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Song of the Day #867: ‘Julianne’ – Ben Folds Five

Track three of Ben Folds Five takes things in a whole new direction. ‘Julianne’ is a thrash punk screed, complete with crashing bottles in the background. It’s loud, messy and a whole lot of fun.

Folds slurs his way through the lyrics, sounding like he really did wake up after a drunken one night stand before he entered the recording studio.

‘Julianne’ shows just how grungy a piano, bass and drums outfit can be when it wants to. Robert Sledge turns the distortion up on his bass until it sounds like something off of a Nirvana album, Darren Jesse bangs the hell out of his drums and Folds punishes his piano.

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Song of the Day #866: ‘Philosophy’ – Ben Folds Five

I discovered Ben Folds Five around the time their second album, Whatever and Ever Amen, was released. I liked enough of what I read and heard to buy both albums at the same time.

I don’t remember which one I listened to first, but I’m guessing it was the debut. I would have wanted to hear them in order of release, no doubt.

And when I heard that debut album, it was track two — ‘Philosophy’ — that really made my hair stand up on end. This was the song that convinced me I had discovered not just a good new band but a group that would quickly rocket up my list of favorites.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

When I first heard that the filmed version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — the final installment of the hugely popular series of books about everybody’s favorite boy wizard — would be split into two chapters, I had two thoughts.

One, the film was clearly in need of an editor. The book didn’t run much longer than any of the other books in the series, and Hollywood managed to make entertaining and comprehensible films out of those tomes. And two, the producers were trying to milk this juggernaut for every dime they could get.

But after seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, I’ve completely changed my tune. I believe this is one of the best chapters yet — rivaled only by the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which had both director Alfonsa Cuaron and a thrilling time-travel plot line going for it).

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Song of the Day #865: ‘Jackson Cannery’ – Ben Folds Five

I’m trying something new on the blog over the next couple of weeks. I’ve done a lot of theme weeks tied to both topics and artists, but I’ve never dedicated a series of posts to a single album.

Until today!

My next 11 weekday posts (skipping weekends for the usual Elvis Costello posts) will cover Ben Folds Five’s self-titled debut album. I will skip the one song that has previously enjoyed the Song of the Day honor but present the rest of the tracks in order.

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Song of the Day #864: ‘From a Whisper to a Scream’ – Elvis Costello

It’s tough deciding which Trust track to highlight next. They’re all so good, and good in such different ways.

Do I go for the soulful ‘Watch Your Step,’ which feels like the older brother of Get Happy!!‘s ‘Secondary Modern’? The frantic drum and piano jam ‘Lovers Walk’? Closing track ‘Big Sister’s Clothes,’ which sounds to me like a perfect pop song being transmitted through outer space?

I could go with any of those, and a few others besides.

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