THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #738 - January 8, 1998



Magical Armchair Digest   Thursday, January 8 1998   Volume 01 : Number 738



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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:

    Seattle
    Sat. Night date w/my VCR.
    school project
    Ben Folds Five T-shirts
    certain dates...
    Aww...My first post.
    Whatever
    RE: How to play Brick
    Brick chorus chords 
    barenaked infants
    back from break with some questions
    steve miller comparisons again
    Brick
    Chicago Ticket Info
    A new girl!!!
    Taping a show!

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

Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 16:58:40 -0800
From: jessmiester@juno.com (Jessica A Lemley) 
Subject: Seattle

Maybe this has been asked before...but ive been getting behind on my
email...and havent been reading all my armchairs *guilty grin*

Who's going to the Feb 5th show in Seattle???

Luv Ya
- --Jessie--

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

Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 17:24:55 PST 
From: "Maria P" <goldibunny@hotmail.com>
Subject: Sat. Night date w/my VCR.

Hi, Armchairites,

Along with Saturday's SNL performance, which we all know about, MTV is 
being kind enough to re-run the Jenny McCarthy show with BFF that night 
too. (at 10)  Wooohoooo!  

I just found out that WYBE, CH. 35 PBS in Philadelphia is also 
re-running Sessions at W. 54th on Sat. night. (about 6 of them, sorta a 
mini-marathon).  So as luck would have it, the show with BFF & Beck is 
on at 10 also.   Would someone please let me know if BFF is on the 1st 
half of this show or the 2nd.  If it is the 1st half, which should I 
tape, Jenny or Sessions?  

And a Happy new Year to all!

Maria 

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

Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 21:09:13 EST 
From: luckyday6@juno.com (Jason A Masi)
Subject: school project

I have a poll I have to take for school and if you were trapped somewhere
by yourself what would be 2 songs and only 2 songs that you could bring
with you to where you were going. Well pick your favoritae Ben Folds Five
songs and give me a line by posting to the list and that will be great.
Send them to the list not my e-mail.

My 2 songs would have to be:

Uncle Walter
Underground

later
Jason

"I got this pain in my heart" - BEN FOLDS

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

Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 21:54:21 -0500
From: cambot@juno.com
Subject: Ben Folds Five T-shirts

Okay. I have a big problem as well as a complaint. I ordered a Ben Folds
Five ski cap & a Whatever & Ever Amen long sleeve t-shirt over the phone
about a month ago. I got the package about 4 days later. I opened it & to
my suprise, there was not Whatever & Ever Amen long sleeve t-shirt, but
there was a ski cap (which I now happily wear atop my head) & a long
sleeve Lemonheads T-shirt. Now, I think the Lemonheads are a good band,
but I ordered a Ben Folds Five shirt, not a Lemonheads shirt.
I called up the number (1-888-BENFOLDS5) & told them my problem. They
told me to send the shirt back & that they should have a replacement out
to me in about a week. I sent it back the next day & waited with
anticipation for my shirt. A week went by, & still no shirt (no problem,
maybe a little delay), another week passed by & became worried &
frustrated. Oh well, maybe they are behind because of the holidays,
right? The next week passed & still, no shirt of any kind. I decided to
call up the company again to see what the problem was. The lady on the
other end said that they had sent it out on December 29th & I should get
it within the week. Sooo, I waited for the week & still no shirt. I
called back yesterday to see what was going on. The lady on the other end
said that they had run out of them & that the shirts were on backorder &
they didn't know when they would get them in. Backorder?! They said that
they sent it out on the 29th!
Normally, I'm a paitient guy, but this has gone on long enough. I still
haven't gotten my shirt that I ordered a little over a month ago that
they said would get to me within the week of returning it, then the week
after, then saying it was sent out but it really wasn't & then finding
out that it's out of stock & they don't know when they'll get them back
in. Needless to say, I am pissed. Has this happened to anyone else or is
it just a fluke that it happened to me?

Sorry for the loooong, irate post, but I hope that you can understand &
DO NOT order the WEAEA long-sleeve shirt until they are back in stock, or
until they say they are. Well, that's all I can do for now.

Steve!

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

Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 23:37:48 EST
From: THANEZRA4 <THANEZRA4@aol.com>
Subject: certain dates...

does anyone have dates for around the 14th of feb? i have to go to the concert
but i'm gonna be out of town so i'm hoping ot catch them somewhere else.
thanks.
- -tim-

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 00:16:08 EST
From: PookieB453 <PookieB453@aol.com>
Subject: Aww...My first post.

 First, I'll give a little introduction-  I'm Jason,  I'll respond to it or
Pookie, I'm not too picky.  I'm 17 years old, live in Ohio near Cleveland.
Fall semester of 98 I'll be going to the University of Akron.  I've been a BFF
fan since May of 97- I got a gift certificate to Sam Goody's and, actually, I
couldn't find anything better, so I thought I'd try out WEAEA...I absolutely
loved it and immediately bought the first album...I've been hooked ever since.
I've been to one show, they're Halloween show in Cleveland, and it was
unbelievable...I was in front row, leaning on the stage, I was happy =)
  What prompted me to write was that someone posted a partial transcription of
Brick.  I just wanted everyone to know that if they're interested, I have
transcriptions of all of the first album, and I think 6 of the songs off of
WEAEA-  about half the transcriptions are thanks to Stephen Clay, the other
half I did myself- some are a collaboration of both =)  
   Well, to keep this relatively short, I'll be leaving now- take care=)
~Jason

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

Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 22:23:58 +0000
From: Chris Robles <ziggi@cats.ucsc.edu>
Subject: Whatever

All you Fivers,

Do you have your opinions on what that Ben Folds Five song means?
Well come express them at Whatever. 

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palladium/2935/whatever.html

This site (completely fan based) is dedicated to unlocking the mysteries
of the music of the Ben Folds Five.

All comments will be posted, well almost all...If you can't think of
anything right now, reading other fans posts will undoubtedly inspire
you to greatness.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Thanks from Whatever

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 09:00:57 -0500
From: Jeff Blancato <jeff@phonemiser.com>
Subject: RE: How to play Brick

How-dee -

	I don't want to seem like a total butt, but to the best of my
knowledge, instead of a D major, Ben plays a D major 7 for Brick's
chorus (D,A,C#,F#). Just tryin' to help.

Anyone in Boston need a guitar player?
- -Jeff

- -**********************************-
"It's a shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good white boy
like that." - Utility pole worker, Better Off Dead

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 09:29:55 -0500 (EST)
From: spencerc@usit.net (Spencer Corden)
Subject: Brick chorus chords 

Here's a humble offering--sounds O.K. to me, I haven't gotten any
complaints on it except for my *voice*, and is as close to the CD as I can
get without actually watching Ben's hands on the keys (now *there's* an
idea...):

G               A                    A/D (Dmaj7 for people who want to get
technical...)
   She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly
G               A                    G/D (O.K., so it's just a G
inversion--shoot me!)
   Off the coast and I'm headed nowhere
G               A                    A/D (Dmaj7)
  She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

Now pardon me while I quote Richard Challen:

>Except the VERY last time, when the bass changes the chorus to:
>G         A             Bm       A/C#
>  She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly

Right on, Richard.  All right, now everyone out to your local piano bar to
amaze your friends!  Your first drink is on me--extra dry Tanqueray
martini, up w/ a twist.  Enjoy!

Spencer
"You've been pushin' me like I was a sore tooth"

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

Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 18:55:18
From: M********* <m****@g*********>
Subject: barenaked infants

Hi, [*"folds five" all round*]

Found this review today of NBP on some teletext page:

"After two proper studio LPs, the quirky trio return with a package
unearthing assorted rare tracks, early tunes (including their debut indie
single Jackson Cannery), and live excerpts.
The trademark plinky-plonk piano becomes raucous on live tracks such as the
anti-indie snobbery tirade Underground, and all in all BF5 aren't quite as
twee as one might imagine.
Not sure we'd like to see 'em naked though, infants or otherwise.
3.5 (out of 5)"

Not twee? hmmm.... and i always thought they were, too!

*I'M* English by the way, and hi Marina!
5 days and counting.... :^) 
 
And on that BOMBSHELL, erm, i'm gonna go now...

@nn@
:::: PVC! It's my favourite plastic!  ::::

PS> got OK Computer for christmas - the dog's bollocks or what?!

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 12:09:01 -0800 (PST)
From: bwjones <bwjones@scf-fs.usc.edu>
Subject: back from break with some questions

I had a couple of questions for the Armchair that I thought about over
Winter Break and I was hoping y'all could help me out...

1)  What do people generally do if they get a T-shirt autographed by the
band?  I've been reluctant to wear mine around, because that would mean
I'd have to wash it, and I don't want the signatures to fade.  Framing it
would be cool, but maybe a little over-the-top.  It's not like I plan to
sell it as a collectors item... But it's silly to just leave it folded up
in the dresser drawer where it'll never see the light of day.  Any
suggestions?

2)  I remember somebody mentioning a while back that the band doesn't get
to choose which songs it wants to release as singles--the record label
does.  So, exactly HOW much control does Sony exert over the band?

Thanks everyone, and Happy New Year,
Brant Jones
Universtiy of Southern California

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 16:56:32 -0500 
From: grippe@cowland.com
Subject: steve miller comparisons again

       yesterday i mentioned that i heard a similarity between a song
called "space cowboy" by steve miller, and "kate".  i figured i'd
elaborate just a bit w/o getting wordy...but anyways, i obtained a copy
of the song "space cowboy" and i think it sounds an AWFUL lot like kate.
i'm not sure when "space cowboy" was written, but i'm pretty sure it was
written either during the 60s or 70s.  i'm not accusing ben of ripping
anybody off - it doesn't take a person of average intelligence to see
that ben isn't the type to steal other people's songs - it's just
nothing more than a coincidence, or maybe ben heard "space cowboy" at
some point in his life and then wrote "kate" and never gave a thought to
the similarity (if there is one, i dunno if anybody else would hear it,
but i really do).  it happens quite a bit, people writing songs and then
later realizing that they sound JUST like something else.  i used to
write songs all the time and i'd constantly catch myself doing that.
"hey, this is pretty damn cool....dammit!  i just wrote 'outshined'!"
its frustrating to say the least...but anyway, tomorrow i will try to
make a .wav file of the song "space cowboy" and if anybody would like to
hear it for themselves and decide if there is some sort of similarity,
please feel free to e-mail me, and tell me if you hear a similarity or
if i'm just crazy :>  if i am crazy, then i by all means apologize
heartily.  and one last thing - NO, i'm not talking about the song "the
joker", i got e-mail about that, i am familiar with that song, and i
just went out and bought this tape that has both "the joker" and "space
cowboy" on it...anyways, sorry this has been a bit long, but thats all i
have to say for now...cya :>

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 15:17:32 -0800
From: "Kamp, Marcus S" <Marcus.Kamp@PSS.Boeing.com>
Subject: Brick

In case you missed Ben's explanation of the shortened version of Brick
on the Late Show, go to
http://www.wallofsound.com/news/stories/2461index.html .

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

Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 19:11:18 EST
From: Smarshal1 <Smarshal1@aol.com>
Subject: Chicago Ticket Info

I am in need of some info on how to obtain tickets to the February 15th show
in chicago.  I live in St. Louis, so Im guessin Im gonna have to call
Ticketmaster or something.  Could anyone w/ info please let me know, thanx,
josh
p.s.Im assuming this is an all ages venue.  If not let me know. thanx

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

Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 19:21:59 EST 
From: dr.watson77@juno.com
Subject: A new girl!!!

So this is my first time, so please be patient. I just have 2 questions.
1- Does anyone know where I can locate a BF5 poster, or if they even
exist as I have not found one yet. 2- For Eric Patton or any one who
knows. Where exactly is the clutch show? Are there tickets? Is there an
age limit? All of this providing that I can get there. Thanks for your
time.

"So much time, so little to say..." -Ben Folds Five
Andrea

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

Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 16:47:18 PST 
From: "wilson lo" <inane@hotmail.com>
Subject: Taping a show!

Ok is it mean or is Ben Folds Five delibierately taking so long to 
announce a venue for their Toronto show just so that I can visit their 
website every single day?!!?!?.....by the way this may just be a wrong 
but my friend was talking to her cousin(who works at Massey Hall) and 
she said that next month some band with five in it's name would be 
playing there...I dunno I wish they would hurry up and announce!

OK so here's the reason I really wrote I want to tape this show for my 
own enjoyment, now I know thw official policy is that the bands allow 
recording, but I also know that the bouncers, guards, staff don't always 
know this......so i pose the question what do i say when they ask "WHAT 
DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?"...I don't wanna lose my tape or the 
recorder!!!..

Also I would be forever in debt if someone could give tips on how to 
record a show...never did it before!



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

End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #738
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