Download: ‘Saving for a Custom Van,’ a tribute to Adam Schlesinger
Kevin Bronson on
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Thirty-one artists have teamed up for a massive tribute to the late songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who died April 1 at age 52 from complications of COVID-19.
“Saving for a Custom Van,” curated and released by Father/Daughter Records and Wax Nine, honors Schlesinger’s work in the bands Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, as well as his songwriting for film (“That Thing You Do” and “Music & Lyrics”) and television (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”).
All the proceeds from the digital release go to MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund. [Also of note: This Friday, which is Juneteenth, Bandcamp is donating its share of proceeds to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.]
The compilation’s title, of course, comes from Fountains of Wayne’s “Utopia Parkway,” here performed by Apex Manor (one of a handful of L.A. artists doing stellar turns, including Potty Mouth, Ali Koehler [Vivian Girls/UPSET], Christian Lee Hutson, HUNNY and Cheekface). Boston-bred, L.A.-based Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo contributes another highlight, “Radiation Vibe,” while Schlesinger’s FOW bandmate Jody Porter (Ivy’s “Four in the Morning”), Motion City Soundtrack (“A Dip in the Ocean”) and Ted Leo (“Everyday”) turn in others.
Particularly poignant are a series of duets — songwriter-producer Suzy Shinn and Miniature Tigers’ Charlie Brand on “All Kinds of Time,” Ben Lee and Sarah Silverman on “Way Back Into Love” and Belly’s Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood on “Undertow.”
Much to like here, and for a good cause.
||| Stream: “Saving for a Custom Van”
[…] I never wrote. I tried some live Instagram shows with looping that people liked. I did a tribute to Adam Schlesinger, who was a friend of mine. And my manager, who reps me as a producer and a songwriter, said, “Why […]