Spent the day listening to Andew WK and Fountains of Wayne. The power pop action is strong on FOW’s new Sky Full of Holes (Yep Roc). Kinda forgot I much I loved that band. Also forgot that I did a blindfold test thingee with songwriting principals Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger several years ago. You know: hide the record, spin it, and have them take a shot at guessing the artist. Do the guys who sang “Maureen” know “Gloria”? In a crowded middle-manager office, somewhere around 2007, at 1515 Broadway, we quizzed ’em on songs marked by women’s names. They were refreshingly candid in their responses.
The Beach Boys – “Mona,” from Beach Boys Love You (1977, Capitol)
Adam Schlesinger: I don’t have any idea what that is.
Chris Collingwood: That’s not so good.
Jim Macnie: It’s the Beach Boys’ “Mona.” It’s Dennis Wilson singing.
Adam: Who wrote the lyrics?
Chris: I was gonna ask the same thing.
JM: I thought you guys followed the Beach Boys.
Chris: I think if you ever use the word “groovy” in a song, you’re an idiot. But I’m not saying that Brian Wilson is an idiot. When we met the guy we were like, “Mr. Wilson, it’s such an honor to meet you.” He made a grimacing face and said, “Take the photo!”
Adam: We love some Beach Boys songs a lot. But they have kind of a spotty catalog. Some of it is amazing, though. We actually did “Be True To Your School” in front of Brian Wilson at an awards dinner last year. It’s not our favorite Beach Boys’ song, but it’s easy. Some of that stuff is so hard to play. We’re lazy and we didn’t wanna rehearse that much.
Chris: “Rah rah rah rah, sis boom bah” is pretty easy to pull off.
The Clash – “Janie Jones,” from The Clash (1977, Epic)
Chris: The Clash, right? I don’t know the song though. It’s basically “Rockaway Beach,” isn’t it?
Adam: What album is that on?
JM: The first album: “Janie Jones.” Never went there?
Adam: No. I don’t really know the first couple of Clash records. I mean I had Sandinista! and I hadLondon Calling and I had Combat Rock.
Chris: The Clash was definitely happening when we were in high school.
Adam: I sorta appreciated the Clash more later on. At the time that was happening, I was into much more melodic music. I didn’t really get that they were good songwriters at that point. To me it sounded really distant back then. It sounded really raw and I wasn’t used to it.
Chris: It reminds me of the new Green Day record. It’s so simple and basic but I kinda like it.
JM: Do you ever go back and investigate stuff from the past?
Adam: I do, but not in a scholarly way. It’s more like I’ll hear a record that I didn’t really know about and I’ll get into it. Sometimes that will lead me to hear what else they did, but sometimes it won’t. For example, I never really got into every single Buzzcocks song there is. I’m not elitist like that. It’s weird because we’re the kind of band with fans that assume we know every B-side ever. Guys come up to us, “Do you know this B-side by The Shoes? It came out only in Belgium.”
Chris: Collector freaks.
Adam: We always feel like we’re getting totally busted because we don’t know this stuff that they assume we know. Like right now.
Simon & Garfunkel – “Cecilia,” from Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970, Columbia)
Adam: “Cecilia”! I love this song. All Paul Simon songs – or at least the singles – are three chords. I like that simplicity.
JM: Are you oversaturated on it, or does it still tickle you?
Adam: I actually haven’t heard it in a while. I think it sounds cool.
Chris: I never get sick of Paul Simon songs. Even the worst Paul Simon song is better than the best Billy Joel song.
Adam: I’m much more into this era than Graceland and beyond. There was that era where he and Peter Gabriel became gentlemen of the world. It’s just really annoying. This stuff is just much more straight-ahead. His first solo record is one of my favorite albums.
Chris: Where he’s got the hood on? That’s a great record.
Toto Is Next…
Lament For A Straight Line 