THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #678 - December 6, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Saturday, December 6 1997 Volume 01 : Number 678
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #672
brick in kohl's
Hey all
I'm getting on the bus
Interactive and Aussies
Providence show
The Whole Anti-Youth Thread (long)
Aussies - help BFF!
in defense of dave
test
there's no escaping it...
all this brick stuff
Read this if you want NAKED BABY PHOTOS
DC Show
why fame does ruin things...
re:the end is growing near...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 20:12:32 EST
From: Rynosno1 <Rynosno1@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #672
unsubscribe
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:09:06 -0500
From: Lachesis@webtv.net (jerry lewis on speed)
Subject: brick in kohl's
ok, this is the first time i've ever had anything like this happen
before. my little brother went with my mom to kohl's department store,
and he said he heard brick!!! NOOOOO!!
surely that's a sign of the apocalypse.
and now people from work are telling me they heard brick and really like
it. never mind the fact that i've been telling them how great bff are
for the past 9 months and they've ignored me...
dave
"i'll send you a picture. it is of a man being sick." --.j0n
"i must get out once in a while. everything's starting to die."
- --radiohead
- ------------------------------------
atropos' lair: http://members.tripod.com/~lastpolka/index.html
- ------------------------------------
lost child (a radiohead page):
http://members.tripod.com/~lastpolka/rhead.html
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:22:28 -0500 (EST)
From: Eric Patton <shirak@umich.edu>
Subject: Hey all
There's no real reason for this post, I just felt like I needed to
reach out to you guys. Come on, cathartic group hug everyone! ;) Anyway,
about the whole 13-year old fan problem. You just gotta deal. I mean, far
better that they lust over someone with actual musical talent, rather
that, say that Gavin asshole from Bush. (Okay, so I'm still piss that he
slept with Gwen Stefani. So what! ;> ) Just give them their lee-way, and
enjoy the show. Besides, not all of the younger fans are like that. (Hi
Kara! ;> ) On another topic, I am in full support of singing along
with the show. At the Ypsi show last month, when the Boys were on stage
playing Steven's Last Night in Town, it sounded like they still had a
klezmer band accompanying them. We were that loud, and we showed our
support that way. There's nothing wrong with that. And if your hearing is
so bad that you can't hear the music over the crowd, I think you've had
one concert to many anyway. Just my bit of nonsense for this week. Rem
_______________________________________________________________________________
"How fortunate I am to battle the witless."
-Sang Chi, Master of Kung Fu
_______________________________________________________________________________
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 21:31:07
From: Jessica Brandt <jbrandt@kent.edu>
Subject: I'm getting on the bus
Being in college reallly makes you think about stuff weirdly. I guess it's
because most everyone has to take soome sort of ethics class. And through
that, you find out that there's no right or wrong answer to almost all of
life's problems.
So we have this problem of age at concerts. Here's for the old people:
Lots of kids just get in the mini-van and go to and old concert. Sure they
can be "exposed" to BFF but it take a few years of seasoning to be an
obsessed fan. Sure, 13 year olds are annoying. Sure, so are 15 year olds,
and 20 year olds that bounce (sorry Sandi!!) I'd like to say "let all shows
be 18+" but you KNOW there are some truly awesome fans that are from ages
10-17. I was a fan from the age of 16. SO that is NOT the answer to this
problem.
Here's for all the youngsters:
I have been to more than my fair share of "old people" shows (moody blues,
Yes, Chicago, and in the "blacony" crowd for SNZ and Dream Theater) and let
me tell you DRUNK OLD PEOPLE ARE SO MUCH WORSE THAN THIRTEEN YEAR OLD
KIDS!!! i'm serious. I've had enough of it. PPeople deliberately abuse
their right to drink alcohol. at EVERY single show i have been at where
most of the crowd was over 21, i had to sit next to people on drugs, people
drinking, people who won't shut up, and people who won't sit down. It's
amazing. The last time i saw Yes, the people in front of us stood up a lot,
AND they were runnning to the restroom every 10 mins to do a line of coke.
Ant the first Yes concert, the guy next to me asked me for rollling paper
and offered me some of his beer. At the first Moody Blues concert, the lady
next to us wouldn't shut up about getting her tubes tied. At a Justin
Hayward show i attended, I couldn't see because some drunk lady was dancing
in the aisle in front of us. Even at one of the BFF shows i went to , the
only problem i had with a fan was a guy who kept trying to MAUL his way
through the crowd exclaiming "i'm from chapel hill, i should be up front"
soe YOUNGEr guy almost punched his lights out. the old guy was an asshole.
SO< my point is is that people are people, and no matter how old they are,
they suck. listening to your CDs alone in your car can many-a-time be a
better experience than going to a show. That is why i collect bootlegs. I
can "go" to the show without having to hastle with a 13 year old running
around my knees or a 40 year old spilling his beer on me.
life's a bitch and then you die.
jess
"All the boys are monsters;
All the girls are whores.
But when you lose the one you love,
There's always plenty more."
-Squirrel Nut Zippers
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 19:00:49 PST
From: "Cheryl ." <chezza@hotmail.com>
Subject: Interactive and Aussies
Hi Petra,
I have also had problems (in Sydney), but I don't know what's causing
it. I manage to get the shockwaved part of the site where you can click
on the images and get the sounds, but that's about it.
Does anyone have any ideas why this is?
- ---------------------
Do you think there's a possibility that the Australian pressings of
WEAEA don't contain this interactive stuff on it? After downloading all
the stuff and gearing ConnecteD up to start the fun, I was told that the
site could not read the cd in the drive.
I've had probs with my cd ROM drive before, so maybe it's just me - have
any other Australians had this problem, or what?
cheers,
Petra
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 17:17:41 EST
From: luckyday6@juno.com (Jason A Masi)
Subject: Providence show
I just saw Ben Folds Five last night in Providence and they only played
for about an hour. They put on an excellent show and I would die to get a
bootleg of the concert so if you have one e-mail me. These are the songs
they played Theme From Doctor Pyser / Battle Of
Who Could Care Less / Philosophy /
Selfless, Cold, And Composed / Missing The War / Steven's Last Night In
Town / Fair / Brick / Kate / B Side / One Angry Dwarf And 200 Solemn
Faces / Julianne / Underground / Song For The Dumped
they put on a excellent and ben is awesome when he stands on his piano
and at the end of the songs he bangs his piano stool on the piano at the
end of the song it is awesome.
Thanks
Jason
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:38:55 +0100
From: kareng@ici.net (karen gannon)
Subject: The Whole Anti-Youth Thread (long)
I thought I'd keep silent on this one, knowing the number of angry posts
would be high. I thought wrong. My apologies to those of you who have to
scroll.
When people complain about teeny-boppers, or moshing high-schoolers, it's
really become quite chic to play the part of the mature adult whose
experience was destroyed by the damnable youths of America. To be honest,
I'm really getting tired of being associated with all these people with
whom I have only my age in common. When I've gone to the few all ages shows
that clubs allow, I am usually on the recieving end of all those horrific
acts of MTV-inspired stupidity. I have never noticed a particular age group
more likely to be at fault. Please don't support 18+ oor 21+ shows in order
to spite those underage people who have bothered you. Why? Because it hurts
me, and my not being able to go to a show because of your complaints,
whatever would be far worse than anything you could have had done to you
while listening to BFF. Besides which, I've been a fan of the boys since
the first time I heard them, which was quite a ways back(i.e the first
album, when it got to WBRU). Just because I'm younger (16) doesn't mean I
haven't been a fan for a while. Please don't label me a new fan by age,
because there are a lot of college aged kids, or beyond, who just heard
Brick last night, or last night, and so on. I hope they liked it, and I
hope they can enjoy BFF as much as I have. Last time I checked, my name
wasn't in those thank you's at the end of the album. Being a fan is being a
fan. Being a fan for a while is being a fan for a while. It takes more to
be something special than longevity.
- --Josh
Girls are dodging bottles in skirts not made to be moved./The edges are
jagged, the singer is staggered./He's falling into the room....Give three
cheers for the show --Josh Gannon (Prog-core #1)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 19:44:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Jodie Poole <jodiepoole@yahoo.com>
Subject: Aussies - help BFF!
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to reinforce what Petra said and tell all the Aussies
out there to vote for One Angry Dwarf and 200SF's in the Triple J
Hottest 100. The address for the triple j website is
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej
So get to it! If we all collaborate on this, maybe BFF can go two
better on the 96 results (for those of you who don't know, Underground
was voted the 3rd best song of 1996).
Oh, and here's a funny story for you. I seem to remember someone
posted a while back about BFF being in People Magazine. So I was in a
newsagent yesterday and couldn't see People Magazine on the shelf, so
I asked the guy behind the counter if they had it. He gave me this
strange look and then gave it to me. Well, it turns out that this
People Mag was a porno mag! I said to him "um.. this wasn't quite
what I was looking for.. thanks". He just gave me another weird look
- - I thought it was hilarious! I gather this is just an Australian
magazine, and there is a different People magazine in the US?
Catcha!
Jodie
==
_--_|\
/ \
Perth=> *_.--._/
v
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 22:59:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Judi Smith <jsmith@bc.seflin.org>
Subject: in defense of dave
yes, i understand why people defend the right of younger people
to see bff. but hey, why can't it be just a little more
pleasant to be in a crowd of teenagers? there are lots of teenagers
that i go to concerts with, including my daughter, and we have a great
time, but it's also true that there IS a mentality to the groupie set
that is completely obnoxious and uncontrollable.
most of the time, with adults, at least one member of the group is
semi-rational and can say to the obnoxious ones, 'hey, man, just cut it
out.' but get a pack of 14-year-old boys together who are determined to
be annoying to everyone around them, because to them it's "fun", and
you're not gonna have any fun at the concert. the mob mentality is just
too strong.
yeah, i know, i sound like my dad. but hey, i actually would like to see
the band, and dance, and jump around and enjoy the music, NOT fight off
insistent moshers/crowdsurfers or beg the people in front of me to get
down off the seats so i can see something besides their *sses, which is
most of what i saw at the bff concert i went to in october.
bottom line is: it's not an age thing, it's a rudeness thing.
and when you get older, your tolerance for utterly selfish, rude behavior is
alot lower....so i'll go with dave to the next over-18 concert and see if we
can have a better time. it's possible :)
judi smith would you catch me if i was falling
jsmith@bc.seflin.org kiss me if i was leaving
hold me 'cause i'm lonely without you
countingcrows-l@ -- counting crows
listserv.aol.com
"i'm not cheap, but i am on special this week"
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 20:08:37 -0800
From: Truly <Armchair@hehe.com>
Subject: test
test
- --
Russell
ICQ #5699865
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 23:16:44 EST
From: HiGeary <HiGeary@aol.com>
Subject: there's no escaping it...
Hi there!
I just thought I'd let everyone who is so worried about BF5 getting too
popular to stop worrying because there is no stopping it. I also subscribe to
the Toad the Wet Sprocket list and for the past few weeks BF5 has been a main
topic of discussion. Everyone there are out buying the CD's and raving and
promising to pass the word along to friends. And most of these people are
young teens who will let their local top 40 stations know they want to hear
more BF5...Brick was only the beginning. I don't see this as such a bad
thing...they deserve all the success, but for those of you who do, sorry if I
depressed you!
Rachael
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 23:57:12 -0500 (EST)
From: Connolly <mconnoll@emerald.tufts.edu>
Subject: all this brick stuff
courtney's letter got to me...i've seen bf5 3 times now, obviously they
were all in small clubs. the thought of having to watch ben and friends in
a large arena as opposed to in a small club, 10 feet away from the band,
frightens me. sure. it's great that they're getting recognition for
kicking ass, but as pathetic as it sounds, it's like he's "our band", and
i for one don't want to share him with a bunch of "fringe fans" who only
like the radio songs and know absolutely nothing about the "real" ben
folds five. i'm using those quotes in every other sentence...but does this
post make sense? all i'm saying is that i really hope i get to see them
play some small venues at least a few more times.
- -mike c
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 00:23:56 EST
From: Sweety Won <SweetyWon@aol.com>
Subject: Read this if you want NAKED BABY PHOTOS
Guess what I have in my hot little hand????
A promo of Naked Baby Photos. How wonderful it is to work at a record store.
Anyhow, if any of you want to trade or want a copy, E-mail me. I am more than
happy to share with ya'll.
Have a great day,
Deidre
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 1997 00:36:59 EST
From: Cougr98 <Cougr98@aol.com>
Subject: DC Show
Hey all:
Just got back from the DC show at Georgetown University. I can't write much
but wanted to give a little info. It was AWESOME. My first show, so I can't
compare, but the sound was excellent....very clean vocals and piano which was
nice. The set was about 1 hour 45 minutes with many songs off of both albums.
The last encore was give me my money back, and kate, brick, smoke, dwarfs,
julliane and others was played. My only dissapointment was that magical
armchair was left out.
The concert hall was great...an old ornate hall within Georgetown U. with
religious murals on the walls. Thanks to Ginny and the program borad at GU
for making it happen.
You may well see the show soon, as it was professionally taped and videoed.
Paz,
mark kitchell
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 01:02:21 -0500
From: Sean Gambrel <gambrels@pilot.msu.edu>
Subject: why fame does ruin things...
Just a comment on why a band getting famous can ruin your enjoyment of the
band (and I'm not trying to be negative- this all has happened with my
favorite band!!)
1. sold out stadium shows, increased ticket prices, and worse seats
2. less opportunity to meet them personally (because of busier shcedules,
security, etc..)
3. mean crowds at shows
4. people who mosh during slow songs (see #3)
5. 200+ lb. people who crowdsurf (see #3)
6. record companies pressuring them to do things they don't want to
7. not being remembered when you finally do meet them because they meet SO
many more people
8. hearing one of your favorite songs go stale from excessive airplay
9. not being the only person on the block with that cool t-shirt
10. cover bands
I think that about sums it up. there's probably more, but I can't think of
any more right now.
I mean, the music's still the same, the guys are still (hopefully) the same,
but you do miss a lot of opportunities once a band gets big. Take advantage
of things while you can.
Sean
"Simplicity is beautiful"
Juliana Hatfield
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 01:02:18 -0500
From: Sean Gambrel <gambrels@pilot.msu.edu>
Subject: re:the end is growing near...
>THEN he really pissed me off. He said it would but BFF on the map in the same
>way that "The Freshmen" did for the Verve Pipe. Okay, no.
I don't know how you guys feel about The Verve Pipe, but I've been a fan
since way back when. I first heard of them when they played at a party in
my hometown (I didn't actually see them, but heard they were good, then went
out and got a CD). Anyway, the whole point of this is that it really
surprised me what's happened to those guys since they made it big. I've met
everyone in the band (I go to MSU, in their hometown, E. Lansing, MI) and
they all seem really down to earth and "real" (no pun intended). But it's
crazy to see what's become of them since the success of "the freshmen". I
don't want to see this happen to BFF. In fact, BFF kind of replaced TVP in
my heart as my favorite. Maybe I'm a "sellout", but it's so hard to like a
band as much if you can't hang out with them after a show, or even see them
from your seat. Anyway, I never would've dreamed anything like this
would've ever happened to them because, honestly, the were (maybe are not
now, I don't know) the most genuine people I've ever met. Fame does strange
things to people and honestly, I can see the same thing happening with BFF.
I mean, it's hard to saywhat will happen. You can scream and shout about
how different the guys in BFF are than the average bear. I used to say the
same thing about TVP. oh well. I hope they prove me wrong, but I really
don't know any band that has kept from chnging once they achieve fame.
Pearl Jam tried, I think, but they also made it really hard to be a fan.
I'd get fed up with that crap pretty quickly.
sorry to rant.
PS- if you want to know what The Verve Pipe's music is really all about,
listen to "Pop Smear". It is so much better and reflects their true style.
The strings and horns are very nice.
Sean
"Simplicity is beautiful"
Juliana Hatfield
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #678
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