The opening number, “PoP! Music and Lyrics is a 2007 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Marc Lawrence.It focuses on the relationship that evolves between a former pop music idol (of the fictional band PoP!, which is inspired by Wham! There was the superstar producer who summed it all up: “Adam Schlesinger took pop music writing to its classiest and most untouchable place,” said Jack Antonoff. MUSIC AND LYRICS – Adam Schlesinger. Adam Schlesinger, left, backstage at the Emmys with Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen after winning outstanding original music and lyrics for “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” on Sept. 14, 2019. … Adam Schlesinger, a Grammy-winning songwriter and co-founder of the pop-punk band Fountains of Wayne, died April 1, 2020 of coronavirus complications. Wonders never cease to exist. His music for films and TV series like Crazy Ex-Girlfriend means so much to so many. Soundtrack Credits . Keith Phipps. PoP! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It takes a movie like “Music and Lyrics” to remind us of why the genre can be such fun. Adam Lyons Schlesinger (October 31, 1967 – April 1, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He gets tremendous mileage out of his lines by underplaying them, a lesser comedian (perhaps Adam Sandler?) The film was released on February 14, 2007, by Warner Bros. He received two Grammy Award nominations for “Stacy’s ( Log Out /  Learn how your comment data is processed. He won three Emmys, a Grammy, and the ASCAP Pop Music Award.He was nominated for an Oscar, Tony Award and Golden Globe for best original song in 1997.. His best known work was writing and co-producing the title song to That Thing You Do!. There’s also a small role for the wonderful Campbell Scott, playing an ex-lover of Barrymore who has snatched her life and turned her into the villain of a best-selling novel. “Don’t worry,” his agent (Brad Garrett) tells him, “13 year-old kids have no idea who you are.”. Adam Schlesinger, leader of band Fountains of Wayne, poses with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ | Photo Credit: Monica Almeida Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), SOUL – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste, Pop! Adam Schlesinger death: Hugh Grant pays tribute after Fountains of Wayne star dies of coronavirus. Brad Garrett and Haley Bennett are funny in their supporting roles. Speaking of Bennett, she also gets to perform several truly abominable songs in the movie, though they are intentionally so. We are heartbroken by the passing of MTI author Adam Schlesinger. Please enable Cookies and reload the page. Musician Adam Schlesinger died April 1 of complications from the coronavirus. Another Valentine’s Day, another romantic comedy at the movie theatre. Grant is remarkably good at playing this kind of character, and this is his strongest performance since “About a Boy”. Music and Lyrics (2007) Soundtracks. Follow @genius Out of the blue, Alex is given a shot as a big break. I’m pleased to be able to thoroughly recommend “Music and Lyrics” as a fantastic date movie. and Duran Duran) and an aspiring writer as they struggle to compose a song for a reigning pop diva.. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Not having any talent as a lyricist, Alex hires someone to craft a lyric for him, but the results are disappointingly nihilistic, not at all what Alex was hoping for. FILE - This Sept. 14, 2019 file photo shows Adam Schlesinger, winner of the awards for outstanding original music and lyrics for "Crazy Ex Girlfriend," in the … Follow @genius on Twitter for updates He wrote and produced three songs for Music and Lyrics, and his music has also been featured in films such as Shallow Hal (which he scored with Ivy); Robots; There's Something About Mary; Me, Myself & Irene; Josie and the Pussycats; Scary Movie; Art School Confidential; Fever Pitch; The Manchurian Candidate; Becaus… Schlesinger did music for the film, including writing three of its original songs. Music, Film, TV and Political News Coverage. FILE - This Sept. 14, 2019 file photo shows Adam Schlesinger, winner of the awards for outstanding original music and lyrics for "Crazy Ex Girlfriend," in the … Music composed by Adam Schlesinger. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Musician wrote three tracks for Grants’ 2007 rom-com ‘Music & Lyrics’ LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen pose with the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics … I’ve lamented the current languishing state of romantic comedies in general, screenwriters have gotten lazier and lazier with the genre, pushing out inane drivel with no romance, no humor, and no feeling. Adam Schlesinger, an acclaimed singer-songwriter for the bands Fountains of Wayne and Ivy who had an award-winning second career writing songs for film, theater and television, died on … At the center of attention here are a number of songs written by Adam Schlesinger, the bassist for two bands, Ivy and Fountains of Wayne, and who previously penned the superb 1950s pastiche “That Thing You Do!” for the Tom Hanks-directed film of the same name. [CDATA[ Fortunately, he finds help from Sophie (Drew Barrymore), Alex’s “plant lady”. Wonders never cease to exist. Adam Schlesinger was a gifted power-pop songwriter who never seemed to run out of hooks. Change ). In addition, the screenplay is remarkably witty, Grant scores a lot of points in the “amusing self-deprecating dialogue” department. Schlesinger was a founding member of Fountains of Wayne, including this witty song about a … By the way, Hugh Grant can carry a tune quite admirably! Of course, she and Alex fall in love, and of course they break up briefly near the end before coming back together again. Adam Schlesinger was a humble, once-in-a-generation talent who reliably showed us a cinematic world where music fans are as discerning as we are. The film’s central song “Way Back Into Love” is a real charmer, too, and gets two full performances in the movie. Also, when the inevitable break-up occurs, it is not a matter of poor communicating and stupid misunderstandings (which drive me batty in movies like this), but a matter of ethics between two characters with entirely different goals. would squeeze the life and gentle wit out of them. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Goes My Heart (performed by Hugh Grant), Buddha’s Delight (performed by Haley Bennett), Meaningless Kiss (performed by Hugh Grant), Entering Bootytown (performed by Haley Bennett), Way Back into Love [Demo Version] (performed by Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant), Dance with Me Tonight (performed by Hugh Grant), Don’t Write Me Off (performed by Hugh Grant), Way Back into Love (performed by Haley Bennett and Hugh Grant), Different Sound (performed by Malte and the Teddybears). Written by Adam Schlesinger Performed by America Courtesy of Burgundy Records/SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT This is the unwritten rule of all romantic comedies, so it comes with the territory. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. On April 24, 2008, the stage musical Cry-Baby opened on Broadway. Adam Schlesinger, who died April 1, wrote songs that were loved by many fans who never knew his name. His attempts at coming up with songs that would have been big hits in the 1980’s are quite successful, simultaneously mocking and paying homage to the cheesy synthetic pop of the era. He was 52. Could you ask for anything more from a romantic comedy? !function(t,e,r){var n,s=t.getElementsByTagName(e)[0],i=/^http:/.test(t.location)? The film also succeeds at some light satire, gently ribbing the music genre with knowing insight. ... in the film Music and Lyrics, brings Hugh Grant … Adam Schlesinger, co-founder of the New Jersey power-pop group Fountains of Wayne and Emmy- … ( Log Out /  Here, he plays a washed-up pop singer named Alex Fletcher, one of the two key members in the cheesy 80’s band PoP (we see a hilarious music video of one of the band’s hits over the opening credits). "http":"https";t.getElementById(r)||(n=t.createElement(e),n.id=r,n.src=i+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js",s.parentNode.insertBefore(n,s))}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); It’s funny, it’s romantic, it’s got some particularly enjoyable musical numbers, it never gets bogged down in dumb plotting, and it’s got Hugh Grant in very tight plastic pants. One of the hottest stars in pop music, Cora Corman (Haley Bennett… think of a cross between Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, George Harrison and Jennifer Lopez) happens to be a huge fan of Alex Fletcher’s work, and wants him to write her a song for the two of them to perform. (1996) and Music and Lyrics (2007). Meanwhile, Barrymore has established herself as the Meg Ryan of this decade, a fact that I’m perfectly comfortable with. He is known for his work on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2015), That Thing You Do! This Sept. 14, 2019 file photo shows Adam Schlesinger, winner of the awards for outstanding original music and lyrics for “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” in the … Adam Schlesinger has died of COVID-19. Adam Schlesinger, Rachel Bloom and Jack Dolgen pose with the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics Award for 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' in the press … They work very well as satire, but stay near the “skip” button if you buy the soundtrack album. How cute is this song seriously. He does have his limits, though. What sets “Music and Lyrics” apart is how well it handles everything. With all due respect to Mr. Prine, I can’t get over the many great songs of Adam Schlesinger, who passed away in New York on April 1 at age 52 (also due to the coronavirus). //]]>, Sorry, we have to make sure you're a human before we can show you this page. We reflect on his legacy. Problem is, he needs the song within a matter of days. A native of New York City, Adam Schlesinger (1967-2020) was a founding member of Fountains of Wayne, Ivy, and Tinted Windows. Another Valentine’s Day, another romantic comedy at the movie theatre. But also embarrassingly true… Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. As the title of the film would imply, there’s a lot of attention paid to the music of the film, but there’s no proper underscore to speak of. Adam Schlesinger had a hand in so many songs I love–music that is joyous, verbal, peppy, sometimes struttable and often FUNNY AS HELL (an undervalued quality in songwriting). He was married to Katherine Michel. Film Score Reviews by Jonathan Broxton since 1997. While Alex’s former partner Colin has gone on to solo superstardom, Alex is desperately feeding on the crumbs of his former glories. An Emmy and Grammy-winning songwriter, Schlesinger co-wrote the score and lyrics for Cry-Baby, for which he received a Tony nomination for Best Original Score in 2008. Adam Schlesinger was born on October 31, 1967 in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA as Adam Lyons Schlesinger. Here's a sampling of his work in rock, film, TV and more. Blending trashy pop sounds with influence of Ravi Shankar, she creates such horrible “spiritual pop” numbers as “Slam”, “Buddha’s Delight”, and “Entering Bootytown”. Goes My Heart” is particularly fun, and the solo piano ballad “Don’t Write Me Off” is really quite touching. Performances here are fantastic. The first comes from Grant and Barrymore doing a demo recording of the song, and of course the second comes when Grant sings it with Haley Bennett onstage. ... Fever High — and work for the stage and screen, most notably songs for Josie and the Pussycats and Music and Lyrics. The relationship is not merely a series of forced romantic spewings, Grant and Barrymore have a genuine chemistry together. At the center of attention in “Music and Lyrics” is the finest romantic comedy star in movies today, Hugh Grant, who has single-handedly resuscitated countless formulaic films. February 16, 2007 Leave a comment Go to comments. Remembering Adam Schlesinger And The Year The Music Died. Adam Schlesinger is an award-winning songwriter best known to many as bassist for the power pop group Fountains of Wayne. But he could have been talking about musician and songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who wrote many of the best original tracks for “Music and Lyrics,” along … //