It's telling that songwriter Adam Schlesinger has written more fake hits for fictional rockers than real-life hits for his bands Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy. The wry, literate story-songs and affectionate satires of middle-class angst that Schlesinger has written with singer Chris Collingwood have helped make Fountains Of Wayne a critical darling and a cult favorite. But Schlesinger is also a throwback to Brill Building craftsmen who could be counted on to deliver catchy ditties for any occasion.
In the latter capacity, Schlesinger first rose to prominence as the author of "That Thing You Do!", the insanely catchy, Oscar-nominated theme song for Tom Hanks' directorial debut. Since then, he's written songs for Josie And The Pussycats and Joel Stein's short-lived cartoon Hey Joel!, as well the new Hugh Grant/Drew Barrymore vehicle Music And Lyrics, a romantic comedy about the relationship between an '80s has-been and his plant-watering muse, girlfriend, and songwriting partner.
Fountains Of Wayne has released four studio albums and a rarities collection; its most recent release is this year's Traffic And Weather. In 2003, the group scored a rare smash in "Stacy's Mom," an infectious new-wave anthem propelled up the charts by a ubiquitous music video featuring scantily clad supermodel Rachel Hunter. The A.V. Club recently spoke with Schlesinger about Music And Lyrics, opening for Jessica Simpson, and fighting to receive less credit for his work.
The A.V. Club: So assuming that Music And Lyrics is a docudrama about Fountains Of Wayne, at what point in the songwriting process do you normally bring in an adorably quirky yet neurotic plant-waterer to write your lyrics?
Adam Schlesinger: That's usually, like, step two or three. I usually come up with a few ideas on my own before I bring in the plant-waterer. You know, I actually didn't write all the music for that movie. It's weird, because I ended up with this credit for it ("Music By Adam Schlesinger") on the front of the movie, which is completely inappropriate. I mean, I tried to get it taken down, because I only wrote three songs. There were a lot of other songwriters involved.
AVC: The "music by" credit generally goes to composers. Did you compose the incidental music?
AS: It was just this crazy thing where it was all pre-negotiated, and I was supposed to do the score, but in the end, there really isn't a score. And the little bits of incidental piano music and stuff, I didn't even do. So it was just one of those movie-biz things where at the 11th hour when it was all getting blocked and mixed and everything, the credits were already in there, and I actually went to the director and said, "You should probably take that down, because it's wrong." And they said it couldn't be done.
AVC: You didn't have a credit for "Pop! Goes My Heart," which is a central song in the movie.
AS: Yeah, I didn't write that song. I wrote a version of "Pop! Goes My Heart," but they didn't use mine, which I was pretty bummed about, because I thought mine was pretty good too. But I think the one that ended up in the movie was better. Definitely better for the movie.
AVC: Does writing fictional hits for movies help you write actual hits in real life?
AS: Well, I haven't written that many actual hits in real life, so I guess you could say no. But I kind of do approach it in the same way, in that if I'm asked to do something for a movie, there's usually a very specific assignment, and they usually need a song about a specific thing that works in a specific scene, so it gives you these very clearly defined parameters before you start. And I try to force myself to do that when I'm writing for my own stuff, as well. I don't know if that makes sense, but I kind of try to treat it like a job with a deadline, because otherwise, I don't do anything. I just take naps and watch TV.
AVC: Music And Lyrics is about people hired to write songs for a specific context. You in turn were hired to write songs in a specific context. How accurate did you find the film's depiction of the creative process?
AS: Well, obviously, a lot of it is just total Hollywood make-believe. But there are bits and pieces of it which ring true. Just basically sitting there at a piano or staring at a blank pad, trying to do something… That basic thing is right. But my favorite thing in the movie in terms of inaccuracy was the pre-recording-session party. I've never thought to throw one of those, but that seems like a really good idea. "Come by, we're having a pre-recording-session party!"
AVC: You've done a lot of music for television. When you're writing for a specific thing, do you feel like an actor playing a specific role, or more like a writer telling a story?
AS: It depends on what the thing is. I don't ever feel like I'm being an actor. I mean, I'm definitely trying to imagine what that character would say, but not by putting myself in that place, so much as the way a writer would try to punch up the script or something.
AVC: Could you relate to Hugh Grant's character at all?
AS: Only in the sense that he and I are both considered very sexy men. So I know what that's like.
AVC: Fountains Of Wayne is known for very tight pants and hip-shaking.
AS: We had to get past the sort of good-looking band thing in order for people to take us seriously, you know? And that was hard for us.
Irony comes across really well in print, and I'm going to look like the biggest asshole on the planet. It's like trying to be ironic in e-mails. It just doesn't work.
AVC: You produced Hugh Grant's songs, right? What are sort of his strengths and weaknesses as a singer?
AS: He actually has a perfectly good voice. He was very self-deprecating about it. But at the same time, he has never listened to any pop music in his life, and doesn't really have any idea what it's supposed to sound like, and he was sort of the first person to admit that. He kind of had some knowledge of maybe Wham! and some of the other massive things of the '80s. But if you mentioned anything even slightly more obscure, he would have no idea.
We brought in Martin Fry, who's the singer of ABC, to do some backup vocals and vocal coaching and stuff. And he had never heard of them. And that was a huge band with a huge string of hits, especially in England.
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