THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #749 - January 13, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Tuesday, January 13 1998 Volume 01 : Number 749
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
A couple of things...or three...or...
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #747
the pain/anguish of SNL
Ben Folds Five tape form '94?
NBP as therapy, Chicago
L.A. pre-show gaterhing
SNL
The piano on SNL
Something you don't like with BFF ?
Disappointed, to say the least...
LISTEN dammit
Revised arguement of NBP reviews
Phoenix Review of BFF
The Five and their Fans in Chicago
Reviews/ "All the groovey chicks with the crimson lips says NYC Radio Sucks"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 98 06:21:20 +0100
From: Bengt Stenstr=?ISO-8859-1?Q?=f6m?= <bengt.stenstrom@swipnet.se>
Subject: A couple of things...or three...or...
1. I can't believe the BFF only got to do one song on SNL, and that piano
I hear about.... And you know what? Over here in Sweden (Europe) they
were to broadcast the Letterman performance on Christmas Eve (one week
after the US broadcast), but they mysteriously cancelled that show and
instead came up with some old show featuring Oasis!!!!! Yuk!!!! I mailed
the TV channel (Z-TV), but have received no answer. Anyone got an answer
from SNL?
2. There was talk of the boys appearing with Jools Holland - who is a
marvellous piano player. Any news on that? Has Jools his own show? On
what channel? In the US only (or UK/Europe as well)?
3. Just listened to their MTV performance of One angry dwarf... (from one
of the web sites) and I must say it was kinda sloppy, just as if they
wanted to get it over with (that's what you say?) as quickly as possible.
Anyone else's thoughts?
4. She don't use jelly is one helluva song... :-)
5. Their performance on Morning (E... something - forgot) Show was
fantastic, with that string quartet. Anyone got a tape of that show?
Sorry have nothing to trade, but willing to pay, whatever... (and ever,
amen... ) :-)
Bengt S (Sweden)
bengt.stenstrom@swipnet.se
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 00:20:54 EST
From: Pianogtar <Pianogtar@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #747
Does anyone know if ben folds five will be playing anywhere below Norfolk on
there upcoming tour? I saw them in charlotte in October and i want to see them
again.
thanks george
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 00:35:56 -0500
From: Rebecca.Cole@mail.cc.trincoll.edu (Rebecca Cole)
Subject: the pain/anguish of SNL
Everyone and their mother has already commented on this, but what a WASTE
of a precious hour and a half of my life SNL was last night. The sketches
were sheer, unadulterated, slam-yer-head-on-an-inanimate-object misery. And
"Brick"! I just wanted to cuddle Ben after it was over. He looked so ill
and upset and just generally hurting throughout. It made me feel like I was
there with him...that feeling when a song has got such huge negative
momentum that there is just no way of turning it around is the worst.
Unhappiness seemed to abound after the performance. I was over at my
friend's house and she taped it. I had planned to copy the tape, but just
watching it once caused me so much pain that I couldn't bear to do it. The
acoustics must have sucked, and that setup was so weird. Poor Ben Folds
Five. Sigh.
Oh, the injustice of sticking a POOR imitation of Ann B. Davis into that
shite Tarantino sketch when they had Mr. Robert Sledge, who is a DEAD
RINGER for Peter Brady, on the premises! Oh, and there is no way those
Titanic pianos were Ben's. Would Ben let those drooling idiots on SNL move
his pianos? I certainly hope not.
Did anyone else think that a camera on Ben Folds Five in their dressing
room talking would have been funnier than everything on the show? Only
redeeming feature of the show: Colin Quinn doing the news.
Boycott SNL (like anybody watches it anyway),
Rebby
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 23:20:54 -0700
From: uselink@juno.com (Jeremy V Davis)
Subject: Ben Folds Five tape form '94?
Ok, I was doing a little net surfing today and found another music and
movies and such online store and of course my first thing to look up was
Ben Folds Five, and low and behold I find something I've never herd of
before. It came from "www.totalE.com" Take a look:
BEN FOLDS FIVE - BEN FOLDS FIVE
Record Company: La-Di-Da America
Release Date : 07/29/1994
Cass: $ 9.99
No CD
LINER NOTES:
New Musical Express (10/22/94, p.47) - 7 - Very Good - "...the lush
meringue of Kitchens-ish dreamscapes and sixth-form fringey feyness
herein more than redeems them..."
Alternative Press (1/95, pp.57-58) - "...The band's sound is entirely
familiar, dreamily atmospheric, spacy, kind of shoegazey, but catchy
enough to keep a listener's attention. The ethereal lyrics drift in and
out of the mix, barely audible at times..."
This isn't exactly how I found it formated, but I cleaned it up to ease
your reading. So if anyone was any info on this I'd like to know cause
maybe I'll snag me one.
Thanks,
Jer
- --------<uselink@juno.com>---------
"Blind man on a canyon's edge of a panoramic scene" - Ben Folds Five
"It's all technical stuff, you wouldn't understand." - Ben Folds
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 00:49:17
From: "Hannah Kuhlmann" <kuhl0025@tc.umn.edu>
Subject: NBP as therapy, Chicago
"Hi, I'm Steve. What can I get you?"
It's so sad when you watch a "comedy" show for 90 minutes and you are amused
ONCE!
who all is going to the Chicago show? Let's organize and meet (right,
Keith?) pre-show. Also, how about a tape tree? Too bad I can't tape.
Anyway, I'm determined to make this concert experience kick some ass, since
Saturday night was such a complete bust.
On the subject of NBP's purpose in my life. . .
I think NBP is just what a lot of us needed. I personally was feeling
happy, proud, *yet a little insecure* about the burgeoning success of the
boys, and here they went and made an album just for me (and those like me)!
Anybody who was feeling the least bit hostile towards newbie-brickster fans
- -- or felt their long-time dedication and admiration for the band was
somehow cheapened by BFF's mainstream success -- take heart. NBP is
practically screaming "fan record!" So, we can still enjoy BFF's cool
greater popularity and radio play and everything, and then pop NBP in the CD
player and wallow in our exclusionary "Only *I* truly get BFF" attitudes as
Fanny Packs and Ultimate Sacrifice blare in the background. :)
And that would be my 2 cents.
- -Hannah
ps I wrote this post with a smile on my face, so try to read it that way
please. . .
- ------------------------------------------
hannah kuhlmann - kuhl0025@tc.umn.edu
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/1094/
"BASS IN YO FACE!!" -Darren Jesse
- ------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 23:11:32 PST
From: "Courtney Knopf" <vegasbaby@hotmail.com>
Subject: L.A. pre-show gaterhing
Hey all you L.A. kids who are going to the show at the Palace on the
8th! How do you all feel about having a pre-func at my place? since I've
met most of you, I'm not afraid to tell you where I live;) I'm pretty
close to the 101 and it's about a 10-15 minute drive to the Palace from
my place. What'chu say?
Drop me a line.
~Courtney
The Sultraness of Swing
"Mmmm. Free goo."
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 14:00:20 -0800
From: jessmiester@juno.com (Jessica A Lemley)
Subject: SNL
Was it just me, or was there something weird about BF5's performance?
First of all they only played one song, and i thought that was strange.
Second of all the acoustics were terrible. The drums were really loud,
and you couldnt hear Rob's bass at all, Ben's voice was about the same
sound level as the piano. It was kinda strange.
I dunno....
- --Jessie--
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 98 03:33:31 -0600
From: Michael Bluejay <bluejay@pobox.com>
Subject: The piano on SNL
Brad Crum wrote:
>And they make Ben
>play some barroom piano that sounded pretty marginal...
>p.s. 1.2 million an episode and all they can come up with is a
> Goodwill piano...
Are you nuts? That was the perfect piano for Brick: Chunky and bright,
big punch, with a quick decay but plenty of reverb, just like the CD
version. Have you listened closely to the CD version of Brick? I'd bet
money that Ben used his old upright on it, rather than the Steinway or
the Baldwin grands. The SNL piano sounded much more like the CD version
than his Steinway or Baldwin would have. Actually, now I'm thinking that
maybe that WAS his old upright, and they shipped it to NY for the show.
If not, I think they got lucky by getting such a similar piano for the
show.
Enloejr@aol.com wrote:
>What happened to the Baldwin grand piano he always plays?
Ben's been playing a 1930's Steinway since late 1996.
Karen Gannon wrote:
>Most importantly, he had the guts to mention
>that PIANO-BASED TRIOS ARE NOT NEW!!!
Maybe not in jazz, but it's new for pop/rock. Billy Joel and Elton John
had (have) guitarists. So did Queen. So did Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson,
and Squeeze. In the Doors, Ray Manzarek principally played an organ or a
Rhodes, not an acoustic piano. What three-piece piano-based ROCK/POP
bands have we had in the last 30 years?
Dmitri Colebatch wrote:
>[posted a small part of the piano melody for Brick]
I wrote out a more complete transcription which I posted here months ago.
It's available on my web site.
And finally, any Austin fans want to go to 2/11 Dallas or 2/12 Houston
shows?
- -- Michael Bluejay (Austin, TX)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://pobox.com/bluejay | Home of AUSTIN MUSIC, KING CHEESE,
| BIKING IN AUSTIN, VEGETARIAN pages, & more
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 12:32:59 +0100
From: "Guillaume" <dakoolguy@hol.fr>
Subject: Something you don't like with BFF ?
Hiya all BFF fans !!!!
Ok, i am back this time with a new subject.
We are all ok on one point: BFF are great (for me, the best band ever).
But i was just wondering: is there something you don't like with BFF ? Is
there one of their song that you like less than the others or one that you
don't like at all ?
err, personnaly, there's just one song i think is less good than the others:
"Julianne". I don't know why, it's like that : )
Well, let me know...
Guillaume, the french BFF fan : )
PS= why can't Ben sing in french, it sounds great when he sings in japanese
(you know, the japanese version of "song for the dumped") and i am sure it
may be cool in french ? If any of you knows Ben, suggest him : )
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 08:27:12 -0600 (CST)
From: Chris Larkin <clarkin@dante.creighton.edu>
Subject: Disappointed, to say the least...
The minute I got home Sunday night, after 36 hours of hanging out, going
dancing, smoking cigarettes, and playing Final Fantasy 7 on Playstation,
I rewound my tape and watched with great intent...
I should have guessed from the first coupla lame skits that this would
not be pretty.
Yeah, we're all cheezed about one song and crappy mics, and a flat piano,
and that dorky Samuel L. Jackson! (I had respect for the guy, a diehard
Pulp Fiction fan, I swear...)
But really, if I hear the phrase "Let's get in ooowwwnnn!!" one more
time....
In my opinion, (which means sqwat,) I don't think Mr. Folds was up to it
that night. Call it jet lag, a stomach virus, breaking up with his girl,
live national audience, dog died, whatever. He just wasn't all there.
My theory: He elected to do one song. Just a theory, though.
Check Me Out Right Here, Yo.
Chris ^Buckle-Boy^ Larkin
"Can you drink the blue out of the sky? No! Can you
take the majestic mountains and put them in your pocket?
can you sit down with a knife and fork and slice into a rainbow?
No!! Such is Mango!!"
-Mango, my new girlfriend
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 09:21:39 -0600
From: "Erik C. Lyons" <EPA8820@epa.state.il.us>
Subject: LISTEN dammit
To all those with an ear for music:
Okay, put on your CD and listen to Brick. Now, rewind your tape of SNL
and listen to the piano. HMMMMM? a-duh, isn't that the same sounding
piano? Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe that is the piano Ben
recorded Brick to? Maybe that piano is his? Maybe not. Who knows, but
that is my guess. The sound is VERY familiar. You be the judge and give a
call in the morning.
Also, I heard from insider sources that to encourage younger fans to attend
shows, lollipops and ice cream cones will be handed out after all the shows
in February. However, you MUST bring ID to prove you are 13.
I just love the MA! Makes me warm and dizzy. . .
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 10:52:38 -0500
From: Kate <sliemers.6@osu.edu>
Subject: Revised arguement of NBP reviews
Hi again. Last night I posted something about why NBP should not be
judged like a regular album and I have something to add to my point:
- - After the Halloween concert, some fans and I were talking to Bff's
manager. He confirmed the rumor of a b-sides-like album and stated that
the original title was going to be "This is Not Our Third Album."
- - Also (Not that NBP is only a b-sides disc but)
I'd like to ask any Smashing Pumkins fans: When their b-sides CD was
released, was it treated like a regular album by music reviews?
~Barbi
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 11:52:53 -0500
From: Jeff Blancato <jeff@phonemiser.com>
Subject: Phoenix Review of BFF
How-Dee -
Yep, I read that grouping of words about BFF in the Boston
Phoenix (I really don't want to call it an "article"). When I finished
it, I was pretty pissed and was all fired up to write a letter to the
editor or something. But then I realized that I was all upset over
nothing, since the very next page was a glowing review of Aerosmith,
saying how much of a shame it was that their new album hasn't gotten the
acclaim it deserves.
Ohhhhh, OK.
Now I see why they didn't like Ben Folds Five. It's because they don't
have a lead singer that looks more and more each day like passed-over
vulture prey, appear relentlessly on MTV and promotional plastic cups at
Taco Bell, or write such lyrical strokes of genius as "Pink Is My
Fav-o-rite co-lah."
Me and my silly, rash reactions.
- -Jeff "Pink Is My Fav-o-rite co-lah" Blancato
- -**********************************-
"It's a shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy
like that." - Utility pole worker, Better Off Dead
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 12:27:47 EST
From: Waterspyn <Waterspyn@aol.com>
Subject: The Five and their Fans in Chicago
Well, here is yet another post from someone who sits in/on the Magical
Armchair without offering too much. I am going to the Chicago show, and was
wondering if anyone else on the list wanted to set up a meeting at or before
the show. Perhaps we could all wear nametags saying "Tom" or "Mary" (or
something to that effect) and meet outside the theatre. I am going with some
newly converted fans who are not on the Armchair, but I am sure y'all will
like them.. Someone else from the list suggested we that all take the El
before the show and that we set up a bootleg tree. Any other ideas?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 12:30:04 -0500
From: Brendan Noone <bnoone@junosystems.com>
Subject: Reviews/ "All the groovey chicks with the crimson lips says NYC Radio Sucks"
Hello Folds Five Friends,
Just a quick note: I have read three reviews on BFF's new EP/Out-takes CD:
Maxim, EW & The Philadelphia Inquire.
Maxim we all know said the disc had its highs and lows and that is was for
the die-hards.
EW: Which really pissed me off, (BTW: did they review What Ever and Ever;
if so what did they give it?) EW showed why I hate our short attention
span generation "label." What was that a 50 or less essay that reviewer
was given as an assignment. A great big C. Not even a C+.
Philly Inqy: Gave the CD 3 stars out of 4. It really was a good review
stating the highlight: 2 or three tracks and some low lights: BFF's heavy
metal tracks.
One note: I am from the Philly Pa area and I now live and work in the NYC
area. I frequent Philly once every two or three weeks: Ben is really
getting some solid air play down there. WXPN 88.5, has been playing the
boys all year. They have been big supporters and even had Whatever in there
1997 top cd's of the year list. In NYC the only place I have heard BFF is
early last year on K-Rock and Brick at a Mcdonalds. NEW YORK radio SUCKS.
PS: When are tickets going on sale in NYC and PHILLY. I called Ben's
publicist in NYC and she didn't even know. Can some one who is in the know
please e:mail me with the info. This is getting Wacky. Ben's publicist
did put the MTV unplug rumor to rest. No unplugged for BFF just yet.
Later,
Brendan
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #749
**************************************
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