THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #1493 - April 29, 1999



Magical Armchair Digest   Thursday, April 29 1999   Volume 01 : Number 1493



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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:

    michigan joe's take  
    Details
    BFF review in Green Guide
    Jocko Homo on TUBORM?

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

Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 00:59:41 -0400
From: joe s schanderson <schander@juno.com> 
Subject: michigan joe's take  

New album and spare reels disc. Good purchase. UNBELIEVABLE packaging on
the limited thing. 

VIDEO: Pretty cool. The studio takes of a couple of the new songs at the
end take the cake for me. 45 minutes. Nice. A little PROPAGANDY at times
(like the people talking about and singing brick as testimonials).


THE DISC: Holy ups and downs batman.

Narcolepsy - cool way to start, fun song but one I can already see myself
skipping over in the future

Don't Change - Beautiful. Great little song. 

Mess - Another absolutely pretty song. I hear SIMON and GARFUNKEL all
over this thing.

Magic - Yeah, like everyone's saying, this is brilliant. HUGE pat on
Darren's back. Love the way he says "brown" in the first line. The award
for best use of a timpani goes to this song. SIMON and GARUNKEL again.
One "gaff" is the tambourine seems to get off rhythm in terms of soft and
hard "smacks." I would also have like some backing harmonies during the
"saw you last night" stuff....

Hospital - 

Army - Great, fun song. I prefer the radio(clean) version : ) I thought
he said his redneck past was "living in his heels" and thought what a
cool "ACHILLES HEEL" reference that was but I was wrong. I do not like
the way the song ends with "thought about the army"

Redneck Past - Goofy, fun song. Sounds like a Rentals track. The vocals
have so many BEACH BOYS rip offs I laughed the first time I heard it.
They do it well though and I love the BEACH BOYS so no complaints here.

Valuable Possession - Yeah, concept album, whatever....crap track. I love
the band so they can indulge themselves but this'll be skipped OFTEN.

Regrets - "i thought about...." THE ARMY...AGAIN?!?!? The similarities
HAVE GOT to be on purpose they're so blatant. 
There's some fun stuff to listen to but this aint a good song. crap track
number two. The ending is big fun but I don't know if I'll be able to sit
through the song to get to it very often.

Jane - Cool little jazzy groove. Okay song overall.

Lullabye- THANK GOODNESS for this. A cool, bluesy ending to the whole
thing and it's SOO cool. 


Sooo,

GREAT SONGS - Don't Change, Mess, Magic, Army, Lullabye

below BF5 par but GOOD SONGS - Narcolepsy, Redneck Past, Jane
below BF5 par but OKAY SONGS - Regrets, Hospital

NOT A SONG - Most Valuable Possession


Okay. I'm done now. Start flaming me for not LOVING the whole thing : )

michigan joe






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

Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 18:55:01 +0000
From: Mark & Mikell Brown <brownmm@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Details

No one has mentioned the DETAILS interview with Ben and Robert yet, so
here goes...
It's the May issue with Catherine Zeta-Jones lookin' all wet and nekkid
on the cover.
Quotable quote from Mr. Robert Sledge:
"If you toured with a backpack, a dog, and a Winchester, that would be
really fun. But on a bus with nine other men, looking out the window
just to notice that you've crossed the border of  Idaho, and your treat
every day is to get off at Junior's Truck Stop and eat something really
sugary - then you wouldn't want to do it, no matter how many groupies
would suck your dick."
Oh baby, what a guy.  :-)

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

Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 16:14:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anne Kirkwood <sillypot@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: BFF review in Green Guide

Just doing my weekly read of the Green Guide(the television guide in a
Melbourne newspaper, with hepas of computer ads) and as I have for the
past few weeks had a look at the reviews page and FINALLY found a
review of TUBORM.  It's very short so I'll type it out for you.

The BF5's thrid album continues the trio's transformation from alt-rock
ironists to edgy AOR entertainers.  The thjmping, rhythmic approach of
thier previous work is replaced by greater empahsis on elaborate song
structures, slow-burning arrangements and reflective lyricism.  It has
to be said that the similarities between this album and early Elton
John can no longer be ignored. The gorgeous ballad Magic could be cut
from Madness across the water.  However, Folds is a better singer than
John, has a greater range and continues to have a lot to say, as
demonstrated by the wryly autobiographical Army.  This is BF5's most
assured work, a happy/sad collection of musings on life's choices.


Not bad eh!
I like the line on Ben being a better singer than Elton John! I can't
say I've ever compared the two before though.

Anne


===
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 17:40:14 -0500
From: "evlbison" <evlbison@neo.rr.com>
Subject: Jocko Homo on TUBORM?

Anyone else think the opening of Your Redneck Past sounds a LOT like the opening
of Devo's "Jocko Homo"?

Just my oppinion,
Adios,
Steve

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

End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1493
***************************************


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