# Fountains of Wayne **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023 "2003-03-21T04:39:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/1 "2003-03-21T04:39:34Z")
Inspired by this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=170655) I have decided to buy a Fountains of Wayne CD. There seems to be 2 main ones “Fountains of Wayne” and “Utopia Parkway”. Maybe I should get them both, but I’m going to buy one of them first. Which one should I get? Can you give me some reasons or comparisons? I have heard them compared to some artists I really like, like: The Flaming Lips, Matthew Sweet, Robyn Hitchcock, Melvins, Meat Puppets, XTC, The Figgs, They Might Be Giants and Big Star… if that might help direct your recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/2 "2003-03-21T06:31:36Z")
Both albums seem to me to be nearly interchangable (not that it’s really a bad thing). I prefer the first one myself, perhaps because I still remember the first time I heard “Radiation Vibe” on the radio. (Remember when you used to hear cool songs from new bands on the radio?) I began to lose faith in the direction popular music was heading when that song didn’t become a huge, huge, huge hit. If you’re wondering what they sound like, they do the Crank Yankers theme song on Comedy Central. And that’s basically the FoW sound on both albums. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/3 "2003-03-21T07:24:35Z")
I love their cover of “Baby Hit Me One More Time” ---
**Author:** ![Skip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Skip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skip)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/4 "2003-03-21T09:27:36Z")
I bought Fountains of Wayne (the self titled album) just for **Radiation Vibe**. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/5 "2003-03-21T15:37:01Z")
Utopia Parkway is probably the stronger album, but both are good and have their strong points. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/6 "2003-03-21T15:42:54Z")
Are “Fountains of Wayne” from NJ? They must be because I grew up near Wayne and everyone knows the store “Fountains of Wayne.” ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/7 "2003-03-21T17:10:04Z")
KidC, I’m not a huge FoW fan but I have heard that story before about them, so I think you’ve got it right. ---
**Author:** ![thermalribbon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@thermalribbon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thermalribbon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fountains-of-wayne/163023/8 "2003-03-21T19:58:07Z")
Just my opinion here, but Utopia Parkway is the better of the two albums. There are some seriously addictive tunes on that album, infectious I believe is the word. Their first album suffers from having a little too much filler. Like I said, just my opinion.