THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
The Ben Folds Five Digest
Issue #1161 - August 6, 1998
Magical Armchair Digest Thursday, August 6 1998 Volume 01 : Number 1161
THE MAGICAL ARMCHAIR
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TOPICS IN THIS DIGEST:
Re: Race Relations on the Armchair :)
Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1158
Martin Malloy
Please tell me something good
slam <---i like that
Mark Jurado
Hard Rock Live
Dancing fruits and lyric interpretation
Squeeze
Hard Rock Live!
this is a really 'BAD IDEA' but I'll ask anyway
Re: This Black White Thing
Colour, Creed & BFF
THE?
review + how many times have you done it
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 19:27:13 -0400
From: travisp@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: Race Relations on the Armchair :)
Do any of you guys know Andrew Johnson? He's a friend of Ben's and can play
all his songs. He's an amazing piano player. He was in the Nashville
Grammy Band. Listening to him play play Ben's songs is amazing. He also
happens to be black. :)
-Travis, travisp@mindspring.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 20:41:40 EDT
From: Ben4me123@aol.com
Subject: Re: Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1158
Okay, did anyone hear the radio interview on NPR with the guys? I missed it,
but I called the station and they're going to send me a tape of it(for a hefty
some of forty dollars. Yikes!).
Love and kisses!
Lauren
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 04 Aug 1998 17:51:05 PDT
From: "Cheryl ." <chezza@hotmail.com>
Subject: Martin Malloy
If any aussies taped the Martin Malloy thing, I'm desperate to get a
copy.... I have a few things to swap, so please email me.
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 22:26:36 EDT
From: SunfireQT@aol.com
Subject: Please tell me something good
Chaireres:
Believe it or not, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Here's what I
thought....
I'll be honest with you, I don't read my Armchairs. I scan through them
and when I see something that looks like actual Bentent, I stop and read that.
I just went through 6 Armchairs that have been waiting for me for two days and
the material that covered actual Bentent would only have taken up one
Armchair.
So why am I wasting my time with this other crap? When I say crap I mean
people gripeing about young fans or stuff about other bands etc. I can't
think of a single reason.
So I give to y'all a request. Everyone please, if you'd like to, e-mail me
privately and give me one good reason for me to stay subscribed to our
Armchair. And leave "Your Armchair Post" in the subject line so I don't
delete it by mistake. So far I haven't seen anything that I couldn't get from
reading the TV Guide or surfing the web, and I don't need to be a subscriber
to this mailing list to prove I'm a "real fan".
And if you don't care whether or not I unsubscribe, then don't e-mail me.
I just thought I'd get some feedback from some other fans before making my
final decision.
Thanx a whole lot
The Texas Yankee
P.S.- A couple of people have been calling themselves "The______ Yankee"
lately. Cut that out, please. There's a lot of history behind this name and
I'd like to keep it that way.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 04 Aug 1998 22:42:42 -0400
From: bf5 <bf5@SURRY.NET>
Subject: slam <---i like that
I AM SO NOT trying to be a bitch here....but why do some of you guys have to
repost the ENTIRE DAMN armchair when you reply?!? I don't want to read it
again. I'm sure other people don't want to read it again. This has been
bothering me for a while.
feeling the flames already,
\ \/ /
~\/\/hitney =o)
*i wanna be kate*
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 12:53:47 +1000
From: Mia <mia@protel.com.au>
Subject: Mark Jurado
FOR ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!!
Look I wasn't going to post about this shite because it's getting way old.
But I couldn't stand Mark's COMPLETE exaggeration of my one and only post.
Im aware that you(Mark) are probably being sarcastic but it did NOT take
one page to ask that question. I wouldn't even classify it as a long post
at all.
Yes I did show my admiration for the band, their albums and the mailing
list, but all those topics combined, only took up around 4-5 lines.!!!!
The rest of the posting was about the question, which was to the point, and
mentioned some other Bff-related fact that I thought was interesting.
Also Ive noticed there are a lot of other posts that aren't about BFF at
all, or are really long etc., yet you pick on MINE?? However, in absolutely
NO way am I saying to bag out those but........oh Whatever..
I APOLOGISE for bringing this Waste of a subject up, and I know I should
have mailed it privately, but I had to SET the record STRAIGHT to EVERYONE.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 04 Aug 1998 22:51:18 -0400
From: Joseph Finn <dekk@bellatlantic.net>
Subject: Hard Rock Live
I read some of the posts about HRL and they said that one of the songs
airing is Dwarf?? I was at the taping and they said that they lost Dwarf
and Brick, and only Brick was redone. I dont know, just felt like
filling my quota of 1 post per year.
"My computer, family, sideburns, personality, pasta maker, clothes,
house, and musical talent are all better than yours." -Greg Dupuy
Dan
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 20:16:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Annemarie Sausser <spacegrl@sfsu.edu>
Subject: Dancing fruits and lyric interpretation
How many times have I rewound the tape to perfect my own version of that
dance from Mr. Backwards Baseball Cap on Sessions? About 50. You can't
*not* laugh because he's just SO INTO IT. It's a beautiful moment, man.
Here's the way I, personally, feel about interpreting lyrics... Part of
the beauty of music (and all other arts, of course) is that both the
musician and the audience will have an interpretation about a song. While
I think the writer's intent is super important, I also think it's good to
keep in mind: 1) what YOU think of when you hear the lyrics, and 2) how
willing the musician/writer is to let people know what the meaning of a
song is.
Funny you should mention "Evaporated" specifically. It hits close to home
for me, but maybe not for the same reason Ben Folds wrote it and I enjoy
it even more because of that. It's easy to start agonizing over Ben's
intended meaning because I want so badly to relate with him -- that it's
the only way to be close to someone who's writing and music I respect so
much. I don't think there is, or should be, a cure for it but
nevertheless, it's frustrating as hell! And I'm sure most people here
know what I'm talking about.
Rock on,
AnneMarie
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 23:18:29 EDT
From: Tiramat@aol.com
Subject: Squeeze
In a message dated 8/4/98 10:22:03 PM Eastern Daylight Time, owner-
armchair@maillist.il.fontys.nl writes:
>
> Ben Folds Five/Squeeze
> Ben Folds Five sings ``Brick,'' ``One
> Angry Dwarf,'' ``Emaline''; Squeeze
> performs ``Domino,'' ``Tempted,''
> ``Black Coffee in Bed.'' Stereo.
>
>
Hey! Squeeze! Does anybody else on the armchair like these masters of pop?
- -steve
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 00:42:11 -0400
From: "Leigh Nelson" <leigh13@mindless.com>
Subject: Hard Rock Live!
Vamprrella <vamprrella@ameritech.net> wrote in MA #1160:
>This is what I got from the Yahoo! TV Listings for Friday for the Hard
>Rock Live show. Too bad they're only airing three of the songs... =(
>Hard Rock Live - Fri Aug07 - VH1 74, 6-7pm
>Ben Folds Five/Squeeze Ben Folds Five sings ``Brick,'' ``One
>Angry Dwarf,'' ``Emaline''; Squeeze performs ``Domino,'' ``Tempted,''
>`Black Coffee in Bed.'' Stereo.
I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that they'll air more than three songs for
each artist during an hour-long show. Also, I was at the taping and we got
the impression that One Angry Dwarf wouldn't make it to television. There
was a problem with the lighting during that and Brick, so they played Brick
again but never got to redo OAD. Anyone else who was there have a guess
(Sean, Lindsay...)?
Posting WAAAY too often,
Leigh 13
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
leigh13@mindless.com aol:thirteen2k http://exit.base.org
"I can't think of a good quote today."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 17:45:09 +1000
From: "Julie" <julianne@ronscomputers.com.au>
Subject: this is a really 'BAD IDEA' but I'll ask anyway
Hey, I'm after the Bad Idea version that is on 'The Truth about Cat's and
Dogs' I'm still having trouble finding that album..I managed to find the
Mr. Wrong Soundtrack, AND I'm looking for that version of Theme From Dr.
Pyser that is on that album....whatever it is...I cannot remember..
So if someone wants to trade any of the above for something..I got a pretty
big list of bff stuff. I'm not after the albums (although, that would be
good) just a copy of the songs..
OHH..and I'm looking for BFF improvs and covers that they do...
YEAH!
<<*The Website of Who Could Care Less and home
*of Uncle Walter's Ben Folds Five Mailing List
*http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Balcony/2078>>
Not another mailing list??? come on..this is getting lame (sowwy lauren)
I can finally trade videos (for australian only) so..if anyone has Sessions
(yes, sadly I missed it too :() umm......the latest conan...and anything
else really..(that I don't have) well I got alot of stuff on video too..
OHHH I really really really want potty mouth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
uhhhhhhhh..godammit
got a headache gotta go to bed buy buy
!
^^^^^
.-=Julie=-.
````````````````
(excuse my boredom)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 04:04:52 -0400
From: Dan Cohen <wizard@twcny.rr.com>
Subject: Re: This Black White Thing
> Date: Mon, 3 Aug 1998 23:52:50 EDT
> From: Fergi23@aol.com
> Subject: This Black White Thing
>
> Hey,
>
> I thought maybe I'd put my two cents in here...I am not a racist but I do
> believe that the majority of African Americans are very ignorant when it comes
> to music...Either it's black or it's bad...I doubt many have bothered to check
> out Ben Folds Five or any "white" bands for that matter...which I think is
> pretty crappy because look at all the white kids who dig r&b and rap and that
> type of stuff...Seriously when i go to HORDE on Friday I highly doubt i'll see
> more than 10 black kids, but at the smoking grooves show i bet a little less
> than half of the kids were white...I just wish more black kids would open
> themselves to listen to Ben Folds Five...Maybe then we'd see the Ben Folds
> Five videos on MTV at a decent hour instead of Monica and all that
> stuff....anyways i just wanted to say that, sorry if i seemed like a biggot!
>
> Mike
I really seriously hope you were suffering from lack of sleep or some psychological
problem when you wrote this. This post of yours is probably the most offensive thing
I've ever read on the Magical Armchair, and I don't care if you "apologize" for it
at the end.
"Either it's black or it's bad..." Stereotypes and, more importantly, people who
stereotype force our culture back, Mike. In saying this, you're not basing your
opinion on too many African-Americans, I guess. I know plenty of them, if you insist
on basing musical tastes on the color of one's skin, who listen to "white music" and
"white bands".
As far as African-Americans and their awareness of BFF are concerned, think about
it...not too many white people know about BFF either, and the majority of those are
the ones who saw/heard Brick. Concerning HORDE, HORDE is not developed directly for
a white audience, but the acts they put on stage (Blues Traveler, Neil Young, Beck,
Paula Cole these last 2 years) do have a majority of their listeners fit a certain
A&R mold...the record companies market them a certain way to apply to a certain
audience. However, I seriously doubt that at Darien, there will be only 10 blacks
there.
On the MTV issue, BFF does not have the commercial appeal of, say, Brandy and
Monica. They don't attract viewers and they really don't attract ratings at this
point. MTV is not in the business of television to provide a quality musical
experience for you alone. If you think that the only reason BFF is rarely played on
MTV is due to other people, you're not realizing that there are people who think
MTV's playlist is just fine. The bottom line with MTV is advertising and revenue.
I hate to bring out a touchy subject like this on the list, and I realize it can be
perceived as off-topic, but I feel just by the subject header that I must. Not only
did you alienate any African-American BFF fans out there by lumping them into a
faceless stereotype, but you failed, as other people have done in the past, to
realize that race relations do not only exist between black and white. There are
many races and colors and cultures and, ultimately, beautiful people and beautiful
ways of life out there. And on the musical front, you cut out a great deal of the
diverse types of music to focus on what must be prominent to you: R&B vs. rock. I
encourage you to go listen to Tricky sometime, an artist who is neither black nor
white. Or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and realize what a great sound qawwali is. Or MC
Solaar, or Zap Mama, or even the Klezmatics, a traditional Hebrew klezmer band who,
incidentally, provided the back-up for Steven's Last Night in Town.
Before you stop to think that race and music are two sides divided by a single line,
realize that the world is a collection of rainbows, as my French teacher likes to
say. Even in protest, don't enslave yourself to your own stereotypes and
viewpoints...
Sorry for the length and the ranting-
~Dan Cohen
ICQ:13907258
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 1998 09:43:27 +0100
From: daveraj@postmaster.co.uk
Subject: Colour, Creed & BFF
Hello,
I've been watching this little BFF race issue brew up, and now I think it's
time to add a few POV's of my own. Firstly, where am I coming from. I'm
Asian
(Sri Lankan - Tamil by birth if that means anything) who has been brought
up in
England.
What category do YOUNG Asian people stereotypically fit in? I don't really
know. I suppose it's liking Bangra and quite alot of the r&b that's out now
(do
correct me if I'm wrong).
I don't really like any of that stuff (with the odd RARE exception) but
that's
just my musical taste. I'd just like to concur with the person in #1160
(sorry,
I deleted the mail) in that I think people feel restricted in their choices
of
music due personal circumstances that they happen to find themselves in
(whether it be creed or the circle of friends moved in). I'd just like to
see
more people experimenting with the types of music that they listen to.
Sorry for getting of the BFF track there a little. I think that now BFF has
proven that it can gain A LARGE stable fan base they should legitimately
earn
interest from a more diverse fan base (I think this should be the case with
all
music artists). If this doesn't happen then there could be a problem
(however
slight) that the fan base wont grow as it ought to.
Anyways... I've said my peace, feel free to correct me if you think I need
correcting (I'm open to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism)
Dave.
_________________________
Blind man on a canyon's edge
of a panoramic scene
Or maybe I'm a kite
that's flying high & random
Dangling on a string
_________________________
Ben Folds Five
Evaporated - WAEA
___________________________________
To sign up for a free email account, visit http://www.postmaster.co.uk.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 01:56:12 PDT
From: "Maree Fewster" <ree37@hotmail.com>
Subject: THE?
Cheryl! I couldn't agree with you more. Why do people call them THE
Ben Folds Five, it absolutely invigorates me. And that dumnb dj - if
there is one dj that doesn't know his stuff(music wise), and isn't
funny, it is him! Sorry for the harshness, it really isn't like me to
be so rude, but c'mon, it is pretty annoying. Anyway, Ben Folds Five
are ace!
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------------------------------
Date: Wed, 05 Aug 1998 11:51:00 GMT
From: "taves -" <taves@hotmail.com>
Subject: review + how many times have you done it
if you're in brisbane, there's a review of the bff concert in timeoff.
there's no photo, but the review is pretty complimentary. The reviewer
was impressed that Ben kept playing even tho he cut his finger.
Also, I have a question for all you MAers out there in electronic land.
I wanna know, just for curiousity's sake, who has seen bff live the most
in one year?
the highest I know of so far is 12 (which I find amazing, but perhaps I
am easily impressed, after all i thought 9 was special <g>)
this is not an envy thing, btw, it should be fun! After all if you've
spent lots of time, effort and money going to heaps of concerts, you
should get some kudos and recognition for it!
and don't email me, just put it on the 'chair.
oh yeah, one other thing, what was 'pop up'? was it some kind of thing
where the band explain a video clip, or how it was made? Just curious.
(again)
taves
'But, I beseech your Grace, pardon me;
I was born to speak all mirth and no matter'
Beatrice (what a woman) in Much Ado About Nothing Act2 Sc2
(an appropriate quote from an appropriately named play)
<g>
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------------------------------
End of Magical Armchair Digest V1 #1161
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