On April 1st, Adam Schlesinger of the band Fountains of Wayne passed away from complications related to COVID19. Fountains of Wayne has been one of my favorite bands for more than 20 years. I loved their music long before I became an I-O psychologist. They were a band from the northeast and often referenced places that I’d visited or lived near.
I’ve always felt that Adam Schlesinger’s music spoke to me personally, whether it was with his bands Fountains of Wayne or Ivy, or in the soundtracks he wrote for That Thing You Do or Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. What really hit home with me was this: Schlesinger wrote about everyday life. He wrote about workers and people who struggled.
Even though Fountains of Wayne will be remembered as the band that wrote Stacey’s Mom, their songs about work are what resonate most with me as an I-O psychology practitioner and academic. So here’s a mixtape of my favorite work-related songs from Fountains of Wayne. I hope these songs will resonate with the rest of the I-O psychology community, too.
RIP Adam Schlesinger
