New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Adam Schlesinger was a prodigious and prolific songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He died on April 1 at the age of 52 as the result of complications from COVID-19. Not only was Schlesinger in multiple beloved bands-including the power-pop-leaning Fountains of Wayne and sophisticated electro-pop act Ivy-but he also collaborated on songs for movie soundtracks and the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
A wide array of artists touched by Schlesinger's life pay tribute to the many musical projects of which he was a part via a Bandcamp-exclusive benefit compilation, Saving for a
Custom Van. The 31-song collection features collaborators, tourmates, friends, and fans putting their own spin on songs spanning his entire career.
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend co-creator, executive producer and star Rachel Bloom turns Fountains of Wayne's "
Stacy's Mom" into a jazzy cabaret moodpiece, while Schlesinger's Fountains of Wayne bandmate Jody Porter contributes a melancholy, shimmering take on Ivy's "Four in the Morning."
Sarah Silverman-who teamed up with Schlesinger on the upcoming musical The Bedwetter-joins with songwriter
Ben Lee for a gorgeous, folk-leaning take on "Way Back Into Love," a Schlesinger song central to the 2007 film
Music and Lyrics.
Other musicians on the compilation tackle Fountains of Wayne songs (Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley, "Radiation Vibe"; Motion City Soundtrack, "Dip in the Ocean"; Nada Surf, "Sick Day"; Vivian Girls/Upset member Ali Koehler, "Hackensack"), while Ivy songs are also well-represented (Belly members
Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood, "
Undertow"; Ted Leo, "
Everyday"; HUNNY, "Tess Don't Tell.") A full annotated tracklist is below.
Saving for a
Custom Van, which takes its title from a lyric in Fountains of Wayne's "Utopia Parkway," is co-curated and co-released by Father/Daughter Records and Wax Nine, the label/journal run by
Speedy Ortiz's Sadie Dupuis (who also contributes a FoW cover under her Sad13 moniker).
One-hundred percent of Saving for a
Custom Van proceeds will be donated to MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund, which is dedicated to helping music industry and community members affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Track Listing:
1. Apex Manor - Utopia Parkway
2.
Tanya Donelly and Gail Greenwood - Undertow
3. Jeff Rosenstock - Please Don't Rock Me Tonight
4. Kay Hanley - Radiation Vibe
5.
Ben Lee and
Sarah Silverman - Way Back Into Love
6. Remember Sports - Just the Girl
7. Rachel Bloom - Stacy's Mom
8. Christian Lee Hutson - Red Dragon Tattoo
9. Sad13 - A Fine Day For a Parade
10. Jack Dolgen - What'll It Be
11.
Motion City Soundtrack - A Dip in the Ocean
12. Field Mouse - Valley Winter Song
13. Cheekface - That Thing You Do
14. Lucy Stone - I've Got a Flair
15.
Nada Surf - Sick Day
16. Jody Porter - Four in the Morning
17. Suzy Shinn and Charlie
Brand - All Kinds of Time
18. Ted Leo - Everyday
19. Potty Mouth - I've Got A Feeling
20. Cocktails - Sink to the Bottom
21. Bree McKenna - Our Twisted Fate
22. Ethan Eubanks - Troubled Times
23. Ali Koehler - Hackensack
24. Charly Bliss - Pretend to Be Nice
25. Julian Velard and Alex Dezen - Michael and Heather at the Baggage Claim
26. HUNNY - Tess Don't Tell
27. Mikey Erg - Hey Julie
28. Off Book and the Family Band - Come On
29.
Prince Daddy & The Hyena and Just
Friends - Mexican Wine
30. Lisa Prank -
Little Red Light
31. Joshua Stoddard - Survival Car
