It is with a very heavy heart that we join what will most definitely be hoards of tributes and saddened remembrances of the incredibly talented musician and songwriter Adam Schlesinger.
We won’t regurgitate his biography – you can find that in numerous places, including Variety. We simply want to pay homage to his amazing songs that he’s left us. Rolling Stone recently did a great round-up on some of his “essential tunes”, but it is by no means all-encompassing. His most famous work was with Fountains of Wayne of course, and songwriting partner Chris Collingwood. But he also did an incredible amount of work in the film space. From his song on the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack, to the timeless “That Thing You Do”, to the entire soundtrack of My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Schlesinger’s songs were always effervescent, overflowing with pop smarts, lyrics that were both humorous and touching, and hooks for days.
His talent was enviably broad, able to tackle styles ranging from rock to pop to broadway, with the ability to capture the essence of various songwriting eras while never letting the songs sound like pastiches. There was an authenticity to the music he wrote, and nothing he did was throwaway. His tracks for the movie Music and Lyrics were the highlights of the romcom.
I wouldn’t know where to start with which songs of his to share. You can find his Spotify page here, and Fountains of Wayne‘s music here. I highly recommend you dive into his create music catalogue.
The Indy Review 