That Not So Fresh Feeling

This song could have easily come out on Fountains of Wayne’s self-titled debut album, on its follow up Utopia Parkway, or (with a bit more sheen) on Welcome, Interstate Managers. Which is to say, it would have fit in perfectly on three of the shiniest, most perfect pop albums of the last 15 years.

There are a few keys to a great Fountains of Wayne song:

• Some pretty specific details (think “Radiation Vibe”, “Stacy’s Mom”, “Red Dragon Tattoo”)
• A super hummable hook (everybody can still sing “Stacy’s Mom”, and I bet if you heard “Denise” once you’d know it for life)
• Shiny guitars

“The Summer Place” has all three elements in spades.

Details

She’s been afraid of the Cuisinart since 1977
Now when she opens up the house
Well, she won’t set foot in the kitchen

Hummable Hook

M-i-i-ind

Shiny Guitars
The song starts out with about 20 seconds of danceable guitar riffs. What more do you want?

Sky Full of Holes was a really great return to form by Fountains of Wayne. There are probably 3 or 4 more songs I could have chosen off the album. It’s worth the listen.

Warning, some unsafe lyrics in this track. Still good though

Donald Glover. It’s really unfair.

Helped to write and starred in the hilarious Mystery Team.
Won an Emmy for writing on 30 Rock, including writing “Werewolf Bar Mitzvah“.
Stars as Troy on Community, which may go down as one of the top 5 sitcoms of all time.

And he put out a surprisingly good hip hop album in 2011. What’s unique and surprising about it (though, if you think about it, it shouldn’t be surprising) is the witty wordplay and the flow. It’s just different than most stuff you hear. It harkens back a bit to Jurassic 5′s clever lyrics and overlapping flow, or maybe MF Doom’s references.

I’m sure someone will say that it’s perfect music for white people (which is probably true, though language-wise this is certainly not an album that everyone is going to feel comfortable with …). For me, I think there are two stretches of this track that showcase why I dig this one. They standout lyrically and for their message.

Dude you’re not not racist cause The Wire’s in your Netflix queue

This one is pretty much aimed directly at people like me (though, hopefully, not me). The idea, of course, is that just because you listen to rap or threw The Wire in your Netflix queue doesn’t mean you aren’t subtly racist in other ways.

This one kid said somethin’ that was really bad
He said I wasn’t really black because I had a dad
I think that’s kinda sad
Mostly cause a lot of black kids think they should agree with that

That doesn’t require a lot of explanation. And when that section of the song hits, it actually stings a bit. Which helps explain why this made my list at #8.

Fleet Foxes – “Montezuma”
This is probably the first album by Fleet Foxes that couldn’t have been made in the 60s. I don’t mean that in any backhanded way, at all. They just make good, timeless music. No crazy instruments or synths. There’s no gimmick here. A bunch of guys with their guitars, singing harmonies, and making good folk music.

There are, for lack of a better term, peppier songs on Helplessness Blues (including the song of the same name). But, I mean, seriously, this is why Fleet Foxes are awesome, right? The song is so simple and beautiful, and as it hits the last minute, it has a little breakdown, and then we basically go a cappella for 30 seconds (not quite, but close), and then we coast out.

It’s just pretty.