Adam Schlesinger Quotes

Powerful Adam Schlesinger for Daily Growth

About Adam Schlesinger

Adam Schlesinger was an accomplished American musician, songwriter, and producer, best known for his work with the bands Fountains of Wayne and Ivy. Born on December 31, 1967, in New York City, he developed a passion for music at a young age, inspired by the diverse musical landscape of his hometown. Schlesinger began his professional career as a songwriter in the mid-90s, penning hits for artists like Ronan Keating, Carly Simon, and All-4-One. His big break came in 1996 when he co-founded Fountains of Wayne with Chris Collingwood. The band gained critical acclaim with their debut album, 'Fountains of Wayne' (1996), which included the hit single "Radiation Vibe." Their sophomore album, 'Welcome Interstate Managers' (2003), brought them mainstream success, thanks to the catchy singles "Stacy's Mom" and "Hackensack." Schlesinger's knack for crafting clever, witty lyrics about everyday suburban life earned him a place among the leading songwriters of his generation. In addition to Fountains of Wayne, Schlesinger also worked extensively in television, earning four Emmy Awards for his work on shows like "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "Russian Doll," and "A Late Quartet." His versatility as a composer was further showcased when he co-wrote the song "That Thing You Do!" for the 1996 film of the same name. Tragically, Schlesinger passed away from complications related to COVID-19 on April 1, 2020, at the age of 52. His contributions to music and television continue to inspire and entertain audiences worldwide. Quotes attributed to Schlesinger often reflect his wit and love for songcraft, such as "There's a lot of pressure when you're a band like ours to have a clever title," referring to Fountains of Wayne's knack for humorous album titles.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Music is a fundamental part of our culture. Without it, our days would be a whole lot quieter."

Adam Schlesinger's quote emphasizes the essential role music plays in human culture. He suggests that without music, life would lack vibrancy and diversity, as music not only entertains but also serves as an integral aspect of our collective expression and communication. Music is more than just a form of audio; it enriches our daily experiences, creating a sonic backdrop to the rhythm of our lives.

"Songwriting is something that you have to work at your entire life if you're going to get any good at it."

Adam Schlesinger emphasizes that mastering songwriting requires lifelong dedication and persistent effort, as it is not a skill that can be quickly acquired or easily perfected. To become proficient in this craft, one must consistently practice, learn, experiment, and refine their abilities over an extended period.

"The idea behind the song [Crazy on You] was just kind of an homage to all the early '70s FM radio songs that we loved, which are all about falling in love and being totally crazy about somebody."

Adam Schlesinger's quote suggests that his song "Crazy on You" is a tribute to the popular music of the 1970s FM radio era. These songs often revolved around themes of falling deeply in love and being completely infatuated or 'crazy' about someone. The phrase "early '70s FM radio songs that we loved" implies nostalgia for a specific musical period, likely characterized by the catchy melodies, romantic lyrics, and overall positive vibe associated with popular music during that time.

"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything like that."

Adam Schlesinger, in this quote, emphasizes a humble approach to innovation and creation – one that values progress without unnecessary reinvention. He suggests that he and his colleagues are working to improve upon existing ideas and creations, rather than aiming to create something entirely new and revolutionary. This mindset often leads to practical solutions, building on the foundations laid by those who came before, while still pushing boundaries and making valuable contributions.

"You should never assume that people know who you are. You should always remind them." (This quote is more related to his career as a songwriter and musician, but it holds true for many aspects of life.)

This quote emphasizes the importance of self-promotion in any field or aspect of life. Adam Schlesinger suggests that one should never rely on others to recognize their talents or identity; instead, they should consistently remind people of who they are and what they can offer. In other words, it's essential to take an active role in showcasing one's skills, achievements, and values to ensure they're acknowledged by the right audience.

I think I initially started inventing characters in my songs because I didn't want to write directly about myself. Also, as a kid, I loved all the character names in Beatles songs, like Eleanor Rigby and Lovely Rita and Mean Mr. Mustard and Maxwell and Rocky Raccoon.

- Adam Schlesinger

Kid, I Think, About, Mustard

I had a job transcribing a biotechnology-litigation seminar. You put headphones on and fast-forward and stop with your feet. There were a lot of 'um's.'

- Adam Schlesinger

Feet, Headphones, Had, Seminar

I think people sometimes confuse 'catchy' with something that should automatically be a hit in today's world. I mean, obviously we write a lot of stuff that's catchy, that sticks in your head. But that doesn't necessarily mean that middle-school kids are going to want to listen to a song about a lawyer or a Subaru or whatever.

- Adam Schlesinger

Sometimes, I Think, About, Catchy

I always have to be thinking about who's going to be singing this song, what the context is. I don't sit around just writing in a vacuum, ever.

- Adam Schlesinger

Song, Singing, Always, Context

It's always been my philosophy to keep a lot of balls in the air. With music, most things don't pan out, so you try to increase your odds by being involved with a million things at once.

- Adam Schlesinger

Balls, Air, Been, Odds

Scotland is a picturesque country where the people are friendly yet completely incomprehensible. Also, the national delicacy is a sheep's stomach filled with its liver, lungs, and heart.

- Adam Schlesinger

Country, Liver, Friendly, Lungs

Most of the jobs I've gotten are from people calling me. I don't actively solicit a lot of work like that, but maybe I should.

- Adam Schlesinger

Like, Maybe, Gotten, Actively

Making your own records is really satisfying in the sense that you more or less get to do what you want. It may not sell or whatever, but on an artistic level, the only people that you really have to fight with are the people in your own band.

- Adam Schlesinger

Making, Records, May, Satisfying

For me, it's just more satisfying when you follow the rules rather than just make a bunch of sounds. The magic of just making noise in the studio goes away after a while.

- Adam Schlesinger

Magic, Making, Studio, Satisfying

As a writer, I find it very satisfying when a lyric suddenly ties together more neatly than you expected it to. But for the listener, hearing a good lyric is not generally as exciting as hearing a great beat or a great riff or a great melody or even a distinctive singing voice for the first time.

- Adam Schlesinger

Voice, Very, Riff, Satisfying

I normally write on acoustic guitar, although piano is the instrument that I actually studied. Occasionally, I'll write on the piano or sometimes with no instrument at all.

- Adam Schlesinger

Acoustic Guitar, Studied, Normally

I think in most cases, when you're writing a song, you're just making up a little story, and you're not really thinking about making a point one way or another about it. You're just coming up with a little scenario and seeing it through, and that's it.

- Adam Schlesinger

Through, I Think, Another, Making Up

Either I need an assignment with a strict deadline - like something for a movie or a TV show or whatever - or else I need to create a made-up deadline for myself for my own records. Otherwise, I don't write anything.

- Adam Schlesinger

Movie, Records, TV, Strict

Saxon, if you are unfamiliar, is a British heavy-metal band that has been around since the mid-'70s and was in no small part the inspiration for Spinal Tap.

- Adam Schlesinger

Small, Been, Tap, Spinal Tap

With Fountains Of Wayne, I almost always start with lyrics - maybe not the entire lyric, but I almost always need a couplet or something, and then I work from there. With Ivy, it's much more about the atmosphere and the vibe.

- Adam Schlesinger

Always, Vibe, Atmosphere, Ivy

With the TV stuff, we usually hand in final, finished tracks. The turnaround time is so tight that there's no time to demo anything; you just do it.

- Adam Schlesinger

No Time, TV, Finished, Turnaround

Coachella is a magnet for music-biz luminaries such as Tara Reid, Paris Hilton, and Cameron Diaz.

- Adam Schlesinger

Paris, Magnet, Cameron, None

Your job as a producer is to make suggestions without putting your ego in front of everything else. Also, I think you want to focus on that artist's best qualities and really highlight them.

- Adam Schlesinger

Artist, I Think, Putting, Everything Else

The Cleveland Cavaliers are forced to play in something called the 'Quicken Loans Arena.' This is a terrible name for a sports venue.

- Adam Schlesinger

Sports, Play, Venue, Cleveland

I generally prefer to come in to the studio with a fully written song and then work on the arrangement with the band. Sometimes even the arrangements are pretty much already worked out in my head, but other times we experiment.

- Adam Schlesinger

Other, Studio, Prefer, Fully

The Mall Of America, outside Minneapolis, is just a mall. Yeah, it's big. So, like, instead of your typical 12 Starbucks, there are 30.

- Adam Schlesinger

Big, Starbucks, Like, Minneapolis

I started taking piano lessons when I was about 5, and there was always a lot of music in my family: my parents both play instruments, my grandparents were classical violinists, and my grandfather was actually a music professor and a conductor.

- Adam Schlesinger

Play, Grandparents, About, Conductor

If you're sitting in a place like Martha's Vineyard, I don't think you're going to write a song about a ski resort.

- Adam Schlesinger

Song, Think, Martha, Sitting

Every year, there's some band that plays guitar-oriented pop music that has a single, but for the most part, it's kind of relegated to the sidelines.

- Adam Schlesinger

Year, Some, Plays, Sidelines

One of the more surreal days I've ever had in the recording studio was Martin Fry teaching Hugh Grant his old dance moves. Showing him how to do the hair-flip and the point, and all these sort of trademark moves of his.

- Adam Schlesinger

Studio, Recording, Had, Trademark

I think one of the pitfalls of doing your own music is that sometimes you can never be satisfied with it: you're afraid to say that it's done, and you keep reworking it or re-recording it or re-writing it.

- Adam Schlesinger

Doing, Think, I Think, Pitfalls

The Ting Tings have been a huge hit in my family. I have two young daughters, and both of them love that record, so I pretty much have to listen to that ten times a day.

- Adam Schlesinger

Love, Pretty, Been, Ten Times

London is a vast, complex city designed by the same guy who created the Habitrail.

- Adam Schlesinger

City, London, Same, Designed

I like switching gears. I'm kind of a chameleon.

- Adam Schlesinger

Chameleon, Like, Switching, Gears

Most of your day is spent working, and being in a band is no different. We're just business travelers in a way.

- Adam Schlesinger

Business, Your, Spent, Travelers

I think when we were starting out, it was more about imitating our songwriting heroes. We would try to write songs like Neil Finn, or we would try to write songs like Ray Davies, or we would try to write songs like Glenn Tilbrook.

- Adam Schlesinger

Think, Like, I Think, Starting

I think with musicals, it's much more part of the script. They don't want songs that would stop the show; they need songs that keep the plot moving.

- Adam Schlesinger

Think, Need, I Think, Musicals

I've never really had the desire to be a front person or a solo artist. I don't really create that much of a hierarchy in my mind.

- Adam Schlesinger

Mind, Desire, Artist, Solo

It would probably be better if I got involved in fewer things just because I'd have more time to write for my own purposes... But if somebody calls you up with a really cool project, it's hard to just say 'no' because you don't feel like working.

- Adam Schlesinger

Project, Own, Fewer, Purposes

The nature of the music business is such that it's better to have a few chances for some things to be successful than just one, and that's kind of been my attitude all along.

- Adam Schlesinger

Business, Some, Been, Chances

Bands like R.E.M. and even The Replacements, during that initial wave of college rock, would sell 40, 50, 100,000 copies of a record, and that would be seen as extremely successful - and definitely enough to keep doing more.

- Adam Schlesinger

College, Doing, Bands, Copies

We were called 'Three Men Who, When Standing Side by Side, Have a Wingspan of Over Twelve Feet.' We had that name for a week or so. We were also called 'Are You My Mother?' for awhile. We went through a lot of really dumb band names - almost as dumb as Fountains of Wayne.

- Adam Schlesinger

Feet, Week, Through, Awhile

With Fountains of Wayne, after 'Stacy's Mom' happened, we started making a little bit more money and getting a little bit more known.

- Adam Schlesinger

Mom, More, Making, Wayne

I usually start with a lyric and see where that takes me.

- Adam Schlesinger

Me, Start, See, Lyric

Really, music is what I'm interested in, and the lyric part of it came from just having to have something to sing.

- Adam Schlesinger

Music, Part, Having, Lyric

The truth is that I don't work any harder than anyone else in the world. I don't work 18-hour days. I don't stay up until 4 in the morning trying to finish a line.

- Adam Schlesinger

Work, Line, Any, Harder

I don't know if there's a particular project, but one movie that I was really disappointed I didn't get to work on was Judd Apatow's 'Walk Hard.'

- Adam Schlesinger

Work, Project, Movie, Disappointed

What should a song be about? It's a trick question for songwriters because lots of amazing songs aren't 'about' anything. Or, at least, they're not about anything that's obvious or logical.

- Adam Schlesinger

Song, Question, About, Songwriters

In the '80s, they were using an awful lot of technology but hadn't really figured out how it worked yet... You had these really great, simple pop songs turned into these gigantic overproductions.

- Adam Schlesinger

Awful Lot, Turned, Awful, Gigantic

A song sometimes ends up with its own internal logic.

- Adam Schlesinger

Song, Sometimes, Internal, Logic

When you're writing for a show, you're writing part of the script. You have to tell the story.

- Adam Schlesinger

Writing, Tell, Part, Script

I'm just like anybody else: I have stuff to do in the day, whether that's writing a song or recording a song. I try to treat everything I do as just work.

- Adam Schlesinger

Song, Treat, Like, Anybody Else

Andy Chase and I were keyboard players originally, and we became guitarists later. But it's fun for us to focus more on the keyboard stuff sometimes.

- Adam Schlesinger

Keyboard, Players, Became, Andy

I tend to write songs that are about something pretty specific. A lot of them tell some kind of little made-up story.

- Adam Schlesinger

Kind, Some, Pretty, Specific

I am not very regimented unless I have to be. I wish I was someone that could just write every day, but I tend to work on specific projects for a specific period of time and then stop.

- Adam Schlesinger

I Wish, Very, Period, Specific

Cheap Trick has played with every band on the planet.

- Adam Schlesinger

Cheap, Band, Planet, Trick

I just like to stay busy, and I like to work with interesting people.

- Adam Schlesinger

Work, Busy, Like, Interesting People

A band can define their own success.

- Adam Schlesinger

Success, Band, Own, Define

In promotional mode, every day is a series of decisions. You can easily fill up your day with checklist stuff.

- Adam Schlesinger

Every Day, Your, Fill, Series

I'm not comfortable as a lead singer. Maybe I could do it in the studio, but I wouldn't have the confidence to play shows.

- Adam Schlesinger

Play, Shows, Studio, Singer

I just try to tell a story rather than present an open diary to the world.

- Adam Schlesinger

World, Tell, Rather, Diary

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.