THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #873 - March 11, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Wednesday, March 11 1998 Volume 01 : Number 873
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #868
re: Godzilla soundtrack song
Cat Stevens
will the REAL meaning of brick ever surface?
Who Cares If They Sell Out???
question.
dave-o
dave-o
dave-o
Noooo, we've lost another one
The BEES ness
wheel of fortune
Re: Broadway BFF
covers:stray cats...
Godzilla soundtrack song
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 20:43:56 EST
From: Snowwite67 <Snowwite67@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #868
In a message dated 98-03-09 06:50:28 EST, you write:
<< f you look closely at the Whatever...
>insert you can see words written in just a slightly different color than the
>background color, revealing that the entire ALBUM was written by Cat
Stevens.
Hey Kids~~~
to the person who wrote this....where might this little message be on the
insert thing.....so ya...just wondering....thanks... >>
Uh, Kristi, hon, he was being sarcastic and for your sake I hope you were
too. :)
- -Lauren a.k.a Super Bitch
P.S. To whoever wrote the little quote from Everclear, it's rather ironic that
you wrote it on a bff list, because I hear the bands HATE each other. Sorry,
just another little bitchy note. But you must understand, I have 3 papers this
week, a midterm, my parents are coming to visit, and I'm PMSing, I have to get
it all out somewhere. :)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 09:09:39 +1000
From: Kate_Watkins%HBH@themis.com.au
Subject: re: Godzilla soundtrack song
I have to admit, I thought the lyrics were pretty clever. But I am not
sure they really apply to BF5 (especially as I do not think they are
selling out by doing a soundtrack song - after all how else to you get
great soundtracks?!?!). Anyway, if the song is read as a take-off (as I
did - I hope I'm not offending the writer by saying this), then it's pretty
hilarious. But then........I am known for my strange sense of humour!
As for all of the people who wrote in saying basically that it was
sacrilege. Lighten up!!
See ya
Kate.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 23:16:51 EST
From: Lglu <Lglu@aol.com>
Subject: Cat Stevens
For anybody who hasn't heard the Cat Stevens song that supposedly sounds like
BFF, don't worry. You aren't missing much. There is a vague similarity, but
I'm sure there are plenty of song that are just as close. At least that's my
opinion.
On another note, I just got the import with Brick, Mitchell Lane & Smoke & the
ska version of Kate! :) O happy day!
Laura
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 20:49:28 -0800 (PST)
From: wayne campbell <snub@rocketmail.com>
Subject: will the REAL meaning of brick ever surface?
chemweasel wrote:
Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 10:58:39 EST
From: Chemweasel <Chemweasel@aol.com>
Subject: unbelievable
In a message dated 98-03-06 21:42:26 EST, you write:
<< From: Laertes78 <Laertes78@aol.com>
Subject: Brick meaning
I was wondering if any of ya'll knew the meaning behind the song
"Brick". I
have been racking my brain for months now and I can't figure it out.
PLEASE
HELP ME!!! If and of ya'll know the meaning, please send me an e-mail.
Thanks
bunches
Joel >>
I hope to god this was some kind of sick joke!
why do you hope it was a sick joke? i was really hoping to here the
answer to that question. does anyone know, 'cause i relly cant figure
it out either! what does brick mean? it seems like whenever the ben
folds five is aksed that question on an interview, they make up a new
answer! if you know the answer, email me privatly at
snub@rocketmail.com its not that im a newbie or anything - ive been a
faithful listener since dec. '94 - i just havent been on the list that
long.
thanks!
wc
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------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 23:44:01 EST
From: Zoop Soul <ZoopSoul@aol.com>
Subject: Who Cares If They Sell Out???
I Just Wanted To Say Who Cares About BF5 Selling Out??? You Should Be Happy
Your Getting New Music! And About Brickheads,You Should Be Happy Their Getting
More Fans!! Fans=Record Sales,DUH! =P No,I'm Not A Brickhead...I'm A Battle Of
Who Could Carelesshead.
-Zoop,President Of The New Zoop
Group(http://members.aol.com/ZoopSoul/tnzg.html)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 23:05:49 -0600
From: rcc35060@cmsu2.cmsu.edu (rebehka-christine-chrissy-meg-cramer)
Subject: question.
okay i have a question. why is there so much negative hoopla over brick
being somewhat popular and bff doing a song for the godzilla soundtrack?
as i understand it, some people are upset that they are 'selling out'.
well as i understood it, 'selling out' meant that you had to give something
up to be popular. not only that, but it would involve changing something
or compromising part of your ideas or vision to conform to the 'standards'
of the 'mainstream'. well i have a main point to make here. in order for
ben folds five to have sold out,they would have 1 had to change. have you
seen them change their concert style or writing songs to cater? 2.
selling out would have required Getting Popular. as far as i see it, bff
are not breaking any sales records yet. brick may be getting on a few
teenybopper stations and it is unfortunate that they are not seeing the
significance or deep personal meaning in the song, but come on. no
stations around here play it a whole lot. and the one station that does
(the one i listen to) played every single since underground. so i dont
think that that counts. and why does it matter if they become popular?
what is so evil about being successful?! dont you want the world to sing
and be happy with ben? isnt that what music is all about? if you are
afraid that bff will let the power or money or status or whatever it is get
to their heads, i really dont think so. have a little faith in our boys.
this is the same man that was in an off off off broadway production of
BUDDY for chrissake. i dont think he will lose his perspective that easily.
and if ben does, there are two others to balance that. dont forget that
ben is NOT the only member of the group (even though admittedly he is my
favorite) and they do make decisions together.
it is possible to become popular and GET BETTER and grow musically still.
the beatles are a prime example. many many many little screaming girls
just ruined things for them for a while, but they got past that and really
grew as a musical unit. im not saying that bff will get that popular, but
i think that our boys will be just fine. FOR CHRISSSAKE PEOPLE LIGHTEN
UP!!!!
its all right. bff will be making good music for a long time. i seriously
doubt they will or have 'sold out'. people may see it that way, but i
think that they are getting the attention that a one hit wonder may
recieve, even though we all know they are much much better than that.
now that that little posting has made no sense and jumped around, ill leave
now.
its really late and im rambling. got to go.
this is my story both humble and true, take it to pieces and mend it with glue.
everyones favorite chrissy (the silly old bananafish)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 21:22:58 -0700
From: "Will Canzoneri" <canzo@eudoramail.com>
Subject: dave-o
MANIFESTO TIME!
Well well well... I would have to agree, with all this Godzilla bullshit, that the
parody was a wee bit harsh. BUT... if you can honestly say that you weren't or aren't
even slightly bitter over the fact that BF5 was on 4 or 5 TV show in the past month
playing "Brick" or because of it, and that they are currently #16 on the friggin'
Adult Top 40 Chart, then you're not too much of a fan. I know I'm bitter. I don't
really enjoy having my friends stare at me when the damn song comes on the radio,
then listen to them do parodies like "the world is sleeping, I am...DRUNK." (haha),
and hear the DJ come on the radio confidently announcing the gay kareoke bar BS.
To hear my beloved Ben Folds Five being lumped in the same burning heap of musical
turd as Third Eye 20 et al. (thanx whoever came up with that) makes me wanna cry.
But it's miles away from selling out. I think Brick's pretty much peaked out, and
I certainly know that this quasi-selling out wasn't exactly their idea. But SELLING
OUT? I'm "blind" if I can't tell? Gimme a break!!! Selling out is drastically
altering your style to please the general public (i.e. Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd
ca. 1973, and countless other rock acts who went disco in the late 70's - Beach Boys,
Sly & the Family Stone, etc.). While Brick may not be a characteristic song (and
isn't), it certainly is NOT selling out. They've already done 2 damn major soundtracks
and put out 2 of their best songs on them. But back to being bitter (as dave-o clearly
is)... you can't just give up on em and trash em cause these God-forsaken pre-pubescent
children now claim to like them because the damn song is all sentimental and pretty.
Wait until they add a 2 guitarists and a synth player and churn out shit like "I
Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." There's my $10,000.02.
- ---
Join 18 million Eudora users by signing up for a free Eudora Web-Mail account at http://www.eudoramail.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 21:25:06 -0700
From: "Will Canzoneri" <canzo@eudoramail.com>
Subject: dave-o
MANIFESTO TIME!
Well well well... I would have to agree, with all this Godzilla bullshit, that the
parody was a wee bit harsh. BUT... if you can honestly say that you weren't or aren't
even slightly bitter over the fact that BF5 was on 4 or 5 TV show in the past month
playing "Brick" or because of it, and that they are currently #16 on the friggin'
Adult Top 40 Chart, then you're not too much of a fan. I know I'm bitter. I don't
really enjoy having my friends stare at me when the damn song comes on the radio,
then listen to them do parodies like "the world is sleeping, I am...DRUNK." (haha),
and hear the DJ come on the radio confidently announcing the gay kareoke bar BS.
To hear my beloved Ben Folds Five being lumped in the same burning heap of musical
turd as Third Eye 20 et al. (thanx whoever came up with that) makes me wanna cry.
But it's miles away from selling out. I think Brick's pretty much peaked out, and
I certainly know that this quasi-selling out wasn't exactly their idea. But SELLING
OUT? I'm "blind" if I can't tell? Gimme a break!!! Selling out is drastically
altering your style to please the general public (i.e. Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd
ca. 1973, and countless other rock acts who went disco in the late 70's - Beach Boys,
Sly & the Family Stone, etc.). While Brick may not be a characteristic song (and
isn't), it certainly is NOT selling out. They've already done 2 damn major soundtracks
and put out 2 of their best songs on them. But back to being bitter (as dave-o clearly
is)... you can't just give up on em and trash em cause these God-forsaken pre-pubescent
children now claim to like them because the damn song is all sentimental and pretty.
Wait until they add a 2 guitarists and a synth player and churn out shit like "I
Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." There's my $10,000.02.
- ---
Join 18 million Eudora users by signing up for a free Eudora Web-Mail account at http://www.eudoramail.com
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 21:25:06 -0700
From: "Will Canzoneri" <canzo@eudoramail.com>
Subject: dave-o
MANIFESTO TIME!
Well well well... I would have to agree, with all this Godzilla bullshit, that the
parody was a wee bit harsh. BUT... if you can honestly say that you weren't or aren't
even slightly bitter over the fact that BF5 was on 4 or 5 TV show in the past month
playing "Brick" or because of it, and that they are currently #16 on the friggin'
Adult Top 40 Chart, then you're not too much of a fan. I know I'm bitter. I don't
really enjoy having my friends stare at me when the damn song comes on the radio,
then listen to them do parodies like "the world is sleeping, I am...DRUNK." (haha),
and hear the DJ come on the radio confidently announcing the gay kareoke bar BS.
To hear my beloved Ben Folds Five being lumped in the same burning heap of musical
turd as Third Eye 20 et al. (thanx whoever came up with that) makes me wanna cry.
But it's miles away from selling out. I think Brick's pretty much peaked out, and
I certainly know that this quasi-selling out wasn't exactly their idea. But SELLING
OUT? I'm "blind" if I can't tell? Gimme a break!!! Selling out is drastically
altering your style to please the general public (i.e. Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd
ca. 1973, and countless other rock acts who went disco in the late 70's - Beach Boys,
Sly & the Family Stone, etc.). While Brick may not be a characteristic song (and
isn't), it certainly is NOT selling out. They've already done 2 damn major soundtracks
and put out 2 of their best songs on them. But back to being bitter (as dave-o clearly
is)... you can't just give up on em and trash em cause these God-forsaken pre-pubescent
children now claim to like them because the damn song is all sentimental and pretty.
Wait until they add a 2 guitarists and a synth player and churn out shit like "I
Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues." There's my $10,000.02.
- ---
Join 18 million Eudora users by signing up for a free Eudora Web-Mail account at http://www.eudoramail.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 00:42:58 -0500
From: schander@juno.com (joe s schanderson)
Subject: Noooo, we've lost another one
"Someone" wrote:
>>But, to have them cash in on a song that isn't their best and make a
buncha money >>from 13 year olds who have no idea what any of the songs
on WAEA or the 1st one >>are about, is just irritating.
Please tell me you wrote this because you just don't know how the
recording industry works and that bands have virtually NO say in what
songs are pushed as singles.
For the record, from an OLDIE, I don't like the self-titled anymore than
WAEA. I love them both for different reasons. They each have songs I
couldn't imagine not being able to listen to as well as songs I could do
without.
>>If you can't see that they've sold out, then you're blind or stupid.
And you KNOW they've sold out how? Because their record company pushed a
single and they finally actually MAKE money at live shows? Because
they're doing soundtracks? If they write something completely crappy for
Godzilla maybe you'll start winning me over but I'll just assume for now
that it'll be the usual GREAT ben folds five stuff.
>>And if you can't take a joke, fuck off.
Brilliant.
michigan joe
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 00:47:04 -0500
From: schander@juno.com (joe s schanderson)
Subject: The BEES ness
I think the past soundtracks BF5 have done is good research. They
supposedly didn't even want to do the "Truth About Cats and Dogs" and
came up with "BAD IDEA," which is a great little romp. Who knows what
Godzilla will scare up? (sorry about the pun-ness of that)
Also: life in the Bs
>>Ben Folds Five
>>Ben Harper
>>Bogmen
>>Built to Spill
>>Buckley, Jeff
>>Blues Traveler
>>Beck
YEAH? And
Boo Radleys(one of the best bands EVER)
Beautiful South(a little past their prime but genius just the same)
Brendan Benson
Belle And Sebastian
michigan joe
_____________________________________________________________________
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Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 17:41:53 -0600
From: "Julie 'anti-gavin'" <shadow@ballarat.hotkey.net.au>
Subject: wheel of fortune
I was just watching it, well hearing it and he said BEN FOLDS FIVE. And I
ran to the tv. it's just the c.d; shtey are giving away
WOW now this is odd.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 01:40:54 EST
From: Huskertwo <Huskertwo@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Broadway BFF
Funny, I was just about to post the same idea! Especially with Paul Simon's
show closing, it would probably never happen... Plus, I would be bothered
hearing anyone other than Ben sing his already published songs. Still, i'm
tempted to write a little story using his songs.... As for covering "Piano
Man" Forget it.... I love BFF, but you can't do that to Billy Joel. Nobody
else can sing that song right.
- -Josh
P.S. I've got a Billy Joel bootleg from 1976 if any ya'll are interested...
8-)
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 23:39:25 PST
From: "izaiah buseth" <embitteredsanity@hotmail.com>
Subject: covers:stray cats...
> "Stray Cat Strut" - Stray Cats
i definitely agree that they should do a Stray Cats cover. but rock this
town is an infinitely better song. and can you imagine ben saying "you
look at me once/you look at me twice/you look at me again and theres a
gonna be a fight." i would pay big big money to see that.
-izaiah.
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------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 17:39:26 +1000
From: Kate_Watkins%HBH@themis.com.au
Subject: Godzilla soundtrack song
*** I have tried to post this a few times without success so sorry if it
gets repeated***
I have to admit, I thought the lyrics were pretty clever. But I am not
sure they really apply to BF5 (especially as I do not think they are
selling out by doing a soundtrack song - after all how else to you get
great soundtracks?!?!). Anyway, if the song is read as a take-off (as I
did - I hope I'm not offending the writer by saying this), then it's pretty
hilarious. But then........I am known for my strange sense of humour!
As for all of the people who wrote in saying basically that it was
sacrilege. Lighten up!! Especially as BF5 is known for their own
take-offs and sarcasm!!!
Anyway, I won't say anything further coz pretty much everything I was going
to say has already been said by absoluthad in knocking (#872).
I would not worry about the hate mail Dave, some of us out here thought you
were really funny!
See ya
Kate.
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #873
**************************************
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