HAPPY STARS Punk 'N Soul: The Ballad Of The Electric Sheep 1999

 

Discogs

 

Formed 1998 in Seattle, Washington, members having played in The Posies, The Walkabouts, Fountains of Wayne and Bone Cellar

Sorry, only disc 1 is included here - Blogatrix

 

Tracklist

  1. The Lights Have Gone Out On Earth
  2. Bird Boy Is Not Dead
  3. Burn It Down
  4. Tell Your Daddy Goodbye
  5. Miss Annie Bell
  6. 'It' Could Be The Sun
  7. Stuck
  8. Downpour
  9. It's You Alone
10. Pushing Myself Along
11. Everything's Okay
12. The Pharaoh's Lament
13. Photon Decoupling Revisited

TOO MUCH SCRATCHIE MAKES YOU ITCH!!! Various Artists 1997

 

Discogs

 

Compilation on Mercury Records label

Tracklist

1	Fulflej–	Quite Like This
2	Pancho Kryztal–	Silent Treatment
3	Fondly–	4H
4	Mike Ladd–	Padded Walls
5	Blaze–	Melvin's Brain
6	Eszter Balint–	Don't Forget Your Wrist
7	The Frogs–	Lord Grunge
8	DJ Nabee Swift–	Who's The Producer
9	Fountains Of Wayne–	Karpet King
10	Phoenix Thunderstone–	In And Out Of Time
11	Chainsaw Kittens–	King Monkey Smoke
12	Monkey Paw–	Big Shooter

 

FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE Fountains of Wayne 1996

by request

Discogs

Artist Biography by Andrew Leahey

Although Fountains of Wayne didn't enjoy mainstream attention until the release of "Stacy's Mom" in 2003, the band had already established itself as one of America's strongest power pop acts. Based in New Jersey, the group first appeared in 1996 with a mix of British-influenced pop songs, lo-fi production, and wry lyrics about dead-end jobs and biker boyfriends. Fountains of Wayne expanded their lineup and polished up their sound during the following years, eventually hitting gold with 2003's Welcome Interstate Managers. While that album proved to be something of a fluke success, the band continued releasing well-crafted records throughout the subsequent years. Meanwhile, co-founder Adam Schlesinger enjoyed a separate career as a producer and ghostwriter for other artists. Schlesinger first crossed paths with Chris Collingwood in 1986, while both were studying at Massachusetts' Williams College. Sharing a mutual affection for melodic British pop, the two formed a series of short-lived bands before recording an LP under the name Pinwheel. The duo split up after legal hassles blocked the album's release, with Schlesinger resurfacing as part of the indie pop band Ivy and Collingwood joining a Boston-based country group named the Mercy Buckets. The two musicians eventually reunited in 1996 as Fountains of Wayne, christening their band after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, NJ. Atlantic Records released the duo's self-titled LP that same year, and Schlesinger helped create some more buzz by authoring the title song to the movie That Thing You Do!

Schlesinger's contributions to the film's soundtrack garnered a Grammy nomination and an RIAA gold certification in 1997. Fountains of Wayne's own album only enjoyed a sliver of that success, though, selling roughly 125,000 copies in America. Despite a lack of mainstream attention, the band toured the world alongside the Lemonheads and the Smashing Pumpkins. The addition of two touring musicians -- guitarist Jody Porter and former Posies drummer Brian Young -- helped round out the band's sound, and both became official members during the recording of Utopia Parkway. Released in 1999, the album expanded the band's catalog with slicker production, beefier harmonies, and Porter's muscled guitar work. Despite the popularity of "Denise" at college radio, Utopia Parkway sold poorly. Frustrations grew between Fountains of Wayne and Atlantic Records, who neglected to promote the song "Trouble Times" as a single, and the band was dropped from Atlantic's roster in late 1999. A long hiatus followed, during which Schlesinger co-wrote several songs for the Josie and the Pussycats film, released a third album with Ivy, and produced albums for the Verve Pipe, David Mead, and They Might Be Giants. The musicians reconvened four years later, funneling their own money into the creation of Welcome Interstate Managers. Released in 2003 on the newly minted S-Curve label, the album gave Fountains of Wayne its first taste of Billboard-certified success with "Stacy's Mom," a hit across several charts and the band's first Top 40 entry. The accompanying music video featured Rachel Hunter as the song's voluptuous title character; perhaps predictably so, it became a staple at MTV. The subsequent singles "Mexican Wine" and "Hey Julie" fared less well, but Welcome Interstate Managers nevertheless went gold, whetting the public's appetite for future Fountains of Wayne releases.
The double-disc compilation album Out-of-State Plates arrived in 2005, sporting two new songs (including the single "Maureen"), several live cuts, and a wealth of rarities. Fountains of Wayne launched a limited tour before returning home, where Schlesinger kept up his songwriting chops by penning four tracks for the soundtrack to the 2007 film Music & Lyrics. That same year also saw the release of another FOW album, Traffic and Weather, which continued the band's tradition of fusing power pop with lyrics about travel, relationships, and workplace boredom. While working on a follow-up album, Schlesinger found time to play alongside Taylor Hanson, James Iha, and Bun E. Carlos in the pop supergroup Tinted Windows, whose debut album appeared in 2009. Later that year, Schlesinger joined Fountains of Wayne on a full-band acoustic tour, using the opportunity to play a handful of new songs in front of a live audience. Most of the new material found its way onto the band's next album, Sky Full of Holes, which doubled as their first release for Yep Roc in 2011.

Tracklist 

1	Radiation Vibe	3:40
2	Sink To The Bottom	3:12
3	Joe Rey	2:40
4	She's Got A Problem	3:26
5	Survival Car	2:02
6	Barbara H.	3:22
7	Sick Day	4:33
8	I've Got A Flair	2:52
9	Leave The Biker	2:42
10	You Curse At Girls	2:05
11	Please Don't Rock Me Tonight	2:50
12	Everything's Ruined	2:44

THE BELLTOWER Singles (year unknown)

Not sure if this is an actual release  but here you go

Discogs

biography

[+] by Andy Kellman

The Belltower were something of an anomaly in the early '90s, a shoegaze band from the U.S. But calling them a shoegaze band would be somewhat limiting, given the strength of vocalist Britta Philllips' voice. Most shoegaze bands buried their vocals in washes of guitar fuzz; this is where The Belltower differed, existing as more of a proper pop band.Co-founding members Phillips (also known as the voice of Jem on the '80s cartoon of the same name) and Jody Porter moved the band from New York City to London in 1990 and began issuing their material on the independent Ultimate label. The Terry Bickers (House of Love)-produced Exploration Day single was hailed as NME's single of the week upon release, paving the way for a couple more anticipated singles (In Hollow and Flight) and the full-length Popdropper, released on Ultimate in the U.K. and East/West in the U.S. Following some personnel shakeups, The Belltower headed back to New York. After a stint with future Ivy and Fountains of Wayne member Adam Schlesinger on bass, the band moved to South Carolina and released a 1994 single on Scratchie, Underwatertown. By 1996, The Belltower had dissolved. Porter went on to help out with Schlesinger in Fountains of Wayne and formed Astrojet, while Phillips' later involvements included Ultrababyfat and Luna, in addition to a stretch playing with Ben Lee.

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