THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #121 - July 24, 1996



                     THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #121
 
 REMINDERS:
     * Change the subject of your reply to something pertaining to your
       message (not "The Magical Armchair, Issue #nnn").
     * Don't quote excessively, or quote the entire digest, when replying.
     * Please keep non-Ben Folds Five content to a minimum.
     * If you attend a show, you must post a review!
     
 
Topics for Today:
 
      JFish vs BFF
      First chord in Jackson Cannery
      BF5 on Club Congress site
      Re: THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #120
      Funny little coincidence
      Re: That Fishy Band
      Queen's Similarities to BF5
      Where's the chords to Summer B?
      Re: Ben Folds Five transcript?
      Julianne
      Alice Childress
      Alice Childress.....or Alex Chilton
      My birthday w/ BF5...
 
 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 18:11:55 -0400
 From: DMedsker@aol.com
 Subject: JFish vs BFF

 > > Are there any BFF fans out there that just got turned on to
 > > Jellyfish?

 In Boston for my brother's wedding. Played Jackson Cannery, mom said 'Sounds
 like the Beatles.' Played Underground, sister said 'Sounds like Jellyfish.'
 Ben may not obviously nod to the Fab Four, but he was influenced by them, as
 were the Fish. Maybe that's the connection between the two. I wouldn't say
 BFF sound a thing like Queen. And Jellyfish didn't sound like Queen until
 Spilt Milk. Bellybutton was pure Beatlemania.

 If the Fish and BFF have anything else in common, it's that they're both very
 smart, musically brilliant bands with a sense of humour and a good turn of
 phrase. But why is it every band like that gets compared to the Beatles?

 My two cents,

 David M

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 18:22:04 -0400
 From: PowerVegan@aol.com
 Subject: First chord in Jackson Cannery

 galileo@mindspring.com wrote

 >>With due respect to the original poster, Schmooze1@aol.com, the first chord
 is not C, but C minor 7 (c7).

 It's not C or C7 or Cm7, it's C7/add9 I tell you!  C-E-G-Bb-D
 The tab from bottom to top is x-3-2-3-3-x.
 That leaves out the G, but that's close enough for guitar.

 Trust me.

 -- Michael Bluejay (Austin, TX)

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 18:55:30 -0400
 From: SashaHB@aol.com
 Subject: BF5 on Club Congress site

 I accidentally happened upon a site for Club Congress, a Tucson club that BF5
 played back in February.  Apparently, they "broadcast" the events at the club
 over the net.  Problem is, I can't figure out how to make it work, and the
 software I downloaded doesn't work.  Anyways, go to http://hotcong.com/congo/c
 lub.cam.htm  and look in the "Best of Club Cam" section, and you'll see there
 is a listing for BF5.  All I see is a lousy still picture of the February
 show (you can't even see Darren in the pic).  Maybe somebody out there who's
 more technically adept (& has Netscape) can figure this one out & let the
 rest of us know about it.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 20:40:36 -0400
 From: Schmooze1@aol.com
 Subject: Re: THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #120

 > Okay, I had wanted to keep this a secret until I came out with my complete
 > parody of the CD, but what the hell, here's some help.  The chords are
 > actually more textured than just C-D-E-G, they're C7/add9-D7-E7-G7, then
 > D-F#7-G-E.  The "Did Mother Nature" part is A-G6-C7/add9-D-G-D-E.  There's
 > more, but I'm rushing out the door.

 That's it!!!  all you are missing is the C7-D7-G7-D7-G7 in the "whoa-whoa"
 part!!


 I am still working on this six string of mine to figure out that last part.
  Oh and the mother nature part.....I got it A-C7-G..... maybe it is just
 me.....thanks mucho!

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 22:26:46 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Your Worst Nightmare 
 Subject: Funny little coincidence

 I just wanted to say how Best Imitation of Myself helped me break up with
 a past boyfriend. Man, that song helped me through this all.

 NEWS-I met the drummer for Nada Surf the other night (The band that sings
 "popular") and he told me that he used to open for Ben Folds Five. We had
 a great little chat about how the Drummer of Nada Surf (Ian) was the only
 one who understood the band at all. And when I asked Ian to give me an
 autograph, he signed it the same way that one of the members of BFF did
 (Robert). Wierd huh?
 Just a thought. -Erica

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 University Reporter			     WBRU 95.5 -Sales Dept.
 Music Editor			    	     The Cutting Edge of Rock
 815 15th Street NW Suite 608		     88 Benevolent St	
 Washington DC, 20005			     Providence, RI 02906	
 ******************I do the best imitation of myself.....*******************
 "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees."     -Dolores Ibarruri
 contact                                  http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~erica67
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 00:28:55 -0400 (EDT)
 From: John Waclo 
 Subject: Re: That Fishy Band

 > Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 11:42:27 -0500
 > From: DAN FRANKE 
 > Subject: That Fishy Band
 > I just don't get the connection
 > between the two, except that Jellyfish reminded me of Queen a little bit +
 > I've heard people try to slam on BF5 by saying that they sound like Queen
 > (which isn't an insult at all).

 I think the connection is more in the song writing than the actual "sound"
 of the band.  They seem to have the same (not so common) melodic sense.
 Sometimes I think they are very similar, and other times I not.  "Alice
 Childress" is kind of reminiscent of Jellyfish's "Calling Sarah."  However,
 I don't here a similarity when listening to Jellyfish's "All Is Forgiven."
 This is, of course, all just my opinion.  Anyway, that's all I have to say
 about that.  Later...
 _____________________________________________________________________

 John C. Waclo                                     johncw@nauticom.net
 _____________________________________________________________________

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 07:39:10 -0400
 From: Ruprecht76@aol.com
 Subject: Queen's Similarities to BF5

 >   I've heard people try to slam on BF5 by saying that they sound like Queen
 >   (which isn't an insult at all).

 Yeah, Queen is great, and are part of the reason why I liked ben folds five
 so much... When I heard Underground on the radio it reminded of Bohemien
 Rhapsody a lot because of the way it sounds so epic, I can't think of a
 really good way to describe the relationship, but maybe you know what I'm
 talking about.  Underground also reminded of the song Killer Queen because of
 the great backing vocals... boy do I miss the days when I could sing along
 with queen in a non-falsetto voice...

 a spooky man named Ike

 I wish that I could jump out my .sig

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 08:53:40 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Marc 
 Subject: Where's the chords to Summer B?

 Here are the chords to the song...

                           WHERE'S SUMMER B?

 Straight 4/4

 Intro:

   ||:  E  |  Bm7  :||  x4

 Verse:

   ||:  E  |  Bm7  :||  x4

   ||:  A/D  |  D/G :||  x3

 Chorus:

   ||: C  |  D  |  Bm7  |  Esus4  E  Esus2/D  E/D :||  x3

   |  C   |  C  |  C/D  |  C/D  |

 [Repeat Intro, Verse, Chorus, Intro]

 Bridge: {lighter}

   |  Am7  |  D7  |  Gmaj7  |  Cmaj7  |  Fmaj7  |  D9  |

 [Solo over Intro]

 Interlude:

   {two hits}  {piano break}
   ||:  Bm7/E  |          :||  x4


 Repeat Chorus by playing the first line seven times, then play the next

 line of the chorus once.  Then play the intro ending on a Bm7 (giving it

 the feeling that it's not really over... but it is).


 More to come...

 Love,
 Marc

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 12:26:01 -0700
 From: "Andrew J. Bernstein, WBS Event Producer" 
 Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five transcript?

 You may find all of the transcripts of all the Lollapalooza shows at
 http://wbs.net/events/lollatran.html

 Stay tuned for more shows!!!

 Andy Bernstein
 WBS Producer

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 15:43:28 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Marc 
 Subject: Julianne


                         Julianne

 Bass plays straight 8th's

 Verse 1:
                                            {break}
   A  |  D  |  A  |  D  |  B  |  Em  Em/D  |  G   |  -  |

 Verse 2 (w/keys&drums):

   A  |  D  |  A  |  D  |  B  |  Em  Em/D  |  G  A  |  A  |

 Chorus (same as verse 2)

  {mini piano solo over}
   A | D | A | D |

 Verse 3 (same as verse 2)

 Chorus 2:

   A  |  D  |  A  |  D  |  B  |  Em  Em/D  |  G  A  |  D  |

 Bridge:

   B  C  |  B  C  |  D  |  D  |  B  C  |  B  C  |  D  |  D  |

 Piano solo over verse 2 chords

 Verse 4 (same as verse 2)

 Repeat chorus 2 twice to end.


 Love,
 Marc

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 16:00:02 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Marc 
 Subject: Alice Childress


                      Alice Childress

 (I enjoyed figuring this one out...  It's fun to play, too)

 Intro:

   ||:  B (8-7-6) |  Emaj7 add9 :||  x4

 Verse:

   |  Abm  Gb/Bb  |  B  E  |  Abm  Gb/Bb  |  Gb/Ab  Ab/Bb  |

   |  E  Gb  |  B  E  |  Dbm7  Gb  |  B  |

   |  E  B/Eb  |  Gb/Ab  Ab/Bb  |

 Chorus:

   |  E  B/Eb  |  Abm Gb/Bb B B/Eb  |  E  B/Eb  |  Gb/Ab  Ab/Bb  |

   |  E  B/Eb  |  Abm Gb/Bb B B/Eb  |  E  B/Eb  |  Gb/Ab  |  E/Gb  |

 1/2 Intro, Verse 2, Chorus 2...

 Bridge (piano solo):

   |  Bm7/E  |  E  |  Bm7  |  E  |

   |  C/G  |  Gmaj7  |  C/D  |  Gmaj7  |

   |  C/D  |  Gmaj7  |  E/D  |

    {piano-slower}
   ||:  Abm  Gb/Bb  |  B  E  :||

 Verse 3:

   |  Abm  Gb/Bb  |  B  E  |  Abm  Gb/Bb  |  Gb/Ab  Ab/Bb  |

   |  E  Gb/Eb  |  B  E  |  Dbm7  Gb  |  B  |

   |  E  B/Eb  |  Gb/Ab  |  Ab/Bb  |

 Chorus 3:

   |  E  B/Eb  |  Abm Gb/Bb B B/Eb  |  E  B/Eb  |  Gb/Ab  Ab/Bb  |

   |  E  B/Eb  |  Abm Gb/Bb B B/Eb  |  E  B/Eb  ||: Gb/Ab | E/Gb :|| x3

 End with intro (finishing with Emaj7 add9)

 Enjoy

 -Marc

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 18:04:53 -0400
 From: HolliStar@aol.com
 Subject: Alice Childress.....or Alex Chilton



    Hi all ! I just had a question for you guys...doesn't it sound like Ben is
 saying
  "Alex Chilton" instead of "Alice Childress"? Somebody has probably already
 asked that, but It's driving me crazy! , so... By the way- it's a little off
 the subject but since we are talking about Alex Chilton, does anyone here
 like Big Star or The Posies?

    [We've talked about this before. Ben is singing "Alice Childress" and
 he's not referring to the author and playwright Alice Childress, or the
 songwriter Alex Chilton. He's invoking the name of a mental patient at a
 hospital where Anna Goodman, who co-wrote the song with Ben, once worked.
 Alice supposedly threw mop water on Anna. -fjm]

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Wed, 24 Jul 1996 13:18:14 CST
 From: ADAM KARNOPP 
 Subject: My birthday w/ BF5...

 Hello there,

 Hm....this is my first post thing here, so I guess an introduction
 could be useful.  My name's Adam and I live in the *state* of South
 Dakota.  Yipee!  I'm  a college student, studying to be a teacher
 (yep) of elementary kids or spanish (or both?).  Oh, yeah.  And I
 *love* BF5s music!  They rule.

 Anyway, yesterday was my birthday, the big 2-0.  I started the day
 off with some "jackson cannery" and the rest of the cd (I just love
 that song).  Then I was watching a little Be-ach MTV and all of a
 sudden I hear:  "who's got the looks, who's got the brains, who's got
 everything..." and got all excited. Could it be?  A video?  Nope, it
 was just a cheesy song snippet for some stupid MTV interlude thing.
 But that got me thinking....do they have a video?  I thought MTV
 could only use song clips from the videos they have rights
 to....maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about, though?  Anyway, I
 made a tape of BF5 for my car...now all my friends can hear 'em, too!
 I also plugged them a few days ago on the Tori Amos e-zine.  I hope
 people heed my adivice.  These guys rule!

 Well, enough, I should say....By the way, I know this has been asked,
 but are there any live recordings, bootlegs, shirts, etc. to be
 purchased?  Let me know, k?  Thanks....

 --Adam

   [Happy Birthday, Adam! There are two videos: Underground and Uncle
 Walter. Both have been played on 120 Minutes but as far as I know haven't
 made it to Alternative Nation or the Buzz Bin or anywhere else on MTV.
 Call them up and request it, and maybe they will!!  Also, there are some
 boots floating around, but no merch-by-mail yet - there are T-shirts
 which are presently only sold at shows. -fjm]

 ==============================================================================

    [Katie Spain - would you please e-mail me? Thanks ! -fjm]


 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR - The Ben Folds Five Mailing List
  Submit to: maynard@oeonline.com             Admin. to: maynard@oeonline.com
                WWW homepage: http://oeonline.com/~maynard/bff/
             List archive: http://oeonline.com/~maynard/bff/list/
                             I don't miss Julianne