THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #406 - July 23, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Wednesday, July 23 1997 Volume 01 : Number 406
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
only one more day!!
KBTV show from Metro
RE: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #404
Kate
rosemary and cameron
Re: bootlegs
BFF Live tapes wanted!!!
BFF on KCRW's morning becomes eclectic
my HORDE experience
Ben v Tori...the real story
Cake
BFF in Tucson AZ
Lets Get Ready to RUMBLE!
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #404
Ben v. Tori v. Nana Mouskouri
Ben and Tori amen!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 20:03:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ranvac@aol.com
Subject: only one more day!!
hey all you kansans...getting ready for the big day? personally i've been
very busy getting my BFF tattoo, the megaphone I'm going to use to yell at
them from the crowd and...ha ha, it's a joke, really. actually, i have been
attempting to recruit followers from every corner of the country.
i went to a camp in Philly this weekend and, of course, one day i wore my
"cool in school" tshirt in an attempt to elicit excited recognition. one guy
had heard of them (though he said they're huge in West Virginia). anyway i
mentioned them and how great they were to anyone who happened to glance at
the shirt. and i'm sending a tape to a girl in Muncie Indiana who's going to
start playing it for all her musician friends and trying get it on the radio.
so all you hoosiers out their, have no fear...somehow BFF is going to become
big in your (and my future) home (i of course will be shoving it down the
throat of all IU students who get within distance).
i'll be seeing everyone at HORDE! i can't wait.
anna
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 19:35:05 -0500
From: Josh Goldbogen <nifty@concentric.net>
Subject: KBTV show from Metro
If anybody got this on tape or know when or what channel it will be on
could you help me out. You will surely be rewarded. I'm also looking for
an audio version of this show and of the The Rave show on June 3rd of
'97.
Jere
Nifty@concentric.net
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 18:18:23 -0700
From: Peter Duniho <peted@microsoft.com>
Subject: RE: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #404
>Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 12:24:48 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Excus7teen@aol.com
>Subject: Cake and Kate
>
>as for the Ben vs. Tori debate....
>how many people on this list can play the piano? i mean really play? if
you
>can, then you can say who's better. i hate it when people say "oh yeah,
so
>and so's a really good guitarist/drummer/bassist/whatever" when they
can't
>play an instrument. if you have no concept of what it's like to play
it, or
>how hard it may be, then how can you judge who's better? i love ben and
tori
>and i hope they both just keep making good music.
I don't buy this argument at all. In fact, we have regular competitions
in all sorts of forms of athletics and art in which the judges are
persons who are not themselves capable of achieving the same greatness
as those who are competing. Often they have some limited ability, but
even that is not a prerequisite all the time. And yet, these
competitions are generally considered to be judged fairly.
I certainly agree that it's unfair to simply say outright that Tori Amos
isn't a good piano player. At a minimum, that sort of comment needs to
be supported by some sort of evidence, and I don't mean "just listen to
it and you know what I mean!" I would still disagree with the claim
that she's not a good piano player, or even a good musical artist, but
at least I'd have some respect for the person criticizing her.
Naturally, a person who can support such a claim with some substantial
facts or observations may well be able to do so because they can
themselves play, and even play well. But, I don't see how that's
necessarily required. If they have good reasons for the opinion, then
those reasons will speak for themselves, regardless of the skill, or
lack of skill, that the critic may have.
All that said, boy those guys ROCK! Ben Folds included, and he is
definitely one of the greatest...why bother trying to figure out if he
is *the* greatest?
BTW...I was disappointed to only hear how lame the ticket distribution
of the BFF Seattle show at Entros was. I personally got tickets through
the mail, so didn't experience that firsthand.
Unfortunately, when we arrived at the show, we discovered that my
fiancee (who unlike many of my other women friends, likes to travel
light) wasn't carrying any ID. Since it was a 21+ show, we weren't
getting in, and between the fact that we were already 30 minutes late,
and that it would've taken at least another hour to go home, get her ID,
and return, we just skipped the show. (And before you beat her up too
much...she'd just had her wisdom teeth out the day before, and here she
was, trying to make it to see BFF; I think she can be forgiven for not
remembering her ID).
(You can spare me the "a *true* fan would walk over hot coals, swim
under water for 20 minutes, climb bare-handed up the sheerest rock face,
and endure an entire hour of Rush Limbaugh just to hear 3 minutes of Ben
Folds Five" lectures...we were tired already, and it just didn't seem
worth the hassle).
So, did anyone actually get into the show? How was it? I'm especially
interested in how Entros is as a musical venue. I've been there several
times, and even with the different "shows" that they put on, it never
seems like they have a great layout for musical acts. Where was the
band? Did they remove any of the stuff for their more typical "adult
amusement park" theme? How *was* the show? Excellent, I assume, but
haven't heard anyone say so.
Pete
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 09:54:53 +0800 (WST)
From: Jodie Poole <jpoole@tartarus.uwa.edu.au>
Subject: Kate
Hi there everyone,
I have a strong feeling that this has been asked before and I am
SORRY if people are offended by me asking this again but does anyone know
why the guys wrote "Army" next to the Kate title in the W&EA album?
Bye-zy-bye!
Jodie
PS: BFF IN OZ - I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 21:46:01 -0500
From: greatdave@juno.com (dave a hansen)
Subject: rosemary and cameron
>I don't want to burst the bubble of what sounds like a nice memory, but
I
>think you are probably remembering the corner of Rosemary & Columbia.
That's
>one block from the heart of town here in Chapel Hill, and Rosemary and
Cameron
>actually don't intersect anywhere.
>Jason Kilts
it never said in the song that they intersect. just says, 'down by
rosemary and cameron, she hands out blah blah blah blah blah...' just
thought i'd point that out.
DAVE
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 97 00:47:54 EDT
From: shultz@bme1.image.uky.edu (Jason Shultz)
Subject: Re: bootlegs
>Does anyone know where I can get a catalog of good bootlegs, especially
>bff bootlegs. Also, does anyone want to start trading tapes?
I don't know if the ethics of bootlegs has been discussed here lately.
The Japanese imports and actual cd's that are recognized
by BF5 are all right. BUT DO NOT BUY UNAPPROVED BOOTLEGS.
This only hurts the band and the fans. Since it is not illegal
to sell bootlegs in the US, only to make them, there are plenty
of European companies willing to ship them here. Don't give in
to temptation. If the selling of bootlegs becomes a problem,
Ben and the boys may object to people taping further shows.
Just trying to share my enlightenment ;)
Shultz
***************************************************
* Jason Shultz *
* Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory *
* Wenner-Gren Center for Biomedical Engineering *
* University of Kentucky *
* shultz@bme1.image.uky.edu *
***************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 01:17:01 -0400
From: Steffen Donath <SDonath@compuserve.com>
Subject: BFF Live tapes wanted!!!
Hi all you Armchairians!
I am still looking for good quality live tapes of the following shows:
03/21/96 Theater of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA
04/01/97 The Paramount, Seattle, WA
04/04/97 Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA
04/06/97 Rimac Arena, San Diego, CA
06/25/97 Summer Stage, Central Park, NYC
07/01/97 Sheperds Bush Empire, London, UK
If anybody of you can help me out with one or several of these shows please
contact me. I have got lots of BFF live tapes to swap. Just have a look at
my BFF webpage
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SDonath
So keep those e-mails flying in!!!
STEFFEN
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 01:45:40 -0400 (EDT)
From: MissDa@aol.com
Subject: BFF on KCRW's morning becomes eclectic
i haven't been reading the armchair thoroughly for about a month, so i'm not
sure if anyone actually brought this up already, but i figured i'd mention
it, just for grins. while i was away on vacation, my dad taped a segment on
a radio show called "morning becomes eclectic" with bff. it was the morning
before the l.a. horde show, whenever that was, and they performed a 6-song
set with interview bits in the middle. i don't listen to kcrw, so i never
would have heard about this otherwise, especially considering i was out of
town.... i'm SO glad my dad taped it for me. did anyone else hear this
fabulous performance, or am i the only one?
amanda
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 03:14:34 -0400 (EDT)
From: Inbloom944@aol.com
Subject: my HORDE experience
Well, I just got back from Denver and have to admit that after seeing Ben and
the boys for the first time, it was the funnest live performance I have ever
experienced. They were so good, and funny, and play so well together live.
I waited around after the short set and talked to Robert for about ten
minutes or so. He is such a nice guy. When he first came over I thought
that I would end up annoying him by talking about stupid stuff or something,
but he just kept going on and on! He really seemed to enjoy talking to the
fans (there was another guy standing there next to me). Anyway, he told me
that his girlfriend checks out the Magical Armchair every once in a while and
tells him about what we talk about... how people talk about the shirts that
he wears and other petty things ( I think he thinks we are obsessed! ;)
(If his gf is out there.. post something for us!!)
He also said that they are planning to tour alone after they go to Australia.
They are going to release Brick, then start the tour :)
After talking with Robert, I ran into Todd from Toad the Wet Sprocket and got
an autograph (not nearly as friendly as Rob, but it was still cool to meet
him--oh yeah, btw, Todd told the crowd to "dance to SNZ and to definitely
check out BFF on the second stage"-- his only endorsements, which was cool).
Then, BFF did an autograph session and I finally met Ben and Darren. They
were both really cool too. Joked around a lot. (I annoyed Ben by having him
sign so much damn stuff.. but he seemed happy to do it!)
The set was slightly different than what they have played at other horde
shows... here it was:
One Angry Dwarf, Fair, Kate, Song for the Dumped, the theme song, and
Philosophy.. then the string players did a cool little wrap up at the end.
The strings played in every song and are very good and add a lot to bff's
sound (and they are pretty damn attractive too, i must admit :)
Well, that is already too long of a posting, but I hope that it got someone
excited who hasn't yet seen them and is going to soon at the HORDE. It is
very good times!
P.S. The lesson learned: If you bootleg a bff concert, don't sing along
.. it kinda ruins the recording :) lol
"You can laugh all you want to, but I got my philosophy"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 01:10:14 PDT
From: "Nick Vincent" <npvincent@hotmail.com>
Subject: Ben v Tori...the real story
Tori Vs Ben...
I can see Ben leading with a sharp uppercut, and following that with a
low leg sweep. This would leave Tori disorientated and vulnerable to a
swift kick in the ribs.
However, a scorned Tori should certainly not be underestimated since
there is a high possibility she could leap to her feet and start
screeching at extremely high volume, possibly whirling round flailing
her arms like an insane woman.
This would send send Ben reeling. However, Tori would soon wear herself
out being odd, and become disorientated from her excessive spinning.
At this moment Ben could seize his opportunity to utilise a 'flying fist
of judo', launching Tori high into the air from the powerful blow.
However, Tori would not remain stunned for long, and Ben would have to
be prepared to finish her with a vicious Chinese Burn, or incapacitate
her entirely with a 'dead leg', leaving him victorious.
But he should not become blasé. This is no easy victory.
....Just an idea....
Nick
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 02:45:17 +0000
From: "Arnold S. Rowe" <arowe@pe.net>
Subject: Cake
hi!
would whoever posted about Kate's article in the zine Cake please
tell us all how to get it? is it on the net or tangible? thanks!
hehe, and that's terribly strange, seeing as for the longest time, my
friend thought Ben was shouting "cake!" and not "Kate!" isn't it
ironic? eee! alanis! poof be gone!
toodles!
aimee
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 09:48:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: CooperG777@aol.com
Subject: BFF in Tucson AZ
This is my first post and I wanted to say that a few months back BF5 played
in cowboy land, Tucson Arizona. YEEHAH! It was one of the funnest concerts
I or my brother had ever been to. They rocked out. They played about a 15
minute version of Steven's last night in town with Ben swinging from rafters
of the small stage and playing the mouth organ in place of the horns. During
the Gershwin part in philosophy, Ben started pounding the lower keys with his
foot. It was awesome. Underground was last and then they played Julianned
as an encore. There was like a mosh pit and I got to be right up close to
the stage cuz some people had started leaving. Even if you have to travel
100 miles for the closest BF5 concert, do it because if you are truly a fan,
you won't want to miss it.
Cooper
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 10:20:18 -0400
From: "Faix, Andrew" <AFaix@harris.com>
Subject: Lets Get Ready to RUMBLE!
In this corner:
Weighing in at 133 pounds, wearing the green dress, from Baltimore MD,
the #1 ranked, medium-feather-weight contender, Tori "The Crusher"
Amos!!!!!
And in this corner, weighing in at 162 pounds, wearing the faded jeans
and tattered T-shirt, a south-paw from Chapel Hill N.C. the defending
medium-feather-weight champion, Ben "The Hammer" Folds!!!!
When this big controversy's over, may I recommend bouts such as
Ben Folds vs. Kareem Abdul Jabar
Ben Folds vs. Ben Stiller
Ben Folds vs. Porky Pig
Ben Folds vs. David Letterman
and
Ben Folds vs. Hulk Hogan
Personally, I think Porky Pig could kick Ben's ass, but Its Ben could
definitely take those other guys.
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.
- -Andrew (afaix@harris.com)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 10:54:37 +0100
From: kareng@ici.net (karen gannon)
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #404
<<i hate it when people say "oh yeah, so and so's a really good
guitarist/drummer/bassist/whatever" when they can't play an instrument. if
you have no concept of what it's like to play it, or how hard it may be,
then how can you judge who's better?>>
In a word: sound. We all have incredible experience in music. We grow up
with it. I myself listen to an average of 12 hours/day (counting time
listening and doing something else). My playing, writing and what I
hesitate to call singing adds a few more hours a week. I have always
assumed that the whole point was to make emotive sound, either pleasant or
otherwise. Do we like Ben Folds Five because the piano's hard as all hell
to play, which seems to be the general consensus among my piano-playing
friends? I hope not. We like the music because of how it sounds. Look at
punk. If you can't remember the progression in most punk songs, you must
not be trying very hard, cause they don't use a whole lot of chords. But a
lot of people like it, myself included.
Josh
"There seems to be a lot of emphasis on playing fast. I've always thought
that sound was more important..."--The Edge, U2's fastplaying coolsounding
guitarist.
"We may not be the best band around here, but we sure are the most
fun"--John Santos, Recyclable Friend guitarist/sometimes bassist
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 11:15:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Brad654@aol.com
Subject: Ben v. Tori v. Nana Mouskouri
In a message dated 97-07-21 20:27:16 EDT, you write:
> For that matter we could devote our pecious time and space to comparing Ben
> to any number of other well known pianists:
>
> Ben vs Liberace
> Ben vs Debbie Gibson
> Ben vs Jerry Lee Lewis
> Ben vs Stevie Wonder
> and of course
> Ben vs that kid who plays the keyboard for Hanson
>
> The point is.............nevermind. If you don't get the point by now,
> nothing I can say will help.
Can't we discuss whatever the hell we want to discuss on our own damn mailing
list? After all, this thread does have BF5 content, unlike the
top-ten-albums-of-all-time thread which we had to wade through a while ago.
If people want to discuss Ben vs. anyone, let 'em.
Brad
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 1997 11:18:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: RhubarbCub@aol.com
Subject: Ben and Tori amen!
Actually, if it weren't for the BOTH of them, I'd be throwing in the towel on
modern music. The state of guitar is pretty sad at the moment; virtuosity is
defitinely not back in vogue yet, and most of what we hear are those same
three cowboy open chords and power 5ths, over and over. Keyboard sort of
forces the issue; it almost demands that you play more than simple repetitive
voicings, so you get better texture.
Tori's playing is like fragile kite wings. Ben's is like a big bowl of ice
cream with that crunchy chocolate shell topping. Who says you can't eat ice
cream while flying a kite? :)
Ned and his red socks
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #406
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