THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #138 - September 9, 1996
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #138
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Topics for Today:
Singer-Songwriters
Background Music for MTV Again
Re: BF5 in the Netherlands
BF5 / video
BFF UK tour
BF5 and Counting Crows
BFF in UK charts
bb5-singles
por favor...
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 19:20:31 -0500
From: DAN FRANKE <deerlick@execpc.com>
Subject: Singer-Songwriters
> My Dad, an English teacher, had an interesting insight about the
> phenomena of rock videos a few years back. He said, "I know you guys [my
> generation] like it, but you don't have your own memories for songs
> anymore. I'm always going to remember where I was when I first heard
> this song or that song, or who I was with at the time, or something funny
> my friends and I did while it was playing..."
>
I was at one of those "In Their Own Words" series things where a bunch of
singer/ songwriters talked about their inspiration for writing a particular
song and then played accoustic versions of them...and someone (I think it
was Marshall Crenshaw) was talking about how he wrote this song before they
started making little *movies* out of songs. After he played the song, he
asked a couple of people to describe the girl that he was singing
about...and not one of them was Alica Silverstone.
> > ps. Wouldn't it be cool if BF5 covered Piano Man? :)
> No. As a pianist who plays cocktail-style gigs and gets asked to play
> the piano at parties, etc., that's almost like playing "Heart and Soul."
> Even Billy Joel hates that song, probably more than anyone else.
>
That was supposed to be a (sarcastic) joke in response to Michael Bluejay's
post about piano songs + piano players.
PS. to Michael: Have you heard of an Austin band named Hammock? What's yr
band's name? Please E-Mail me privately as I have a real Austin fixation.
Thanks
Dan
"The music that you listen to is the soundtrack for your life"
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 01:34:39 -0500
From: jbuff@uit.net
Subject: Background Music for MTV Again
This is my first time posting to the list, so I should quickly say that
I'm a huge fan of the Boys. The very first time I heard them I was
hooked. I was also lucky enough to see them in Lawerence, KS a few
monthes back, and they were amazing. Anyway, people keep making
reference to hearing BFF in the background of shows; in particular, MTV
shows. Well, they've struck again. I happend to stop on
Unfiltered(that news show), and they had "Underground" in the background
of some of the shots. No vocals, just the begining over and over.
Okay, that's all.
Take Care,
Brett
==============================================================================
Date: 07 Sep 1996 11:31:00 +0200
From: Daniel Rodrigues Parreira <parreira@aquawolf.xs4all.nl>
Subject: Re: BF5 in the Netherlands
On 06.09.96, maynard@mail.oeonline.com wrote:
> [Here's the kind of company BFF are keeping, at least in the
> Netherlands: -fjm]
BF5 appeared in a 1 hour special on the Lowlands festival on Dutch TV.
_ _ _
_ | \ |_) |_) parreira@aquawolf.xs4all.nl
(_iao... |_/aniel | \odrigues |arreira parreira@ecsi.chem.uva.nl
parreira@tmbg.org
amsterdam, the netherlands, europe
biochemistry student at the pgp key available on request
university of amsterdam http://ecsi.chem.uva.nl/~parreira
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 7 Sep 1996 10:38:49 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Victor C. Kreuiter" <kwollo@ezl.com>
Subject: BF5 / video
I've been a lurker on this group for a while now . . . and an issue has
popped up I've got to address.
Patrick J. McDonough explains his dad's aversion to videos like this:
He said, "I know you guys [my
generation] like it, but you don't have your own memories for songs
anymore. I'm always going to remember where I was when I first heard
this song or that song, or who I was with at the time, or something funny
my friends and I did while it was playing..."
Don't know how old Patrick is, or how old his father is; I'm 46.
I've only seen BF5 once, last winter in St. Louis. I've always been a
self-described "music nerd," and went to see BF5 on the strength of several
snippet reviews in rather mainstream magazines. Paid $5 to see them, along
with two other acts, which weren't too bad, at The Side Door on a sub-zero
night.
I saw none of this "Billy Joel" shit, maybe some Todd Rundgren (saw Nazz
open for Procol Harum once, cool show), and Joe Jackson simply never
occurred to me. What I did see was an AMAZING act . . . three guys that
sang like birds, who had terrific original material with literate lyrics.
(No, they're not of my "generation", but neither was Hank Williams and I
love his stuff, too.)
The first encore that night was "Video Killed The Radio Star." That pretty
much sums up my feelings about MTV. I really don't care if it lasts
forever, and I really don't care if it shapes and molds that Hot 100 or the
current fashionable style or whatever. I just don't pay attention. I hope
to hell that Ben Folds makes a good living playing music. I hope he has a
lot of fun and I hope he makes it back through St. Louis soon. But no
matter how big he gets, I'm either going to see him in a club, or not at
all. Sorry Ben, no arena shows for me.
The band has real charisma and really knows how to work the house. If they
make a fortune, that's great. (And believe me, I don't get pissed when
someone whose talent I admire hits the jackpot. It's NOT selling out.) I'll
always judge material the same way I judged the first BF5 CD. Do I LIKE IT?
If I don't, free tickets don't get me off the couch.
Hey man, I've gone on long enough. By the way, any Kinks fans out there?
Vic
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 17:05:51 GMT
From: Zoe Drayson <zoe@drayson.demon.co.uk>
Subject: BFF UK tour
Ben Folds Five are playing six dates in the UK in November. Sorry - I don't
actually have any of the dates apart from Nov 22nd - King Tut's in Glasgow.
I think they play somewhere in London on the 18th, but other than that I'm
pretty much clueless.
--
Zoe
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 1996 13:17:32 -0400
From: Rebecca Cole <Rebecca.Cole@mail.trincoll.edu>
Subject: BF5 and Counting Crows
>A friend of mine got hold of an advance copy of the upcoming Counting Crows
> album "Retrieving the Satellites" due on the streets Oct. 15. One of the
> songs is called "Monkeys" and one of the lines from this song is:
>
> I've got nowhere but home to go;
> I've got Ben Folds on the radio now.
Please don't tell me this. I've spent much of the last two or three years
actively despising Counting Crows. This might change everything. I'm still
not going to like the singer's whiny voice, but after hearing this, I might
have to--GASP!--respect them or something.
Or not.
Rebecca
"I used to be temporarily insane. Now I'm just stupid."
-Brak
rcole@mail.trincoll.edu
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 08 Sep 1996 19:20:04 GMT
From: Zoe Drayson <zoe@drayson.demon.co.uk>
Subject: BFF in UK charts
The re-release of Underground has gone into the UK charts at number 37 today.
Just thought I'd let y'all know.
--
Zoe
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 18:12:16 AEST-10
From: hhor1@student.monash.edu.au
Subject: bb5-singles
hi all
i'd like to know why no singles have been released in Australia? well
not to my knowledge and i keep bugging my local record store for
information. i'd love to hear some live BB5!
bye
chris
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 9 Sep 1996 12:41:02 CST
From: ADAM KARNOPP <KARNOPPA@nsu001.northern.edu>
Subject: por favor...
Greetings,
Is there any kind souls out there who would/could send a poor South
Dakota boy the 2 CD singles of Underground? I can't now, nor will I
ever be able to find them here. Any help would be appreciated.
Muchas gracias,
Adam
karnoppa@nsu001.northern.edu
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