Tag Archives: Ben Folds

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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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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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Ben Folds & Nick Hornby – Lonely Avenue

In all my years of listening to music, I don’t believe I’ve ever been presented with as tantalizing a collaboration as Lonely Avenue, the new album featuring lyrics by novelist Nick Hornby set to music by Ben Folds.

Collaborations within a single genre are common, but to have my favorite writer combine forces with one of my favorite musicians… talk about an unexpected delight.

Hornby has long been a fan of Folds’ work (I remember reading his essays about Ben Folds Five back in the Whatever and Ever Amen days) and that appreciation turned into a friendship, which led to an email correspondence that evolved into the partnership we now get to hear fully realized.

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Song of the Day #730: ‘Learn to Live With What You Are (Live)’ – Ben Folds

Continuing this week’s live series, here’s a clip of Ben Folds performing one of his EP tracks for a MySpace concert. Ben took requests from the online audience and, as usual, delivered a funny and musically diverse show.

‘Learn to Live With What You Are’ is one of Folds’ earnest songs. He’s even better at these than he is at the smart-ass ones, if you ask me. The message here is as simple as they come, but it’s a powerful one. How many of us spend our time trying to be something we aren’t, or trying to live up to expectations that have been attached to us by others or ourselves?

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