Adam Schlesinger Was One of Our Greatest Songwriters

I've always felt Fountains of Wayne has been a criminally underrated band for most of their career. Like a lot of people, I discovered the band through "Stacy's Mom," the 2003 pop hit that was a tribute to The Cars (there's even a mini Ric Ocasek in the opening scene of the music video). But while most people wrote them off as a one-hit wonder, I dove deeper into their catalog. And man, there's such terrific stuff in there.

That's largely due to Adam Schlesinger, co-founder of Fountains of Wayne, along with Chris Collingwood. The duo is credited with writing every song on their album, an intentional move to let the band shine more brightly than the individuals within it. I think what's most impressive about Fountains of Wayne songs is how perfectly they capture the minutiae of suburban living. Heck, their Utopia Parkway record is a concept album about suburbia. That's just not really a thing most bands do, yet it speaks to so many people throughout the country. We've all had rocky relationships, been stuck in traffic, or woken up one morning realizing we drank too much the night before. And Adam and Chris brought these scenarios to life through Fountains of Wayne songs.

But it wasn't only Fountains of Wayne. Adam had a hand in so many songs – both for real and fictitious bands and shows. You've likely heard an earworm song and been like, "YES. I dig this" and chances are Adam touched it. 

Jams like "Just the Girl" by The Click Five and "High School Never Ends" by Bowling for Soup are still toe-tappers nearly 20 years later. He wrote the title track to perhaps my favorite movie ever (That Thing You Do!), penned tunes for the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack, and earned multiple Emmy Awards wins and nominations for his work on the Tonys and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Adam died from complications from COVID-19 at just 52 years old. He gave us so much good music and I hope you'll take some time to listen.

Required Watching: John Krasinski Chats with Steve Carell in Some Good News

As COVID-19 requires more people across the world to shelter in place, they're finding different forms of entertainment. Perhaps you've taken up a board game, or are hosting virtual happy hours with friends in faraway places. Maybe you're reading a book that reminds you to trust in yourself. You might even be finding solace re-enacting all of the Mentos commercials from the 90s.

However, if you still need some help, John Krasinski has you covered. He took to Twitter to find good news happening across the world, and then launched his own show, the aptly named "Some Good News." The debut news show highlights people doing good deeds, and features guest interviews with Steve Carell and a teenager named Coco that just finished her final round of chemotherapy. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll smile, and most of all – you'll feel good. During a time like this, that's plenty.

This first episode will be tough to beat, but I sure hope John tries because the world needs more of this. Check it out below.