THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #570 - October 29, 1997



Magical Armchair Digest  Wednesday, October 29 1997  Volume 01 : Number 570



                          THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:

    People on the Armchair home-page
    more eastern dates
    Carrie!!!
    Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #568
    Michell Lane: BIG FAT BUMMER, yet appealing...
    BF5 DESKTOP THEME
    Misheard lyrics 
    tapeheads
    Generic, and uh.. 
    SFTD
    Todd Rundgren
    midi and Trading Station 
    Oh, lots of stuff
    The difference in quality!?!?!?!
    Fair
    Kate!
    My Digest

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 11:18:38 -0000
From: "Paul May" 
Subject: People on the Armchair home-page

 Hey Everybody

As y'all know, I run the "Magical Armchair Wall o' Shame", (
www.iol.ie/~may ) a colllection of info about you beautiful people and some
photos too!! Unfortunately, my account has been frozen (due to a HUGE
ammount of money I owe), so I can't update the page until I cough up the
green. I'm actually looking to get off Ireland On-Line, their charges are
like highway robbery. If anyone has about 5MB's of web space to give away,
drop me a line (Frank?)

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the page, you can keep sendong
your info, and I'll add it when I sort something out. Sorry to anyone I 
promised sheet-music, photos, or an entry on the page, please be patient. 

For now, this is me...signing off

Your BFF buddy

Paul May
__________________________________________________
Visit my BFF page:(you won't be dissapointed..I promise!)
http://www.iol.ie/~may
___________________________________________________

------------------------------

Date: 28 Oct 97 09:33:12 +0000
From: lou papineau 
Subject: more eastern dates

for those of you who don't check frank's page for the latest news 
(shame!), here are four more bus stops which were posted there late last 
week:

Dec. 2, Boston
Dec. 3, Providence
Dec. 4, Georgetown U. in Wash., D.C
Dec. 5, Charlotte, NC

12/2, 3 and 5 are radio Xmas shows with other acts; last year, the 'BRU 
show in Prov. featured about a dozen, including Lemonheads, Soul 
Coughing, Geggy Tah, etc. ('BRU was one of the first radio supporters of 
bff, airing "underground" and "best imintation" and  "song for the 
dumped" right out of the box, as those radio bizzers say. the band 
thanked alexa tobin, former 'BRU honcho who is now at k-rock in nyc, on 
the 'whatever' sleeve.) given their stature at the station (which aired 
"brick" as i began this post), BFF would likely be in a headlining slot, 
playing for an hour or so.

For those under 18ers, the Prov. show will almost certainly be at Lupo's, 
which is ALMOST ALWAYS all-ages. 

more details when they emerge

lou

"it's coming on christmas/they're cutting down trees/they're putting up 
reindeer/and singing songs of joy and peace" -- joni 

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 10:06:06 -0500
From: "Lance E. Johnson" 
Subject: Carrie!!!

Just a quick thought: I am amazingly impressed with Carrie's refernce to
Lou Reed's "Perfect Day".  I don't know what amazes me more: that somebody
out there listens to Lou (like I do religiously) or knows that he has an
elegant song like "Perfect...".  Still, it's no "Pale Blue Eyes".

Thanks for making my day, Carrie!

Lance

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 10:06:20 -0500
From: "Lance E. Johnson" 
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #568

Speaking on "good knowledge of the english language": it's "womb", not
"woom", Pluvius.

Thanks!

Lance

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 97 10:28:12 EST
From: "Emily Durand" 
Subject: Michell Lane: BIG FAT BUMMER, yet appealing...

Hello Armchairites...First of all, it is now only ONE WEEK until BFF appears 
at Boston's "Roxy" and I am all atwich with glee.  Remember to wear a "Hello, 
My Name is WALTER" sticker if you'll be in the crowd here in Beantown.  I 
will bring extras...come say hello...

RE: the person who backed up "Mitchell Lane" as not a depressing track, I 
think it's in the same category as "Missing The War," with that repetitive 
keening chord progression, and "Evaporated," with Ben's plaintive and, well, 
bummed-sounding vocal.  If I listen to it more than once, it gets depressing. 
Maybe if I was more partial to melancholy ballads I would like it more, but 
I'll take "Emaline" any day.

$0.02 goes a long way towards procrastinating in law school....EM

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 10:42:20 -0500
From: Arnulf_Koehncke@woodberry.org (Arnulf Koehncke)
Subject: BF5 DESKTOP THEME

Sorry, this might lready have been posted by me, but I am not sure if it
has arrived, as our school's mail server crashed!
Anyway, here it comes:

HI there,
to all the people who have been asking about a BF5 desktop theme, there is
one to download at
http://hamnetcenter.com/tarkus/agw/benfolds.html
which was made by Bob Carmody, it is of very good quality, especially the
sound bits, so enjoy it!!
Greetings
			Arnulf

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 12:00:51 -0500
From: JMARINO@MARY.FORDHAM.EDU
Subject: Misheard lyrics 

Here's one from the host of Idiot's Delight here in New york:
The host though Ben was saying "I got my philosophy, beat on the brat!"
As in the Ramones song. Just thought that one was funny and it puts an 
interesting spin on the song. 
						Jen

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 13:47:08 -0500
From: Jessica Brandt 
Subject: tapeheads

>Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 13:13:21 +1100
>From: Rainy City 
>Subject: recording from soundboard

>   Also, if a sound board patch is impossible, what ways do you record
>stealth?  Coz I've done a couple of gigs straight onto analogue tape from a
>mic that was clipped onto my belt ring thing and the quality sux
>basically!!!  It's not muffled, but it's usually echoey and is generally
>crappy.  Is there some sort of special mic that I should buy or something
>for stealth recording?

your best bet for recording is to NOT stand in the middle of the floor,
DON'T get too close, and tell everyone around you to try NOT to talk. I did
a tape of Dream Theater last night and it turned out great. We went up to
the balcony, the front of the balcony, and in the corner.
Most places try to search you when you come in, so try to either tape your
recorder to your leg or stick it in your sock or underwear. Or you can
bring a girl along and have her put it in her purse.
You need to get yourself a pretty good recorder, one that takes normal
sized tapes and has level settings. you can get one that's the size of a
walkman for about $100 or less.
i think you have to do a lot of tapes before you get that "perfect" one,
but now is the best time to start!
If you want to enjoy a show, tho, i say have someone else tape it for you.
you can't be on the floor to tape.
ben folds five rules.
jess

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 14:12:38 -0500
From: Jessica Brandt 
Subject: Generic, and uh.. 

Dammit, i keep coming up with all this stuff to say but i always forget it
after reading the 20 MA's i get in my box each weekend...

anyway, the editor of Generic magazine, jared, asked me to let you all know
that they are out of copies of the BEN FOLDS FIVE interview edition, but if
you would still like the interview he said i can copy it and send it to you
(snail mail) so if you still are looking for a copy of the cool interview,
lemme know.

by the way, "...Fanny Packs" is SUUUUCH an awesome song. Wish i could play
it on my radio show!

ta ta
jess

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 14:29:46 -0500
From: Kenneth McKenna - SSG 
Subject: SFTD

Hello!
Is the version of  "Song for the dumped" on "Whatever..." the same as 
the version on the soundtrack from that lousy Ellen Degeneres movie? 
 And has anyone heard anymore news on the BFF disc that Caroline 
Records is supposedly going to release in January?

Regards,
Ken McKenna

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 15:30:09 -0500
From: "LB" 
Subject: Todd Rundgren

I know there are lots of Rundgren fans on the list, so here's a tidbit from
Liveconcerts.com:

** TODD RUNDGREN IN REAL VIDEO, INTERVIEW & SHOW ON SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1ST AT
7 PM (PT)
Spend some time with a Renaissance man! On Saturday, November 1, at
5 PM (PT), the notoriously short attention span of writer, musician,
producer, and all-around innovator Todd Rundgren will be focused on
LiveConcerts for a RealVideo interview. What's next for the man who
aired one of the first videos on MTV, and released the first-ever
truly interactive CD, "No World Order"? Join us for a discussion of
Rundgren's musical inspirations and innovations, past, present and
future.

L

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 15:52:38 -0500 (EST)
From: Qualitease@aol.com
Subject: midi and Trading Station 

Hello, I am the maintainer of the Ben Folds Five Trading Station.  I am
looking for some BFF midi (aside from BoWCCL) to add as background music on
the page.  If anyone has any decent midis, especially from the first album,
please send them.

If you want to go check out the page as it is now, go to:
 http://members.aol.com/Qualitease/bfftrade.html

Lastly, I would like to reiterate on what was said earlier.  The BFF
newsgroup is great.  But, we need more people posting.  The format is much
better than the Armchair.  It is faster, and easier to sort through.  Let's
bring that newgroup up to par with the Magical Armchair!!!!

GO NOW:  alt.music.ben-folds-five

     ~Alan

"No Eddie Walker, she doesn't hate your guts."

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 17:37:56 -0500
From: JKCarr@kimbanet.com (James Keith Carr)
Subject: Oh, lots of stuff

I heard somewhere that there is a Counting Crows lyric about Ben Folds. 
Does anyone know what song it's in?  To whoever sent me the wallpaper: 
good job! Thanx!  Does anyone else hear the guys talking before or after
almost every song?  I love that! It gives the cd's a "made at home" kind of
feel.  Also----I ordered a shirt a LONG time ago and it still hasn't come!!
 (a BFF shirt by the way)  Not that any of you care.  Just thought I'd
share.  Hey that rhymes!  Oh by the way.....where else can I find a real
audio of She Don't Use Jelly?  Mine got erased.

ERIN


"Maybe I'm thinking myself in a hole.  Wonderin' who I am when I ought to
know."
								                ---BF 

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 23:25:06 +0100
From: paul.leung@virgin.net (paul.leung@virgin.net)
Subject: The difference in quality!?!?!?!

ok.....I can't even be bothered to remember this guy's name to insult
him, but there he goes mouthing off about someone else's post, saying
how uninteresting his post was concerning sound quality. 
Well, what can I say? Mindless Hypocrite would be accurate-let's just
leave it at that.

P.S. I found out why Kate is a semitone lower on my album than the
single-it was a tape copy, so speeds musta been different. Boring
enough?

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 23:25:14 +0100
From: paul.leung@virgin.net (paul.leung@virgin.net)
Subject: Fair

Fair:
                This song is comprised mainly of the riff, the chorus   
D major         and the outro, or prebridge.

This song has not been attempted before to my knowledge, so I was 
completely on my own. I'll put the separate sections down, then you can 
assemble yourself-I don't have time to synchronise the lyrics as yet, so 
forgive me : ). 

e----------------------------2----------0-------0-----0----2----------
b--------3---------------3--------------2-------2-----2---------------
g--------4---------------4---------22--------------0------------------
D-----0--------------0------------------------------------------------
A--0--------------0---------------------------------------------------

For Pianists, it is very simple. The rhythm and timing of the notes you 
will have to discover for yourself, but I'll help you out with the 
notes, which is by far the hardest part:

Octave A's in bass, as the really staccato thump, and following straight 
after is the A below Middle C, and after that the B and D above 
together. This is played again, but now with the F# above the B and 
D-you'll hear it.
Following this are the octave D's a fourth above the A's in the bass, 
again short and staccato, and followed directly by the A below Middle C 
which is followed this time by the C# and E above, forming the A triad. 
The Octave D's come again, then the C# and E is played, the A, the C# 
and E again, then the F# and round.
So, this last phrase can also be expressed like this:
Where 2,3,4, are triplets:
1       2       3       4          |<-barline
Oct. D   C#-E     A     C#-E     F#|
Just listen to the record, and you'll get it, believe me.

The Chorus can be described in terms of chords, but I'll bundle it with 
the melody line.

MELODY: BDB     AEA     AC#A  ADBDB             
HARMONY:        Em      A       A6      G
                                Or Dmaj7
(same thing really)


The Pre bridge is relatively simple: the chords G and A are used to 
great effect just alternately.

Bridge:  D      Bm      D       G       x2/3, and it ends on A

Outro: Ben Jams Along to G and A, while The Sledge bounces on D and A. 
Cool, I say.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 23:25:15 +0100
From: paul.leung@virgin.net (paul.leung@virgin.net)
Subject: Kate!

Kate:

F major 

This song was given a good go at for a while coming up to the July '97 
concert in the 
summer, but I just couldn't get past Gm7! Anyway, I went to the concert,
met Ben, asked 
the guy after he'd given me my autograph and boom, it's amazing, I never
forgot the 
verse chords even though I didn't write them down! Anyway, that was all
he gave me, so 
here's the rest!

Verse: F        Fmaj7   Gm      Bb      Bb/C    F 

Pre chorus: (and you can seeeeeeeee or C------- the daisies in her
footsteps)
        C(notice the cunning chord choice cannily coinciding with the
lyriCs).
        C(7)    Bbmaj7  Bb      Bb      Bb/C    F

The Chorus is something like: F F F F ( and Bb to punctuate it if you
want)

Bridge:         Doooown by the Rosemary and Cameron ( which do not, as
we have discussed 
on the Armchair, cross) she hands out the Bhavaged Gita (don't ask what
it is, people 
will kill you-check the main man Maynard's website).

        Gm      F       Cm      Bbm     
        Cm      Dm      F       Cm
        Cm(7)   Bbmaj7  Dm      Bbmaj7  
        Cm(7)   Bbmaj7  A Gm Bb C………… F

        P.S. plenty of scope for some indian scales and chords- it
changes key a bit, in 
fact the more adventurous could make it modulate entirely! Hey! What
Fun!
        Notice Indian and Bhavaged Gita? Sorry, I can't tell the
difference. I'm not 
sure anybody really cares. Oh, and notice the fairly kinky Eastern sound
and lyric 
co-ordination? They are so talented, aren't they?

Solo:   This can be got from the Verse Chord progression really really
easily. If you're 
really dumb, e-mail me.

Outro:  F       Bbm (with the G on top e string for guitarists) x4, then
if you really 
really want, an F.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 1997 23:25:15 +0100
From: paul.leung@virgin.net (paul.leung@virgin.net)
Subject: My Digest

I wish to apologise for my last post, which was garbled nonsense. I was 
merely complaining about the ridiculous popularity of this list and how 
everybody was posting far too much. Anyway, I thought I'd take over the 
Armchair for a digest, with my transcriptions-after all, I did take a 
very long time over them. I'm a Brit, by the way, a Londoner, and 
fuckin' proud of it.
Anthony

------------------------------

End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #570
**************************************


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