I wish I could play piano like Ben Folds. He's the best I've ever seen. In fact, I'd go so far as to say he's the best there has ever been.

Ben is the man. I wish there were more musicians like him. He takes his musical abilities very seriously, but he takes himself with a grain of salt.

"biatch Went Nutz" is hilarious.

Abzzstain: "biatch Went Nutz" is hilarious.

Yes it is. "Free Coffee Final" is great too. :D

he has one of the best covers of all time with 'biatches aint shiat'

Been a folds fan practically from day one. This stunt just seals it: He's not just a MUSICAL genius, he's an OVERALL one.

"Biatch went Nutz" is effing HYSTERICAL.

I find it surprising that someone who's music already sounds like parody would involve themselves with deliberate parody.

It's like Britney sending up Lindsay; or McDonald's pointing out the flaws of Burger King. Or something.

/admit it, he can't sing in tune and his lyrics are generally appalling - sophomoric and best, infantile at worst.
//she's a brick and I'm singing flat

Ben Folds writes and sings the most insipid shiat.

for example:

http://www.amazon.com/Over-Hedge-Ben-Folds/dp/B000F3UQZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=mu sic&qid=1218795878&sr=1-1

Sorry folks, Ben Folds just isn't the same without Robert Sledge and Darren Jesse.
/Just saying

Wow. What's 8 hours of studio time cost?

paulseta: /admit it, he can't sing in tune and his lyrics are generally appalling - sophomoric and best, infantile at worst.
//she's a brick and I'm singing flat

You need to listen to more songs. There are serious songs and there are silly songs.

urethra_franklin: Sorry folks, Ben Folds just isn't the same without Robert Sledge and Darren Jesse.

I kind of agree. Not really on the albums, but Ben Folds Five in concert was way better than Ben Folds.. at least last time I saw Ben he was touring totally solo, so the BFF songs he played sounded so empty.

MugzyBrown: I kind of agree. Not really on the albums, but Ben Folds Five in concert was way better than Ben Folds.. at least last time I saw Ben he was touring totally solo, so the BFF songs he played sounded so empty.

His new band is awesome, at least when I saw him with Jared and Lindsay, I'm not sure about Sam so much, his new drummer.

I plan to see him in Louisville with the Orchestra there. That is if I can get tickets.

I've been jamming these songs since I downloaded them last night off of "AssPirate" or whatever. :-P

My favorite so far is biatch Went Nutz.

HenryFnord: Wow. What's 8 hours of studio time cost?

Nothing when its in your house.

HenryFnord: Wow. What's 8 hours of studio time cost?

Is this a serious question? It can be anywhere from $60 bucks an hour, maybe less, but it depends on configuration (how many tracks, equipment, room sizes), and how booked the studio is...

it all depends.


/not a Tape Op, but I read Tape Op (new window)

I've always wanted someone to do this. BRAVO

Looking forward to the "real" release - his last album was great, and the single "Landed" was fantastic.

Truly one of the best songwriters out there today.

I've been had. He so got me.
And what fun it was!
Guy is one in a million. Not much artistic brilliance like that these days...

Love Ben Folds.

I guess I have nothing more to add.

paulseta: admit it, he can't sing in tune and his lyrics are generally appalling - sophomoric and best, infantile at worst.
//she's a brick and I'm singing flat

I personally love his voice. Not because it's perfect, but because it ISN'T...Kind of like the stuff he's singing about. All in all, I'd MUCH rather listen to Folds, or Adam Duritz, or even Dave Grohl over someone the likes of whom you might consider "polished." Difference being, these guys have actually experienced the stuff they write about, and therefore when they sing, they MEAN IT. Makes a huge difference to me.

I'll take Ben Folds over some trained-up but empty chunk of fluff like, say, Josh Groban any day of the week.

Oh, and he's one of the more underrated lyricists of this or any generation. So either you've not heard enough of his stuff to form an opinion, or you're deliberately trolling. Either way, STFU and GBTW.

MaxxLarge

'll take Ben Folds over some trained-up but empty chunk of fluff like, say, Josh Groban any day of the week.

Oh, and he's one of the more underrated lyricists of this or any generation. So either you've not heard enough of his stuff to form an opinion, or you're deliberately trolling. Either way, STFU and GBTW.

THIS.

For this ass to make his claims and then produce brick as an example only goes to show he is probably not that familiar with his body of work.

9/6/08 Mann center... row 3!!!

Counting the days.

///Rock this biatch

HenryFnord: Wow. What's 8 hours of studio time cost?

well..that depends on your producer. ;)
The better known the producer, the more money you pay. Obviously.

My best friend/brother for each recording session can very easily drop like $500... and from my experience of going with him, each song takes a minimum of at least 3 sessions... so it can get pricey...but like I said. Depends on the producer ;)

RashGordon18: ///Rock this biatch


I bet he wishes he never put that on a CD.. that's all everybody in the first 3 rows was saying for the 1st half of the last concert I went to. They finally stopped when Ben decided to play along.

MaxxLarge: I'd MUCH rather listen to Folds, or Adam Duritz, or even Dave Grohl over someone the likes of whom you might consider "polished."

Sounds like my CD collection.

I want to like Ben Folds. I really do. But I haven't heard anything that impresses me -- including this new batch of real+fake tracks (listened to both).

But I love "piano" rock -- can someone give me a few examples of Ben's finest piano work? I'd check 'em out...

phlegmography: But I love "piano" rock -- can someone give me a few examples of Ben's finest piano work? I'd check 'em out...


Hmmm when I think Piano Rock and Ben Folds:

Philosophy
Tom & Mary
Jackson Cannery

A favorite of mine is Eddie Walker, though it's more "sweeping" than just piano rock.

MugzyBrown Thanks much.

place holder for later.

Loved the army song

MugzyBrown:

urethra_franklin: Sorry folks, Ben Folds just isn't the same without Robert Sledge and Darren Jesse.

I kind of agree. Not really on the albums, but Ben Folds Five in concert was way better than Ben Folds.. at least last time I saw Ben he was touring totally solo, so the BFF songs he played sounded so empty.

He's now touring with a drummer and bassist, which makes me think "hell, might as well reunite the Five."
/"Mess" is his/their best

phlegmography: I want to like Ben Folds. I really do. But I haven't heard anything that impresses me -- including this new batch of real+fake tracks (listened to both).

But I love "piano" rock -- can someone give me a few examples of Ben's finest piano work? I'd check 'em out...

One Angry Dwarf (new window)

Philosophy (new window)

ridcullylives: One Angry Dwarf (new window)

That's a good one too.

What's funny is that if you see him live, you'll see him play songs like that sometimes

I have Ben Folds to thank for my love of nerdy ass white guys who play the piano.

I love "Gracie". Sweetest song ever. My little one's middle name is Grace. We snuggle up and I sing it to her with emphasis on, "You'll be a lady soon, but until then you've got to do what I say."

Guster did this a few years ago.

doubleofive: HenryFnord: Wow. What's 8 hours of studio time cost?

Nothing when its in your house.

My credit card statement and Ebay account beg to differ.

HenryFnord: Wow. What's 8 hours of studio time cost?

Yea, $60 per hour is about average. Full day rates vary from $250 to as much as $2000 per day depending on the studio, engineer, and availability. An engineer is almost always included for the price, but not a Producer. Of course, most engineers end up having to play the role of Producer since so few artists can afford to hire (or find) one for their project.

Generally speaking, Producers are hired by artists or labels, but not studios (with rare exception).

Doogled: Guster did this a few years ago.

Sort of. Those tracks, if memory serves, had meows swapped in as the vocals, but the instrumentals were the same and the band wasn't really involved (the...meow-er was an engineer).

It sounds like Ben Folds went in and actually recorded new material for this.

Just went to look at tour dates, and I guess he's finally gotten too big for his britches: no stops in North Carolina. Damn. I used to see him all the time around here; HELLUVA live performer, great lyricist, even better pianist.

/wish him all the success in the world
//wish he would play close enough to go see him

urethra_franklin: Sorry folks, Ben Folds just isn't the same without Robert Sledge and Darren Jesse.
/Just saying

At this point, he wouldn't be the same with Sledge and Jessee. Since the Five broke up, the guy's married, moved to Australia, had two kids, and divorced. I suppose you could say that he's not the same.

The Warren Zevon is strong in him.

ridcullylives

Thanks for the links. Didn't win me over to Ben Folds, but I appreciated the education. Seriously.

Philosophy really shows him cribbing heavily from Billy Joel. I hadn't picked that up before in the little BF I've been heard to date.

/BF would probably be a huge rock star by now if he just had someone else sing his tunes -- ala J. Geils. His voice just doesn't cut it for me.

Bondidude:
I plan to see him in Louisville with the Orchestra there. That is if I can get tickets.


I'm very excited to be going to this show myself. Best of luck getting tickets. I highly recommend his DVD with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra to those that haven't seen it. One of the best "rock star w/orchestra" ventures I've seen.

She plays wipeout on the drums
the squirrels and the birds come
Gather around to sing the guitar
Oh I...have you got nothing to say

When all words fail she speaks
Her mix tape's a masterpiece
Walks through the garden
so the roses can see
Oh I...have you got nothing to say
And you can see the daisies
in her footsteps
Dandelions, butterflies
I wanna be Kate

Everyday she wears the same thing
I think she smokes pot
She's everything I want, She's everything I'm not
Oh. I...
Have you got nothing to say

She never gets wet
She smiles and it's a rainbow
And she speaks and she breathes
I wanna be Kate

Down by the Rosemary and Carob
She hands out the Bhagavad-Gita
I see her around every couple days
I wanna see her so that
I can say...hey Kate

She never gets wet
She smiles and it's a rainbow
Oh oh...You can see
I wanna wanna wanna wanna be
KATE!

More BF education

Last Polka :Link (new window)

My favorite Ben Folds Five song.

Song for the Dumped is one of my most favorite songs ever.

/And don't forget to give me back my black t-shirt

This may be sacrilege, but I've not enjoyed Ben's stuff half as much since he went solo. It has its brilliant moments, but it's just not the same somehow. I don't know what's missing. Maybe the counterpoint from the other two guys; maybe that lack of challenge allows him to indulge himself a little too much. I mean, I don't think a track like "The Luckiest" would have ended up on any BFF album: the other guys would have laughed at it and rightfully pointed out how sappy and insipid it is. So I guess it's that sharp edge that's missing?

Rockin' the Suburbs has its moments, but they're all too few, all too brief, and far in between. I listen to it a few times a year but that's all, and still listen to the older BFF material much more often. His Fear of Pop experiment had some great moments, too, especially Shatner hamming it up. And their collaboration on Has Been is wonderful -- but again, much more because of Shatner than because of Folds.

I didn't even buy his last album, and yes I feel sort of bad about that, like I'm not giving him a fair shot, but I've listened to excerpts and I'm just not compelled. It sounds great, as always, but it still seems flat and flabby somehow, the same as RTS. And the Internet being what it is these days, if there was another "Brick" or "Song for the Dumped" or "Underground" on it, or another "Army" or "Regrets," or hell, even another "Zak and Sara" on it, I'm sure I'd have heard about it by now. Since I haven't, I believe I'm safe in assuming they're not there.

Same here. I listened to all the bits on the Rolling Stone site, and found myself again pleased with the sound, but not moved by the material. And honestly, I can't discern any significant difference between the 'real' and 'fake' tracks that would explain to me why either is actually better.

What I really want is for the original lineup to regroup and do something new. I'll be it would be really fresh and exciting just like the old days. There's something about that dynamic that made it what it was; it wasn't enough that he's a great songwriter, he needs that balance somehow.

If you really think about it, how far would Folds have gotten if all he had to go on was his solo material? I'll bet he'd have a cult following, but most of us would hardly even know he is.


/BFF FTW

Martstar: Bondidude:
I plan to see him in Louisville with the Orchestra there. That is if I can get tickets.


I'm very excited to be going to this show myself. Best of luck getting tickets. I highly recommend his DVD with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra to those that haven't seen it. One of the best "rock star w/orchestra" ventures I've seen.

I have that DVD and it's amazing. Even bought it for a cousin for Christmas.

However, a buddy of mine looked at ticket prices and they're too expensive for us in Louisville. He said something like $120 for cheap seats. Yikes!