THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #362 - June 18, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Wednesday, June 18 1997 Volume 01 : Number 362
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
sbe,bff and beck
Conan For Jenny
replies and radio
I swear this is related...
In the press kit... Song Meanings...
Bahgavad Gita/Looking for Videos
sbe,bff and beck
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #347
another dream
i know
Please Help!
Also
Kate Video
6 a.m., Day after Christmas
Ben's zipper on MTV
BFF dream (with LL Cool J and Will Smith)
more musical interests...
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #360
READ THIS!!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 15:52:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Esmailes@aol.com
Subject: sbe,bff and beck
2 weeks tomorrow til shepherds bush empire..........
i feel its going to be a great show, the optimism has returned since i
finished my exams and did a reverse round a corner that my driving instructor
described as dynamite!
Any way, i have to agree that the first album is superior to WAEA, if only
because its going to grow on me or something.. i dunno, maybe im just a
teenybopper at heart and i dont appreciate the more complex musical
structures of the second album.i say stop the top ten lists, i think theyre
only interesting if you know the bands or have heard the album, otherwise you
can't really form any kind of opinion. plus the fact hardly anyone mentioned
the godlike beck.
em
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 14:19:59 -0400
From: "Yates Dew" <ydew@legnetwork.com>
Subject: Conan For Jenny
I have the Conan Show on video - would like to trade for a copy of Jenny
McCarthy.
Yates Dew
ydew@legnetwork.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 18:39:54 -0400
From: Valerie Hochschild <unter@on-it.net>
Subject: replies and radio
Hi, Fivers,
Responses to some of you folks out there:
Howie asked about TO: There was a moment when Ben
>was standing out in the middle of the stage...
Thanks for reminding me of yet another great moment. I can't remember
what song it was; there were only a couple where Ben was out front to commit
such deviltry. From what I can recall, the roadie was setting the
knocked-down mike stand back up, and it seemed to be quite a struggle for
him. Then he got it up and slunk off as roadies do, and then Ben hauled off
and smacked it back down. Possibly a comment on not being the smoothest
roadie in the world; otherwise just one of his arsenal of Cool Rawk Moves.
Charles said, > 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.
Ain't they? I don't listen to that show every night, but I caught it the
night of the show and heard zilch of them. Was I just too late? How did it
go? I heard Ben mention Kim Hughes in convo with others but didn't know the
context. Was she okay with them or was she was a pseudo-interested
pseudo-intellectual?
Now to disturb some merde of my own. (hey, bilingualism!)
I don't know about the decision to release "One Angry Dwarf..." as the
second single in the US (which I gleaned from the Epicenter announcement of
the Jenny appearance). As those who know me from other places know I can
get all rotisserie-league about singles released to radio, cuz that's the
world I come from. It seems to me 550/Epic (hey, weren't Epic the guys who
handled Platinum Blonde in the States? :-)) is pigeonholing BFF by releasing
only the quirky/wacky/sardonic/axe-to-grind songs as singles. Is it perhaps
because they fell in love with them off "Philosophy"? I dunno. Of course,
those songs are fantastic, but part of what makes our boys so great is how
much more to them there is. They're initially thought of as being
"alternative" (whatever that is now) and the format they seem to fit most
easily into is AAA like the station our friend near Columbus is at: adult
album alternative is for stuff that could be on your wussy-ass AC station
(adult contemporary - Richard Marx and Celine Dion and all them butterfly
kisses) except for something that programming guys think might make them
nervous. But every once in a while, something smart sneaks in, and I think
BFF could too. Folks have been talking about differences between the two
CDs and my opinion is that Whatever, well, "tugs at the ol' heart strings a
lil' more" as I've been telling people. It's that stuff that could work
multi-format. "Missing.." (thanks to you who beat me saying that was the
sister song), "Smoke", "Brick", and especially "Selfless.." would be
excellent AC songs (okay, "Selfless" would be tricky because of the "snappy
taste" in the 2nd bridge - your "funny English" causes you to have better
descriptions than some of us, chiori - but there could be some editing.
Yeah, I know that kinda thing sucks but tell that to the damn Verve Pipe
about radio edits). But before they try any of that, the perfect 2nd single
for alt. or AAA or CHR (Top 40 pop, which may be making a comeback) or AC
would be the one the Brits got: "Kate"! You record weasels blew what coulda
been the feel-good song of the summer! :-)
Yeah, I know some of you are going, "Fine Val, who gives a rat's ass
about cowtowing to dumb-ass no-repeat-workday commercial radio stations? We
just got done kicking around the alt.rock commercial stations!" Well, yes,
that was warranted, if for no other reason than those Dylan and Buckley
cracks and the fact so many of those stations are so hypocritical about
their integrity which used to be the definition of an alternative station
before alt became just another format. (more the US stations than anywhere
else, but CFNY The Edge is on a very thin line). No, I'm not looking for
BFF to get a month dedicated to them on VH-1 and opening for Toni Braxton
(although....uh, nah :-)). I'm also not saying those songs I mentionned are
lame at all. I'm just saying would it be so awful if the boys could get a
few extra bucks royalties if they slipped in under the noses of stupid,
lame, lemming-type people before they knew what had hit them? Would it be
so terrible if people besides us knew all the dimensions they actually have?
Some of you would say, "Hell yeah!" I respond, "Well, it must feel good
that the songs that have been released as singles in the US have been about
people like you." Whatever. Just my kooky little ideas.
One more thing that you'll actually find useful. There's supposed to be
a BFF segment on the next edition of "The New Music" on CITY-TV (and its
affiliates) and soon after on Muchmusic. Guerrilla (sic) hostess Larissa
Gulka said the boys were "jokesters" and didn't seem to give off a good vibe
about them. So it should be interesting, for those of you Canadians/border
townies/satellite heads. Check your local listings, etc.
And a diplomatic suggestion: if people are going to do Top 10s here, why
not avoid the list format? The really annoying thing about them for me is
the space they eat up with one choice per line, ie:
1) this album
2) that album
3) another album
How 'bout doing it like this?
1) this album 2) that album 3) another album
See how much less space that takes? Hey, I just want everyone to be
happy....>:-)
Peace,
Valerie
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 12:25:00 -0400 (EDT)
From: MERSSM@rascal.guilford.edu
Subject: I swear this is related...
I know in the past there's been some discussion on the Armchair
about Bus Stop (the Greensboro, NC based band that
Ben has recorded with...the band also has as it's bass player
none other that chuck folds--ben's brother) and Majosha (a band
Ben was in in the late 80's)....so this relates. I promise.
I just got a flyer informing me that Evan Olson (singer and
guitarist for Bus Stop. And he was in Majosha with Ben) has a
solo CD available...If you like Bus Stop, you might want to give
it a listen. Anyway, if you want the address to get a copy of
the CD, e-mail me...
Later,
S. Mers
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 02:25:51 -0500
From: punkerboy@webtv.net ("JOHN SCHOLTES, Jr.")
Subject: In the press kit... Song Meanings...
OK... I no longer have the complete press kit which I got with the CD
from their publicist, but along with it came a sheet that had a list of
what all the songs meant or were about on the latest. The two that I
remember most are...
Brick= "It's really pretty self-explanatory."
Missing the War= was written as a sister song to "The Last Polka"
For those of you waiting for that bands to tour with ballot,
I will have it up here soon, I promise.
The Idiot King,
Johnny
"It's easy to be easy and free when it doesn't mean anything." - Ben Folds
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/1867/ High Velocity Online
http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/1187/ The Flannel Tubs online
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 02:37:14 -0500
From: punkerboy@webtv.net ("JOHN SCHOLTES, Jr.")
Subject: Bahgavad Gita/Looking for Videos
OK... first off... To answer someone's question in the last
Armchair... Bahgavad Gita (excuse my spelling... it's 4:30 AM) is an
Indian religious text.
Now to the other stuff... I've been soooo busy lately that I
haven't been able to keep up with tha Armchair for the past couple of
weeks, and therefore didn't know about BFF being on Conan or Jenny M.
So... I'm wondering if any of you kind kind souls would be willing to
dub tapes of those for me on a 2:1 basis or for something that I have (I
don't have any BFF except for the regular CDs and the 2 BoWCCL singles,
but I do have Soul Coughing, Archers of Loaf, the Melvins on HBO's
Reverb & Talking From the Box, a Henry Rollins spoken word video).
Also, I read that BFF is going to be on HBO's Reverb and on
some sort of PBS thing. Does anyone know the air dates?? Sorry if this
has already been discussed.
The Idiot King,
Johnny
"It's easy to be easy and free when it doesn't mean anything." - Ben Folds
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/1867/ High Velocity Online
http://www.geocities.com/Nashville/1187/ The Flannel Tubs online
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 15:49:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Esmailes@aol.com
Subject: sbe,bff and beck
2 weeks tomorrow til shepherds bush empire..........
i feel its going to be a great show, the optimism has returned since i
finished my exams and did a reverse round a corner that my driving instructor
described as dynamite!
Any way, i have to agree that the first album is superior to WAEA, if only
because its going to grow on me or something.. i dunno, maybe im just a
teenybopper at heart and i dont appreciate the more complex musical
structures of the second album.i say stop the top ten lists, i think theyre
only interesting if you know the bands or have heard the album, otherwise you
can't really form any kind of opinion. plus the fact hardly anyone mentioned
the godlike beck.
em
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 12:13:05 -0400
From: grotas@idt.net (Paul Grotas)
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #347
unsubscribe
grotas@idt.net
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 14:54:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: SweetyX1@aol.com
Subject: another dream
Hello Fivers!
Here is yet another dream to add to your collection Michael.
I was visiting Austin (Texas), and I went to a club to see a band play. When
I got there, the band had cancelled. The replacement band was BFF!! And guess
who opened for them...your band Michael. The whole dream after that is a bit
cloudy. Well, just wanted to let you know.
Hasta la bye-bye
Deidre
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 09:12:16 -0400 (EDT)
From: StarbabyM@aol.com
Subject: i know
In a message dated 97-06-14 09:54:16 EDT, you write:
<< Where on God's green earth can you go and return gifts at 7:30 in the
morning, much less buy flowers, for crissakes!!
>>
In a hospital.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 08:24:48 -0600
From: "Erik C. Lyons" <EPA8820@epa.state.il.us>
Subject: Please Help!
Help me get our local radio station to play Ben Folds. We have an
alternative show on Sunday's for only 2 hours. They play BFF every
once in a while on that night, but no other nights (or days for that matter!).
If I can get enough people leaving messages about how great it would be
for them to play BFF, just maybe they will.
Go here: http://www.fgi.net/wqlz/guestbook.html
I have been posting for them to play BFF for about 5 days now. If you
help me, please just say you live in Springfield and can't understand why
they won't play Ben. You can also add your own commentary about how
G-R-E-A-T they are also. Can't hurt! Thanks.
Erik.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 08:32:36 -0600
From: "Erik C. Lyons" <EPA8820@epa.state.il.us>
Subject: Also
One other thing about that page I posted: SCROLL through it to see some
other entries about Ben folds. They are there and these posts ARE
relevant to BenFoldsFive, thankyouverymuch!
Erik.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 13:02:42 +0100
From: "Paul May" <may@iol.ie>
Subject: Kate Video
I just saw the music video for Kate. It looks like it was shot with
a cam-corder. It's just Ben, Darren and Robert in bed together, shot
from overhead. They're singing the song in their sleep, but Darren
keeps on laughing. It's the coolest video I've ever seen (and the cheapest)
Paul May
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 08:40:49 -0600 (MDT)
From: "Eric T. Beteille" <eric@hemi.com>
Subject: 6 a.m., Day after Christmas
<Where on God's green earth can you go and return gifts at 7:30 in the
<morning, much less buy flowers, for crissakes!!
In our little suburban world of Colorado Springs, Colorado, every store
on every corner opens *extra* early on Dec. 26. End-of-the-year-after-
Christmas-50%-off sales. Lines of people returning things they acted so
happy to open the day before. And you can buy flowers at any 24-hour
supermarket these days. Or am I being geocentric?
(This counts as BFF content. Song lyric analysis. Ha.)
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 08:44:21 -0600 (MDT)
From: "Eric T. Beteille" <eric@hemi.com>
Subject: Ben's zipper on MTV
> well, i was watching the boys on jenny for the first time last night (i
> taped it) and i noticed that right before ben starts playing and the
> cameras start to zoom in on ben, you can see that his pants are
> unzipped. check this out, those who taped it, and let me know if you
> see it too.
I thought so, too ... at first. But look again. You'll see it's the
bottom of Ben's untucked green shirt poking out below his sweater.
It's in the overhead camera shot, near the beginning. It is totally
possible, however, that under that untucked green shirt, his zipper
really is undone. That wacky pianist.
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 08:49:18 -0600 (MDT)
From: "Eric T. Beteille" <eric@hemi.com>
Subject: BFF dream (with LL Cool J and Will Smith)
OK, all right, it was a weird one.
I dreamt I was the lead singer in a band. The band's first gig was
to play a student fair on the lawn at my old college. I was lead
singer. Will Smith (you know, the guy from Independence Day, the
Fresh Prince of Bel Air) played drums. LL Cool J (you know, the
rapper guy) played keyboard. We did "One Angry Dwarf" ... Will and
LL didn't really know the words or the tune, but they improvised
really well. Toward the end, LL chimed in with some nice keyboard
jams and backing vocals. I sounded pretty good on lead vocals.
No, the actual members of BFF were not in my dream.
No, I don't get it either.
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 97 08:12:35 PST
From: "Hilary Griffin" <hilary_griffin@studio.disney.com>
Subject: more musical interests...
As I don't have time to do my own footwork (or earwork in this case),
I would love to hear about more artists from the
BFF/Queen/ELO/Jellyfish/E.Costello genre. I've been listening to Jason
Faulkner's "Author Unknown" for a week straight, and it's pretty
incredible (Jason Faulkner was an integral part of The Grays...).
Also, check out Aimee Mann for some pure poignant pop. Also worth
listening to is the soundtrack to Austin Powers - esp. Wondermints'
asian wonder Darian Sahanaja. I'm hungry for more, so feel free to
suggest...
-Sad Girl of H.P.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 12:20:08 -0400
From: Allan Hsu <animate2@underworld.net>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #360
> Date: Sun, 15 Jun 1997 19:04:16 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Megan Hope Foster
> Subject: that jenny what's-her-name's show
>
> did anyone tape the guys on mtv, either last night or earlier in the week?
> i don't have cable, and was going to ask a friend but couldn't get a hold
> of her in time.
>
> thanks!
> megan
>
> p.s. someone asked about seeing bf5 in different states. illinois and
> missouri, but that really doesn't count, since they're, like, next to each
> other. :)
>
I've encoded the Jenny appearance in RealAudio and MP3, and it's up
at www.underworld.net/bff ... It's in the multimedia section, kinda of
self-explanatory;P
Allan
- --
Animate2/Allan Hsu: Master of Reality
<http://www.underworld.net/allan>
Dept. of Eigenstate Theory, Dept. of Sleep Deprivation - Masters of
Reality
"Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean that everyone isn't out to get
me."
Ben Folds Five: <http://www.underworld.net/bff>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 13:37:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: ShirowFan@aol.com
Subject: READ THIS!!!
Okay, i was reading my local paper today, and they always have a little thing
called "stargazing" where they dish about the stars. Lo and behold, i found a
little quip about Ben and the guys. Mind you, this is a NATIONALLY SYNDICATED
collumn.
The title is "stalled"
"Farrah Fawcett was in the ladies' room after last week's apperance on Conan
O'Brien's late night chatfest whn suddenly.....
She overheard two members of the band BEN FOLDS FIVE trashing her. And they
went on. And on.
So Fawcett waited until they emerged from their stalls, and she confronted
them.
'They were shaking in their boots', an inside source says. 'They said they
were really sorry'. Later, O'brien consoled her as Fawcett was heard to
moan,"What do they want from me????"
I laughed so hard when i read this that i spit out my corn flakes. Leave it
to ben to tell the truth. I seriously doubt that the apology was heartfelt,
tho.
dave
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #362
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