THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #757 - January 15, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Thursday, January 15 1998 Volume 01 : Number 757
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Mailing List
TO REMOVE YOURSELF FROM THIS MAILING LIST
Send an e-mail message to armchair-request@maillist.il.fontys.nl with
the word 'unsubscribe' (without the quotes) in the message body. Please DO
NOT POST UNSUBSCRIBE REQUESTS TO THE LIST ITSELF! If you are having
trouble, send mail to owner-armchair@maillist.il.fontys.nl and I
will try to help you. To change your address, first unsub yourself from
your old address, then subscribe using your new account.
PLEASE KEEP YOUR POSTS SHORT
Now that many list members are back with us, the volume of posts will
be increasing. This makes it important to stay on topic and keep your
posts concise. Avoid the tendency to ramble, as this increases the
amount of text readers have to wade through. If you want to ramble on,
take it to IRC or the newsgroup.
Also remember to be very selective in your quoting of others'
messages. Don't quote an entire post just to add one or two lines. And
be especially careful not to quote the whole digest!!
ARMCHAIR FAQ
To help you be a better citizen of the Armchair, Mark Piper has
compiled a list of Frequently-Asked Questions just for subscribers to the
Magical Armchair. Please check it out at
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/5430/listguide.html There is also a
link at the Magical Archive homepage, http://oeonline.com/bff/list/
TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
For those of y'all who pick apart songs
boston show, or lack thereof
opinions are like assholes..........
"Yo D, you gonna let me in?"
Things that make you go hmmmm....
pianos, snl, and manners
RE: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #745
NBP - Australian release date?
Underground on NBP
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 13 Jan 98 22:34:26 -0600
From: "Ted" <sonq0002@tc.umn.edu>
Subject: For those of y'all who pick apart songs
Alright, usually when people are talking about naming the influence in a bff
song, they're being snotty and stupid. Mine is out of pure love, so take it the
right way, please. What other tunes are being payed homage to in the various
versions of "For those of y'all who wear fanny packs"? Now that everyone has a
copy in their hands thanks to NBP, it should be kind of easy. So far I've heard
some Snoop Dogg and some Beastie Boys. And how cool is Ben's GNR shirt? Very,
very cool indeed. Oh, and my porn name would be, Dig it y'all,
Buster Logan
Golden Smog used basically the same formula to avoid label trouble. And Bon
Jovi checked into hotels that way.
Ted
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I ain't got no idols, and I don't have much taste. I'm shiftless when I'm
idle, and I've got time to waste." -The Replacements
"The Statue of Liberty play only works once, don't throw it away." -Wilco
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I ain't got no idols, and I don't have much taste. I'm shiftless when I'm
idle, and I've got time to waste." -The Replacements
"The Statue of Liberty play only works once, don't throw it away." -Wilco
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 00:06:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Connolly <mconnoll@emerald.tufts.edu>
Subject: boston show, or lack thereof
i've been on break for the last 6 weeks or so, and haven't kept up with
the armchair postings, so i'm a bit out of the loop...so if this has been
discussed already, please just ignore me.
what's up with the tour and massachusetts? i know they haven't announced
any dates near here...have all the dates been announced, or are there more
to come? it's looking like i'm going to have to travel to either philly or
ny if not...could anyone give me any advice on how to get tickets for
these shows? are they through ticketmaster? thanks for any help...and i
say NBP is cool. and SNL could have been worse. i don't know how, but it
could have.
- -i don't have any jazzy bf5 quotes to put here, so i can only put my name-
- -mike
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 00:29:14 EST
From: F2G 2 <F2G2@aol.com>
Subject: opinions are like assholes..........
you know the rest.
naked baby photos. it's been sitting in my vw's cd deck for 2 and a half days
now. and you know what?
screw the reviews. they don't matter. how WE feel about the album and the
band as a whole are what's important.........
i still say i don't want an overt amount of fame for our little band. (i wish
them wealth, but......) for, while they deserve it immensely, i want to be
able to see them in small clubs and see them in person after the show without
worrying about hordes of "13 year olds" assaulting ben. or me, to get to
him......being gentlemanly---and bigger than he is---i'd try to run
interferance, til i was tasered, maced, whatever. somehow i don't see that as
being fun. (oh---before y'all jump on my ass for the thirteen year-old crack,
i am paraphrasing a quote about the snl show. thank you. flame away.)
but i digress.
naked baby photos.
with perhaps the exception of 'sacrifice' and 'fannie packs' (both of which i
have, and yes, have grown tired of......) i like it better than whatever &
ever amen. calm down, you fanatics, i still like that too.........
yes, call me a blasphemer, but it has the rawer, liver, more energetic feel
that made me love them in the first place w/the release of the eponymous debut
and their live shows.
i waited w/bated breath to see if robert would pull the plug on his bass and
apply it to the pickup in "songs4," i drove 85 mph during "jackson," and i
sang along, drawing weird looks from passersby to "boxing."
there you have it.
matthew
cd's in my car.
naked baby photos.
bf5--bf5
utah phillips/ani difranco "the past has gone nowhere"
stan goetz/gilberto
the seahorses, strictly for the line: "she was an old rum slapper and we
always tried to get her pants off when she phoned." smile.
primus "the brown album"
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 02:06:34
From: "Hannah Kuhlmann" <kuhl0025@tc.umn.edu>
Subject: "Yo D, you gonna let me in?"
OK, here's a new thread (I hope to God. . .) for all of us to ponder.
Didn't SNL suck?
I'm soooo just kidding. Don't hate me now. <:)
Seriously, on Fanny Packs. . . Darren is doing his Beastie Boy thing, right?
OK, so what is that voice supposed to be that Ben does after/during the
first piano solo? (his rap - "I don't mind singin' and I don't mind rappin'"
after "yo D, you gonna let me in?") I've been debating this with a friend
of mine. He (my friend) says that it's just Ben's Goofy Voice, as heard on
the studio SFTD in Japanese and NBP Bad Idea. I, however, have this crazy
theory that Ben's doing a *really* crappy G-Love impression.
Anyway, I'm crazy about this song. So post/e-mail and back me up. I want
to win my argument! >;)
- -Hannah
ps Chicago kids. . .let's do it and hook up, K? It'll be fun! (And I need
help finding the theatre. :)
- --------------------------------------------
hannah kuhlmann - kuhl0025@tc.umn.edu
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/1094/
"Here's an old joke I just made up -
how many of me would it take to
screw up you life?" -Ben Folds, "Kalamazoo"
- --------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 00:52:46 PST
From: "Courtney Knopf" <vegasbaby@hotmail.com>
Subject: Things that make you go hmmmm....
Fleetwood Mac were on Letterman tonight and it made me remember
something I thought of over winter break.
Lindsey Buckingham, Mark Sandman from Morphine and Darren all look like
they could be brothers.
Lindsey would be the sensible one who they all came to for wisdom, Mark
would be the hard living brother (yeah, I'm the one who mentioned how
similar they looked this summer) who likes burbon, women and fast cars.
And Darren would be the little bro who learnes about music from his
oh-so-talented older brothers. and they'd all spoil him and he'd go hang
out backstage at their shows. And he had a secret crush on Stevie back
when she was living with Lindsey.
Wow, that was TOTALLY RANDOM, but I hope you enjoyed it
i hope you are all enjoying you brand spankin' new copies of Naked Baby
Photos!
~Courtney
The Sultraness of Swing
"Well that's a fine how do you do. Not so much as a kiss my foot or have
an apple!"
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 01:17:24 -0800
From: brad crum <bcrum1@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: pianos, snl, and manners
From Brad Crum
To Michael Bluejay: In amchair #749 you wrote:
>From: Michael Bluejay
>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...(etc.,etc.)
Now, maybe I'm thin skinned Michael, but I don't know why you've got to ruin my day just
to show everyone on the list how much you know about music, and how good your ears are.
I.e., I turned out to be wrong in this case, but I'm not "crazy" (neither is Ted
Kaczinksi...) And I SERIOUSLY doubt if you've listened to Brick significantly more than
anyone else who contributes regularly to this list. To insinuate is needlessly
insulting to the rest of us, and doesn't reflect well on you.
Now I doubt if anyone else cares enough to take you to task, but you chose to single me
out....so hear me out.
I don't think people should be flamed for expressing honest opinions on The Armchair as
long as they're reasonably well informed. For what it's worth, I am both a pianist
(amateur) and television producer. Got a Yamaha U-1 sittin' 3 feet from my set (and
yes, it's an upright.)
I wrote that post at 1:30 in the morning right after I threw my headphones off in
disgust at the end of the show. I'm sure you're right and it's Ben's piano --but in MY
phones it sounded a hell of a lot bassier than the one on the cd--and it lacked midrange
(maybe that's what you call "punchy". Why wouldn't it--it's a church basement
piano--fine for recording if you can spend a day and a half miking it--but the SNL
environment (already unfriendly at best) was not kind to its sound.
My opinion....colored at the time by my general disappointment at the whole setup that
night. One song, two songs...who knows?! What depressed me is that the one they played
didn't come off as well as it should have. That matters more than the brand of piano,
the position of the mike, or anything else.
So, try to have a nice rest of your day, and the next time you ask someone if he's
crazy--just make sure he's not the Unabomber <grin>.
bc
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 03:38:02 -0600
From: Joel Johnson <lucy4@hempseed.com>
Subject: RE: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #745
- ------ =_NextPart_000_01BD209D.D27B6B60
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Do you ever just have a jive-ass happening day? I tell you what, I was =
a little worried about this one, but it pulled through. My friend Mike =
came over to pick me up for work and we ran to Toys R Us to look at the =
new Lego sets. (Ninja's kick ass, BTW) and I just about flipped when I =
saw the Best Buy sign next door b'cause it clicked in my groggy head =
that today was NBP day! I ran inside to the new release rack where they =
had WAEA on sale. What the..?..? I grabbed the music clerk buy the =
shirt and throttled him, "WHERE IS NAKED BABY PHOTOS???? I MUST HAVE =
NAKED BABY PHOTOS!!!!" He told me that it was over in the regular music =
section but that he was pretty sure they sold out. I went over and =
looked and sure enough, about thirty copies of WAEA and BFF but no NBP! =
I just about wanted to end my life right there but I fought back the =
evil voices and started moping out when -- lo and behold! -- what should =
catch my eye but my boys' smiling faces on top of 'Boston's Greatest =
Hits' rack! So, luckily, due to someone's extremely poor judgement of =
exchanging the new Ben Folds Five album for Boston I am the proud owner =
of Kansas City's last copy of Naked Baby Photos. Right on.
Btw, most of this story is true.
Joel
Hail Eris?? BFF is just about as discordian as they get -- or at least =
a facet of the many faces of the great goddess. Although I always =
wanted to se a discordian accordian band. I'll wait and see, I guess.
Oh, and that Dave Matthews thread? 'Under the Table and Dreaming' is a =
precious thing, man. Good good good.
- ------ =_NextPart_000_01BD209D.D27B6B60
Content-Type: application/ms-tnef
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64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- ------ =_NextPart_000_01BD209D.D27B6B60--
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 20:57:59 +1100
From: Liz <bregg@macquarie.matra.com.au>
Subject: NBP - Australian release date?
To some kind caring Aussie, or knowledgeable bearer of international release date information:
What is the Australian release date for NBF? I was sure I had read the 14th, but after traipsing to all 7 known cd stores in civic today, and pounding my head into a brick wall at each and every one of them ('No sorry, not listed' ..... etc) I'm beginning to wonder whether I jumped the boat a little.
Thanks in advance,
Liz
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 04:12:08 -0800
From: edahn01@sprynet.com
Subject: Underground on NBP
Hey everybody, most of you won't care, and I wasn't going to tell my story about
my introduction to BFF, but since I just got NBP, I couldn't help it. My
birthday is August 12, and for my fifteenth b-day, back on 8/12/95, I was
hearing BFF for the first time on the CMJ sampler containing Underground. Now
here's where the cool part comes in, the live version of Underground (and Satan
Is My Master) was recorded on that very same fate filled day. So now not only
do I know what I was doing the first time I heard them, but I know what they
were doing at relatively the same time. Aren't I special?
KRTZ
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #757
**************************************
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR - The Ben Folds Five Mailing List
Submit articles to: armchair@maillist.il.fontys.nl
Send administrative requests to: armchair-request@maillist.il.fontys.nl
WWW homepage: http://oeonline.com/bff
List archive: http://oeonline.com/bff/list/