Fountains of Wayne Talk Tom Petty, Blue Oyster Cult, Crowded House Influences

08/01/2011
. (Gibson) Fountains of Wayne have a pretty wide variety of influences. In advance of the release of their new album � Sky Full of Holes, due out Tuesday � the band's Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger spoke to Spin magazine about their love for Tom Petty, Blue Oyster Cult, Crowded House and ABBA.

Of the Swedish pop sensations' "Knowing Me, Knowing You, " Collingwood said: "Throwaway verse, pre-chorus buildup, [expletive] gigantic chorus and the best guitar riff in human history. Almost always I prefer sad songs to happy ones, and for some reason I keep going back to the I-III-IV of this song's riff section in my own songs, like 'Valley Winter Song,' 'Cemetery Guns' and 'Troubled Times.'"

Collingwood also expressed his admiration for B�C's "Don't Fear the Reaper." "This song's fusion of metal and jangle-pop just about perfectly aligned with my transition from KISS albums to The Beatles and The Byrds," the singer-guitarist said. "Same with the lyrical idea, I think. The reaper imagery sits well with young kids, right next to their monster toys and skull T-shirts, but the real story is kind of sappy and romantic. Also one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar, at least up until the middle part, which I'm pretty sure requires a math degree." more on this story

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