Il power pop è "un sottogenere del pop-rock, che si caratterizza per l'utilizzo di melodie semplici ed essenziali ispirate ai gruppi anni '60, combinate con riff di chitarra abbastanza potenti e da una struttura ritmica tipiche dell'hard rock" (Wikipedia).
Il genere è quindi stretto parente del britpop che tanta fortuna ha portato a band quali Oasis, Verve, Blur e altre; se poi si considera che il termine è stato coniato nientemeno che da Pete Townshend, il legame si rafforza ancora di più. In pratica, il power pop è un brit pop suonato da band che non sono inglesi: è il caso degli americani Fountains of Wayne, da Williamstown, Massachuttes. La band guidata dal cantante e chitarrista Chris Collingwood, dopo un ottimo album di esordio ("Fountains of Wayne") seguito da un secondo lavoro datato 1996 ("Utopia parkway") che non ha mantenuto in pieno le aspettative, arriva in gran forma al terzo album, quello della maturità.
Già dalla open track "Mexican wine", che parla dell'indecisione che ogni sera si risolve nel tracannare vino messicano, si intuisce l'intenzione dei due songwriters, Collingwood e il bassista Adam Schlesinger (autore della canzone "That thing you do", tormentone del film "Music Graffiti" con Tom Hanks, se interessa a qualcuno) di realizzare canzoni pop-rock di presa immediata. Ma, a differenza dell'album precedente della band, la vena creativa sembra ritrovata, così come le melodie orecchiabili di canzoni come "Radiation vibe" o "Sink to the bottom", del primo album, mentre i testi continuano ad essere il punto di forza dei due compositori.
La seconda canzone, la divertente "Bright future in sales", avrebbe dovuto essere il primo singolo se non fosse stato per la parolaccia urlata nel ritornello ("I'm gonna get my shit together") che la rese antipatica a molte radio, e così il ruolo di primo singolo andò a "Stacy's mom", e per il successo strepitoso del brano forse è stato meglio così. Musicalmente ispirata ai Cars ed estremamente orecchiabile grazie alle armonie vocali di Schlesinger e del chitarrista Jody Porter, "Stacy's mom" racconta le fantasie di un adolescente sulla madre di una sua amica (una MILF per i fan di "American pie"). Si prosegue con la struggente ballata "Hackensack", una delle migliori dell'album, e con "No better place", omaggio a New York a cui presta la voce la cantante Jen Trynin. "Valley winter song" è una di quelle canzoni da incorniciare, in cui tutto è al posto giusto, perfetta per quelle serate invernali in cui non si può uscire per il freddo che fa e l'unico posto dove stare è sotto le coperte. La vena intimista del disco, abbastanza rara per un gruppo come i Fountains of Wayne, raggiunge il massimo risultato con "All kinds of time", una specie di "Nino non aver paura di tirare un calcio di rigore" ma rivolta al football, che racconta cosa succede nella testa di un giovane quater back che sta per fare il passaggio decisivo.
La fin troppo oasisiana "Little red light" preannuncia le chitarre acustiche di "Hey Julie", il terzo singolo dopo "Stacy's mom" e "Mexican wine". La storia è classica: il mio lavoro fa schifo, il mio capo è un stronzo e veste in modo orribile, ma meno male che ci sei tu a salvarmi. La melodia però è irresistibile.
A questo punto, dopo nove canzoni di alto livello sia musicalmente che per quanto riguarda i testi, sarebbe stato più saggio fermarsi: le ballate "Halley's waitress" e "Fire island" non aggiungono niente di interessante a quanto già detto, così come i tentativi di ‘Gallagherizzazione' di Chris Collingwood in "Bought for a song" e "Supercollider" o l'esperimento da hit da spiaggia "Peace and love", non riuscito fino in fondo. I nostri rimediano quando Collingwood e Schlesinger decidono di cimentarsi nel country-rock puro, strizzando l'occhio agli Eagles con "Hung up on you", guidata dalla steel guitar dell'ospite Robert Randolph. Il lento di un minuto "Yours and mine" chiude un ottimo disco, una raccolta di storie e personaggi raccontate con lo stile inconfondibile del duo Collingwood-Schlesinger e suonate da una delle "migliori band pop-rock passate quasi inosservate" degli ultimi anni.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Mexican Wine (03:22)
He was killed by a cellular phone explosion
They scattered his ashes across the ocean
The water was used to make baby lotion
The wheels of commotion were set into motion
(chorus)
But the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
She lived alone in a small apartment
Across the street from the health department
She left her pills in the glove compartment
That was the afternoon her heart went
(chorus)
And the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
I used to fly for United Airlines
Then I got fired for reading High Times
License expired in almost no time
Now I'm retired and I think that's fine
(chorus)
Because the sun still shines in the summer time
I'll be yours if you'll be mine
I tried to change but I changed my mind
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
(repeat 2x)
Think I'll have another glass of Mexican wine
Won't you have another glass of Mexican wine?
02 Bright Future in Sales (03:06)
Sleepin' on a planter at the Port Authority
Waitin' for my bus to come
Seven scotch-and-sodas at the office party
Now I don't remember where I'm from
I think I had a black wallet
In my back pocket
With a bus ticket
And a picture of my baby inside
And if I make it home alive
I'm gonna get my shit together (together)
Cause I can't live like this forever (forever)
You know I've come too far
And I don't wanna fail
I got a new computer
And a bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah) yeah yeah
Headin' for the airport on a misty morning
Gonna catch a flight to Baltimore
Try to kill an hour with a whiskey sour
If there's time I might have just one more
I gotta do some quick readin'
For the big meetin'
But my head is spinnin'
And I can't quite open my eyes
As long as I don't have to drive
I'm gonna get my shit together (together)
Cause I can't live like this forever (forever)
You know I've come too far
And I don't wanna fail
I got a new computer and a
Bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah) yeah yeah
I had a line on a brand new account
But now I can't seem to find
Where I wrote that number down
I try to focus, I'm starin' at the screen
Pretendin' like I know
What all these little flashin' lights mean
Oh yeah
I gotta do some quick readin'
For the big meetin'
But my head is spinnin'
And I can't quite open my eyes
I gotta get my shit together (together)
Cause I can't live like this forever (forever)
You know I've come too far and I don't wanna fail
I got a new computer
And a bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah)
A bright future in sales
Yeah yeah (yeah yeah) yeah yeah
03 Stacy's Mom (03:17)
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
Stacy can I come over after school? (after school)
We can hang around by the pool (hang by the pool)
Did your mom get back from her business trip? (business trip)
Is she there or is she tryin to give me the slip? (give me the slip)
You know I'm not the little boy that I used to be
I'm all grown-up now baby can't you see
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
She's all I want, and I've waited for so long
Stacy can't you see, you're just not the girl for me.
I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom.
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
Stacy do you remember when I mowed your lawn? (Mowed your lawn)
Your mom came out with just a towel on. (Towel on)
I could tell she liked me from the way she stared (The way she stared)
And the way she said "You missed a spot over there." (Spot over there)
And I know that you think its just a fantasy
But since your dad walked out your mom could use a guy like me
Stacy's mom has got it goin on
She's all I want, and I've waited for so long
Stacy can't you see, you're just not the girl for me
I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom
Stacy's mom has got it goin on (Shes got it goin on)
She's all I want, and I've waited for so long (Waitin and waitin)
Stacy can't you see, your just not the girl for me.
I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom.
I'm in love with Stacy's mom
Wait a minute Stacy can't you see, you're just not the girl for me
I know it might be wrong but I'm in love with Stacy's mom
04 Hackensack (03:00)
I used to know you when we were young
You were in all my dreams
We sat together in Period One
Fridays at 8:15
Now I see your face in the strangest places
Movies and magazines
I saw you talking to Christopher Walken
On my TV screen
But I will wait for you
As long as I need to
And if you ever get back to Hackensack
I'll be here for you
I used to work in a record store
Now I work for my dad
Scraping the paint off the hardwood floors
The hours are pretty bad
Sometimes I wonder where you are
Probably in L.A.
That seems to be where
Everybody else ends up these days
But I will wait for you
As long as I need to
And if you ever get back to Hackensack
I'll be here for you
And I will wait for you
As long as I need to
And if you ever get back to Hackensack
I'll be here for you
If you ever get back to Hackensack
I'll be here for you
05 No Better Place (04:06)
Is that suppose to be your poker face
Or was someone run over by a train?
You're minding your own business
But you're begging for forgiveness just the same
And it's running back and forth inside your mind
Just how that town defined you
Dressed you up, painted on your face
And now you're leaving New York
For no better place
You're awake and trying not to be
Wrapped around your pillow like a prawn
The nighttime's wrapped around you
Will be until it drops you on the dawn
From the C train to the shiny tower
Kicked around till happy hour found you
Where you can drink that smirk right off your face
And now you're leaving New York
For no better place
And here is your reflection
In a building uptown
A ghost inside some Madison Avenue display
Like water under bridges
You're slowly passing by
So you sail between the rooftops and the sky
The bourbon sits inside me
Right now I'm a puppet in its sway
And it may be the whiskey talking
But the whiskey says I miss you every day
So I taxi to an all-night party
Park me in the corner in an old chair
Sip my drink and stare out into space
And now you're leaving New York
For no better place
And now you're leaving New York
For no better place
06 Valley Winter Song (03:34)
Hey Sweet Annie
Don't take it so bad
You know the summer's coming soon
Though the interstate is choking under salt and dirty sand
And it seems the sun is hiding from the moon
Your daddy told you
When you were a girl
The kind of things that come to those who wait
So give it a rest girl
Take a deep breath girl
And meet me at the Bay State tonight
And the snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long
What else is new
What could I do
I wrote a valley winter song
To play for you
And late December
Can drag a man down
You feel it deep in your gut
Short days and afternoons spent pottering around
In a dark house with the windows painted shut
Remember New York
Staring outside
As reckless winter made its way
From Staton Island to the Upper West Side
Whiting out our streets along the way
And the snow is coming down
On our New England town
And it's been falling all day long
What else is new
What can I do
But sing this valley winter song
I wrote for you
09 Hey Julie (02:36)
Workin' all day for a mean little man,
with a clip-on tie, and a rub on tan,
He's got me runnin' 'round the office like a dog around the track.
And when I get back home you're always there to rub my back.
Hey Julie, look what they're doing to me,
Tryin' to trip me up, tryin' to wear me down.
Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it,
and I'd never make it through without you around,
no I'd never make it through without you around.
Hours on the phone makin' pointless calls,
I got a desk full of paper that means nothin' at all
Sometimes I catch myself staring into space,
Counting down the hours 'till I get to see your face.
Hey Julie, look what they're doing to me,
Tryin' to trip me up, tryin' to wear me down.
Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it,
and I'd never make it through without you around,
no I'd never make it through without you around.
How did it come to be, that you and I must be
far away from each other every day?
Why must I spend my time fillin' up my mind with
facts and figures that never add up anyway.
They never add up anyway.
Workin' all day for a mean little guy,
With a bad toupee and a soup-stained tie.
He's got me runnin' 'round the office like a gerbil on a wheel,
He can tell me what to do, but he can't tell me what to feel.
Hey Julie, look what they're doing to me,
Tryin' to trip me up, tryin' to wear me down.
Julie I swear it's so hard to bear it,
and I'd never make it through without you around,
no I'd never make it through without you around.
10 Halley's Waitress (03:35)
Halley's waitress
Never comes around
She's hiding in the kitchen
She's nowhere to be found
I just want some coffee
Is that too much to ask?
Halley's waitress
Is not up to the task
And when she finally appears
It's like she's been away for years
It's been so long
So long
Darling don't you know
We miss you when you're gone
So long
So long
Darling don't you know
We miss you when you're gone
Ahhh
Halley's waitress
Has vanished once again
She's talking to her agent
She's calling all her friends
Forget about the coffee
I'll just take a check
Halley's waitress
You know you'll get yours yet
It's been so long
So long
Darling don't you know
We miss you when you're gone
So long
So long
Darling don't you know
We miss you when you're gone
Ahhh
11 Hung Up on You (03:58)
While I down Kentucky bourbon, I am waiting for a call
And the moon and stars tonight are playing shadows on the wall
With the moon the way it is, dear, would you answer out of spite?
Or are you feeling lonely tonight?
Cuz I remember last time we were out under the stars,
Driving crooked down the highway, drinking beer in roadside bars
Now and then I wonder why this painful memory
Can never find its way to you from me
Chorus:
And I can't dial the phone just now, even though I know your number,
Can't bring my broken heart to be untrue
Like you did today, you'll say goodbye the same old way
Ever since you hung up on me, I'm hung up on you
Well the house I'm ringing up from is a half a mile from you
But with the reception I'm getting, might as well be Timbuktu
And behind the door of your home is a strange and foreign land
Where you speak a language I don't understand
Chorus
Now I'm goin down to Jimmy's bar like a thousand other times
With an appetite for poison and a suitcase full of dimes
And I'll wait there by the payphone with one hundred other guys
With those sorry hung up teardrops in our eyes
Chorus
Ever since you hung up on me, I'm hung up on you
15 Supercollider (05:05)
Multi-colored microbus
Plowing over rugged terrain
We're jacking the radio
Passing the afternoon train
Around the roses she showed us
Hyacinths and sage
Gold plated garden tools
Sunlamps and it's all the rage
Stay low to the ground or they'll sniff you out
You never know what you will find
When you go
Out of the blackness
Into the great big sky
Supercollider
Shooting inside your mind
Gather round the gas tower
don't it kindo look like a bong
I heard it backwards
Hidden in a Pink Floyd song
Stella Radiata
It's got to set your mind at ease
Spinning on the tire swing
Flying like Tarzan through the trees
And back to the bus when the sun goes down
Try to aim it back into town
We're riding
Out of the blackness
Into the great big sky
Supercollider
Shooting inside your mind
And coriander grows along the banks where we go
walking at night
Creeping slowly over the ground
We tiptoe round the garden
Trying not to tramp it down
Stay low to the ground or they'll sniff you out
You nver know what you will find
When you go
Out of the blackness
Into the great big sky
Supercollider
Shooting inside your mind
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