Ben Folds released a trio of EPs during 2003-04 featuring a mix of cover songs, throwaway tracks and a few very good original songs. ‘There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You,’ from the Sunny 16 EP, is one of the the good ones.
This track is a cross between a pep talk and a fuck you. Folds sings about how little the opinions of others matter and extols the virtues of self-confidence and security with your own shortcomings.
When I first learned of 2010’s Lonely Avenue, it sounded too good to be true. Ben Folds, one of my very favorite musical artists, had teamed up with Nick Hornby, one of my very favorite authors.
This is the sort of collaboration you dream up in a fanboy fever dream. I knew Hornby was a fan of Folds (I recall one essay of his about the song ‘Smoke’ that was particularly full of praise) but I had no idea he had aspirations as a lyricist.
My desert island countdown continues (see last Monday’s post for the full explanation).
Desert Island Musical Artists – Honorable Mention – Ben Folds
Ben Folds is another slam-dunk for this list who nevertheless failed to make the top five because, well, five is just a ridiculously small number. I might have swapped him in for Elvis Costello, but the breadth of genres Costello has covered won the day.
Immediately after posting ten of my favorite songs, I started regretting the omissions. Given another chance I could post ten completely different tracks and feel just as good about the list.
But the omission that hit me the hardest — the one that would have been in the top five if I hadn’t completely blanked on it — is Lucinda Williams’ ‘Side of the Road.’
The nicest thing about Random Weekends is that they often reveal hidden gems within my music collection — songs I didn’t even know I had.
Take today’s SOTD, a deep cut on Ben Folds’ Best Imitation of Myself retrospective collection — which makes it a deep cut on an album of deep cuts.
Meet Me In Montauk 