THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #323 - May 28, 1997



Magical Armchair Digest    Wednesday, May 28 1997    Volume 01 : Number 323



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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:

    BFF/BNL Trading 
    TFI Friday 
    RE: Names...
    First and last for a bit
    RE:taping policy
    Re:  Todd Rundgren
    'Kate' extra tracks.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 22:00:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: LindaNikon@aol.com
Subject: BFF/BNL Trading 

I posted not too long ago about desperately seeking all things Ben. I
neglected to mention that I have a TON of Barenaked Ladies bootlegs, video,
etc to barter with... So, anyone interested, drop me a line!

Linda

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 12:44:26 +0000
From: 9613527c@student.gla.ac.uk (Rebecca Cole)
Subject: TFI Friday 

Hey all-

I dug TFI Friday and I am writing to ask if anyone else thought that Ben
yelled "hi Rebecca!" right before the "ooh la la la" bit in
"Kate"...sounded like it to me...I love my fantasy world.

But what was with the nauseating swooping montage-effect camera work? Ugh!
I knew they were onstage somewhere because I could hear them, but the
camera never stayed in one spot long enough that I could be sure where,
exactly they were in the swirling purple and yellow lights...annoying
youth-oriented music programming. That they went very early in the show was
a bonus because I didn't have to sit through more than seven minutes of
Chris Evans.

- -Reb


*******************************************************************

American Thing I Miss of the Day, 27 May 1997:
drinking fountains

*******************************************************************

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 07:45:40 -0400
From: "Faix, Andrew" <AFaix@harris.com>
Subject: RE: Names...

Greetings Kids,

I just want to thank any-and-everyone for the noticeable reduction in
the "name" posts (with the exception of GoodOmen).  I certainly wasn't
attributing blame on anyone in-particular when I posted the "anti-name"
dissertation, but I did want to make my point clear.  For those of you
who still wanna vote..Hell, go for it.  I don't consider it a priority
in my life.  For those of you who do  decide upon a name however, please
don't expect the rest of us to go right out and get tattooed.  Besides,
who ever said that the Magical Armchair mailing list was a democracy?
If you don't want a name, don't vote at all.  That should be a clear
enough message.

ENOUGH ABOUT THAT!!!  Here's why I really wrote:

I'm going to see BF5 for the first time tomorrow night!!!!!  YEAH!!!!

Anyone else going to the show in RI look out for me.  I actually will be
wearing an orange T-shirt (but alas, no bell-bottoms), and will be
hanging out with a utility pole.  (actually, the pole is a very good
friend of mine, but he's noticeably tall and thin).

Hope everyone that got a long weekend, enjoyed it and for those of you
who worked right through it, I sympathize.

Everyone is still entitled to my opinion.

- -Andrew (afaix@harris.com)

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 13:09:36 BST
From: Andy Hewitt <mbcx6adh@mail2.mcc.ac.uk>
Subject: First and last for a bit

This is my first mail in ages and probably my last for ages as the 
summer holidays start and I leave the safe haven of my lovely 
university for the dim lights of home .

BFF (not BBF unless there's some joke I'm missing) were good on TFI I 
thought and even my non-Ben Folds Five loving friends admitted that 
they thought the song was really good and could they borrow the album 
for a minute please .
The only thing is that they are so under-sold in the UK it is 
annoying . I think that if lots of people had heard 'Kate' (not one 
of my favourite songs of theirs but a good catchy tune) then it might 
have been a really big hit . The charts aren't on until sunday , but 
I don't think it will be troubling the higher reaches .
I've been a fan for ages now , since they released 'Underground' the 
first time round and have seen them in progressively bigger venues 
and hope that they continue to grow but really they need to maybe try 
and get someone to back them more . Hell , I'm probably wrong and 
talking out my ars , butsince I won't be able to read your replies 
then I'll say au revoir and until September ....


Andy Hewitt

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 08:40:41 -0400
From: Jon Lax <jon_lax@grey.net>
Subject: RE:taping policy

>They do not allow any sort of organized or professional recording,
>which includes bringing in equipment such as mic stands. 


Hold on a second I have to hold my mics up for the whole show? That
doesn't sound right.

I have professional quality gear does that mean I can not tape?

When I tape I have several priorities first is to have a good time. Second
is to make a good tape. But most important I do everything possible to
make sure that I am not in people's way. I respect their space if they
respect mine. I set up in a part of the bar that is out of the way. 

 I propose this be the taping policy

1) All tapes are for non-commercial use!!!!
2) Indoor venues all mic stands should be under 7 feet
3) All taping occurs behind the soundboard
4) No board patches
5) Come prepared since the band will not give out, power patches,
batteries, flashlights, tapes etc.
6) Stay out of the way of non-tapers who are there to see a show

There is no reason why this can't work. After having taped various
shows for the past 5 years I know that a taping environment only helps
the band and  the fans.

BFF tapers tell management what you think!

Jon

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 07:39:22 -0600
From: Shawn Huckaby <BShawn@ix.netcom.com>
Subject: Re:  Todd Rundgren

Probably the best place to start with Todd is a 2-CD collection best of
that came out about 7 or 8 years ago.  I think it's on Rhino, but I'm
not sure of the exact title.  He's done so much stuff under different
band names (Nazz, Utopia, etc.), and solo, that it's tough to track it
all down.  The best of collection has a lot of great stuff, some of
which definitely sounds like the harmonies and melody structures BFF
uses.  Especially the bittersweet quality of some of the ballads.  

These days Todd is at the forefront of computer-driven audio.  He and
Thomas Dolby  are both working on the future of music performance which
would take record companies and producers out of the loop and give
artists a direct, 'real time' connection to their fans.  Pretty
interesting stuff.

Anyway, let me know if you want the exact title of the collection, and
I'll dig through my library for it.

Shawn Huckaby

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 27 May 1997 15:28:26 GMT
From: "A GARBI REG:00263121" <GARBIA-U@m4-arts.bham.ac.uk>
Subject: 'Kate' extra tracks.

Hi,

  At last some new stuff. Oh dear. Kate is out on 2 CDs, with four 
extra tracks. Unfortunately, only Mitchell Lane is worth anything. 
Bad Idea (Demo) is pretty much the same as the Cats & Dogs version, 
but with 
some extra muso shouting over it now and then; For All The Pretty 
People is OK, but of interest mostly because Ben plays bass and 
Robert piano (at a pretty basic standard - I could play this, and I 
never got past grade one); the comedy take on All Shook Up is best 
left unplayed. I'd much rather Sony put out live tracks on the 
singles, because these would be much better than the second-rate toss 
they seem to be scraping the archive barrel for.  Next single will no 
doubt feature exclusive studio recording of BF5 having dinner (the 
way Ben uses that knife, man, it's amazing) and covering the Spice 
Girls, naturally in a comedy manner. (BTW, to any Brits, Harry Hill's 
new show will feature Keith Harris & Orville covering Wannabe, and 
other such delights.)

  Off to listen to Mitchell Lane again. It's the one good (and very 
good) thing to come out of this little escapade.

  Another thing, are BF5 still due on the Jenny McCarthy show? If so, 
does anyone know when, and does anyone know the delay (if there's 
one) between MTV and MTVEurope showing this show? If they're on, I 
don't wanna miss 'em.

  Bye then, I'll be thinking of you all while I'm pissed up on Old 
Mother's Bathwater Cider at Glastonbury, singing along.

      Andy.

------------------------------

End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #323
**************************************


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