THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #434 - August 8, 1997
Magical Armchair Digest Friday, August 8 1997 Volume 01 : Number 434
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
BFF IRC
Confused???
My Philosophy about Philosophy.
Saratoga Springs, NY HORDE
Robert discusses Armchair
Kate, Dave, and my friend Matt
Re: the Gita and "Sorry, Jessie"
HORDE tapes wanted!!!
My Philosophy philosophy
Piano Transport
Ben on a new record
How big are we?
Reverb (HBO)
Reverb Re-run/Obsessive Freaks
oh, the agony!
horde tour
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 21:04:07 -0400
From: Chad Sarles <wsarles@indiana.edu>
Subject: BFF IRC
Hey everyone,
I have heard people, from time to time, ask if a BFF channel exists on
IRC. A channel only exists if people are there :) I try to pop in
there night to night, sometimes meeting 2 other BFF fans at once.
Usually, there will be no one there, but if you wait a little bit,
someone might show up. Oh, by the way, I always go to #Benfoldsfive on
Efnet (the best IRC network) :) Well, I hope to see some of ya there
soon!
Later,
Chad
P.S. If you don't have an IRC program get MIRC (v. 5.02 is good)... you
can find this program just about anywhere on the web.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 12:38:58 +1000 (EST)
From: Romesh De Alwis <rd15@uow.edu.au>
Subject: Confused???
Hello sorry to bother you all but i just joined the list yesterday and
all i receive is the digest is there any other way you can subscribe to
receive indiviidual mails or is it only digests on this mail list?
Thanks for your help
Rom
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 00:09:45 -0400
From: percystar@cyberdrive.net (percystar)
Subject: My Philosophy about Philosophy.
Hiya Fivers and To Mike, the newbie, you wrote:
I'm sure that all you oldies have discussed this before on the first manual
armchairs, but, Mike has broached the subject, so this is what I've heard.
Just got a small question .
What is a helmet head????? / hat ???
As in Philosophy . Is it a sexual reference ? Or ..........
And what a small question it is to open up yourself with on the armchair!
As I take it, Ben is singing about his penis. I heard that he was in a deli
eatting a falafel (<---sp?) and some people were laughing and he was worried
that they were laughing about his penis, but he said/wrote in his song: "Go
ahead, you can laugh all you want, I've got my falafel" well, it turned
into philosophy. But when Ben sings it live, it sounds alot like falafel
supposedly. So, welcome Mike, and may BF5 sing about penises forever.
Check ya,
Heather
"Where do all the secrets live, They travel in the air, You can smell them
when they burn...Stop and smell the smoke." -Ben Folds Five
visit my web site, hang out in Fiver-ville:
http://www.cyberdrive.net/~percystar/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 00:11:21 EDT
From: sandishortcake@juno.com
Subject: Saratoga Springs, NY HORDE
Anyone going to the Saratoga Springs show this Sunday? I'm going to try
to make it out there and was just wondering if any of you guys are
meeting up...
Sandi
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 15:08:33 +1000 (EST)
From: lotto@netspace.net.au (Rebecca Gorrell & Lance O'Brien)
Subject: Robert discusses Armchair
Howdy All,
Just thought I'd tell you about an interview I just listened to
(Thurs 7/8/97 ~1.40pm) on a Melbourne public radio station 3RRR (top
station!!). They spoke with Robert Sledge (by phone) about various things
including the Magical Armchair. He was saying how incredible it was that
there were so many subscribers to Frank's sideline, he quoted about 3000
people, and how it grew so quickly. He seemed quite impressed by our
support of the band.
well, I'm just looking forward to their tour here. I've got my Monash Uni
tickets and just hangin' out for the Prince of Wales tickets to go on sale.
See other Melbourne fans there.
Ciao, Rebecca
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 06 Aug 1997 22:50:32 PDT
From: "Courtney Knopf" <vegasbaby@hotmail.com>
Subject: Kate, Dave, and my friend Matt
Hello all!
First off, i'm wondering what the B-sides are on the numerous "Kate"
singles that seem to be floating around out there. And how many
different versions are there, anyway?
Second, have any of you avid Letterman watchers noticed that it is very
common to hear paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra play BoWCCL into and
out of commercials? Yay, more publicity for our boys!
And thirdly, I thought I'd share my first BF5 experience, though I
didn't actually realize it at the time.
It was a few months ago, probably right after the release of WAEA. One
day I was going back to my dorm and I stopped in my friend Matt's open
door to say hi, and as I poked my head in, he was singing along to Song
for the Dumped at the part where it says "...give me my money back, you
bitch..." I was a bit surprised and left for fear that something might
be thrown at me since I'm lacking in the Y-chromosome dept. Later I
realized that it was BF5 when I heard 'em on KCRW and have been a
devotee ever since.
~Courtney
P.S. Did anyone who went to HORDE notice the similarity between Darren
Jessee and Mark Sandman from Morphine? Perhaps I'm just smoking crack,
but they look like they could be brothers.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 02:14:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: Brad654@aol.com
Subject: Re: the Gita and "Sorry, Jessie"
In a message dated 97-08-06 20:12:45 EDT, you write:
> My apologies to everyone. You have found me out. I am a fraud. I like to
> pretend I know what I'm talking about...(I thoutht it sounded pretty
> convincing.) I knew I'd heard of it before and assumed since that's what my
> parents are most into... Now I feel like a real loser... I'll just go cry
in
> the corner now...
We can all get snotty about this, or I can go over the research I went and
did about this document after I read the above-quoted pissiness.
from a Funk & Wagnall's encyclopedia:
Bhagavad-Gita (“Song of the Lord”), a Sanskrit poem, consisting of 700 verses
divided into 18 chapters, that is regarded by most Hindus as their most
important text—the essence of their belief. Almost every significant Hindu
philosopher has written a commentary on the Gita, and new translations and
interpretations continue to appear.
The Gita, which is set in Book VI of the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, is in the
form of a dialogue between the incarnate god Krishna and a human hero, Prince
Arjuna, on the holy field of Kurukshetra, before the great Mahabharata
battle. Arjuna expresses his unwillingness to engage in a war against friends
and relatives. Krishna's reply is an exhortation for Arjuna to do his own
duty, that is, as a warrior, to fight and kill. Krishna then explains the
nature of the soul and the proper way to reach God.
Incorporating many doctrines, such as the immortality of the individual soul
(atman) and its identity with the supreme godhead (Brahman), the process of
reincarnation, and the need to renounce the fruits of one's actions, the Gita
draws heavily on the teachings of the Upanishads and the philosophy of
Sankhya. Spirit (purusha) and matter or nature (prakriti), which is divided
into the triple strands of goodness, passion, and darkness, are
complementary. Krishna reconciles the opposing claims of sacrifice and
worldly duty, on the one hand, with meditation and renunciation, on the other
hand, through devotion to God. This god appears briefly in his terrifying
doomsday form before turning back into the compassionate human form of
Krishna.
So there, oh vaunted son of Krishnas.
Brad
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 02:41:50 -0400
From: Steffen Donath <SDonath@compuserve.com>
Subject: HORDE tapes wanted!!!
Hello Armchairians!
Is there any kind soul out there that has got a live tape from the current
HORDE tour? I would be very interested in a copy and have got lots of BFF
live tapes to trade.
Visit my BFF homepage at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/SDonath
Thanx in advance
Steffen
...cos I love to mix in circles, cliques and social coteries...that's me!!!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 07:58:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: NJDRUMMER@aol.com
Subject: My Philosophy philosophy
I just couldn't resist a chance to run on & on about my interpretation of
Philosophy (sorry in advance). As I see it it's a metaphor-Ben is like the
archeitect (nice spelling)/construction worker(helmet hat or hard hat, torch)
of his style of music which, as I think we can all agree is somewhat
different than most music. I think he's saying he had a vision of this style
of music long before he'd actually played it with anyone else, and when he
tried to get others to try it with him they may have doubted him at first,
but then found that it COULD be done ("I pushed you cause I loved you guys, I
didn't realize that you weren't having fun, And I dragged you up the stairs
and I told you to fly"). Then maybe even though they saw this type of music
actually worked they still doubted-kind of like when you learned how to ride
a bike-you got going pretty good and then you started thinking about what you
were doing...like... "hey I'm doing this, two wheels! Oh shit!" and then
you quickly crashed. ("You were flapping your arms and you started to
cry...you were too high")
Well that's it. Let me know what you think. I could be totally whacko! But
hey, that's me. See ya
Steve
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 20:41:50 +0800 (WST)
From: Jodie Poole <jpoole@tartarus.uwa.edu.au>
Subject: Piano Transport
Well, you guys read my post about getting the Baby Grand up two flights of
stairs a couple of days ago. One of you groovy people replied saying that
Ben's piano has legs that screw off and someone else asked if they still
use the same piano that they used two years ago? (something about it
falling off a truck?) Well, apparently its just too much of a damn hassle
to fly a piano half way around the world - my friend reckons that BFF are
just gonna use the piano that the pub owns. Hope they have a spare coz
by the time Ben has finished with it, who knows what shape it'll be in!?!
Well, I would apologize for writing about @#$! all but I know you guys
understand,
Catcha
Jodie
P.S. Elizabeth, are you and Darren's girlfriend and Kate all touring with
the guys to Australia? - hope to meet you all soon!
(special note for Alison - NOT!)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 97 09:30:01 -0000
From: Charles D Folds <4rachuck@concentric.net>
Subject: Ben on a new record
>Snuzz has just put out a record with Chuck still on bass and
>Eddie on drums. Snuzz does the guitar playin' and singin'. He
>was nice enough to bring by a copy of the record. Ben Folds
>plays piano on one track. I don't know how this cd is being
>distributed, but if you are curious, e-mail me. I have Snuzz's
>e-mail address. Or I guess I could do some taping....
Yes, Susan is right. We have a new cd we just got back last week.
We have no distribution deal or record deal (as we always havent). It can
be found at any Record Exchange store in NC. You could also e-mail me and
I can let you know how to get it.
Ben plays piano on one track that was recorded about 7 or 8 years ago, he
also plays drums on that song. Ben and Snuzz have always reminded me a
lot of each other (musically speaking) and I believe they have a mutual
respect for each others songwriting. Therefore, I believe you guys might
enjoy it.
Sorry about the partially not BF5 related topic.
Chuck Folds
ps- for those people who have recently sent me some 'stuff', please let
me know if you want a copy of this, I did a bad job of keeping up with
your e-mail addresses.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 10:23:53 -0400
From: "Faix, Andrew" <AFaix@harris.com>
Subject: How big are we?
Greetings Kids,
With all these newbie posts and posts from distant lands, I was curios
to know how large and diverse the Armchair has grown?
Perhaps Frank could provide a number for us as well as some examples of
some "out of the way" subscribers. I just thought it would be
interesting.
Oh, and a word on the bands equipment. Speaking from FIRSTHAND
knowledge from working the Columbus HORDE, I can tell you that Ben's
piano is a major pain in the ass to set up. Don't get we wrong, its
WELL worth the trouble. Compared to other bands on the HORDE however, I
can tell you that BF5 are actually very light as far as equipment is
concerned. I had to unload Harley's, BBQ's, coolers full of beer, and
just a ridiculous, sundry collection of junk that these other bands
insist on dragging with them all over Hell's creation. Also, as a rule
of thumb, it takes about half as long to break down a set than it does
to set up.
Later,
- -Andrew (afaix@harris.com)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 07:44:35 -0700
From: "Kamp, Marcus S" <Marcus.Kamp@PSS.Boeing.com>
Subject: Reverb (HBO)
I videotaped Reverb last night + watched part of it this morning.
Unless there's more @ the end-I had to get to work-it's basically
just a brief interview + a live performance of OAD. It's still pretty
cool, though, because it features our heroes! The highlight comes
towards the end of OAD when somebody yells "sh*t!" into the microphone
+ the camera pans to show Robert w/a broken strap. As a musician,
it's good to know these things happen to others as well-although I
certainly wouldn't wish any such problems on any of the boys in BFF!
Speaking of which, there was a post on today's Armchair from a band
manager offering tapes of the band he represents. 2 things leap to
mind: (A) What's the name of the band? + (B) I would also like to
offer tapes of my band for $5 (including shipping). We're called
Sinforosa + are an acoustic-pop trio w/a dark edge + a fantastic
female singer (imagine Mazzy Star meets 10,000 Maniacs). Email me +
let me know.
"SH*T!"-Robert Sledge
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 09:51:22 -0400
From: Jeremy Amos <debaser@gr.cns.net>
Subject: Reverb Re-run/Obsessive Freaks
Did anyone manage to get this on tape that they'd be willing to dupe? I set
my VCR, and when I checked it this AM before coming in to work, all I got
was static - my only guess is that we had a cable outage last night (a
frequent occurrance in my neighborhood, quite distressing).
Please reply privately. Thanks.
As far as obsessing about BFF; I picked up WEAE after a local radio station
put "Battle" into heavy rotation. A couple days later I picked up the
first album, and have been listening to both incessantly since. I've been
singing my praises to anyone who'll listen (a good friend of mine went out
and picked up the album, just to get me off his back). Anyone care to
hazard a guess as to what it is about BFF that elicits such a response from
all who hear them?
(Sorry if this has been covered before - I've not had the time to peruse
the archives)
Just curious,
Jer
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 07 Aug 1997 08:31:23 -0500
From: Grace Hill <grace@itrc.dciu.k12.pa.us>
Subject: oh, the agony!
Alright, BAD thing: my tape of the Reverb rerun got badly f*cked up,
which makes staying up till 4:15 to tape it all that much worse. Do
any of you kind souls have this particular episode in full? I would be
eternally grateful...please let me know!
N. Brie Rifka
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 15:31:54, -0500
From: RFAA93A@prodigy.com (MR MARC FACTOR)
Subject: horde tour
hey frank,
the horde tour is coming to the ny area and i know they are playing
at jones beach but i have tickets for the one at the pct center. are
they playing there also?
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #434
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