2000 Great Songs #1388: Radio Bar

I could probably just keep pulling tracks off Fountains of Wayne's eponymous 1996 debut and 2003's fantastic Welcome Interstate Managers and feel like I've done them justice. But they had some great tunes right up to the end, even if they got a little less attention. Their final album, 2011's Sky Full Of Holes, was a little inconsistent, but "Radio Bar," tucked in near the end, is the band at their best. It's a charming narrative about a group of friends slumming at the usual joint every time they go out, playing the same songs on the jukebox, and it's inherently relatable (and sounds almost enviable). Yet all it takes is the right girl dragging him off to some new place to break the pattern... leaving you to wonder if it's for the better or worse. 

Could just be another cute tale by the boys, with some clever rhymes, but 15 years into their run they conjured one of their catchiest tunes to date. Maybe just a tad too far into Billy Joel territory musically, yet endlessly fun.

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