THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR

The Ben Folds Five Digest

Issue #741 - January 10, 1998



Magical Armchair Digest   Saturday, January 10 1998   Volume 01 : Number 741



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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:

    sheet music online
    Ben and Cheese
    Hail Eris....
    ARGH
    U Got The Look
    Gangsta Of Love
    greetings and salutations
    bad trader?
    In case you needed proof that Brick is mainstream...
    To sandishortcake and Doug in defense of Mr. Grippe
    St. Louis show
    Import album
    Greetings 
    Feb.7 SF show 
    Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #732
    The kindest truths...

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 20:39:35 EST
From: SyKoPopple <SyKoPopple@aol.com>
Subject: sheet music online

hey! as some of the others seem to be saying -this is my first post. =) weee.
i'd really like to know if i can find any BFF sheet music online? do they put
sheet music online?! i really have no idea. but i'd appreciate some feedback.
thanks =) 

- -Lara

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 20:54:10 EST
From: BlueJellow <BlueJellow@aol.com>
Subject: Ben and Cheese

I always knew there was a Ben Folds and Wallace (from Wallace and Gromit)
connection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And now I have found it!

Two days before new years I was in Marks and Spencers in Toronto at Eaton
Center (BTW< I hate EAton center) and I heard Brick. I was very happy despite
the people that harrassed me in there. oh well, I'm a girl from Indiana.
Lucy

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 21:32:13 -0500 (EST)
From: Eric Patton <shirak@umich.edu>
Subject: Hail Eris....

	Anyway, I'm back at school, doing the whole readjustment thing.
I'm sitting in my class on Afro-Am Theater, looking over the syllabus and
a name jumped out at me. Alice Childress. That just made the whole class
seem brighter. i sat throught most of the lecture, quietly singing the
song to myself. So, if any of you out there want to know about the real
Alice Childress, the author, ask me around March. ;) Laters! Oh yeah, I'm
still trying to get through to Clutch Cargo's. They're really starting to
piss me off. Ah well....

ERIC
_______________________________________________________________________________
	"The squirrel has not yet found the acorn that will grow into the
oak that will be cut to make the cradle of the babe who is destined to
kill me."
_______________________________________________________________________________

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 22:22:54 -0500 
From: grippe@cowland.com
Subject: ARGH

       regarding the steve miller thing again: I hate to keep bringing
this up, but I tell you right now that I'm NOT talking about The
Joker~@!#?~!@?~@!?~!@?~!?@~!@?~@ :>  I have a tape right here by Steve
Miller Band called "Living in the USA" & the first song
on the tape is "The Joker" and the last one on the tape is "Space
Cowboy" (the Kate-sounding song).  When I heard the Kate-sounding song
on the radio I went to Coconuts and did a search on the Muze thingy of
Space Cowboy and I believe it appears on many of Steve Millers releases,
but this one tape "Living in the USA" only cost five dollars so I picked
it up and I plan on making a .wav of Space Cowboy as soon as I can get
to my friend's house and use her computer (Cuz i have a crappy 386)
anyways please trust me on this, if not, go to your local friendly
record store and check on that muze thing, youll see what im talking
about :>
       Some BFF related stuff that I will throw in here to try to make
this post somewhat relevant and because I don't want Frank to find me
and kill me:  DId anybody order those BFF farewell tour 1981 shirts/  I
really wanted to but kept forgetting to and I have so many priorities
such as paying off my credit card and ordering Jerry Springer's "Too Hot
for TV".  But as I kept reading all the stories about people having
trouble w/ ordering t-shirts I'm not sure if I want to risk it anymore,
I'm too po' as it is.  I tried ordering that "Cool in school" shirt
(which i still REALLY want) and never got it and one day called the
hotline and they told me they sold out.  what a bummer.  and i heard
brick in lillian vernon today...its strange to walk through the mall and
hear ben folds five. blah.
       p.s. it's ms. grippe =)

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

Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 22:13:52 -0500
From: Richard Challen <rchallen@clemson.campus.mci.net>
Subject: U Got The Look

Or: I stand corrected.
I should've known... that's what I get for posting "Brick" chords
without REALLY checking the song out. It is, in fact, a Dmaj7 and not
just plain ol' D.
I suspect Ben & Rob & Darren are reading this somewhere and laughing
about how their fans have no lives. Which is true (at least on my part),
but it's still a cheap shot.

- --rICH

p.s. not that i'm advocating the bf5 covering prince, but anything off
"sign o' the times," maybe? "i could never take the place of your man"?
and is anyone else on the list waiting patiently for "crystal ball" to
arrive in the mail?

p.s.s. sorry. just rambling. 


Visit The RICH Homepage and check out the brand-new CD, 
LIFE/DEATH... 15 songs of romance and retribution... 
Available independently from Desperate Man Records.
         http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/9035

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

Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 22:33:35 -0500
From: Richard Challen <rchallen@clemson.campus.mci.net>
Subject: Gangsta Of Love

Not that I want this list to be "Steve Miller's Magical Armchair," but I
gotta stick up for "Space Cowboy"... the REAL "Space Cowboy."
"Space Cowboy" came out several years BEFORE "The Joker," and while it
wasn't a big hit, it did alright... You can find it on Steve's "Greatest
Hits 1968-73" album (aka the "first" greatest hits). "Space Cowboy" has
a slightly different feel in the bassline than "Kate," but otherwise the
notes are near identical. (Not that Ben's ripping it off or anything...
Steve's song probably just lodged in the back of his brain and
inadvertently came out in a couple of chords.) Anyway, the vocal
melodies aren't similar.
"The Joker," on the other hand, sounds COMPLETELY different from "Kate."
Wrong tempo, wrong notes, everything... so give poor Ben a break. At
least he borrowed from a relatively OBSCURE Steve Miller song.

Oh, as far as the confusion with song titles:
When Steve goes, "Some people call me the space cowboy/ Some call me the
gangster of love" to open "The Joker," he's actually referring to two of
his earlier hits. (The other being "Gangster Of Love," natch.)
Ironically, the opening lines to "Space Cowboy" are:
"Well I told you 'bout living in the U.S.A./ And you know I am a
gangster of love"
...a reference to "Gangster Of Love," again, and also Mr. Miller's first
hit, "Living In The U.S.A." Clever guy, that Steve. 

And yes, I do have the f**kin' Steve Miller box set. No, I didn't pay
money for it. I got it free for review from Capitol. It still rocks,
though. Reminds me of drinking too much in high school.

Anal-retentively,
rICH

p.s. not to leave them out: built to spill rocks, too. "perfect from now
on." check it out.



Visit The RICH Homepage and check out the brand-new CD, 
LIFE/DEATH... 15 songs of romance and retribution... 
Available independently from Desperate Man Records.
         http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Stage/9035

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 22:34:26 -0600 (CST)
From: Alex Miller <amiller@biz1.net>
Subject: greetings and salutations

Hey all,
I am a newcomer to Armchair and thought I'd say hi.  The first time I
heard BFF was on the HBO show, Reverb.  I have not seen this mentioned
anywhere so I was wondering if others are aware of it - they
played...brain hurting...Philosophy, Song for the Dumped, and
something...One Angry Dwarf, I think.  And Battle of..., too!  This was
back in August and I was packing to move from Dayton to St. Louis the next
day.  I dug it so much, I unpacked the VCR and stereo and taped the late
night rerun of the show.  I have since taped over it with something
worthless, but I have most of it on audio.  The next day I went out and
bought both the albums for the drive.  It's been a long time since I heard
something so immediately cool and different, but we all know this.

A few people have mentioned the St. Louis show at the American - as far as
I have been able to find out, it's not on sale yet.  The 2/15 show in
Chicago is on sale, so I assume the 2/14 show should go on sale soon -
probably this weekend, I would guess.  Shows like this I've been to at the
American were general admission with no seats on the floor, so getting
tickets immediately may not be important.  You can check what's on sale at
www.ticketmaster.com and do obvious search-type things.

So. I know live tapes are out there and stuff.  I don't want to grovel
here (well, yes I do), but someone out there who has tapes needs to start
running some newbie offers or trees or something.  I've seen the list of
traders on the net, but it's not obvious who's willing to fill blanks or
trade for other stuff.  So, this is a call to action for all you lucky
people with live tapes!  If you offer to make tapes for newbies, do it
with the understanding that _they_ should then make a newbie offer for
others. 

Whatever and ever,
Lex

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 23:46:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Judi Smith <jsmith@bc.seflin.org>
Subject: bad trader?

nearly a month ago, i attempted to trade with kim habovick for an "early" 
copy of naked baby photos, before christmas (along with another tape).
i have gotten nothing from her.
i'm curious if anybody else has ever traded successfully with her.
please contact me if you have.
it's been 8 days since her last response to my email....
i apologize if it miraculously takes 9 days for a couple of tapes to get 
to florida from pennsylvania....but i'm doubtful, and i'm afraid we have 
a bad trader in our midst..... :(

***
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 14:04:15 -0500 (EST)
From: Kim Habovick <KAHST27@vms.cis.pitt.edu>
great.  I have an actual CD but I making copies straight from the CD as trades
so it should be in good quality.  I am also photocopying the album cover and
sticking it in there too.  Okay?
Sned me a copy of your bootleg to (snip)
and enclose a note telling me what I traded you for and I'll send you the tape
right back okay?

***

Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 19:00:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kim Habovick <KAHST27@vms.cis.pitt.edu>
Subject: Re: cc/bff deal
 I am way sorry about the tapes!!!  X-mas got me all messed up!!  I am home
again and the tapes went in the mail so you should be getting them soon!  Sorry
about the delay!!

***
apologies to the list for wasting space this way.


judi smith                          would you catch me if i was falling
jsmith@bc.seflin.org                      kiss me if i was leaving
                                     hold me 'cause i'm lonely without you
                                                -- counting crows

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

Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 21:07:13 PST 
From: "Steve Lubitz" <slusy@hotmail.com>
Subject: In case you needed proof that Brick is mainstream...

Well, I was doing some food shopping today, and they have the music 
turned up really loudly in the aisles, so you can hear the specials when 
the obnoxious people read them to you at 8000 decibels.  Anyway, I'm 
listening to the music which is mostly leftovers from several decades 
ago, and all of a sudden what should come on ShopRite radio but Brick.  
Brick.  In ShopRite.  Interrupted halfway through for an ad for the Can 
Can Sale.  

Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, my two "stuck by myself" songs would 
probably be Evaporated and Best Imitation of Myself.

- -Steve

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 00:39:07 EST
From: Angrydwarf <Angrydwarf@aol.com>
Subject: To sandishortcake and Doug in defense of Mr. Grippe

"The Joker" is a great song by Steve Miller but sounds nothing like
Kate..."Space Cowboy" is another great song by Steve Miller and although I
haven't heard it in a while, I think it does bear some resemblance to "Kate"
in the intro and underlying rhythm. 
	Two different songs but understandable that you might get confused since the
phrase "space cowboy" is used in The Joker.

Sorry to ruin the party,

~Scott

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

Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 01:12:24 EST 
From: sandishortcake@juno.com
Subject: St. Louis show

To the person who asked about the St. Louis show.  It is at the American
Theater.  The address is:  416 N. 9th St., St. Louis, MO  63101 and the
phone number there is:
314-231-7000  You can call there and they give you a phone number that
you can call to order tickets I think.

Sandi

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

Date: Thu, 08 Jan 1998 22:43:01 -0800
From: Jodi Kurland <jodilynn@delphi.com>
Subject: Import album

I was ordering some of the import singles I haven't found in stores from
CDNow, the online service. They had an "import album" listed under BFF
called "S/T" for $35.49. There was no description or track list. I was
wondering if anyone knows what this is. If this has been discussed to death
on the list and I missed it, please e-mail me privately.

Thanks,
Jodi

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

Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 23:24:38 -0600 (CST)
From: logbook@execpc.com (Earl Green)
Subject: Greetings 

Just wanted to say hi to the list.  "Hi, list."

I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where I spend a lot of time working, writing,
playing old arcade games, and listening to a buttload - perhaps even two or
three cubic buttloads (whether metric or English is up to you) - of music.

I also fervently hope that bands I like might see fit to play somewhere within
driving distance of here.  I've been here exactly half a year, and let's
just say
that I've a better chance of good acts playing in Madison, Milwaukee or - gasp!
- - perhaps even Green Bay itself, compared to where I used to live. <grin>

My favorite Ben Folds Five tunes are "Alice Childress" (if that song doesn't
come close to describing the sort of "alone in a strange place" feeling I often
experience after moving, nothing does), "One Angry Dwarf," "Steven's Last
Night In Town," "Evaporated" and "Song For The Dumped."  "Underground"
is also just plain nifty.

So there we go - no lyrical analyses, chord charts or anything like that from
me (yet).  I'm on a bunch of music mailing lists, so I don't have a whole lot
of time to be very active on all of them, but here I am, socked in with snow
and with headphones on my head, and ready to learn some more about the
best musical discovery I made in 1997.  8-)
- --
Earl Green  (please reply to:  logbook@execpc.com)
Green Bay's own graphic artist / animator / writer / composer / curmudgeon
LogBook web site:  http://www.speedlink.com/mholtz/logbook/

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 00:26:10 -0800 (PST)
From: Angela <adepace@itsa.ucsf.edu>
Subject: Feb.7 SF show 

A couple of people have emailed me, asking me to keep them posted on when
tickets for the San Francisco show go on sale.  Well, the news is out, as
provided by the Fillmore webpage (Thanks for the hint, Kent).  They will go
on sale Sunday Jan 11th and will be $18.50 for non-reserved floor, and
something else for the reserved balcony. Available through Bass aka
Ticketmaster aka The Devil Himself.

i'm off. angela

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 13:22:16 GMT0BST
From: "chimps mcgee" <David.Lewis@newcastle.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #732

Im another one of the English contingent of this mailing list and a 
while ago i heard about BFF playing on jool's holland at some point 
this year, anyone got any ideas about when (and if) its on.

cheers guys

dav

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 08:13:04 -0600 (CST)
From: Chris Larkin <clarkin@dante.creighton.edu>
Subject: The kindest truths...

Hey, everyone.

This is the first time I've written, and I thought you guys would like to 
hear what's going on in Omaha, NE. 

I've been doing my damnedest to get the wordout on the band. My goal is 
to push record sales up enough that they come to concert here. So far, so 
good, most stores have sold out of WAEA.

"Brick" has undoubtedly made the radio on our luvable "alternative" 
station, KGDE. 

And you know your band is big when you here it ("Brick") over the 
intercom at the grocery store. Oh, yeah, Albertsons all the way....

Other than that, my VCR is set for Saturday, and I'm saving an extra $15 
or so to snag NBP.

Any Armchairs in the Omaha area?

Oh, well. Laters.


Love, Luck, and Lollipops,

Chris ^Mr. Gemini^ Larkin

- ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ 
@)---}---}--- @)---}---}--- @)---}---}--- @)---}---}--- @)---}---}---

                 "So, you can laugh all you want.
                     But I got my philosophy.
                          --Keeps my feet on the ground.
                  And I trust it like the ground.
                     That's why my philosophy
               Keeps me walking when I'm falling down."
                                          -"Philosophy"

- ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@ ---{---{---(@
@)---}---}--- @)---}---}--- @)---}---}--- @)---}---}--- @)---}---}---

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

End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #741
**************************************


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