THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #205 - March 24, 1997
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #205
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Topics for Today:
Ben Folds..What else? ;)
The hidden track
WARNING!!! Realistic Comments About the New Album!!! AT OWN RIS
BF5 Chicago Date (3/24)
st. louis and chicago shows
Congrats Frank
s, c, & c; as well as steve
BFF concert in Atlanta.
Free Stuff
Pissed at Ben
A Radio Void
ben and such
Oh please oh please, interview on JJJ
New Album
Re: BFF, Klezmer Music, etc.
bff and me
philadelphia
Argh--I can't hold out much longer...
"I got your hidden track right here!"
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:10:56 -0500 (EST)
From: Cranie@aol.com
Subject: Ben Folds..What else? ;)
Well, this is my first post and I must say it is nice to see you all!
First let me tell you about my first experience meeting the Fab Five. It was
in RI at the Met Cafe around 2 years ago. It was early and Darren was sitting
at the bar having a drink. I recognized him and went over to talk. I got him
to sign my copy of the debut and asked him where Ben and Robert were. He had
them come over and sign my disk also. Really nice guys, and Ben is completely
different off stage than on. He was timid while talking to me and a wild man
onstage. I remembered hearing Song for the Dumped that night and was pleased
to see it on the new release which I bought the day it came out 'natch.
My opinion? A bit more down and more ballads than the first. However a great
sophomore effort.
I'm going to see them at the Tempe AZ show in April. Anybody else going?
It's sure to be great. Well take care all and I'll post a review of the show
afterwards.
Mike Gervasi
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:22:50 -0500 (EST)
From: Cranie@aol.com
Subject: The hidden track
Ok. So what's up with the "Hidden track? Here's your hidden track. Ben Folds
is a F*%^G Asshole!!" ?
Where did they get this, who is it and why would Ben put it on the end of the
album?
Mike Gervasi
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:32:54 -0500 (EST)
From: Jason Martin <un036034@wvnvaxa.wvnet.edu>
Subject: WARNING!!! Realistic Comments About the New Album!!! AT OWN RISK!!!
Well, here's my take, track by track:
1. One Angry Dwarf- Highest energy of any of the tracks...maybe the best
song on here, but it wasn't exclusively new for this album (a point I will
make later). Rating: 10
2. Fair- Not a bad song...nice harmonies etc. Rating: 7.5
3. Brick- ARGH! I would just like to comment that there are TOO MANY
FRIGGIN BALLADS ON THIS CD! BFF is all about high energy, high
performance music. Some slow-downs are fine, by all means, but this album
(as I will further elaborate) has too many. That said, Brick is the best
of the soppy slow pieces of crap. It's actually quite a good tune.
RATING: 7
4. Song for the Dumped- Okay, I'm spoiled. I've seen this showstopper
in concert and it was a billion times better. But I take this song with
the same grain of salt that I take a Dave Matthews record...you just can't
imitate the live show on cd. This is of course a classic, just wish they
could have squeezed something more out of it. RATING: 9
5. Selfless- Hi, I'm Ben Folds. I'm the bastard love child of Billy
Joel and the Peanuts guy (props to Bruce Herrier). This song absolutely
sucks. It's not what BFF is about. I once read that Ben said that any
song he writes that sounds remotely like Billy Joel, he tosses out. Well
not this one. This is pure crap, and it seems like on this and the
remaining ballads they said piss off to Robert and Darren, who don't get
their just desserts on tracks like this. RATING: 3.5
6. Kate- Great song. Rollicky, classic. RATING: 9
7. Smoke- Bah. The only thing saving this song are the accompanying
instruments. Still very bad, very sappy, not enough Robert and Darren.
RATING: 4
8. Cigarette- Needless on the record. Absoutely. I HATE this track
it's a waste. RATING: 1
9. Steven's Last Night- Another one I heard in concert, but the
Klezmatics bolster this song. It's great. Can't miss. Blah blah blah.
RATING: 9
10. Battle of Who- Up there with Dwarf for best song...I can see this
doing some good on radio if people pick it up and its marketed right.
This has all the elements a BFF song should. RATING: 9.5
11. Missing The War- Pure crap. Thank you Billy Joel, the Antichrist.
RATING: 2
12. Evaporated- Not quiiiite as bad as the other ones due to
accompaniment again. But still not top quality. RATING: 5
Well, there you have it. I just think that Robert and Darren aren't
featured enough here. The last cd was BEN FOLDS FIVE not Ben Folds and 2
other guys. Is he a Sony sellout? Indie gone big label gone crap? No,
this cd is still solid, I like it more each time. But 7 ballads out of 12
tracks is too much. Where's the energy of Julianne or Uncle Walter?
Where's the quirky lyrics and inventiveness of Underground? You can't
count Dwarf, Dumped, of Steven because those were old songs. Only Battle
and Kate stand out among the 9 I've never heard before.
Overall rating: 7-8
If you're new to the group, by all means get the first record first. Find
out what BFF is supposed to mean. That album is easily a 10 in any book.
Sincerely,
Jason Martin
WVU
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 13:50:08 -0600 (CST)
From: "Michael R. Michau" <michaumi@rs6000.lewisu.edu>
Subject: BF5 Chicago Date (3/24)
Hey
Anyone out there live in the Joliet area in IL?
I need a ride to the Bf5 Metro (Chicago) show on Thurs.,
april 24...
I picked up the two free BF5 single Cd's yesterday...
They are absolutely hilarious!!! Pick them up soon...
The store I went to (Crow's Nest, Crest Hill, IL) only
had four of each..but now they have no more than three
of each...
btw I go to Lewis University in Romeoville...
OK hope to hear from somebody soon...
Mike Michau
"I got this pain in my heart, that's all" - Underground
michaumi@lewisu.edu
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:27:06 -0600 (CST)
From: Megan Hope Foster <mhfoster@artsci.wustl.edu>
Subject: st. louis and chicago shows
THE NEW ALBUM SUCKS!!!!
hah--made you all look. judging by the four issues that were waiting for
me in my mailbox this morning, it seems that everyone has the album and
has comments/praises for it. suffice it to say that i had unbelievably
high expectations for this record, and the guys surpassed those ten-fold.
they never cease to amaze all of us!
i just bought tix to the st. louis show at the galaxy, and will be buying
tix for the chicago show tomorrow, when they go on sale. to everyone in
st. louis (benjy, bill, rahoolio, anyone i might have missed), see you
there on april 22!
i'm off to listen to the best album of '97...megan.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 15:33:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Tocadisco@aol.com
Subject: Congrats Frank
Hi,
Just want to congratulate Frank on making the Thanks on the BFF CD. All your
hard work is being rewarded and you certainly deserve it.
Aww, i remember the ol' days of the Ben Folds Five Digest...
:.(.....
Those were some pretty good days
eric
[They're still pretty good, aren't they? -fjm]
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 14:50:09 -0600 (CST)
From: Megan Hope Foster <mhfoster@artsci.wustl.edu>
Subject: s, c, & c; as well as steve
the "sharp ears" awards go to:
bruce, who gave the absolutely wonderful comparison of ben's piano work in
"selfless" and vince guaraldi. ben's gotta be a fan of mr. guaraldi, don't
you think?
also too whomever picked out the telephone ringing in "steven's last
night..." excellent ears. :)
we will pick this album apart the way "sgt. pepper" was 30 years ago!!!!
crowd around your cd players tonight!!! listen, listen well, and enjoy!!!
megan.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 16:01:08 -0500
From: Nick Caruso <roccoscarfazzi@mobters.com>
Subject: BFF concert in Atlanta.
Well I finally got the new CD and it is really great just as I expected. I
still cant seem to find a record store in the Atlanta area that has the free
singles so if anyone has any info let me know. I just found out yesterday
that Ben and the boys will be playing at the annual Atlanta Music Midtown
music festival this year. The concert lasts for three days( may 2,3,4) and
involves over 150 bands this year. They will be playing with such bands as
ZZ Top and Steve Miller, along with newer bands like Cake, the Wall flowers,
Better than Ezra, and SilverChair. This will be my third time seeing the
boys live in Atlanta in two years!! I am so psyched up! The first time I sa
them was at a free concert they did in Atlanta and I was the first person in
line and was lucky enough to meet and speak to Ben, Darren and Robert for
about 5 minutes and it was on of the greatest experiences of my life. Anyway
if anyone wants more info on music midtown write me.
Nick Caruso roccoscarfazzi@mobsters.com
"I think about my friends sometimes I wish they lived out here, but they
wouldn't dig this town, no they wouldn't dig this town!" -Alex Childress: BFF
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 16:00:15 -0500
From: Evan Chakroff <chakroff@ee.net>
Subject: Free Stuff
hey, uhh... could someone maybe grab me a copy of one (or both) free
singles? 'Cause there's nowhere I can go around here to get them. Or, if
not, could someone make a .wav file out of some of the b-sides and
*definately not post them up on a web page* because that's probably
illegal....
And, I heard that the BOWCCL video was on MTV's M2 hour a while ago.... any
chance it'll be on there again soon?
The new album has begun to grow on me, I didn't like it much at first. Oh,
since none of you really care, here's my story: I got their first album
about 6 months ago, listened to it one or twice, and wasn't too impressed,
put it away for a few months... then about a month and a half ago got it
out and listened to it with the volume WAY up, and I loved it. Subscribed
to this list, bought the new album, and that's all.
-ec, you don't know me
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 17:00:36 -0500 (EST)
From: DMedsker@aol.com
Subject: Pissed at Ben
So, they finally announce tour dates for Ben in Chicago. He's coming on April
24.
And I'll be in South Africa until April 26.
Why didn't he call and tell me? I could have rescheduled, or something...
All my friends get to see him. I have to wait until next time. Grrr....
On the upside, the new album is lovely. Curent fave: Selfless, Cold and
Composed.
Audi,
David M
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 16:12:03 -0600
From: Mike Zipko <MZipko@nhbpr.com>
Subject: A Radio Void
Minneapolis and St. Paul have been treated to a solid dose of BFF by one of
the greatest alternative radio stations to ever send out a signal - REV 105.
They have played BFF from the start and were adding the new single when
Disney bought the station and turned into a heavy metal retread. This is a
bit of a rant. The new album is great and for those who can hear it on local
radio, enjoy, you never appreciate things until they are gone.
M.Zipko
mzipko@nhbpr.com
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 17:10:12 -0500 (EST)
From: ShirowFan@aol.com
Subject: ben and such
ben= cool. There was an article in this week's Entertainment Weekly that put
them in the category of "nerd rock". damn fools. We'll show them. We'll show
them all. Anyhoo, there's an e-mail address for the faboo three in da new
album (bffmail@aol. com)
saw ben in Chapel Hill (my uncle owns a sporting goods store that ben and
friends frequent) and chatted with him. nice guy. neat gams. He gave me some
of their imports (tom and mary, Jackson Cannery Detox #7, etc) and his
address to tell him what i thought. Great guy.
A question: If ben and the others got their legs caught in bear traps, would
they gnaw them off to get to safety? Something to ponder.
Keep Away from Open Flame,
Dave-o
==============================================================================
Date: Sat, 22 Mar 1997 09:34:58 +1000
From: Very Fruity Indeed <ad@healey.com.au>
Subject: Oh please oh please, interview on JJJ
Hey people,
There is an interview on JJJ tonight with BFF. I hope this list gets out
by then!!! :) If not, UNLUCKY!!! But anyway, if someone does by chance
tape the interview, wannna post it up here? I can't listen to it coz (Here
comes me brag for the day) I'm going to see They Might Be Giants...
Apparently Richard Kingsmill is doing it.
BYE!!!
Ad.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 18:05:02 -0500 (EST)
From: NBoski@aol.com
Subject: New Album
I listen to a lot (I mean A LOT) of music, and "Brick" is one of the best
songs I have ever heard.
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 18:12:28 -0500
From: Marc Barinbaum <machshev@erols.com>
Subject: Re: BFF, Klezmer Music, etc.
I'm probably one of the "senior" members of this list (I'm
10 years older than Ben). I listened to "Steven's Last Night in Town"
twice to be sure that I heard Klezmer violins. Then I read the
CD cover and alas.... Ben and the boys were accompanied by some
Klezmatics. It's quite interesting to me that a guy from N.C. can
appreciate Klezmer music. North Carolina is generally not known
as a mecca for Klezmer <grin>.
Fortunately, I was in Philadelphia for business this week and was
able to hear songs from "Whatever and Ever Amen" featured on WXPN.
If only some of the lame radio stations in the metro DC area would
play BFF!
Marc Barinbaum
Bethesda, Maryland
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 16:54:31 -0800 (PST)
From: Pollyanna Rhee <jrhee@wolfenet.com>
Subject: bff and me
Well, I just thought I'd send an intro post to the list about myself...
Well, basically BFF is one of the few American groups that I truly love and
go crazy about (I'm an Anglophile, mostly I listen to British music),
actually besides Blur, BFF is my favourite band... I got into the band
last summer when a friend of mine from England told me it took her forever
to find the "Where's Summers B?" single and how great it was. Well, I got
curious and started looking around and ended up finding the single and
album here, along with the 2 "Underground" singles, so I got those, liked
them, and gradually the stuff started growing more and more on me until I
saw "BOWCCL" video on 120 and then I knew they were definitely at least #2
to Blur... I'm moving to North Carolina this fall to stalk Ben, well, to go
to Wake Forest actually. Right now, I live in Washington and I got the two
"BOWCCL" singles free the other day, I made a friend skip calc with me and
drive 35 miles to Ellensburg so I could get both singles. If anyone wants
live/rare Blur and has live BFF, let me know, I am a truly obsessed Blur
fan.
The band is going to be in Seattle and I won't be cos the tickets were too
expensive and I loathe Counting Crows anyways, maybe when I move to W-S.
I'm not getting Whatever and Ever Amen until next week, since I'm broke
which really sucks. Oh, I'm kind of ashamed to admit this, but when I
first heard of the band I thought to myself "Ben folds five what? What's
he folding?" I'm usually not that moronic.
Cheers,
Pollyanna
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 20:30:53 -0500 (EST)
From: Treesapper@aol.com
Subject: philadelphia
Hey...any philly fans on the Armchair? Be in touch if you're going to the
4/30 show at the TLA...what's the deal with the opening band, Komeda? Are
they local?
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 21:36:57 -0500 (EST)
From: "Christian L. Gindlesperger" <clg6@po.CWRU.Edu>
Subject: Argh--I can't hold out much longer...
The good news is that I won the new CD last Sunday when 107.9
The End played the living hell out of BoWCCL during a "Win It
Before You Can Buy It Week-end". Sure I wasted a week-end glued
to the phone, but it was worth it in the end. The only problem
is the station is sending it through the mail, and I'm now realizing
that though I WON it be for I could buy it, I may not actually
HAVE it, or more importantly be able to LISTEN to it before I
could buy it. It is taking great perserverance of will for me
not to go out at buy a second copy anyway...Hurry up USPS!
To those y'all you can't get on to BFFWeb... I hear your pain,
had the same problem myself, but I managed to find a functioning
link (a secret backdoor?) to the page. Get onto sony's music site,
and then search their web server for "free import" or "Battle" or
something pretaining to the single, if you're looking for the coupon.
I can't guarantee it'll work, but it may be worth a shot. I managed
to nab myself a copy of the 'Champagne Supernova' single (thanks to
my good friend Dawn!), and I must admit it is amusing, but I probably
wouldn't have dispensed my own samolians for it. I'm still dying to
hear the Fanny Pack fiasco...
Good planning BFF tour management! Not only did you pick a choice
venue for the Cleveland show (the Odeon is rockerific), but you conven-
iently chose the week-end of the end of my semester! Cool way to end
classes.
Alright, I seem to have run out of things to say. Everyone who has
the record already, enjoy it, and sing a few bars for poor ol'
"Whatever"-less me...Until later!
As Always,
Christian
==============================================================================
Date: Fri, 21 Mar 1997 20:43:52 -0600 (CST)
From: DANIEL H MEANS <dhm5211@omega.uta.edu>
Subject: "I got your hidden track right here!"
Hi all, I've found it odd that with all the reviews of the new album no one
has expressed how funny they found the 'hidden track' more than a minute
after 'Evaporated'. When I first listened all the way through and my CD
didn't stop I thought "Woo hoo, an unlisted hidden song!" Then after a
minute or so all I get is "I got your hidden track right here...Ben
Folds is a f***ing a**hole...!" I laughed out loud when I heard it, and
then felt disappointed and cheated that there was no song. What a buncha
teases. byebyebye,Daniel.
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