Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #95 - June 6, 1996
Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #95
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Topics for Today:
covers
To all AOL BF5 fans!
Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #94
the official cry of the Ben Folds Five as-yet-unnamed list
BFF - West Palm Beach
BF5 Live
Ben Folds Five Digest
BareNaked Ladies, etc.
THE BEN FOLDS LIVE!
Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #94
BF5 Update
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Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 20:23:32 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jenn Halter <jlh4935@email.unc.edu>
Subject: covers
It would be great to hear the guys do a Matthew Sweet song- My fave is
Thought I Knew You, but I don't think that wouls work right with BF5's
arrangement- how about Evangeline?
Saw Verve Pipe up near LA last night- SUPER! One of the best live shows
i have ever seen-- they covered Strawberry Fields Forever at the end and
it sounded great- BF5 could do a nice rendition of any Beatles tune- How
about Rocky Racoon or Maxwell's Silver Hammer?
jenn
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Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 22:31:26 -0400
From: MARK400@aol.com
Subject: To all AOL BF5 fans!
There is a Ben Folds Five folder in the Music Message Center under MMC.
If everybody who has AOL and subscribes to this mailing list could take some
time here and there to post comments and reviews we would be very grateful.
I have noticed a lot of AOL addresses who have never shown their head the
the MMC under Alternative and General
Thanx,
MARK
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Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 21:51:52, -0500
From: MR DARIUS S DURITZ <RQNK02B@prodigy.com>
Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #94
-- [ From: ThaT eLmO GuY * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] --
hello peters and bras;
this is mR eLmO here telling you what i don't know about a concert
that happened in JackSUcKViLLe on June the 1st.. Of course, i'm very
new to this whole ben folds scene, so i apologize for sounding like an
idiot... But, I fell in love with the video and song of UnCLe WaLteR
when i saw it on 120 minutes the first time they played it.
Unfortunately, i do not have the album because i suck and i don't have
a job.. No JoB No MoNeY (that's the way things are).. But, i did listen
to it at BLOCKBUSTER MUSIC (thank god for free listening booths)..
ANYWAYS, i was planning to buy it today, i went to Circuit City the
basturds don't even carry the damn thing.. JusT WaiT, in eight months
i'll go to the same place and people will be standing in line for the
CD..
But, Enough about that let's talk about BEN.. I have in my hand a
copy of the set list played throughout FLORIDA .. The West Palm guy who
wanted to know the name of the "very first song they played that
sounded like chopsticks" .. Well, i'll tell ya the name CHOPSTICKS..
Yes, that's correct they played a Mrs. Liz Phair's cover!!.. "He said
he'd like to do it backwards and i said that's just fine with me...
That way we can f*** and watch T.V.".. Yea, anybody can play it but it
was kewl seeing a guy sing a song that was about a guy.. At any rate,
they then went into UNCLE WALTER, oh what a kick ass song, huh?.. My
personal favorite part is when he yells, "BUT HE'S NOT!!" I was too
amazed by Ben's ability to play the piano whoever said he's hands were
a blur is completely right!!.. That's exactly what it was!!.. Damn
SoN!! how'd ya get so good?.. And i was sitting right there next to Ben
on stage so i saw it REALLY close!.. (i'm kewler than you).. sorry,
i'm just playing..
Anyways, from there he goes into that kewl song about SUMMER B and then
he sings about ALICE... Then he goes into the POLKA and the BEST (wait
is that imitation or limatation?) i could have sworn on the album he
said LIMITATION but he has down IMITATION on here.. I'm sorry i'm an
idiot remember?.. Ok he then has those unrealeased songs back to back
with DWARF first before STEVEN.. and then JACKSON CANNERY (what's that?)
.. Ok then is that ALL IS FAIR (is that where he combines that OASIS
with the RAGE?).. Anyways, he started going, "f*** you i won't do what
you tell me" right after the oasis hit.. he then he ends it with the
kewl Arches of Loaf verse of "stuck a pin in your back bone..".. that
song, whatefer that ones called, the point being he covers alot of
songs in one.. WILD!! WACKY MAN!!.. And then he goes into that VIDEO
... song y'all are talking so much about.. Then drummer guy comes up
and talks to the crowd for about 5 minutes (everyone knows that he's
about to bust open with... I WAS NEVER KEWL IN SCHOOL, I'M SURE YA
DON'T REMEMBER MEEE!!..).. Such a kewl UNDERGROUND song.. Then he sings
about AXL ROSE in JULIANNE.. and goes into the bouncy SPORTS AND WINE,
SPORTS AND WINE.. dodododo.. ya know it.. and then he gets DUMPED from
the MR. WRONG soundtrack.. and then he sings about his own PHILOSOPHY
from the 2nd track off the album..
THAT WAS suppossed to be the end of the set but they came out for an
encore!.. (something they weren't suppossed to do!!??).. SO, i forget
what he was singing about during his encore cause i forgot the lyrics..
SORRY!).. But, right when BEN got finished with his philosophy i
reached by lil' hands up on the piano and grabbed the set list just so
that i could report to YOU each and every song in proper order.. (no
need to thank me, just send me those rare BF5 demo's..Please e-mail me
for my address).. Well, i'm soonly moving to SALT LAKE CITY so maybe
i'll catch them over there again? (anyone, from there that i can meet
up with and show me around town?).. I hear they have a pretty kewl
local scene and I can't wait to catch the EVERCLEAR show there on the
30th (OH, i have been waiting sooo long to see them!!)..
Sorry i took so long about saying nothing, but i absolutely loved
that opening band GEEZER LAKE!!.. they rawked!.. But that damn singer
better not but his arm around my girl again when she goes up to look at
their shirts or i'm gonna have to ruff him up.. Anyways they totally
were a great opening band and i even bought some of their stuff.. They
did a great job with harmonzing upon the stage and at certain points
reminded my g/f of ALICE and CHAINS but hey that's just their sound,
ok?.. Anyways, but their stuff when the album comes out in September
because it just plain kicks ass.. ESPECIALLY the songs SAGES and JAMES
DEAN!!... What a lovely band!.. Great, nice, friendly guys too (just a
lil' horny, that's all!)..
Well, that girl who likes BARENAKED LADIES can you please write me
i'd like to discuss something.. and i HAVE A QUESTION for EVERYONE does
the five in BF5 mean the fingers on the hand?.. i'm not sure, i was
gonna ask him but i didn't feel like feeling like a weanie..
anyways, hope you enjoyed my nonsense .. i'm through
love ya all!
mR eLmO
"I feel like putting a bullet in my brain but i'm afraid to die" --
RUTH RUTH (take from the song 'Pervert')
[sticky capslock key, I guess...]
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 01:19:23 -0500
From: Iron Kong Productions <monkey@inf.net>
Subject: the official cry of the Ben Folds Five as-yet-unnamed list
As far as the list yell goes, I'm definately in agreeance with Mr.
Frank Maynard's wishes as far as the use of his name goes (I mean, it's up
to him), but let's come up with something that's definately not a lyric
(even the Satan is my master bit is like that)...c'mon, folks. Let's come
up with something completely off the cuff. Something spontaneous.
Something witty. Maybe an Elvis reference. Or a reference to monkeys. Sit
down at your computer and brainstorm. Just start writing out ideas of words
or short phrases to say. I know for a fact that Ben has a deep emotional
attachment to monkeys (the animals, not the band, although now that I think
of it, it'd be cool to hear the guys do a cover of "Daydream Believer"), so
maybe just the chant "I LOVE MONKEYS" would be a good thing to scream at the
top of our lungs. How's that? "I LOVE MONKEYS!" Ben would definately
recognize a cry like that above the shouts for "Free Bird" and other
wonderful song titles. How about it?
Greg
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Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 02:22:06 -0400
From: SHEBASS1@aol.com
Subject: BFF - West Palm Beach
All I can say is it was well worth the wait! What a great show. They
didn't play "Video" or "Boxing" which was kind of disappointing, but the
new material is so great that it really didn't matter. I was also looking
forward to hearing "Eddie Walker" and/or "Tom and Mary" but they didn't do
those either. They did a song that they didn't introduce or talk about --
I think he was saying "All's fair in love..." or something. Anyone have a
clue? Whatever it was, it was awesome! Very amusing, brain invading,
backup vocals (I've been walking around all day singing them). Please
clue me in. Also, Mandel asked about that song they opened with. It was
the one about the guy he met at a party. Funny stuff, but what is it?
And, yes, along with the complete version of "Havah Nagilah" (they even
did that snappy end part), they did do "Satan Is My Master". I do believe
it's a band favorite.
Anyway, can we talk about Geezer Lake for a minute? Can someone explain
them to me? No wait... don't bother. I left work early because I had an
hour + drive to W. Palm and I didn't want to miss Geezer Lake -- so you
can see that I did have a good attitude going in. They started the first
song and there were some really bad notes going on there. My friends and
I (all musicians) then realized that the same bad notes were going on
throughout the entire song. Then it occurred to me that this was, in
fact, a feature of the song. They weren't wrong notes at all -- they were
the chosen notes. Well, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Shortly
thereafter, it seemed as if everyone was outside, so at least I wasn't the
only one terrified out of my mind. However, they did have some awesome
T-shirts for sale. No, I didn't buy one. (Anyway, that's just my
opinion. They were actually pretty funny, they just scared me musically.)
And Mandel, you must've been sitting right near me because I was 7 or so
rows back on the piano side. Did you see someone drop a bunch of items
while trying to flee during Geezer Lake? That would be me. Too bad we
weren't playing Marco Polo.
See ya.
Eileen
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Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 02:53:31 -0400
From: "Brian T. Moore" <bahmo@atlantic.net>
Subject: BF5 Live
First off, let me just say that tonight has got to be one of the greatest
nights of my life (that may sound sad, but who cares?). Ben Folds Five just
played the Covered Dish in Gainesville, and I am flying high.
Mandel asked about the opening song to their set. It is "Chopsticks" from
Liz Phair's album "Whip-Smart."
After the show, I talked to Ben about the chant controversy on this list.
Of the four main choices (Frank... Maynard, Satan ... is my master, Stop the
Bus, and Satan ... is my Maynard) he liked the Marco Polo version of Frank
... Maynard. Sorry, Frank. He thought that it was funny and appropriate.
He tried to think of something else but could only come up with "Maynard ...
is my master." He liked the Frank ... Maynard chant better.
The opening act, Geezer Lake, is not nearly as good as BF5. However, when
they played the trumpet and avoided screaming into the microphone, they were
decent.
I also told Ben about the cover song discussion. He thought "Let's Go
Crazy" was a pretty good idea and said that they had been considering doing
"Relax" from Frankie Goes to Hollywood. I wholeheartedly supported that
idea. They did a 45 second version of "Champagne Supernova" to open their
encore and also did "Hava Nagila." At one point, they also did about 30
seconds of Rage Against the Machine's song that has "F*** you, I won't do
what you tell me" as the chorus. They did the obligatory "Video Killed the
Radio Star" as their encore.
The best thing about the whole experience was seeing just how nice the band
members are. During the show, Ben was full of smiles, and the band really
seemed to be enjoying themselves. After the show, all of the members of
both bands hung around signing autographs and talking to people. I told
Robert that they can stay at my house whenever they come through
Gainesville, since I have a baby grand, an amp, and two extra bedrooms
available.
All told, I can now safely place BF5 among my favorite three bands. They
are, in no particular order, BF5, The The, and James. On that note, I would
like to suggest "Uncertain Smile" by The The as a cover song suggestion. I
didn't bring it up with Ben or the other two, but it has a great piano solo.
I guess that is enough for now. I have to be at work in 5 1/2 hours.
Brian Moore
bahmo@atlantic.net
or
bahmo@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu
goo goo gajoob
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 12:18:59 -0400 (EDT)
From: Pete Butler <pete@supernet.net>
Subject: Ben Folds Five Digest
Yep, this is my first post to the group.
I caught the show at the Covered Dish in Gainesville last night and was
quite impressed. The band smoked, playing everything off the record
(except "Boxing"). They opened with that same tune that was mentioned in
the West Palm review. It's the song "Bad Idea," from the soundtrack of
"The truth about cats and dogs." They also played "One Angry Dwarf and
200 Solemn Faces", "Steven's Last Night Out", and "Song For the Dumped."
Covers included "Champagne Supernova," " Video Killed the Radio Star,"
"Havah Nagilah," and "the Theme to Sanford and Son," which Ben played
through a flute-a-fone. The band kicked total butt. Vocals were smashing
and the musicianship was fabulously crisp.
There were roughly 200 folks who made it to the show. Geezer Lake was
the opening act.
I visited with Ben before the show and he said he's quite amused by the
"digest." He has watched some of the conversations (particularly the
interpretations of Summer B). He says he's considered sending in comments
but says, "I really don't know what to say." I told him people probably
wouldn't believe it was him anyhow. Anyhow, he's a nice guy and great
humored.
pete@supernet.net
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Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 14:33:23 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kenny Friedman <kennydoe@webspan.net>
Subject: BareNaked Ladies, etc.
I haven't posted since my first time posting, but I've been religiously
reading the "newsletter" every few days (usually in the gynecolegist's
office while waiting for my wife's appointments (she's 9 months prego, so
there's a lot of them) - It really livens up the ladies room--uh--waiting
room.
Anyway...I've seen a few people who are just now hearing about the
BareNaked Ladies for the first time here and I thought I'd shed a little
light on them for you who have not had the pleasure.
BNL is a Canadian band (eh). They had 3 CDs and an 4 song EP/CD-rom and a
song on the 'Friends' soundtrack (friends-a popular american tv show, for
my UK friends). Their first, called 'Gordon', was my first exposure to
them...my then to-be-wife played me some of their stuff - It was hard to
put a pinpoint on the style, but the best I can do is Folk-Rock, venturing
at times into country (If I had $1,000,000), jazz (I Love you), latin (Box
Set) <--my personal favorite, humorous (Be My Yoko Ono), there's really no
end to the styles, but like I said, It really goes back to folky-type
rock.
Their follow ups were 'Maybe You Should Drive', the "ShoeBox" EP/CD-rom,
and their most recent "Born on a Pirate Ship". My favorite, obviously is
Gordon, and I like each one successively less, but that's not to say I
don't like them at all, they just didn't hold my interest like Gordon did.
The key, however to BNL, however, is their live show - from what I just
read in the last issue about someone's BF5 review, they sound very similar
in their stage antics. breaking out into bizarre songs on a whim and
general on-stage goofiness. I saw them live after I had only heard their
first two CDs MAYBE 2-3 times, but i felt like I knew all the songs - it
was one of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of seeing (and I'm a
musician, so I tend to be overly-critical). I can't wait to see BF5 if
they ever come around NY. BTW - BNL has a song on Gordon called "Grade
Nine" which sort of humorizes the whole nightmarish age of 14 (complete
with 'Rush' musical quotes) - it sort of sounds like what was described in
the "Twelfth Grade"song the BF5 did - Could Ben be a BNL fan? I wonder...
Enough about BNL - here's my input on the latest topics...
Gershwin samples - Yes he QUOTES gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in
'philosophy', but that's not a sample - a sample is when you digitally
record the actual music and then use it in your own - quoting is when you
actually play a piece of someone else's music in your own - it's usually a
form of flattery in my opinion. The difference is, quoting takes talent -
sampling doesn't. Sorry all you rap and techno people...
As for my cover song requests, I would like to hear them do
BODISATVAH - Steely Dan
I WISH - Stevie Wonder
if I think of anymore, I'll post 'em,. but I feel like I'm going on and on
and on and on and on...
-Kenny
["Bodhisattva" would be outstanding!! Robert playing the guitar part
on bass, there's already piano in the song...harmony opportunities abound
in the lyrics too. Or anything by Steely Dan, for that matter!
Thanks for the overview on BNL. I've heard them described as "joke
folk" as well. There's a WWW page at:
http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~ludw1080/WWW.Barenaked/BareNaked.html
and a mailing list as well. There's a lot of Canadiana wrapped up in
their songs, particularly the earlier ones, best understood if you're
either Canadian or grew up watching the Friendly Giant.
And congratulations on your pending arrival. Be sure to let us know
when little Ben or Benita is born. I'm sure either he'll be a good boy, a
smart boy, a strong boy, or a good girl, a smart girl, a pretty girl. -fjm]
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 15:10:20 -0500
From: Derek Miner <dcm80229@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu>
Subject: THE BEN FOLDS LIVE!
Got to see the guys in action Monday, June 3 in Orlando Florida!
I guess some of the stuff I thought was off-the-cuff is planned, as they
did some of the stuff Mandel Ilagan said they did in West Palm Beach...
They started with the Chopsticks thing (which, by the way, was just
"Chopsticks" on the set list, since Madel was wondering what it might be!)
and then broke into "Uncle Walter." There weren't as many covers as the
West Palm show the next night. They did do the "Champagne Supernova" bit
(sounding very country-twangy), 'cause they said the sound guy liked Oasis.
Ben was a riot, screaming out "Kick out the f***in' jams!" while they
plodded along on that song! They also did "Video Killed the Radio Star" as
the finale of the encore, saying they were going to be retiring it soon.
They also did "Havah Nagilah" and the unreleased stuff, "One Angry Dwarf
and 200..." whatever the rest of the title is, "Steven's Last Night Out"
and "Song For The Dumped".
The only song they didn't do from the album was "Video," so they thankfully
did all my faves! "Boxing" was during the encore, which my pal Joe was
eager to hear. (Joe had also been drinking and started screaming for
"Philosophy" in the middle of the show. Ben did an impromptu joke of a song
instead of the real one...) For the first few songs, the mix was awful, and
the backing vocals were louder than Ben's (Darren singing "Childress"
louder than Robert AND Ben's vocals is a bit annoying!), but that was fixed
by the mid part of the show. They also built up to "Underground" in a great
way, by having Darren come out and say the opening bit. He got an ovation
just for saying "I was never cool in school!"
Before the show, I was hanging out with some friends in the back of the
venue, and out of the blue, my friend Joe's girlfriend leans over to tell
us Ben was standing right next to us! I had no idea what I would say to
him, so I didn't talk to him (Unless I have something I would really want
to ask or say, I try to avoid speaking to "celebrities." Debate amongst
yourself the level of celebrity Ben has, but he still counts). But he
seemed like a nice guy, and he came out to chat with people after the show.
He told Joe that they were going to have a songbook out soon, and he drew
the piano on Joe's shirt and signed it.
Overall, it was a show not to be missed, and next time the guys come around
again (outside of Lollapalooza), I wouldn't miss it!
= Derek Miner =
dcm80229@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 23:27:10 +0100 (BST)
From: Stanford Chiou <stanford.chiou@university-college.oxford.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Ben Folds Five Digest, Issue #94
> All three were in
> top form last night treating the audience at the Carefree Theatre to a
> rousing set including several unreleased tracks as "One Angry Dwarf"
> (Awesome song!), "Steven's Last Night Out" (Get me one of 'em 'hooters'!),
> and "Song For the Dumped" (The lyrics were hilarious).
Actually "Song For The Dumped" is on the "Mr. Wrong" soundtrack. If you
feel like getting a so-so CD for one song, go for it. Of course, being a
Matthew Sweet fan I should be used to this by now ;)
> Does anybody know
> the title of the song which has the "Chopsticks"-like piano backing to it?
> It was a short one and was the very first song he did. It was also done
> in the dark.
It's called "Chopstick" (singular). I know because I was right smack in
front of Ben at the 100 Club and was close enough to read the set list.
(Unfortunately the girl next to me beat me to it.)
> He also "previewed" some lyrics of a song he was
> supposedly writing about why "twelfth grade sucks." (It was joke, right?)
After hearing "Underground" and "Two Hundred Fifty Solemn Faces and One
Angry Dwarf", probably not. (I certainly hope not).
==============================================================================
Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 23:01:02 -0400
From: RCLABA@aol.com
Subject: BF5 Update
The Memphis show set for this Saturday (6/8) has been postponed and the
band will go directly on to Nashville. I know some people were planning
on making the long drive to the show.
Regards,
Alan Wolmark (CEC Management)
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But Great Caesar's ghost knows what's best for me.