THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #527 - October 12, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Sunday, October 12 1997 Volume 01 : Number 527
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
WTF!
ben folds five boots. . .
Pearl Street
Rush Limbaugh & BFF
I do hate to do this
Tix, group-bashing
can someone help me out with a favour...? (BF5 fans unite!)
Thanks for the Real Audio
wonderful wonderful Darren the star (and a bit about Dave Brubeck too)
musings
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Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 20:16:59 -0500
From: Pluvius Dope <Policy@Mobsters.com>
Subject: WTF!
I dont know what this fucking shit is, but the 11/17 show at First Ave in
MPLS is not all ages, it's not even 18+, it's a 21+ show. This is horrible,
because I was so psyched about going to see them. I was wondering what
experience people had with either A)Not actually getting carded, or
B)Borrowing one of their friends IDs?
Pluvius Dope
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 21:18:09 -0400
From: aplauri@juno.com (Philip J. L.)
Subject: ben folds five boots. . .
hey all-
i am in the midst of a pretty good size boots collection. but as always
i am looking for more. so in case you havent figured it out yet, I WANNA
TRADE W/ YOU!!!!! i want anything that is of high quality. so in vcase
you are wondering what i have, here ya go
cats cradel- NC, 6/95, A-, 70 mins.
maxwell's-NJ, 1/96, B+, 80 mins.
the zephyr-UT, 6/97, B+, 100 mins.
imperial hall-JAPAN, 5/97, A-, 90 mins.
WNEW radio show- NY, 4/97, A, 90 mins.
mark radcliff radio sessions- ?/?, A, 20 mins.
13 demos- ?/?, A, 70 mins
demos/b-sides compilation-?/?, A, 90 mins.
shut up and listen to majosha(bens old band) A, 45 (can add some b-sides)
CoMiNg SoOn:
sheffield leadmill-ENGLAND, '97, supposedly A-, 90 mins.
7th street entry-MN, '96, supposedly A-, 70 mins.
Lupo's-Providence,RI 5/28/97, A-, 90 mins.
the metro-IL, '96 or '97, A-, 100 mins.
Paradise-Boston,MA 5/27/97, A-, 90 mins.
Summerstage-Central Park,NYC 6/25/97, A-, 60 mins.
adelaide show, SA, (australia) 9/27/97, A, 80 mins.
philip
"she's everything I want, she's everything I'm not. . . ."
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 21:58:44 -0400
From: PekingDuck <santonan@student.umass.edu>
Subject: Pearl Street
Could it be?! Are the boys really swining through Northhampton?! Well,
today my friend Sarah called me at the end of "One Angry Dwarves" on 99.3 to
make sure I knew that they were coming to Pearl Street on November
5th..needless to say I started shrieking and jumping up and
down..practically blew the girl's ear drum off..however, I'm not going to
get all excited until I have a ticket in hand, which I may just buy tomorrow
as I'm going to Noho. Also..bought Loungeapalooza today at the local Newbury
Comic's..well worth the 12 bucks..I mean, "She Don't Use Jelly" is well
worth the money. Hey..if anyone is gonna go to the Pearl Street show..email
me and let me know..perhaps we could meet up there..the address is
santonan@student.umass.edu..cheers!
Sarah :)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 22:03:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: mayns@netcom.ca
Subject: Rush Limbaugh & BFF
I'd think it would be silly for Rush Limbaugh to play "Satan is My
Master." Rush isn't a satanist, he is SATAN HERSELF. Getting into wether
Ben worships Rush or not is an entirely different story.
Mayns
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 22:34:57 -0400 (EDT)
From: KNULPREK@aol.com
Subject: I do hate to do this
Hi. Well, i hate to do this, but it seems an appropriate medium to do so. But
anyway, if you don't live in Florida, i guess you might as well skip this
one.
So, me and two other guys have put a band together in the spirit of BFF. What
does that mean? Well.. bass, drums, and piano. Don't worry, we're not rip-off
artists.. we actually do have a unique sound from BFF, although i'm sure
trillions of comparisons can be drawn. In any case, one thing we don't have
is a piano player that sings. Nor a bassist or a drummer that sings. What we
need, as you might have guessed, is A SINGER!!
So, we're writing songs, contemplating covers, the regular band thing, but we
really do need a singer. So if anyone's i guess of high school age and lives
in S. Florida (around Weston, since that's where we practice) and is
interested, please e-mail me. Thanks! And for everyone else, sorry about
this!
-jason-
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 11 Oct 1997 03:41:48 +0000
From: Shaft <CrimsonKing@worldnet.att.net>
Subject: Tix, group-bashing
First of all, does anybody know when the tickets for BFF Nov 30 at
the El Rey go on sale? When I called the theater itself, I just got an
answering machine of the week's upcoming events.
Next, will people *please* stop bashing groups just because the
members may have had previous fame? Let's face it, shite is shite no matter
what, and a record company isn't going to sign something that won't sell
based on its own merits. If Dave Grohl or Stone Gossard had pitched side
projects that consisted solely of belching and banjos, I'm sure they
wouldn't have been signed. Rather, they released something that would sell
(however unoriginal).
On this subject, I would especially ask john_oc@juno.com to retract
his statement that That Dog was signed only because "the singer-girl's
father is a high-up at DGC." Obviously, he is not at all familiar with the
group and should do some homework like he advises others to do. First of
all, *one* member (maybe "former member" amid the recent unconfirmed breakup
reports) is Anna Waronker, daughter of Warner Bros president Lenny Waronker.
Both have reiterated over and over that That Dog was signed on *talent*.
One listen to them should remove any doubt. They write beautiful three-part
vocal harmonies with violin that create a perfect contrast with the
crunching guitars and pounding drums, making the songs irresistable and far
from the same old alterna-fare. On top of that, they have one of the
highest energy live acts around. Perhaps john_oc@juno.com would like to
also assert that Beck is signed with DGC simply because his drummer is Joey
Waronker. Sheeesh.
Sorry for the substantial non-BFF content, but I won't stand for yet
another uninformed questioning of That Dog's musical legitimacy.
Take Care-
Andy #:-)
University of California, Irvine
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 22:31:41 PDT
From: "Petra Starke" <naturalselection@hotmail.com>
Subject: can someone help me out with a favour...? (BF5 fans unite!)
Thankyou to those who responded about my query regarding "Shit yeah it's
cool" - now I understand.
So ok, now I'm going to ask a big fat favour from all of you Armchairers
- - can anyone help me out with a copy of 'FOR THOSE OF Y'ALL WHO WEAR
FANNY PACKS' and/or 'SHE DON'T USE JELLY'? Now that I've heard so much
about these two tracks I'm afraid I'm just going to have to hear them.
Unfortunately my shite computer doesn't have a sound card so I can't
download sound files or anything groovy like that, so I'm looking to do
a postal tape thing. I would do a swap but here's where the favour comes
in: I don't have any worth it BF5 material to swap! :( BUT I would be
more than happy to pay for the postage etc. of a tape.
Can anyone help? I am desperate.... Email me privately, if you would.
Cheers, Petra
"I've got this great idea; why don't we pitch it to the Franklin fucking
Mint?"
"We are smoke..."
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Date: Sat, 11 Oct 1997 01:34:41 -0000
From: "idaho" <idaho@appstate.campus.mci.net>
Subject: Thanks for the Real Audio
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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Thanks to the guy who posted about the web site with all the Real Audio =
of BFF. If you guys didn't check it out, you really should. It has =
three 40-50min recordings in RA of interviews and live songs performed =
on some LA radio show. One of the clips is from a morning when Ben was =
guest DJ and he brought all of his fave albums, including a couple from =
his old bands. I think he really wierded the normal DJ out. The oldest =
clip (1995) is really cool because the morning was actually Ben's first =
date with Kate (he tells this on one of the later clips). Apparently, =
she was really fond of the radio station and Ben tried to impress her by =
taking her there. Must have worked. Anyway, check it out. It's worth =
the time. I don't have the link availible at present (I just deleted my =
history folder without really thinking) but I will get the address again =
soon. You can check the old issues of the Armchair, or email me if you =
want. We'll get it to you somehow.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 22:44:53 PDT
From: "Petra Starke" <naturalselection@hotmail.com>
Subject: wonderful wonderful Darren the star (and a bit about Dave Brubeck too)
Sorry to make a second post, but I feel this has to be said:
Darren does not get nearly enough appreciation around here! We always
hear about Robert, and usually about Ben (hard to discuss Ben Folds Five
and ignore Ben Folds) but rarely about Darren. I think he's an absolute
legend and where would we be without him and I must say I was most
impressed with his skills as exhibited in 'Steven's last nght in town'
especially that kinda solo bit where the lyrics go "We were talking bout
something, seems like was funny" and I mean how cool is it and can't you
just feel the groove coming off his sticks?
WE LOVE YOU, DARREN!
That said, I ask: does anyone else think the beginning of 'Selfless Cold
and Composed' sounds very Brubecky, or is it just me?
Cheers and sycophantic gushes of enthusiam,
Petra
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------------------------------
Date: Fri, 10 Oct 1997 23:10:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: bwjones <bwjones@scf-fs.usc.edu>
Subject: musings
Hi there. I hope y'all don't mind if I go ahead and wax thoughtful for a
while. It's just that I was reading the latest issue of the Armchair,
and I was struck by one of the comments by Mr. Maloney--something to the
effect of "the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish are lesser bands
compared to some other ska/punk bands that just don't have the marketing
power..." I apologize for paraphrasing, but I think I got the gist of it.
Well, I happen to like the Bosstones (not as much as BF5, but they're
really good) and I remember back in my high school days when the Bosstones
were one of those cutting-edge, relatively unknown bands that the cool
guys listened to. (The same guys who found the whole "grunge" movement a
little passe...) And when I first heard them, I admit I was set off by
their music, but in time I got to like them a lot. In fact, I think their
appeal had to do a lot with the fact that the Bosstones were, at this
point, relatively unkown. It was like, I was cool because I liked a good
band that nobody else knew about--and the band was cool because they were
kicking out these songs that were awesome, but they weren't popular. They
were fighting the good fight, making music just for the sake of playing to
their die-hard fans. Now, I really have no clue what the Bosstones's
intentions really were, but that's at least how it seemed to me... And
now that they've got these two singles out, and since MTV and KROQ play
them over and over ad nauseum, all the sudden the band's not as cool as it
used to be. Maybe some people think they compromised their ska/punk
roots, and that they sold out to "the man". Or maybe since the nerd down
the street likes them now, that somehow taints the image of the band (and
consequently, those who listen to them). Or, maybe it's just that the
only people who used to listen to the Bosstones when they were unknown
were those people who really liked them, so they only had good things to
say. And now that they're famous, they're more open to criticism from
other people.
At the risk of getting lashed out by viscious BF5 fans who don't want
their mailing list cluttered with mail about the Bosstones, I'll add this
disclaimer. This phenomenon is true to just about anything--I already
mentioned the grunge movement (Boy, I remember when I asked my friend
"Pearl Jam? What's that?"). And the same thing can be said for big
"event" movies--they used to be cool back in the Star Wars era, but now
the cool movies are these indie flicks like Swingers and Clerks. To get
to the point (and I do have one): is that what it's going to be like if
Ben Folds Five makes it big? What if they suddenly become the hot new
sensation? And all the sudden, they're just not cool anymore. Not
because their music changed, but because they're popular, they're in the
spotlight, and the damn radio plays their songs constantly. As much as I
wish the band the best of luck and all the success they could hope for, I
almost wish they don't become mega-popular. Because in a weird way, it's
like they're my secret. They play music that I'll only share with my best
friends; the music that I listen to in the dark, or in my car, singing
along, whispering the lyrics, letting the piano wash over me, the bass
move me, and the drum beat poke me like a girl who's flirting. That's
what I love about this band. I don't know why, but they touch me in some
way, and I'll be honest, I'm kind of jealous of that. It's like a
relationship that I have with the music--a history--and if someone comes
in and starts criticizing it, well, that's akin to some jerk insulting
your girlfriend. Ben Folds Five is truly gifted, and it'd be great if
everyone loved them as much as we obviously do, but I fear the day that
Ben becomes popular, because it is that day that he becomes a target of
unjustified criticism...
If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me, and I'd love to hear
some other people's thoughts about this. Sorry it was so long, but I know
of no better place in which to share these thoughts...
- --Brant Jones
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #527
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