THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #759 - January 15, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Thursday, January 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 759
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
nyc show and CHUCK FOLDS
Ringing phone in SLNIT
I have sumthin to say
Desnudo!
Nail on the proverbial head
HEY KIDS!
Hey people
Re: Phone Ringing
Steven's Last Night in town!
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #753
nbp ? and phone zombie
Phila. Tickets
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:42:47 EST
From: Jessica237 <Jessica237@aol.com>
Subject: nyc show and CHUCK FOLDS
Ok, guys...i got the magazine Time Out in the mail today and they had all of
the details about the nyc show...
Friday Februrary 20th 8:00 PM
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY AT NOON
through ticketmaster 212-307-7171 or 201-507-8900 or 516-888-9000 or at
respective box offices...it is being sponsered by KRock and is at the
Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center
next order of business...CHUCK FOLDS! it says that "Chuck Folds and Friends'
will be playing at Seet Basil (88 seventh ave. south) on sunday, january 18
from 2-6:00 pm. with no cover charge for a jazz brunch...is this true?? is it
really THE chuck folds?
anyways...that's all i have for now. --jess
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:30:17 EST
From: SarahBF5 <SarahBF5@aol.com>
Subject: Ringing phone in SLNIT
"Anyway, at EXACTLY 2:54 into track 9, right during a pause in the song, I
HEAR A PHONE RINGING. It sounds like a cordless phone, maybe not, but none
the less, there is DEFINITELEY a phone ringing on that track at 2:540."
In repsonse to that..i have always heard that..and the first couple of
times i heard it..i thought it was the phone at my house ringing..it sounds
exactly the same! I finlly realized it was form the song. i have also wondered
if they meant to do that, or if it was juts an accident. You are not crazzy, i
hear it too...unless we both are. Adios.
Sarah
P.S. Any ohio news or PA news...maybe like P'burgh or near there??
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 15:46:50 EST
From: BlueJellow <BlueJellow@aol.com>
Subject: I have sumthin to say
In defense to Aerosmith:
The other day some person wrote in that a magazing gave BFF a bad review and
Aeorsmith a good one. I think Aerosmith is a GREAT band. I have the flu and I
watched Mattrock today (because I just LOVE Matt Pinfield) and they played
Brick!!! As far as videos go, it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't very good
either. I didn't like the fact they were standing in two inches of water. I
really had to pee. Then the played "Pink" by Aerosmith. This is a COOL video.
The effects are hilarious and the song itself is kinda fun. Whoever wrote in
earlier about the lyrics, the only thing I have to say is that my friends that
don't like BFF think that their lyrics are less than satisfactory...ex. "Kiss
my ass, kiss my ass good-bye now." They say that that is not very creative.
I disagree of course, but I had to make my point.
I also BELIEVE that:
1. Ben was sick and decided to only do BRICK. (I told everyone that on MTV
live he looked like he was about to hurl. I felt sooo bad for him. I want to
give him a huge hug or something)
or
2. SNL was live, and they overran. It CAN HAPPEN.
I have the flu, so I couldn't run out to get NBP. By the way, where did NBP
enter the chart anyway?
Love (and I do love you all)
Lucy
"PINK, it's like red but not quite."
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 16:46:32 -0500
From: jaedonely@juno.com (A A DONELY)
Subject: Desnudo!
I love Satan Is My Master. Only Ben really understands:)
I ponder this, and I think that my porn star name would be better than my
drag queen name,
Porn star.....
~Watermelon Tower
heeheehee !nalgas! (Ive had an immature day)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 17:25:44 -0500
From: Brendan Noone <bnoone@junosystems.com>
Subject: Nail on the proverbial head
E On Line review:
C+
The thing about baby pictures is that only family members can really get
into them. At least the piano-led trio of BFF recognize this fact; Naked is
less an album than a series of outtakes, some new stuff, some live, some
favorite hard-to-get material. Sometimes, it feels tossed off--silly jams
like "The Ultimate Sacrifice" are intentionally lightweight, but feel more
like a waste of time, and the jazzy "Dick Holster" cries out for more
exploration. But when BFF stand back and let a gem reveal itself, songs
like the joyous, toe-tapping "Tom & Mary" and the wistful, pretty "Alice
Childress" shine with the band's
signature balls-out piano fury. Still, this is a mixed bag that's worth
exploring only for those firmly in the Ben Folds fold.
Not bad for Joan Rivers....
Later,
Brendan
[all dressed up no place to go, i've got ben folds on my radio.....right now]
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 16:28:56 -0600
From: "Erik C. Lyons" <EPA8820@epa.state.il.us>
Subject: HEY KIDS!
Gather 'round my kiddies. . .it's time to play our favorite game. . .
WHERE'S BEN FOLDS FIVE IN THE CHARTS??
The wacky three jump -- or rather SOAR -- 32 BIG spots on Billboard's TOP
200 Albums to number 94. So dispite all your ranting and raving, SNL did
wonders, or is it oneders (That Thing you Do reference), for THE BEN
FOLDS FIVE. *golf clap* he he, I said clap. . .
btw, their peak on the chart is 90 to date. (16 weeks in the charts)
ONWARD to the Modern Charts where Ben Flaps (Kula Shaker reference)
maintains a steady position at the 9 slot. *tennis clap* he he, I said clap. . .
So who is the winner today? Those of us who are 21 and over and get
drunk and bother everybody at the shows. . .look out kiddies. . .we're
coming to getcha! You know, beer is a great conditioner for the hair and
scalp. Don't forget to bring your raincoats and rubbers to the shows! he he,
I said rubbers. . .
Sandi, you wanna me buy you a cone and lollipop?? That's what you need,
more sugar at the shows to make you pogo even more and disturb all the
BEN/DARREN/ROBERT-luster-crazy girls (and maybe boys, who knows!).
Eric, do you REALLY love Frank, or do you LOVE Frank?
Does anybody really know what time it is?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 22:32:51 +0000
From: paul.leung@virgin.net (paul.leung@virgin.net)
Subject: Hey people
So, I gathered that you guys didn't appreciate SNL? Oh well, just as
well we don't have anything like that at all over here...
Mind you, apparently Ben F5 made an appearance on Carlton's Good Stuff,
which was good. Oh, and they said Brick was about taking your pet to the
vet? Reception has been pretty cold to NBP in England. Here's two
reviews, the bad one first!
"FOR ANYONE who missed last year's improbably splendid UK debut album,
Whatever and Ever...Amen, it should be explained that Ben Folds Five
are, in fact, a trio combining a trad rock bass/drums rhythm section
with Mr Folds's Undecidedly un-trad voice and thumping piano. He shares
with Billy Joel the impression that his acerbic words are being sung
through the window of a passing express train, and with Randy Newman a
rollicking archness; at no point are we left in any doubt that Folds is
a pretty smart cookie.
Naked Baby Photos is a compilation of live and early, previously
unreleased or hard to find material. The half-dozen rare/unreleased
recordings are will worth having, particularly the sighing Emaline and
raucous Tom and Mary. Unfortunately, the 10 live tracks let the side
down. Ben Folds Five in performance are a bracing, witty experience, but
one that doesn't translate to record without acquiring an irritating
aftertaste. Naked Baby Photos was a good idea that , in practice, will
be of interest only to committed fans. That, somewhere, someone might
describe themselves as a committed Ben Folds Five fan is a frightening
thought."
oh dear...
we should all of us flame this guy (Andrew Smith writing for Culture,
The Sunday Times). let's see how frightened we can make him. Some astute
comments though, but then again, some unsupported crap.
Here's a nicer one.
"With only two studio albums to their name, it might seem a little
premature for the confusingly named trio from Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, to be releasing an album of live out-takes, B-sides and other
curiousities from the early days of their career. But much of Ben Folds
Five's appeal depends on a fairly spontaneous sound in the first place,
and the three of them are such brilliantmusicians that their
off-the-cuff gambits are often no less appealing than the finished
article.
Along with various hard-to-get items such as their first, self-financed
single, jackson Cannery, there are some wild examples of the band's
anarchic sense of humour, notably a hilarious, impromptu Beastie
Boys-type rap/jam, For Those Of Ya'll who wear fannie Packs, recorded
during a soundcheck. Folds thrashes the piano to within an inch of its
life, while all three of them bounce vocal lines across the beat with
lunatic gusto. "I hoped he taped that," someone says as they all
collapse in fits of laughter at the end. Luckily, he did."
David Sinclair, The Times
Now HE knows what he's talking about.
Anthony
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 17:46:14 -0500
From: David Della Bitta <ddel4695@uriacc.uri.edu>
Subject: Re: Phone Ringing
Quoted from original post:
Anyway, at EXACTLY 2:54 into track 9, right during a pause in the song, I
HEAR A PHONE RINGING. It sounds like a cordless phone, maybe not, but none
the less, there is DEFINITELEY a phone ringing on that track at 2:54.
Don't believe me? Play the CD over and over and turn it up, you'll hear
it!!
I dunno know why it'd be on there unless of course it just happened to ring
while they were recording the album at the house in Chapel Hill.
My reply:
I thought about this for a while and it might be actually part of the song.
The phone may be ringing to hint toward the idea that someone is calling
them to make plans because it's steven's last night in town and they want
to do something.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 18:00:25 -0500
From: beckyc@bit-net.com (Becky Correa)
Subject: Steven's Last Night in town!
Which happens to be my favorite BFF song- well I think that they did the
phone ringing thing just loud enough so everyone will notice in a pause-
otherwise- I have a hunch (which are ussually wrong) that it was intentional!
-Becky C
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 18:12:14 EST
From: BlueJellow <BlueJellow@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #753
In a message dated 98-01-13 21:18:50 EST, you write:
<<
Whoo-hoo! I *told* ya! Didn't I tell ya? Didn't I say that the SNL
piano sounded just like the piano on the CD? Didn't I suggest that maybe
it wasn't just AN old upright, but BEN'S old upright, shipped to NYC for
the show? Bonus points for me! And to Eric Lyons, who pointed out the
same thing. And -10 to everybody who dissed the piano. I rock!
Whoo-hoo!
>>
Damn straight you rock Michael!!!!!!!! WHOO HOOX2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 98 19:17:31 EST
From: "Emily Durand" <edurand@nunet.neu.edu>
Subject: nbp ? and phone zombie
Coupla things:
1) What's the consensus re: the studio "Emaline"? I personally
like the live one from the single better, not that this one
is bad but the guitar in the arrangement makes it seem like
the Indigo Girls came and beat it up. Also, I am very much
liking "Twin Falls," more and more and more, but I can't find
shit about Built to Spill recordings: are there any or what?
2) TO BEN WHO "DISCOVERED" THE PHONE RINGING IN "STEVEN'S"...
Yes. You're right. It's the phone at their house. Ringing.
It's real. They say it was one of their friends checkin' in.
I bet it was an angry neighbor ("Turn down that klezmer!").
In any event, this tidbit has been MUCH DISCUSSED, so let's
all enjoy it in silence and move on, to, say...which Scooby Doo
characters do Ben, Rob, and Darren correspond to? Of course,
maybe I shouldn't even ask, because really they're all Velma,
but I welcome other suggestions...
"Play that tasty tasty high-hat, word..."
Em
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 16:48:23 PST
From: "Maria P" <goldibunny@hotmail.com>
Subject: Phila. Tickets
Tickets for the Electric Factory show go on Sale Saturday, at 10, I
think, the usual time. This is also the same time that Billy Joel
tickets go on sale.....coincidence?
Also, am I the only one who finds it weird they are coming back to play
the same venue not 3 months later?
I got NBP yestarday; made some poor kid on his first day on the job go
find it in the back, they pulled it out of the box just for me. So I
had never heard "Fanny Packs" before...at the time, I was driving home
on the PA Turnpike...don't know how I didn't hit any trucks, I was
laughing so hard...
Later,
Maria
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------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #759
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