Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #88 - May 24, 1996



                     Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #88
 
Topics for Today:
 
      Stop the Bus!
      Get me on you Mailing list
      Stuff, Stuff, then some more stuff
      BF5 slogan
      I think I figured it out!!!
      Apropos of nothing
      Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #87
      dates, slogan, whatever else comes up
      Concert Slogan
      Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #87
      BF5 Slogan
      Ritual chant
      Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #87
 
==============================================================================

 Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 17:45:27 -0400
 From: Tocadisco@aol.com
 Subject: Stop the Bus!



 >From: Kate Cottle <kcottle@hopi.dtcc.edu>
 > Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #86
 >
 > In response to the person who just had an idea and wanted a slogan, what
 > about "Stop the bus!"  It seems like it would be kinda fun to yell.
 >
 >
 I was surprised that two people responded positively to me request and I feel
 that "Stop the Bus" would be cool to yell.  I think it would be nice to know
 who is on the list by hearing someone calling our special word or phrase.
  But one question remains, how shall we decide what our slogan or word should
 be?  We can barely agree on a list name.
 Therefore, with the permission of Maynard (or whoever runs this list), maybe
 we should vote on a slogan at the same time we vote on a list name (if that
 ever comes about.)

    [Yes, we _will_ be voting on a list name soon. -fjm]

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 17:07:49 -0500
 From: Lee Nelson <lee.nelson@thursby.com>
 Subject: Get me on you Mailing list

 Hey,
   I found Ben Folds Five with great luck from a friend who heard the CD at
 a Best Buy listening station. HE went there to buy a Cranberries CD, but he
 came out with you know who.  He got me to listen to it and now everyone
 I've played it for are hooked.  Best Buy has had to order more Cds. Cool
 that someone has the same wacky taste in music as I do.
                                        Lee nelson

                                      Lee Nelson                w
                                   ----\     /\    /----        e
                                    ----\   /  \  /----        we
                                         \ /    \/           wwez
                         http://www.thursby.com/~nelson/lee/weezer.html
                                eee                         eeeer
                                eee                         ezzr
                                zzz                         zee
                                eee                         err
                                rrr                         r


    [Lee: You missed one -     w
                      ~nelson/lee/weezer...
                                z
                                e
                                r         -fjm]


 ==============================================================================

 Date: Thu, 23 May 1996 21:05:36 -0400
 From: Ruprecht76@aol.com
 Subject: Stuff, Stuff, then some more stuff

 In a message dated 96-05-23 19:58:01 EDT, it was written:

 >I know that a lot of people like Ben Folds Five because they
 > remind them of another band they like.
 >

 This is true, they first caught my attention on the radio because they
 reminded me a bit of Queen, then when I saw their album in the record
 store I picked it up because "The Last Polka" was one of the tracks and
 I'm a big THeY MiGHT Be GiaNTS fan (if anyone needs an explanation of that
 feel free to ask)... anyone know who plays the accordian on the end of
 Alice Childress?... and who is Alex Chilton... that's all I can think of,
 but I'm sure there's something else, way down deep inside me...

 'sometimes I punch myself hard as I can, yelling nobody cares, but then
 somebody tells me how wrong I am'

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 08:29:46 +0100 (BST)
 From: felix <felix@theor.ch.cam.ac.uk>
 Subject: BF5 slogan

 Dear Kate,

 I think 'Stop the bus!' is a great idea.
 I second the motion!

 Felix

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 09:34:07 -0400
 From: SaintBet@aol.com
 Subject: I think I figured it out!!!

         A while ago I brought up the question, "Who is Alice Childress?"  I
 got many, many possible answers, all valid, mostly suggesting that it might
 be related to Alex Chilton of Big Star or just a football players mom.
  Someone even mentioned that Alice Childress was a children's fiction writer.
  Well, being the curious person I am, while in the juvenile section of the
 library yesterday with my sisters I decided to do some research.  To make a
 long story short, I found a writer in the computer by the name of Alice
 Childress.  And while I tried to find her books and couldn't, the computer
 did give me a brief outline about one of her many books, that containing
 homosexuality, crime, rape, and predjudice against blacks.  If my assumption
 is correct, she writes about how you should not discriminate against fellow
 man and fight back against crime.  So I related this to the song and it makes
 total sense:

 "Some dude just knocked me cold and left me on the sidewalk. . . "
 "Alice the world is full of ugly things that you can't change. . ."
 "Try not to think about it Alice Childress."

 So what do you think.  I think for once my rusty investigative skills may
 have come up with something. . . Does anyone second the motion?

 "Turns out not where but who you're with that really matters. . ."
                                                -Dave Matthews Band
 Bethany

    [I've tried to make the connection between the song and the author and
 it's a tenuous one. The most plausible explanation of "Who's Alice
 Childress?" (sounds like an FAQ entry) is that she was a patient in a
 mental hospital where Anna Goodman (a friend of Ben's who co-wrote the
 song) worked, and one time Alice threw mop water on Anna. Evidently it
 made a lasting impression. Ben has said that he had not heard of the
 author Alice Childress when he wrote the song. -fjm]

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 07:35:53 -0700
 From: Stewart <cochrans@apple.com>
 Subject: Apropos of nothing


 I have to wonder about Ben's piano.  Does he hire one at every gig or take
 one with him on the road?  Have they always used a real piano or did he
 start out with a smaller/lighter electric or digital?
 If he does carry one around,  how does a band that is just starting out
 (more or less) afford to transport and tune it for every show?  Maybe the
 record company is picking up the tab?

 Any info?


 St

    [The piano is owned by Ben, who scraped together the money to buy the
 Baldwin baby grand a couple years ago. They transport the piano in a Ryder
 truck to gigs, except where distance and time prohibit, such as SXSW or
 the Japan and Europe shows. Ben sets the piano up himself - the legs come
 off, and he has this way of rolling it over on its side so it can be
 moved. Next time at a gig, if the genuine Baldwin is there, have a look
 close-up - it's all dented and scratched and wobbly and somehow stays
 pretty well in tune (but if it doesn't, who cares! it sounds great
 anyway). Ben says he prefers using a real piano over a digital one because
 a digital piano is too perfect - in miking a real piano you pick up a lot
 of artifacts (the other instruments) and he feels it improves the sound.
 Besides, try bodyslamming a digital piano! -fjm]

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 10:44:18 -0400 (EDT)
 From: "Donna L. Hokanson" <hokansod@goldey.gbc.edu>
 Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #87

 Soneone mentioned stop the bus to yell out.  I second that.

 Donna

 Greg Monkey -- How can I get the SXSW CD.  I was at that show and some
 others and would like to get a cd.

 Donna

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 09:12:02 -0700
 From: edahn@sprynet.com
 Subject: dates, slogan, whatever else comes up

 The date of the syracuse lolla is July 13,  but that's the second half, and th
 bf5 aren't in it.

 it would be cool to have a sloagan that wasn't a lyric to a song, or a title,
 something only we would recognise, something catchy so the band would remember
 it.  Sorry, but I don't hve any ideas.

 I'd like to silk screen my own BF5 shirts, but I don't know about the legality
 of it all.   They would be for me only, so can I do that?

 Curtis

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 12:32:22 -0500
 From: "J.J. Engel" <JJEngel@mail.utexas.edu>
 Subject: Concert Slogan

 I don't think we should use a line from a song.  We should peruse through
 past editions of the list and find something that we all like and use it.  I
 think that just yelling out random lines of a song would make us sound like
 we didn't actually know the names of the songs.  I don't have any
 suggestions as of yet, except maybe to yell out "Frank!"  :)


 -Nikki

 "When money talks, I hate to listen, but lately it's been screaming in my ear"

     [NO!! Not Frank!! -fjm]

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 12:39:27 -0500
 From: "J.J. Engel" <JJEngel@mail.utexas.edu>
 Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #87

 > Date: 22 May 1996 12:25:04 CST
 > From: rosaliem@bbs.exoticomm.com
 > Subject: New BF5 Fan
 >
 > Hi! I may be showing my age here, but the reason I enjoy the Ben Folds
 > Five is because they remind me a lot of Squeeze, especially in the songs
 > "Where's Summer B?" and "Alice Childress". I wish I could have seen them
 > on the Jools Holland Show in England, since Jools is a former member of
 > Squeeze. I know that a lot of people like Ben Folds Five because they
 > remind them of another band they like.
 >

 It's funny that you mention that because I was playing my cd the other day
 and one of my roomates busts into my room and says "Who is that?!?!?!" So I
 told her and she was so happy to finally find out who they were because she
 heard Underground on the radio.  I let her listen to the rest of the cd and
 she said that they knid of reminded her of Squeeze.  The next, day she went
 out and bought the BFF cd.  Yay!!  Another convert and another dollar for
 our boys!  One step closer to getting out of a Ryder rent-a-truck.

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 14:12:03 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Jason Martin <un036034@wvnvaxa.wvnet.edu>
 Subject: BF5 Slogan

 I second the motion for "Stop the Bus!"  it pretty much sums up the whole
 BFF experience, and as someone already added, it is fun to say.

 Jason

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 16:04:54 -0400
 From: Hotdoglove@aol.com
 Subject: Ritual chant

 I think that it's a great idea to start a phrase for all us BFF online fans!
  Maybe we should start a vote on this, too?  Toca, if you're interested in
 some help with vote counting, etc., drop me an e-mail!

 Sara
 Hotdoglove

 "Must I dream and always see your face?"-Jeff Buckley

 ==============================================================================

 Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 14:05:40 -0700
 From: Adam Metz <ajmetz@students.wisc.edu>
 Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #87

 Jamming w/BF5

 After I interviewed them in Madison, I told Ben that I could play a bunch
 of songs from the album (half-backed versions).  He then asked me if I
 wanted to try the piano, and I did.  He showed me the riff to Video, it's
 in the key of "d", and then I played a bit of Philosophy for him.  He told
 me to bang on it more.  I tried.  Then, we did about a minute of TOdd
 RUndgren's "I Saw THe Light" with me playing and him singing and playing
 that calliope thing.

 RObert and Darren started playing, and we ended up doing about half of an
 instrumental Sports & Wine, with me on piano, Ben on calliope, and Darren
 and Robert on their respective instruments.  ANyway, I nearly shat my pants
 afterward.  I chugged a beer, ran home and transcribed the interview, and,
 two hours later saw the best show of my life, so far.

 -->Adam J. MEtz

 ==============================================================================

    [Adam, did you happen to record your jam session?

    This is a rather auspicious issue since it's number 88, the number of
 keys on a piano. Everyone have a great Spring Holiday / Victoria Day /
 Memorial day, whichever you celebrate in your part of the world. -fjm]

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