but the unofficial start is always Victoria Day weekend.

When that unofficial start happens, I begin to pull out my "summer" playlists.  Regular readers here will recall my deep geeky love for Fountains of Wayne.  I always associate their power pop perfection with summertime, probably because I heard them for the first time during an early '90's summer.

Now, recently I featured them covering Aztec Camera.  Today, I'm sharing Bowling For Soup's cover of "Stacy's Mom." Not unlike the original, their version is fast and fun and is easy to sing along with while you're playing it in the car at a high volume, with your windows down.  A perfect combination for a summer song.

Happy summer listening lovelies xo