A Moment in Hollywood

How nice spring. There’s a blizzard outside.. Anyway, I first spotted this following "band" in Last.fm’s recommendations. It took a while before I checked what it actually was but it seemed like I had just found the most bubblegum-spirited (read: fictitious) band there was. The Wonders was a made-up 60s pop band in the film That Thing You Do! (1996), written and directed by Tom Hanks. I still haven’t had time to watch the film but it must be pretty cool.

The film contains some very, very nice music.. The title track That Thing You Do! was written by Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne and sung by none other than Mike Viola himself. It’s a good track, and the movie soundtrack also includes other melodic treats – from The Wonders as well as other fictitious 60s groups.

There is one thing that bothers me about the song - or rather people's reaction to it. When I listen to it, it sounds like… well, a power pop song from 1996, and that is what it really is. Still, very many people seem to be convinced that it is an accurate representation of 60s pop. On the other hand, what’s the difference? I guess it just confuses me to hear Mike Viola sing a song that fictitiously came out before he was even born.. And I can't fit a time machine into the equation very easily.

Were Beatles power pop? That is one difficult question… While you’re thinking, why not listen to The Wonders!