It would be nice to get some sleep one of these nights, instead of fighting to get one of the songs on this insanely catchy album out of my head. 100% pure pop, for those who had given up on ever hearing such a thing again. But please guys, have mercy on the sleepless next time!

This is their best CD yet. I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone who's a sucker for melodies and pure pop -- not the watered-down radio stuff that passes for "pop" now, but what passed for timeless quality in a previous era. This is so worth the purchase.

Funny, Literate, and catchier than SARS. Melodic and just plain Brilliant.

awesome

A friend of mine tried to turn me on to Fountains Of Wayne a long time ago. I never "got it" - that 80's-ish new wave/pop sound was never much too my liking (save for The Cars), and FOW quickly faded from my musical landscape and was almost forgotten. Sometime later, the same friend lent me Ivy's Apartment Life CD. Stunningly infectious stuff, and thus when Schlesinger's "other" band released Welcome Interstate Managers, I felt I owed it to him (both my co-worker and Adam) to give the CD a listen. Wow! This is a remarkable record from so many angles... Similar to another artist my friend DID successfully turn me on to - Freedy Johnston - the lyrics are anything but typical sugary-pop throw away lines. Each song feels like a novel unto itself, despite the mere three to four minutes given to tell the story. That, to me, is a sure sign of genius. But without catchy music, those lyrics never stand a chance of catching on. But catch on they do here, because the musicianship is superb. A lot of pop CD's make me feel like I've listened to the same song ten times in a row. Not here. Each song is a world unto itself, and the versatility of the songwriting is impressive, from country to The Cars to 60s-ish fuzzy, chorused guitars and Beatles-esque psychedelia... For whatever reason, the bottom line is this album DID click, and I now "get it" - Fountains Of Wayne is sheer musical genius, and my respect for Adam Schelsinger's skills has grown immensely. Not one hit band, but two? Man... Tell me this guy doesn't have it goin' on! Whatever type of music you prefer, you owe it to yourself to at least give this CD a listen. Not everyone will like it, of course, but for the rest of us, it will most likely make our lists of the top albums of 2003. It is THAT good, without a doubt - light years ahead of the morass the rest of the musical world seems mired in. Refreshing stuff...… Collapse

the Shins who? Don't believe the hype about that overrated band. This is the record that lives up to the hype and more. Get it fast! Get it now!

A pop masterpiece! "Managers" saves our generation from the sludge of spears, Timberlake, Eminem, and any Creed-esque mistake for music that we have driven ourselves into. The lead duo's obvious ear for real music (of any genre) reminds one of Brian wilson, Roger Waters, or even Thom Yorke. If the sound does not please, then surely we have sunk to a new low in modern music.

I've been a fan of FoW since the beginning, and I'm amused at the critical flip-flopping. The debut was well-received, their 2nd album was trashed, and now they're great again. The truth is they haven't changed a whole lot. Maybe they have gotten a bit more laid back with all the ballads. But they can still write catchy rock songs. "Stacy's Mom", in particular, is on par with any of the Cars' greatest hits. If you like any of their previous work or power-pop in general, you must pick this up.… Expand

This is simply the best pop record of the year. It's more consistent than their previous two releases and it simply must be picked up by anyone slaves away in a corporate office park and longs for something more.

I'm sorry for my bad english...don't you think that AMG four and half stars are not a "poor" 60?!

I'd give it an 11 if I could. This pop masterpiece is the album of the year.

Im not really commenting on the CD... I just wanted to tell a true story... My name is Stacy. For a few years I have been close friends with this guy, who has always had a "crush" on my mom. Recently a friend of ours hears "Stacy's Mom" on the radio and made us listen to it. We were laughing SO hard, we were crying. I am NOT shi*ing you... I played it today for my mom, and she offered to be in the video ;) Thanks for a great song!!!… Expand

not since the beatles has an album evoked such sonic imagery, if this album doesnt win every award that ever was, i'll eat my fedora...really ya gotta check this out, it really does take you to another place then its over and your back to where you started, wonderin when someones gonna come out with a decent pop record, the you realize somebody did and you just heard it and then you play it again and again in tour mind and on your stereo...nuff sed … Expand

can't stop listening to it!

How could you not like this? These guys are destined to break through. Bright Future in Sales is hysterical. Great album, turn it up loud - you'll love it.

Insanely great songwriting, perfectly executed. Funny, sweet, ironic and edgy. The best pop rock LP in years. A masterpiece.

I Like it alot

This is great!

perfect pop.

this is the best cd ever made they rock the party and will rock on forever!ROCK ON

Stacy's Mom 4 eva!

Awsome

Did I say the Shins were bad you idiot!!!!!!!!!!!! This is just on another level that their overrated Shutes Too Narrow. I know more about music than you'll ever know. Blow it out your ass.

Well thank you for the compliment Richard Roeper but I don't even remember when Shit's Poo Squaro came out. That's how forgettable the record was. Why is I always turn into the asshole when all I wanted was to compliment how good this record was. Of course I'm no Rodney Bingenheimer or even a Nic Hartcort when it comes to music. But I do know anyone who passes up a great album like this and Franz Ferdinand for a mediorce records like Flutes Blue Arrow is out of their cotton picken mind.… Expand

These versatile, talented, able musicians have produced a collection that my little boy (3 and a half) and I can't wait to hear whenever we're in the car. He calls Little Red Light "Oh no" and "Stacy's Mom" "Stacy's Mommy". Being a 48-year old fan of rock'n roll, I hear echos of Simon & Garfunkel, Smithereens, Beatles, Kinks. This is one that will have the longevity of "Can't Buy a Thrill". … Expand

I thought my Summer fling was going to be with my job at the theatre, but I changed my mind - I'm in love with this album!!!

They make you laugh, they make you cry. As good slow as they are fast. A+ for melodies, sly but corny lyrics, and the everyday song subjects and settings. Long live FOW, they juust keep getting better.

This is an astonishing CD of "classic" (but modern) pop, full of brilliant songs, showing a big diversity of styles but being always outstanding. The lyrics are also very intelligent and the arrangements are always smart. I can't think of anyone that makes pure pop songs better than these nowadays.

Record of the year by far. If this album doesn't hit... I'm moving to Bora Bora to pick mangoes all day.

Really, its a strong 9 and not a perfect 10. The only real problem with this album is--that at 16 songs--its a bit too long. The 3 or 4 extra songs are still good... its just too much. The best tracks: -The opener "Mexican Wine"--a slightly bizarre song about drinking your problems away. -"Stacy's Mom" (which appears to be the first single)--about a guy who wants to toss over his girl for her hot mom. -"Hackensack"--a guy dreams about the movie star he once knew when she was just a girl living in Hackensack. -"Valley Winter Song"--not sure what its really about, but its pretty. -"Little Red Light"--again, a slice of life. A guy is stuck in traffic and starts to think a bit too much about how crappy his life is. -"Hey Julie"--Just beautiful. An unexpected simple love song--a guy in a dead end job, and world, is saved by thoughts of his girl. Think of the better McCartney Beatles songs, not in terms of the style I guess, but the simple delivery. Its also got a lot in common with this band's earlier "Denise", from "their previous album "Utopia Parkway". -"Peace and Love"--A hippie song. :-) Its fun though. -"Bought For A Song"--Should have been the closer of the album. Its a bit different from everything else on the album, but really good--its probably the closest to a "rocker" on this album. By and large they are simple songs, but quirky and enjoyable. Pop rythmed, but not stupid. Like a lot of their earlier work, its about people in ordinary lives wishing for more.. for better, but there is no bitterness--just wistfulness.… Expand

simply, a pop music masterpiece. a few weak moments, but the many many strong moments MORE than make up for it.

This is FOW's best album to date. Extremely catchy, polished pop-rock.

wonderful lyrics.... they gave a great interview on npr

Infectious - as all others that came before. The best thing you can do at a desk job is listen to FOW singing about how lame that job you're doing is.

A great piece of powe pop extraordinaire. If you loved Ben Folds' "Rockin The Suburbs", "Welcome Interstate Managers" is a fantastic companion piece.

you should all listen to it

Loved the album. It's great fun, each and every song.

The best album of the year, and their personal best. Different musical styles on each song, all catchey and all infused with wit & knowledge.

tim E, you obviously know nothing of rock music or anything of the sort, to say that the Shins are bad. You know where to shove that comment...

Did I say anything about the Shins being bad? They're just not on the same level as this album. At least I don't pull stupid comments out my arse. This album is sensational.

Hey, at least it's round. I mean if they made a square one who the hell could play it?

The most beautiful of the three albums so far, which is saying a lot. Worth the wait and more. The music has a vibrant "life" to it which is impossible to explain. Close your eyes and let it take you away.

Very nearly pitch perfect. Great melodies, fun tunes, and slice-of-life lyrics that cut to the bone more often than they tend towards cliche. 16 songs might be a few too many ("all kinds of time," "halley's waitress" and "peace & love" could've been shredded from the release without much fuss on my part), but there's a genuine 12-tune power-pop masterpiece to be discovered here.

Every bit as good as their earlier work, but much more deeply crafted. While their song topics seem boyish and shallow, they are true pop geniuses if there is such a thing. Nearly ever song features brilliantly poetic lyrics and hooks that you will discover have burrowed into your brain and nested for the long-run. Wow. Just awesome... but do check out their previous albums -- they're every bit as good, if a bit more peppy.… Expand

Fine record

Work Sucks! That's the message Fountains of Wayne are trying to get across spining stories of suburbian life over a well crafted album. Just amazing.

Really, its a strong 9 and not a perfect 10. The only real problem with this album is--that at 16 songs--its a bit too long. The 3 or 4 extra songs are still good... its just too much. The best tracks: -The opener "Mexican Wine"--a slightly bizarre song about drinking your problems away. -"Stacy's Mom" (which appears to be the first single)--about a guy who wants to toss over his girl for her hot mom. -"Hackensack"--a guy dreams about the movie star he once knew when she was just a girl living in Hackensack. -"Valley Winter Song"--not sure what its really about, but its pretty. -"Little Red Light"--again, a slice of life. A guy is stuck in traffic and starts to think a bit too much about how crappy his life is. -"Hey Julie"--Just beautiful. An unexpected simple love song--a guy in a dead end job, and world, is saved by thoughts of his girl. Think of the better McCartney Beatles songs, not in terms of the style I guess, but the simple delivery. Its also got a lot in common with this band's earlier "Denise", from "their previous album "Utopia Parkway". -"Peace and Love"--A hippie song. :-) Its fun though. -"Bought For A Song"--Should have been the closer of the album. Its a bit different from everything else on the album, but really good--its probably the closest to a "rocker" on this album. By and large they are simple songs, but quirky and enjoyable. Pop rythmed, but not stupid. Like a lot of their earlier work, its about people in ordinary lives wishing for more.. for better, but there is no bitterness--just wistfulness.… Expand

Unforgettable lyrics, lovely melodies and wistfulness so thick, you might be able to sop it up with bread and use it for gravy. There are a lot of good things you can say about "Welcome Interstate Managers". The only flaw is a forgiveable one. Eager to please, Fountains of Wayne gave us too much of a good thing. As with all albums, some songs are better than others. Honestly, most here are nothing short of brilliant. For the most part they are clever, eye-opening, and nible. But oddly enough an album filled with mostly nimble songs seems to limp a bit at points. Of the 16 total songs, 2 or 3 of them seem extraneous (far from bad--they'd be considered as least "very good" almost anywhere else) and its just sort of causes a downshift in energy. I'll let you decide which two or three songs are doing this--it took me a little while to decide. I'll throw a bone in the opposite direction. Especially magnificent songs among the 16 include: "Mexican Wine", "Stacy's Mom", "Hackensack and "Hey Julie".… Expand

Good

instant happiness

As a Fountains of Wayne fan since they opened for the Smashing Pumpkins in '97, and a recent college graduate a bit disillusioned with "the real world", this CD fits me to a "t" right now. Can't stop listening to "Hey Julie" and "Bright Future in Sales". The fact that this cd may never make it big really makes me wonder about the people who run out and buy rap and boy band cds...

Terrible title - wonderful music. Amazing lyrics - amazing music. Three hours till they play Stacy's Mom on Letterman and I am so excited for them. These guys deserve mass adulation and if Stacy's Mom doesn't do the trick what could. That song has the catchiest chorus I have EVER heard. This is their best CD, which considering that their previous one was darn close to perfect is quite a statement. Bill… Expand

The people who hate this album, I would guess don't like The Beatles or the Beach Boys or other great pop acts that ever were. This is more than an album of the year, this is one of the best albums I've ever heard. If you are the type that needs all your music to super intellectual and tortured soul like, then you might want to stay away from these well crafted, witty, and touching songs. … Expand

As a bald, middle aged white rocker who grew up playing classic rock when it was fresh, I find this record a brilliant paean to all that was fun about pop-rock. I am amazed at the depth of understanding FOW has for the genre at it's inception. I hear the Beatles, Cars, Tom Robinson Band, Raspberries, Dwight Twilley Band, Blue Oyster Cult....some Nick Lowe, Paul Young, Greg Kihn.

Fantastic collection of power pop. This is a disc full of hits that are extremely infectious with more hooks than your Dad's tackle box. Great writing, melodic harmonies, you'll find yourself singing along with a smile. It turned me on to their earlier work that also contains some real gems. They deliver in person as well giving a knock-out performance that leaves your head reeling.

I like it yes !

Aside from that stupid country song, this CD is my favorite all time.

This is the best CD i eva purchased anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn't have any taste in music!

After watching "Music and Lyrics", it dawned on me that I somehow skipped "Welcome Interstate Managers". Why? Because I was unemployed in 2003. "Stacy's Mom" brilliantly recalls The Cars' "Just What I Needed" and then finds its own bliss. "Hackensack" is equally catchy and unbelievably sad.

Still laugh like a drain every time I hear this! And in Hackensack they've written one of the great plaintive songs of impossible yearning. Wonderful stuff! Off to check out their other releases.