THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #230 - April 16, 1997
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR, Issue #230
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Topics for Today:
Administrative notes from the listmanager
Cleveland show
FINALLY got the new album!...
BFF Cleveland Show
Re: Magical Armchair meeting for Cleveland show
bff, bff, bff
bf5=hanson?
Size of Ben's hands
bf5 on conan obrien
Cigarette and a last thought on the Last Polka
Mind experiment and The Last Polka
ticketmaster are a bunch of retards
"Kate" released: Brilliant!
this whole mainstream thing
==============================================================================
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"armchair" when the welcome messages go out. -fjm]
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 10:44:02 BST
From: "J.Goodall" <MSRX5JG1@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk>
Subject: Cleveland show
Sorry this is to the list. I've tried to send it direct but it keeps
bouncing back
I'd like to be on the Cleveland tree as either an analog branch or
leaf
I have lots to trade
Mail me
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 08:37:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: RhubarbCub@aol.com
Subject: FINALLY got the new album!...
...and even though they're getting ZERO airplay here in my hometown of
Springfield MO because of bogus local radio politics, I can only hope that
it's hitting big elsewhere!
At the moment my favorite song is "Song For The Dumped", having heard it once
live when the band was here last year. It really induces vigorous bouts of
"air-piano playing!" Haven't tried it on my real live Kawai yet but there's
time. Of the slow ones, I gravitate to "Brick". I like strong metaphors,
especially when they're rough and ugly like this one. It's definitely a
"YES, I know just what you mean by that!" turn of the phrase.
Ned and his red socks
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 10:50:28 -0400
From: elutz@kent.edu
Subject: BFF Cleveland Show
As far as the cleveland show is concernded. I think that a party or
an Armchair get to gether is great. How to Identify each other at the show
is another problem. How can we solve this? Well I had an Idea for any one
interested in Having a get to gether before or after the show. There is a
place called Dicks and we could just reservation under Armchair or something
like that and meet there. Dicks is in the flats and Is just really a hop
skip and a jump from the Odeon so any one from out of town could come to
dicks very easily and get lost somewhere down town.
Any one interested should let me know I will be willing to make reservations
for everyone interested
Elizabeth
elutz@pop.kent.edu
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Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 10:16:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Bronwyn Anna Deaver <bdeaver@indiana.edu>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair meeting for Cleveland show
Okay, I would love for everyone that is going to the Cleveland show to
e-mail me personally. I am going to get it so we can all meet. Does
anyone know how big the show is going to be? I mean, how big is the
Odeon? This is going to be so fun!!!!
Bronwyn Deaver
bdeaver@indiana.edu
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 11:31:19 -0500
From: bryan siebers <brdsieb4@uwc.edu>
Subject: bff, bff, bff
hey all:
this is my first time here, but i'm glad to be part of it. first of all, i
want to say that it would not be cool if ben and co. became mainstream. in
my opinion, that's what makes them so cool, the fact that no one has heard
of them (well, virtually no one). also, i have a question regarding a lyric
in one angry dwarf. towards the end of the second verse, he says "remember
second grade, said you couldn't stand my face, rather than kiss me..."
what's the name he says? Stacey, Shane, i can't figure it out.
also, i live in a very sheltered city, and it was very hard just to find
bff's new album when they came out, so you can imagine the kind of trouble
i'm having trying to find singles. please e-mail me back with any kind of
info. that might help me in some way, shape, or form. (<brdsieb4@uwc.edu>)
thank you all very much for your time.
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 11:45:59 -0500
From: Geoffrey McNulty <gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu>
Subject: bf5=hanson?
has anyone else seen the latest buzzclip on mtv by a group called "hanson"?
they're a group of 10-12 year old kids, (i think, i'm bad with ages), and
sound just like the jackson five. the kicker is...they are just like a
little ben folds five!!! keyboards, bass guitar, and drums. the first few
times i heard the song i hated it, but it's grown on me. check it out.
they're great!
geoff
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geoffrey McNulty | "...there comes a time when
Entertainment Writer | you want to roast marshmallows
gmcnulty@students.wisc.edu | over your own fire."
(608) 264-0123 | --Tori Amos
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My New Home Page!!! http://www.angelfire.com/wi/geomac
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 14:52:21 -0400 (EDT)
From: NakedVegan@aol.com
Subject: Size of Ben's hands
> The article was a 2page deal in Details (March?) It mentions something
> to the effect of "when he read in the magical armchair, an email mailing
> list devoted to the band, strangers debating whether his hands were big
> enough to play certain chords, he felt sick"
This must be a pretty bad misquote, because we never even discussed that
topic here! What we DID discuss was this: an Armchair reader met Ben,
and Ben gave him a tip on playing Philosophy that involved playing a 10th
(C-E) with the left hand. Another reader (or maybe it was the same
reader) complained that it's difficult or impossible to stretch your hand
that far. One or more readers suggested rolling the chord, and playing
the notes as close to the bottom of the key as possible. I suggested
simply playing the top part of the 10th (the E) with the right hand. I
also made the seeming controversial suggestion that it's silly that we
have a one-size-fits-all way of making piano keyboards, since not
everybody has the same size hands, and it would be great if more
smaller-key keyboards were available for people with smaller hands. One
reader slammed that idea saying it was unfeasible, but I defended my
proposition, supported by reader Landohappy@aol.com and at least one
other reader if I remember correctly. So, nobody here ever suggested
that Ben's hands weren't big enough to play certain chords.
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==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 14:08:23 CST
From: muel9628@uwwvax.uww.edu
Subject: bf5 on conan obrien
the wonderful musical group ben folds five will appear on the conan obrien
show on APRIL 29 and the jenny mccarthy show in may..i'll let everyone know
when i find out more info..hope to see some armchairers at the chicago show..
i'll probably be wearing a radiohead shirt becuz they're the greatest right
along with ben folds five... mark mueller uw-whitewater..i'm from racine, wi
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 15:25:54 -0500
From: Me <saltman@wesleyan.edu>
Subject: Cigarette and a last thought on the Last Polka
> Date: Sat, 12 Apr 1997 01:21:17 -0400 (EDT)
> From: BNDVDSN@aol.com
> Subject: cigarette (either that or Fred Jones, not sure of the title)
>
> but in my
> opinion, the most powerful song (lyricly at least) would have to be
> cigarette. That is such a sad powerful story. I was wondering if any of us
> bf5ers knew anything more about the lyrics.
Um, I don't remember where I heard this, and I hope it doesn't destroy you
and your quest for deeper meaning, but I read somewhere that "Cigarette"
was a newspaper article that Ben set to music. Once I heard that, it made
sense that way to me, but perhaps it's not true. Anyway, the music could
still lend the lyrics a deeper meaning, and I think it does. Did anyone
else hear/read this as the source of the lyrics? Oh, my thoughts on the now
dead thread of "The Last Polka" moment: Thanks, you guys, for stealing my
life. I thought I was the only one who appreciated the transcendent emotion
present in that line, and then I find out the rest of the universe thinks
so too...oh well, I guess we all recognize a good thing when we hear it.
Although I did play that part for a non-BFF loving friend, and I was like
"See!Isn't that the most heart wrenching line ever?" and she just stared at
me and shook her head with sad, condescending disagreement. I continued
babbling "Cause, see, they're breaking up..and, and, he's saying that he
was fine before..." Oh well. You can't force good taste on people. I am
*so* excited for the Philly show...
Sarah
==============================================================================
Date: Sun, 13 Apr 1997 21:10:49 +0100
From: paul.leung@virgin.net
Subject: Mind experiment and The Last Polka
Hi there!
How ya doing, everybody? I'm new on the list here (like you really care)
and I'm from London England, where I've managed to miss them in March,
and nearly kill myself as a result.
Anyway, having infected everybody with the Ben Folds Bug, it appears
that everybody likes each track in the same order! Well, Underground
didn't really count 'cause it was already released, but most people
loved it. I think that Philosophy was very quick to follow, then Jackson
Canner/Julianne, Sports and Wine/Uncle Walter, The Last Polka/boxing,
with the others filling in. Sure, it's an approximate order but really,
when I pointed it out to myfriend he said it must be a mind experiment.
I'd just like to know if it's like this with other people? Write to me
please.
The Last Polka
Now this, everybody reckons is a damn fine song, and I agree. However,
eveerybody's caught up on the last verse but I find it really lies with
the chorus. I find the most emotionally intense moment in the whole
album not in the last verse but rather in the immediate chorus when
it's just down to Ben. That bit,
"Sha la la la la la la la la the end is growing near"
always, always squeezes a tear out of me, I don't know why, and call me
weird, but it does, and even now I'm feeling kinda emotional.
Thanks for listening! Anthony
P.S. How many people on this list play the piano?
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 16:44:46, -0500
From: MR MARC FACTOR <RFAA93A@prodigy.com>
Subject: ticketmaster are a bunch of retards
hello,
i cant wait to see bff at irving plaza on april 28th. getting
tickets werent easy though. my friend originally went to a location
where they have a ticketmaster machine, but it said the show was sold
out. it turns out there was something wrong with the computer and
there some tickets left. i had to drag my ass down to irvin plaza
and get the tickets without ticketbastard. pearl jam was right...see
you all on the 28th!
brian
==============================================================================
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 8:19:16 +0100
From: Simon Burrows INF-KB <sburrows@madge.com>
Subject: "Kate" released: Brilliant!
I think 'Kate' being released is great news. If it has enough air-play on
Radio 1 like 'Battle' did, then I reckon it could go top ten. Its not the
best, but easily the catchiest track on the LP. Whoever said that there's
shades of Joe Jackson, especially on 'Selfless Cold & Composed' was spot
on - it sounds a lot like 'Breaking Us In Two' from Joes excellent 'Night
And Day' Album.
I'm afraid I have no sympathy for the 'no mainstream' party which seems
to be gathering momentumn - aren't you pleased that such a fantastic band
are now getting the recognition they deserve? I'm not a huge REM fan (and
this will probably provoke a massive response from 'original fans who
liked them before 'Out Of Time'), but they managed to combine mass
popularity with consistantly improving albums.
" As soon as word got around, all the band-wagon jumpers got hold
of that same album and now my brother refuses to play aforementioned
album because it's turned mainstream."
Why on earth did he do this? Because its no longer so hip to put it on?
This sort of stuff stinks of coolist 'I liked them first' crap, and its
all a bit immature.
I enjoy reading about the lines that people like the most, so here's my
contributions.
From the first album, its during 'Best Imitation Of Myself' when Ben
sings 'Now if its all the same' for the second time i.e. the notes for
'all' are all over the place. Always brings me up in goosebumps that bit.
From the second album its from 'Missing The War' (which everyone else on
this list seem to loathe or skip) when he sings , er, 'Missing The War'
actually. This song reminds me of a Billy Joel track from 'The Nylon
Curtain' album called 'Laura'. The chords in the verse are very similar.
So long.
Ceddy
sburrows@madge.com
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Date: Mon, 14 Apr 1997 18:22:25 -0400 (EDT)
From: Marcia Huth <mdhuth@email.unc.edu>
Subject: this whole mainstream thing
hola, everyone
this is my first time posting, so I feel bad complaining, but I'm going
to do it anyway...
BEN FOLDS FIVE SHOULD NOT GO MAINSTREAM. I'm from their hometown, the
lucious Chapel Hill, NC, and for three years now I've been watching great
bands like our boys, June, and even The Squirrel Nut Zippers play awesome
sets to small crowds at the Cat's Cradle (a pretty small club here) and
even the wonderful Record Exchange (a tiny record store downtown). Last
January I bared ice and snow to see them play at the Brewery in Raleigh
and then a gain a week later to see them play to an awesomely small crowd
at the Cat's Cradle. This February, when they came back to the Cradle, I
was lucky to get my ticket. When i arrived on the scene, the show was
absoloutly packed. it was cool and all, but I knew 1/2 of those people had
just heard them once on G105 (the local crappy, alternateen station).
grrr! everytime someone tells me they heard this wonderful band on that
crappy excuse for a radio station, I cringe. The Squirrel Nut Zippers
(three of them, anyway) worked for my brother at a local resturaunt, and
now they aren't even comming back to their hometown! this whole mainstream
thing is turning my beloved town into a hellhole, and i don't like it one
bit!
thanks for the ear,
dan
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