THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #353 - June 13, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Friday, June 13 1997 Volume 01 : Number 353
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Mailing List
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
the Mn edge...
BF5 on (ugh) JMc
Connan apperance and Ben Folds B-Sides
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #352
Gee, whats Brick mean again?/NAZI ALERT
Conan Appearance-- blech!
BFF in Toronto and on Conan
BNL/BFF Connection AND Re:YOU FORCE MY HAND!!!!!
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #352
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #351
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #351
Folds Pro-Shot video
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 19:23:40 -0500 (CDT)
From: Clio <carv0022@maroon.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: the Mn edge...
i would just like to say to all who are from minneapolis that i talked to
the people in the edge van the night of the show. the guy in the van
waved me over after i stuck my tongue out at him (childish i know but i
couldn't help it) then he asked me what that was for...so i told him
cause he worked for the edge..." so...." was his reply "SOOOOO the edge
sucks, have you ever once played ben Folds five? do you even know who
they are ? i think not...you don't deserve to be here nor do you belong
here" then i just walked away---okay it sounds lame now but damn at the
time it made me feel good---just needed to share
Amie
- --Amie Carvel
"I just can't get rid of you like you got rid of me, ohhh but I send you my
best cause God knows you've seen my worst"
Ben Folds Five
http://www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/m429/carv0022
carv0022@maroon.tc.umn.edu
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 21:09:37 -0400
From: quist813@webtv.net
Subject: BF5 on (ugh) JMc
- --WebTV-Mail-1261883605-828
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT
Hello everybody! Please don't miss BF5 on Thursday's Jenny McCarthy
Show! Take care!! CaRi
- --WebTV-Mail-1261883605-828
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Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 10:58:05 -0700
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From: Epic_Records@epiccenter.music.sony.com
To: benfoldsfive@listserv.music.sony.com
Subject: Ben Folds Five will be performing on the Jenny McCarthy Show
Sender: owner-benfoldsfive@listserv.music.sony.com
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Reply-To: benfoldsfive@listserv.music.sony.com
Ben Folds Five will perform their new single "One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn Faces" on the Jenny McCarthy Show.
Thursday 6/12/1997 @ 8:30pm and
Saturday 6/14/1997 @ 10:00pm
If you would like to be removed from this list send an e
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benfoldsfive
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 23:01:21 PDT
From: evlbison <evlbison@neo.lrun.com>
Subject: Connan apperance and Ben Folds B-Sides
Hey kids, I taped their Connan performance. Not too shabby.
They started out a little low on the energy, but hey, they
were on national TV for god's sake. The "Why don't we pitch
it to the Franklin f**kin' Mint" line became "Franklin
gosh-darn Mint". It was even funnier that way if you ask me.
Well, if y'all missed it, I can put it onto MP3 if you want.
And to the fool that called the two singles "fodder" I say
this. LIGHTEN UP. Thats why they are called B-SIDES! If you
ask me, all four b-sides were WELL worth my $11.00 per
single. Mitchel Lane was of course a great song, The "All
Shook Up" cover was pretty funny if you ask me. Really Bad
Idea is a great change aftger an album full of songs like
Brick and Smoke etc (no offense against those songs, I love
them as much as the next guy) and For All the People shows
that they are just as good at instrumentals as anything
else. Lighten Up Francis.
Later,
Steve
NO OFFENSE INTENDED TO ANYONE BY ANY OF THIS.
"Speak softly, drive a Sherman tank"
~They Might Be Giants - Everything thats right is wrong
again~
"On the run from Johnny Law... Ain't no trip to Cleveland"
~Dignan - Bottle Rocket~
"He was thrown head over heels into the traffic coming on,
but then all is fair in love"
~Ben Folds Five~
"Good... Bad... I'm the guy with the gun.
~Ash - Army of Darkenss~
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 23:23:33 -0400
From: David Della Bitta <ddel4695@uriacc.uri.edu>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #352
>Just how cool are Ben Folds Five? I'll tell you. They are just the best. I
>spend every waking minute listening to Ben, Darren and the other guy,
What.. are you crazy?! His name is Robert Sledge and hes one of the best
bass players that I have ever seen.. I can't believe that you like BFF so
much and yet you don't know one of THREE of the members.
man.
He's great.. at least pay him some respect.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 23:14:06 PDT
From: evlbison <evlbison@neo.lrun.com>
Subject: Gee, whats Brick mean again?/NAZI ALERT
Since everyone else is complaining about the top ten lists,
I figure I might as well complain about something new. I
motion that Frank put something on his site so that when
people sign up for the list, they are also told to read the
past issues if they really wanna know what Brick is about.
It's every other week now when a newbie asks "Hey, anyone
else ever wonder what Brick is about?" BTW.... I am going to
ignore that last post about whatever his name "standing up
for Americans and getting rid of fools like BEEFTOD". Hey
pal, I dunno what part of America your from, but here in
Ohio we don't tolerate NAZI viewpoints like "Hey, you don't
talk (type) like me so I don't like you." SO KEEP IT TO
YOURSELF. Stand up for your own crap on some other list, not
here.
Oh well, enough complaining from me.
Later,
Steve
NO OFFENSE INTENDED TO ANYONE BY ANY OF THIS.
"Speak softly, drive a Sherman tank"
~They Might Be Giants - Everything thats right is wrong
again~
"On the run from Johnny Law... Ain't no trip to Cleveland"
~Dignan - Bottle Rocket~
"He was thrown head over heels into the traffic coming on, but then all is fair in love"
~Ben Folds Five~
"Good... Bad... I'm the guy with the gun.
~Ash - Army of Darkenss~
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 23:50:23 -0400
From: "Tom & Kim McAndrew" <dukedog@erols.com>
Subject: Conan Appearance-- blech!
Watched my tape of last night's Conan O'Brian show. Very disappointed.
First of all, I just happened to be in the studio audience of the Conan
show 1 1/2 years ago, and that's how I became a fan. Never heard of 'em
before, loved "Underground", and went right out and bought the CD. I'm
rambling. Onward.
I think BFF is fab, I just don't think engineers know how to mix them live.
They don't have conventional rock 'n roll instrumentation, and so the mix
bites. The piano is muddy, and particularly in the case of last night's
show, the bass guitar is just plain missing. Likewise, since the boys
can't hear each other properly, they sometimes sing off-key and even play a
little out of rhythm. Not their fault, they're just generally hosed. I
think that's why Ben had that "what the f..." smirk on his face the whole
song-- he knew they were tanking.
I saw them at the 9:30 club in D.C. a week 'n a half ago, and they played
great! The P.A. mix had biiig problems, though. The first 3 songs were
basically sausage while the engineer was getting his stuff together, and he
never did pull any kind of attack out of the piano hammers. When I hear
BFF, that's SPECIFICALLY what I want to hear! What's worse was that the
engineer didn't seem to care. During the encore, as Ben's voice just got
totally lost in the mix, I looked back and realized why-- the guy was busy
coiling up his cords so he could get outta Dodge as soon as possible. The
gig wasn't over yet, bub.
I don't mean to hack on sound engineers, but, well, I am one, albeit in TV
post-production, where you don't have to get it right the first time. If
BFF is ever going to really shine when they play live, they're going to
need some above-average talent behind the console. So there. Flame away.
Oh yeah, Top 10 (in no particular order or genre:
Donald Fagen: Kamakiriad
Styx: Grand Illusion (3rd row at Nissan Pavilion next week-- woo-hoo!)
Colin Hay Band (lead singer from Men at Work w/o the schtick): Wayfaring
Sons
Rippingtons: Weekend in Monaco
Billy Joel: several
Joe Jackson: Look Sharp (I know, the last two were the usual suspects...)
Steely Dan: Aja
10 yet? uhhh...
Various Artists (compiled by a friend. E-mail for info) Didgeridoo Planet
Duran Duran: Decade (That was for my wife)
Okay, it's a Top 9. Hellwithya if you didn't want to read it.
Tom McA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 02:04:22 -0400
From: chaplin3@webtv.net (Charles Corby)
Subject: BFF in Toronto and on Conan
After being on this list since (just about) the beginning, I finally
got to see BFF live in Toronto. I expected a lot, reading all of the
great reviews. Well, BFF were even better than I expected, They played
each song as if they were playing for their lives--absolutely ferocious.
I can see why people write such gushing reviews of their live shows. No
one can touch them when it comes to showmanship, energy, talent....they
were a blast.
The day before, we met the band at CFNY during "Live in Toronto."
There we were, a couple of geeky fans--and they were really great to us.
They are the best.
.
Anyway, about the Conan performance: didn't it seem like they got a
"be good" lecture before the show? No stepping on the piano, watch your
mouth, etc. They were subtly hilarious--during the line "...it sucks it
works," either Darren or Jesse yelled out, "yeah, it sucks!" Great
stuff....
Chuck
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 02:11:31 -0400
From: Zach <bagheera@pipeline.com>
Subject: BNL/BFF Connection AND Re:YOU FORCE MY HAND!!!!!
Hello,
First off, I wore my BNL 20000 Geeks Under the Sea shirt to the BFF concert
in Lexington, VA. After talking to the band members Robert said, "Hey,
Barenaked Ladies, cool." And then we talked about how I (and He) were pissed
about them getting cancelled on Conan (this was when they were originally
supposed to play). I'm quite sure BNL and BFF have toured together in the past.
Topic Number Two:
ShirowFan@aol.com wrote
>I read this to hear about Ben, not Hanson.
<snip>
Well, that's good for you. But some of us care about the other band members
as well. I personally read this mailer to hear about Ben AND Darren AND Robert.
Take it easy everyone and congratulate me because I graduate in 17 hours.
- --
"She's alone, I'm alone, and now I know it."--Ben Folds.
Keep It Real.
Zach.
O \ O / _ O __| \ / |__ O _ \ O / O
/|\ | /\ __\O \O | O/ O/__ /\ | /|\
/ \ / \ | \ /) | ( \ /O\ / ) | (\ / | / \ / \
Zach's Page: http://www.pipeline.com/~bagheera/home.htm
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 08:02:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: "D . Hokanson" <hokansod@goldey.gbc.edu>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #352
> Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 18:41:25 -0400 (EDT)
> From: ShirowFan@aol.com
> Subject: YOU FORCE MY HAND!!!!!
>
> all right, bastaches. i've had it up to HERE (point to forehead) with those
> damn stupid "Top 10 Lists" If you look just above the body of the newsletter
> (which arrives every 15.3 seconds now), you'll see that this is THE BEN FOLDS
> FIVE MAILER. Not, "Hey, I've got a computer and no friends!!! I think that
> i'll write 3 pages about Radish or whatever. Then, all my loser friends can
> be followers and do the same, clogging up the letter with utter COW TRIPE!!!"
> Take a breather folks. Remember when the Teenie Boppers weren't the majority
> and we core fans could use words with more than 3 sylables? I read this to
> hear about Ben, not Hanson. So, i propose a one month BAN on all lists and
> bits of tid unrelated to BEN FOLDS FIVE. understood? I hope so, because next
> time, i start with the kidney punches first.
> GRAB YOUR ANKLES AND SUBMIT TO THE BORG,
> Dave Coates, King of Picture Hanging
> ------------------------------
You know--I think the list would be much better off if there were not such
rude people on the list. This message is ignorant and rude and there was
one yesterday. I've been on this list for well over a year now and been a
BFF fan for over two. Ever since I first heard them on a radio station up
my way. The list used to be better--I admit--but just because people post
top ten lists, and once in a while a tidbit on another band doesn't mean
they should have to read this verbal abuse. Your posts are just as bad as
those. If the list is too much for you with your busy social life -- then
leave, no one is forcing you to stay here. When I don't have time to read
something, I just delete it or keep it until I do have time. And I skim
over it if it is long.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 08:09:04 -0400 (EDT)
From: "D . Hokanson" <hokansod@goldey.gbc.edu>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #351
> Date: Wed, 11 Jun 97 12:30:34 EDT
> From: shultz@bme1.image.uky.edu (Jason Shultz)
> Subject: Relax
> Top ten albums:
> 10. I have too much time on my hands - Bryan Snead
> 9. I am insecure about my own sexuality, so I call people "gay"
> and "fags" - Bryan Snead
> 8. I am a hypocrite by taking up space on the mailing list
> without contributing anything worthwhile - Bryan Snead
> 7. I need attention - Bryan Snead
> 6. I can't really unsubscribe from this list, because
> then I won't get mail from anyone! - Bryan Snead
> 5. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa - Bryan Snead
> 4. Although everyone is posting their top 10 lists, I will
> make an idiotic statement like "no one cares about your
> top 10" - Bryan Snead
> 3. I suck - Bryan Snead
> 2. I am too arrogant to think I may learn about some
> new music from another member of this list - Bryan Snead
> 1. Did I mention I suck? - Bryan Snead
>
Hey, I like your top ten!!! I agree with them. You know some people have
no other behavior except rudeness. Guess ya got to expect that here.
There's a new person to add to the list I saw on post before this--Dave
somebody.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 08:46:29 -0500 (CDT)
From: EBERT@cpg.mcw.edu
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #351
Subject: Re: Bands that Sound Like BFF (Five For Fighting)
Ugh.. no.. do NOT buy the Five for Fighting album. I got a demo tape of
them at the Philly concert of BFF and I thought they were pretty good so I
went out and bought their CD. Big mistake. Their only good songs were on
that tape (2) and the other songs have intelligable lyrics that make you
wonder why the heck BFF allowed them to hand out their tapes at the show.
<snip>
I think it's a matter of personal taste... I, for one, like the album a lot.
Yes, there are throwaway songs, and sometimes it seems as if fIVE fOR fIGHTING
don't know exactly which direction they want to go with their music (sometimes
striking a very close resemblance to Pearl Jam, and sometimes tryin' to be as
"Pop" as they wanna be), but the good tunes make up for the throwaways, IMHO.
I haven't spent a lot of time analyzing the words... I'm still in the "Uhh, I
think track number 8 was the really cool song I listened to yesterday" phase of
fandom, but I agree that the lyrics are a little different. It's also a tad
too downbeat (as opposed to upbeat) for me at times to be my favorite album or
anything, but what can I say? Take a chance, folks - you may enjoy it.
On a different note, who has all sent for the Sameasyou demo? It's growing on
me; the lyrics seem a little inane at times, but it's pretty decent pop.
BF5 content: I learned how to play the opening for "Brick" on the piano. You
may be saying "Fig duckin' beal", but considering that I'm a singer and not a
keyboardist I was pretty damn impressed with myself.
Erokk
Eric Ebert - Training Specialist
Medical College of WI/CIS Phone : (414) 456-5283
11200 W Plank Ct FAX : (414) 266-8843
Wauwatosa, WI 53226 E-mail : ebert@cpg.mcw.edu
"Education's purpose is to replace
an empty mind with an open one." - Malcom S. Forbes
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 1997 10:05:47 -0400
From: audio3@webexpert.net (Audio Book Club)
Subject: Folds Pro-Shot video
Are there in existence any pro-shot Ben Folds Five videos from the current
tour??
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #353
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