Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #46 - March 8, 1996
Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #46
Topics for Today:
Ben Folds 5 mailing list
Re: (bff) responses
Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #45
BF5 & Queen
Addition to next newsletter: VISTING CHAPEL HILL
Summer B.
bff playing in mpls anytime soon?
summer burke
BFF: England Release date
ben folds five review
Fwd: New Address
ben folds five
If you dig BF5...
Where is BFF at?
BF5 Chat on America Online
Mr. Wrong
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 96 11:59:55 EDT
From: reissige@alpha.montclair.edu
Subject: Ben Folds 5 mailing list
Hi my name is Beth Reissig and I was just writing to request to be on the
mailing list for Ben Folds Five. I first heard them on The Conan O'Brien
Show a few months ago. I thought they were really good and I went out and
bought the tape. I listen to it all the time. I want to get them on the
radio but I don't think the stations by me(mostly N.Y.C. stations) have
heard of them. Oh well. Thanks for putting me on the list!
From,
Beth Reissig
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Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 12:19:50 -0500
From: Alessandra Elizabeth Geboff <aegeboff@eos.ncsu.edu>
Subject: Re: (bff) responses
> i wanted to play
> a song, to open for Ben
> manager says no
sorry, but trey has his reasons, i'm sure. (professionalism, probably)
> June 11 Tue Raleigh, NC
where are you going to play?? i can't sing, but i'd love to watch
>. As a fun side note, a vocal track is
> sung by Summer Burke, as in "Where's Summer B.?"
her vox are muddled, i can't even tell there are vocal tracks. and darren
plays drums on a track, too. (boo barry blip)
> If anybody's interested, the Archers Of Loaf are a great band
> themselves.
yeah, the archers rule, but i prefer the first album, icky mettle.
vee vee is too damn noisy for my tastes.
> And, back the Ben, I remember somebody said they had heard him do a
> cover of the Archers of Loaf song "Web in Front" in concert. Does anybody
> have a tape of that or any other of Ben's Archers of Loaf covers?
i wish i had brought my tape recorder for that show...it's the only time i
saw them do that cover...and they were in the archer's hometown so I
thought it was cool. my friend hadn't heard the archers so she thought it
was just another new bff song--i had to explain it to her. i haven't
heard them cover any more archers songs since...hell, i haven't heard them
do web in front since. BTW, has anyone figured out what/where TRINITY
FARMS is in raleigh???
thanks,
--alessa
[Speaking of the Archers, some guy called CBC's Real Time last
Saturday night and requested Archers of Loaf, and sure enough, they
played it a few minutes later. Leora said something like "if you call and
request something cool enough, we might just play it." -fjm]
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Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 11:49:30 -0600
From: Geoffrey McNulty <gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu>
Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #45
Continuing on the Queen kick, I too hear some Queen in "boxing," as well as
Squeeze, early Elton John, and Jellyfish. Let's give it up for our
"indie-rock Billy Joel!" Hey by the way, has anyone tried playing the BF5
album backwards yet? I haven't, but given the obvious influences, there
just might be some subliminal stuff back there. I just transferred Queen's
"Another One Bites the Dust" onto my computer, reversed it, and the rumors
are true, whenever the chorus comes up you can here Freddy sining "It's fun
to smoke Marijuana." It's most obvious at the part when there's little
music, just drums and he's saying "Another One Bites The Dust" over and
over. Neato. Another one rides the bus.
Geoff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geoffrey McNulty | "I shall keep on running, because
Asst. Promotions Director | an object in motion tends to stay
| emotional, and it's better to feel.
UW Madison Student Radio | Pain is better than emptiness,
gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu | emptiness is better than nothing,
| and nothing is better than this."
(608) 264-2261 | --John S. Hall
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Sat, 06 Mar 1999 11:58:52 -0600
From: Geoffrey McNulty <gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu>
Subject: BF5 & Queen
Oh, and here's an attachment that I hope you'll all enjoy (if you have
enough memory). It's the part of the Queen Song that i mentioned, reversed
for your listening pleasure. If you don't know how to access an attachment,
e-mail me.
Geoff
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geoffrey McNulty |
Asst. Promotions Director | "But still my heart beats
| for the one I may never reach
UW Madison Student Radio | It's time for me to learn to lose,
gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu | but no one's left to teach."
| --Reed Sutter
(608) 264-2261 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[I'll get this unbinhexed and put up on the www page sometime this
weekend. -fjm]
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Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 13:02:59 -0500
From: Schmooze1@aol.com
Subject: Addition to next newsletter: VISTING CHAPEL HILL
I went to Chapel Hill for a moot court competition. Perusing the local
record stores (hey everything's cheap in North Carolina!), I walked into one
completely coated with Ben Folds Five posters. Remembering that I had seen
the "Underground" video on MTV's 120 minutes, and sort of liking it, I bought
the album. All I could say is wow! the influences of Joe Jackson, Billy
Joel, Elton John and even Squeeze definitely come through. I am only sorry I
missed them in New Orleans. They came through in early February and I did
not start really taking an interest in them until a week later. Ah well, so
is life.
I'll just have to listen to "Jackson Cannery" yet another time.
==============================================================================
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 15:40:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Matt Mondlock <mmondloc@indiana.edu>
Subject: Summer B.
I talked to Ben after the Chicago show in late January and as of then, he
was not romantically involved with Summer. If I remember correctly, she
was still with Darren at the time (I have no idea if they still are
together at this moment, but I haven't heard otherwise.) But again, as
of then, Ben and Summer were not together.
Matt Mondlock mmondloc@indiana.edu
"You take any dumb rock band and start playing their songs on piano and
watch their eyes light up."
-Ben Folds
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Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 16:26:32 -0600 (CST)
From: Gretchen B Gallagher <gall0031@gold.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: bff playing in mpls anytime soon?
I was just curious as to if anyone has heard of any dates of shows in the
minneapolis area. when they were here last january, my car wouldn't
start due to the 30 below temperatures. bummer! i am looking forward to
the next time they will be in my area, and this time i will take the bus
if i have to! :)
Thanks,
G
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Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 19:00:45 -0500 (EST)
From: Olga_Smith <olga@email.unc.edu>
Subject: summer burke
Funny post about summer. Am I allowed to show her? She'd get a kick out of
it. She's NOT living with Ben, by the by. She's waiting tables over at
Elmo's Diner in Carrboro. You should see this girl salsa dance tho...
olga
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Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 11:52:53 GMT
From: Jay <jmg@pasture.bt.co.uk>
Subject: BFF: England Release date
Hello everyone,
I'm new to this list and wanted to say HI! :)
I got the BFF CD via a friend in the States and I was wondering if anyone
knew if there was a release date planned for England?
Seems a shame that such a cool CD hasn't been released here....
Bye for now,
Jay.
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Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 10:39:32 CST
From: EZUCCOLA@ontrack.com
Subject: ben folds five review
Apparently, those Rust Belt Hipsters in Cleveland are getting swept
up in the crazy BFF sound. Here is a review of the BFF album that appeared
in a recent edition of Scene Magazine, Cleveburgh's free weekly Entertainment
Bible. The web address for this particular review is:
www.clevescene.com/960229/play0229.htm
Enjoy!
Eric Zuccola
BEN FOLDS FIVE
Passenger/Caroline
The only problem with Ben Folds Five's debut is that it was born on the
cusp. An obscure late-'95 issue date will no doubt cheat this fine work
out of its rightful spot on many a '96 top albums list-- including mine,
blast the rules. Still, BEN FOLDS FIVE is easily my pick for best of the
batch so far.
Driven by an eccentric Baldwin baby grand manned by the group's namesake,
BFF turns out a perfect antidote to the angstful, riff-driven dirge that's
become the order of the airwaves. Folds plays masterfully, coaxing an
astounding variety of sounds from keys that hint at volumes of influences
including even a "Chopsticks"-style version of "Rhapsody In Blue."
Arrangement-wise both he and his band --kamikaze bassist Robert Sledge and
drummer Darren Jessee -- deftly fashion a sound that pushes the
tried-and-true piano pop form into rockier terrain, less flowery than Joe
Jackson but rougher than Steely Dan. The trio rushes confidently into
college rock opera territory and stops just shy of schmaltz with
appropriately punky beer bottle clanking sound effects ("Julianne") and a
marvelous hotdogging bass line ("Uncle Walter") that sounds like Morse
code filtered through a Fuzztone.
Most of the trio's smarter-than-you sensibility comes from Folds himself,
a former Nashville session drummer who got so tired of acting in an
off-Broadway production of the "Buddy Holly Story" that he chucked it all
to head home to Chapel Hill, North Carolina and start his own band. Maybe
it's his theater background -- Folds somehow managed to inherit Frank
Loesser's wiseacre ear for a phrase while (most of the time) keeping his
head and his humor.
Even when he gets a little full of himself, it works. Folds has little
enough humility to allow him to get to the truth of lines like: I pushed
because I love you guys/Didn't realize you we're having fun
("Philosophy").
When he's warmer, Folds can be a clever, hysterical and heartfelt
advocate, though wonderful lines still whip by in a speedy deadpan that
peaks in the hero-of-all-geeks declaration: Hand me my nose ring/Show me
the mosh pit/We can be happy underground ("Underground").
Light years quicker than most of us, you might need intellectual hip
waders your first time through BEN FOLDS FIVE, but it's well worth many a
return trip.
[This is now under "reviews" on the web page. Actually, the album was
released in July or thereabouts, not "late-'95" as the article states.
-fjm]
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 15:45:32 -0500
From: Dexedrines@aol.com
Subject: Fwd: New Address
Does anyone have any idea if I can get:
1.) A list of everything that Ben Folds Five has put out to date (i.e. LP's,
EP's, singles, 45's, appearances on tributes, appearances on soundtracks
(such as Mr. Wrong), and any other thing.
2.) Does anyone have any idea if Caroline, Sony, or even Ben himself could
help me get in touch with some copies of the piano music to his wonderfully
entertaining and philosophically invigorating music. I'm not stupid enough
to disiilusion myself and think that there might actually be some in a music
store, and I'm really at a lack of talent for figuring this stuff out, (I got
through the beginning of Philosophy and that's it...) any help will be most
greatly appreciated. Don't be afraid to add the bass tabs if Mr. Sledge
doesn't mind.
3.) Is there any Ben paraphenalia out lurking the streets, I'd like to catch
some, (T-shirts, key chains, dolls of Ben, Rob, and Darren with the little
suction cups on their hands and feet so that they can attach themselves to a
car window...) Also, I'd like to personally reem out the person who made it
that commercial if there are. I mean really dolls with suction cups, pshaw!
I realize that I could have purchased a T-shirt at the most recent BF5
performance near my armchair, which brings me to my last question:
4.) ARE THEY EVER COMING BACK TO DETROIT!???!!!? I was unable to attend, I
realize that the only thing that should have kept me from the show was
Martian terrorists holding the world for hostage, but unfortunately for me,
and fortunately for the world, I don't have such an excuse. I think that Ben
is punishing me for not coming to the last show and is therefore boycotting
the metro Detroit area. PLEASE BEN! COME BACK!
So if any of my fellow colleagues, (that would be you...) have any idea if
they plan to come back here (please,please,please) please inform me
immediately (I mean like yesterday!)
Thank you ever so greatly (especially to Franklin...)
Sincerely,
Shawn Clark (STOP THE BUS!!!)
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 1996 16:15:30 -0500 (EST)
From: Chuck Corby <cmcorby@buffnet.net>
Subject: ben folds five
Hello all!
This is my first post to the list, and I'm grateful to be a part
of it.
I work at a CD store (we DO have a BF5 divider card, unlike the
store mentioned in one of the digests!). One day one of the employees
put on the "Mr. Wrong" soundtrack, which was nothing special, until "Song
for the Dumped" came on. Picture the three employees literally running
to the listening center to find out what was playing! Then we stopped
everything and put the full length BF5 album on, and by the end of the
night we were sold out of the CD.
At work we listen to all kinds of releases, but I have never been
so impressed by a debut album. It is simply excellent--everything about
it works. From the slightly bent lyrics, to the harmonies, and especially
the ferocious playing of the band, it's an incredible debut. But what
really sets this album apart is the energy of the band; on each track
they sound as if they are playing for their lives.
I've really enjoyed reading all of the posts from everyone here,
(especially the lyric explanations--thanks for the Summer B info).
I also appreciate all the work Mr. Maynard does to manually put this digest
together.
Chuck Corby
cmcorby@buffnet.net
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Date: Thu, 07 Mar 1996 16:51:16 -0500
From: "Brian R. Kessler" <bkessler@btv.ibm.com>
Subject: If you dig BF5...
...you must check out Possum Dixon's latest... "Star Maps".
b
"Hear them listenin', hear them talkin'.
Bark, bark, bark, bark. Talkin' nonsense..." - Possum Dixon
--
Brian R. Kessler
voice: 802-769-7600
e-mail: IBM Internal - bkessler@btv.ibm.com Internet - bkessler@vnet.ibm.com
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 7 Mar 96 21:57:12 UT
From: Margaret Canada <sadface@msn.com>
Subject: Where is BFF at?
My name is Mary Showalter and I am 14 years old. I have a little
problem, I can never go see BFF when they come to Kansas City, MO, or
Lawerence, KS because I am under 21. Do they play any concerts that I can
go to in Kansas City or Lawerence in the future? Thank You
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Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 02:40:20 -0500
From: PowerVegan@aol.com
Subject: BF5 Chat on America Online
Chat about Ben Folds Five on America Online every Tuesday night at 10:00pm
CST!
Once you're signed on to America Online, then:
1. Go to the Main Menu.
2. Click People Connection.
3. Click the ROOMS icon.
4. Click the MEMBER ROOMS button.
5. Scroll down until you see the BEN FOLDS FIVE FANS room, then double-click
it.
See you there!
-- Michael Bluejay, Austin TX (going for the title of biggest BF5 fan!)
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Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 09:27:04 -0500
From: Tkuri@aol.com
Subject: Mr. Wrong
I finally listnened to "Mr. Wrong" soundtrack at Tower Records.
I think I'll buy the used one at local CD store.
Anyway, BFF song is great. Also, The J. Giles band's song "Love Stinks" by
Joan Jett is cool too. Don't you think so?
Kuri
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