THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #979 - May 7, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Thursday, May 7 1998 Volume 01 : Number 979
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Harold, Lord of the Underworld
more info on san jose...er, mountain view show
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #977
BFF online
Sunflower Music Festival
SFTD
Help! Your thoughts on Exclusivity
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #978
Re: K-rock dysfunctional family picnic
Big big big apology (The Cure Lives!)
godzilla preview
San Jose show
BFF at Shoreline Mt. View CA on May 10th
ellen and darren?
Yeah More Corrections from Lauren!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!! :)
Oh for goodness' sake!
READ THIS!!!!! why? because I said so :)
SFTD, but not just the profanity debate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 21:11:22 EDT
From: KNULPREK <KNULPREK@aol.com>
Subject: Harold, Lord of the Underworld
In a message dated 98-05-05 20:26:50 EDT, Luke Wilson writes:
<< Moshing is good for you >>
Oh no. I don't know how long all of you have been on this list, but many many
moons ago we had an argument on this very same wonderful subject. So, in
expectance of that (but hoping not for it) i'm going to put my input into
this:
Moshing. Personally, i do not like to mosh. I like to enjoy the music, dance
around a bit, but have never been one that enjoys when someones elbow comes
crashing into my rib cage. Going to a concert without fear of having my nose
ripped off is a luxory that many shows are commonly lacking. Do i disagree
with moshing in general? No. Just as it's my perogative to keep all the blood
INSIDE my body, i respect others' decisions to vent their rage at someone else
running full force into them. But the problem always arrises that the moshers
take up more room than normally designated. Whereas one person will normally
take up 2 square feet, and two people will take up 4 square feet.. two moshers
will force a circle around them and take up a good 20 feet. This then brings
the peaceful concertgoers into the moshing experience, and truth be told.. i'd
like to avoid the draft. Many a time i've found myself standing in the middle
of a circle with a large man with three noserings named "Harold, Lord of the
Underworld" rushing towards me. I don't ask for this! I did nothing to provoke
this, and i'd prefer to keep my eye on the band on stage instead of trying to
pick up my eye after Harold pops it out of its socket.
So what am i trying to say here? Moshing is fine in theory, but it gets out of
hand. It takes too many people into it that DON'T want to mosh. Now, if we
could seperate the floor into "moshing" or "no moshing" or just save the
moshers the trouble and break their necks BEFORE the show, then i'd really be
whole-heartedly up for agreeing with the movement. But as it stands, and i
speak for the 99% of the crowd that values life.. i don't want to be crushed.
I'm there to enjoy the music, and i don't enjoy your sweaty backs as they come
at high velocities towards my head.
The end.
-jason.
<A HREF="http://members.aol.com/knulprek/home.html">The Happy Scrappy Page
</A>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 05 May 1998 18:33:41 -0700
From: arden elisabeth <melancholy@mindspring.com>
Subject: more info on san jose...er, mountain view show
i called bass again this morning so i could talk to a person and she said
that the people w/ tickets to the san jose show can either get them
refunded at place of purchase, or they are also reserving a section in the
lower levels of the seats at the shoreline for everyone. so...it won't be
that bad. at least we'll be able to go to the floor and stuff. :) instead
of sitting on the lawn watching bff play on a big tv screen.
provolone,
arden
IN MY CD PLAYER:
ben folds five "naked baby photos"
ben folds five s/t
teenage fanclub "bandwagonesque"
spiritualized "pure phase"
elvis costello "this year's model"
billie holiday "greatest hits"
radiohead "the bends"
everclear "so much for the afterglow"
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 22:12:40 EDT
From: Rocket no8 <Rocketno8@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #977
<< Ben's new girlfriend is from Adelaide in South Australia. >>
ah, so now we see where Ben's interest in getting a house down under stems
from. seriously tho, i'm happy for him. can you imagine being a female fan
of BF5 and becoming Ben's girlfriend and going around the world on tour with
the band. i'm a guy and even i'm swooning right now.
~
for Stephanie who wants to play the drums:if you want tips drop me a line.
~~
i'm fairly certain that the SFTD video will debut on 120minutes this coming
sunday, though i could be wrong. it should be coming very soon. and i'm
tired of all this SFTD bashing. why is it BF5 fans tend to complain about
whatever song is the current single? i remember when "Battle..." came out
about a month before WAEA hit stores an everyone said it wasn't that great and
that they hoped the rest of the album would be better. now everyone seems to
love the song. i must admit that it grows on you after a time. you SFTD
bashers must conceed this:it's one of the best parts of their live show, no
arguing with that.
- -zander (the commander)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 19:30:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: ralph kyatsu <inane_insane@yahoo.com>
Subject: BFF online
Found out some cool info, BFF is doing a net broadcast on MAy
15th....I got all the details on my "info eh?" page...that and a whole
bunch more cool BFF stuff
here's the link
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/9956/bf5.html
_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 22:32:50 EDT
From: FunShnBear <FunShnBear@aol.com>
Subject: Sunflower Music Festival
Ok, I'm psyched, infact, I've never been so psyched in my life.. well..
almost.
Only 11 more days till Ben Folds Five, and well.. it's been like 79 days since
I've seen them last. (Is that taking the obsession a LITTLE too far?)
Ok, I was just wondering who was planning on getting there for the beginning
of the festival, I know I am to secure my front row spot, and also to see
Superdrag. (Dangit, they cancelled their Columbia show because of Don's
thumb.. :( ) If so I would love to meet up with some of you, yeah, I'm that
crazy gal Katie, that skipped school for the Granada show, and waiting for 6
friggin' hours to get front row spots. It would be really neat if we could
meet up, because I love hanging out with obsessive fans. (Ben Folds Five fans
are the greatest!) Gates open at 11, right? Yup. We should definatley meet up.
(E-Mail me if you want to)
Oh, and about Ben Folds Five and moshing. Uh.. listen to Underground, you
don't think their poking fun at that whole scene just a little bit, do YOU?
And pre-brick, there was never any moshing, maybe pogoing, but never moshing.
Just to add to my theory that most teenyboppers would mosh to a monkey on
stage playing the accordian. Ok? Please don't mosh, I hate it, it's stupid,
and how can it be FUN? When I think of Moshing, I think of White Snake.. or
something.. I really don't know what I think of.
Oh, and about Darren's hat (at the memphis show).. what kind of hat was it..?
because that would be so cool if he was wearin' the hat I gave him.. I would
die. (Ok.. my teenyboppering's setting in) (Seriously though, e-mail me about
that hat)
And about Modern Rock Live.. what radio station is that recorded at in KC?
I can't wait, these shows will set me to the 14th show mark, YAY!!
That crazy 15 year old,
- - Katie
- - I'm not quoting, because I don't want to get it wrong, and get yelled at -
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 22:31:28 EDT
From: JGreenb106 <JGreenb106@aol.com>
Subject: SFTD
In a message dated 98-05-05 22:03:19 EDT, you write:
<< and so the lyrics aren't lazy, they're an accurate description of how
I agree.... SFTD is just the raw, uncensored way that people feel in a time
like that. It's not trying to come off as lazy or thorough. It's just angry,
andc somewhat sarcastic at the same time...
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 13:04:53 +1000 (EST)
From: Daniel Meijer <dm@zip.com.au>
Subject: Help! Your thoughts on Exclusivity
Hi - I understand there was recently a discussion here about "Brickheads",
and a lot of posts ridiculing new fans who liked BFF after hearing Brick,
and how they're not true fans like everyone else who has followed them for
years, etc..
Well I am doing an essay on this! I want to examine why people have these
attitudes - I'm not saying that that attitude is bad - and how this
contributes to the make up of a fan base, etc etc.
So if you posted to that discussion, please forward me your thoughts!
Thanks,
Dan.
||||||||
| ^ ^ |
(| * * |)
- -----------oOOo---(__)---oOOo----------
Daniel Meijer - Sydney, Australia.
dm@zip.com.au
http://www.zip.com.au/~dm/
- ----------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 23:14:45 EDT
From: Rysabuvit <Rysabuvit@aol.com>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #978
alrighty, michigan joe...you must have seen this coming in one form or
another...
the issue is beyond the actual idea of swearing, it extends much
further. if you recall, the first amendment to the constitution is free
speach. its pretty pathetic that this guarenteed right is only applicable in
certain situations. but, who is calling the shots? who is the being deemed
worthy of telling you what is and is not appropriate for your ears? are you
really going to stand for that? personally, i think that this should be pure
choice. censorship is not a compensation for poor adult supervision and
teaching. i like to think that i am mature enough to understand art for what
it is, not the fact that "the f-word" is used in the process of. so, if ben
folds five or any other artist feels the need to use potty language to convey
feelings of frustration, angst, or what not, that's fine by me. i mean, if we
start censorship here, where does it end? banning great works of literature
such as catcher in the rye? what about all of the art in which there is, dare
i say it, nudity. my point is, if you dont like it, turn it off, but its a
heavy burden to choose what is right for others.
hannah
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 23:27:26 -0400 (EDT)
From: Frank Maynard <maynard@mail.oeonline.com>
Subject: Re: K-rock dysfunctional family picnic
Yes, BFF will be playing on May 30 at both the K-Rock show in the evening
and the Kiss-108 Festival in Boston earlier in the day. Hope their
flight's on time!
-fjm
So think about your masterpiece
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 21:15:10 -0400
From: jaedonely@juno.com
Subject: Big big big apology (The Cure Lives!)
Hey guys, Im really really sorry for my last post. Please disregard it.
On the radio, the dj said that Robert Smith had dies. I was instantly
weeping, I had thought that the Cure was over! So I immediately called
all my friends and I wrote an email, which was addmittedly stupid. A
half hour later, I find out its a really stupid, not funny radio hoax. A
guy from Cambridge named Robert Smith had died. GRRRRR!!!!!! Stupid
ass radio stations and or djs!
Hey BOWCCL was played on the tv show clueless tonight, with emphasis on
the line "Whatever and ever...Amen" I didnt watch the whole episode, I
was watching Buffy.(Brilliant episode)
Please dont flame me, Im really sorry for posting before I knew the
facts.
Another victim of the sucky radio,
~Elisabeth
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 23:51:57 EDT
From: Corrin108 <Corrin108@aol.com>
Subject: godzilla preview
ok so i got some free tickets to a private screening of godzilla..ive been to
other private screenings and they are real fancy and all the stars come...PLUS
the artists on the soundtrack if at all popular...hmmmm....is it possible?
well, i geuss i will find out soon...and if not, isnt the wonderful matthew
brodrick in it? oh i hope.
corinne
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 21:01:59 -0700 (PDT)
From: Eric Matsuda <ejmatsuda@ucdavis.edu>
Subject: San Jose show
This is for Arden and for anyone else who is going to the SJ (now Mountain
View) show. I'm not going by the way, but I wish I could. I think it
would be pretty unfair if they transferred your San Jose tickets to lawn
seats, because I saw on that same ad that lawn seats are $10. I don't
know how much tickets were for the San Jose show, but if its more than $10
thats pretty unfair.
The other stupid thing is that its supposed to be "the Goodbye El Nino,
Shoreline Summer Kickoff Extravaganza" or something. And its probably
going to rain, as it has been lately.
And lastly...Reel Big Fish? Come on! I'll give them respect for being in
the Baseketball movie with the South Park creators, but otherwise they are
the worst of the mainstream ska bands, and all their songs are about the
same thing...selling-out/trendiness.
However, you do have the congratulate the boys for making it this far.
even if the show doesn't sell out, they've finally made it to playing huge
sheds as a headlining act. I think its a milestone.
Eric
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 22:11:19 -0700
From: 777jet <777jet@bigfoot.com>
Subject: BFF at Shoreline Mt. View CA on May 10th
Don't worry, it's at 4pm at Shoreline; We(SJ ticket holders) will get a
special roped off area near the front. I called BASS.
Cool, eh?
Take care,
Thomas
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 01:16:15 EDT
From: LawneGirl <LawneGirl@aol.com>
Subject: ellen and darren?
I met Ellen today, and sorry if anyone's already said this, but i coudn't stop
think she bears a striking resemblance to the drummer of this band we all
love.
just a thought, not a topic for argument or anything. but do let ME know if
you agree.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 04:11:11 EDT
From: Snowwite67 <Snowwite67@aol.com>
Subject: Yeah More Corrections from Lauren!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!! :)
<< This made me feel very good. He
then proceeded to do about 1000 sound checks on his cello and his bass. >>
Ummm unless they are doing something totally new, I think you mean his double
bass, not his cello. Sorry, I'm picky. Plus, if Robert is now playing the
cello in a song, I wanna know! hehe
- -Lauren
P.S oh and another thing, Paula Cole is not my favorite either, but please
refrain from using the words "feminist bullshit". This is insulting and quite
frankly a juvenile thing to say.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 06 May 1998 20:15:24 +1200
From: Dash <tifosi@xtra.co.nz>
Subject: Oh for goodness' sake!
There was some reference to 'Song for the Dumped' being HEAVILY edited
for radio-play. Does anyone know if the decision to release and
therefore censor was made by the band, the management, the record
company or the radio stations? I'd have to admit to being a little
disappointed if it were BF5 themselves. If it was those sleazy "it'll do
much better on the charts, babe" type music execs, then I could at least
understand it, but not forgive it.
I agree with whoever it was who said that the song should never have
been released as a single, because of the need to hack it to pieces, but
not that it is a stupid song in itself. The beauty of being a songwriter
is that you have the opportunity to write whatever the _gosh_ you want,
and then it is the CHOICE of anyone to like it or hate it, listen to it
or turn it off. As far as whether it makes BF5 a less 'credible' band,
that will always be an individual's decision that only he or she can
make. No-one can tell me that I shouldn't like them as much as I do
because they say 'nasty' things. That right belongs to me alone.
Zyah wrote:
>- --Duncan--
>Hah, I thought you were serious at first about your 5 fave being >Hanson, the
>Spice Girls, Puff Daddy, along with BF5. I was thinking..um, well, >that's
>different. :)
It would be different! And good on anyone who has the confidence to
admit that they like these bands. I wasn't meaning this as a cruel
statement about anyone who listens to music like this. More of a private
in-joke because I personally consider them to be over-rated,
over-produced, over-marketed, over-aired, and over-easy.
Duncan.
PS: I haven't even been to five concerts! How sad is that?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 04:25:24 EDT
From: Snowwite67 <Snowwite67@aol.com>
Subject: READ THIS!!!!! why? because I said so :)
In a message dated 98-05-05 21:55:14 EDT, you write:
<< so anyway...i still don't know if my tickets for the san jose show will
transfer to lawn seats for the shoreline show or what. >>
I found this out too. YES: our tickets do transfer and they transfer not to
lawn seats but to front center!!!! ALSO, I called Alice, radio station in San
Fran, and asked why the venue was being changed and why they were giving so
many tickets away for free. They told me this " Shorline is using Ben Folds
Five to prepare the venue for Dave Matthews Band." This is because the
Shoreline got fucked up (oooooh ahhhh she said "Fucked up") when it was
flooded in Feb, damn El Nino! So, anywho, that's what's going down. :)
- -Lauren
P.S Damn, I am so informative. Aren't you people glad I'm on the list?? :)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 6 May 1998 04:21:35 -0500
From: "Louie Nash" <louie@tamu.edu>
Subject: SFTD, but not just the profanity debate
First, I remember a few people remarking how radio-unfriendly SFTD was, not
just the profanity, but also because of it's insensitivity and "stupidity."
At first, I thought it was the worst possible song they could release as
well... but then I began to think about it... it's the ONLY song I would
have released at that time, given the option. If 10 million teeny boppers
all over the world were thinking that BF5 *IS* Brick, what better way to
counteract that than follow up with the OTHER end of the spectrum? Brick is
ultra sensitive, slow, mellow, and sad. SFTD is none of those. It's angry,
yet fun, fast-paced, and just plain stupid. (FOR A REASON) It kind of makes
up for Battle of Who Could Care Less not being as big as it should have
been. That song, to me, is what I would define as "middle of the road" BF5.
Then you have the absurd on the far left, like Julianne and SFTD, and then
you have the very serious and composed songs like Boxing, Selfless Cold &
Composed, and Evaporated on the other end. It all makes sense. Release SFTD
to weed out all of those who would think that BF5 is just about sensitive
caring songs that you can listening to while wallowing in self pity. Heck,
that's probably the reason that the song follows Brick on the CD... in
fact, I'm pretty much sure about it.
*** Now the profanity thing ***
I have to agree and disagree with both sides of the argument on this issue.
Yes, I agree that cursing is most often used in an immature fashion, and
usually just for a lack of proper vocabulary, and whatever and ever... BUT,
I also have to disagree with those that say that cursing is a sign of a
weak mind. Two examples, both non-music related --- George Carlin and
Dennis Miller. Agree with their opinions or not, both of these men are
quite brilliant. Here's the key --- they both use the words in context and
to make a point. And when referring to Geroge Carlin, I'm not just talking
about the "7 Words" bit, which DOES make a wonderful point about profanity.
Both of the guys use profanity to make certain expressions.... as I believe
is the case (usually) with BF5... even in SFTD. Of course, Fanny Packs is a
whole other story, but that song lends itself to the situation... it was
never meant to make any sort of statement to anyone, much less, even be
released.
Well, that's all I really wanted to say, and not quite as eloquently as I
would have said it were it not 4:21 AM right now.
Bo
louie@tamu.edu
"I don't buy everything I read, I haven't even read everything I've
bought."
- ---Ed Robertson & Steven Page
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure."
- ---Nelson Mandella
------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #979
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