Best Songs of 2015 – #5
‘I’m Not the Man’ – Ben Folds
Ben Folds’ latest solo release, So There, is more of an EP than a proper album. Half of the record’s running time is dedicated to a three-movement concerto for orchestra and piano, not exactly my cup of tea.
The eight proper pop songs are also performed with a chamber orchestra and while the music is lovely, the lyrical content on a few of them leans toward the frat-boy sensibility Folds is sometimes guilty of indulging.
After a dry spell for new music, I’ve recently picked up three very good and very different releases. I’ll feature a song from each this week.
First up is Ben Folds, who last graced us with The Sound of the Life of the Mind, his reunion album with Ben Folds Five. Since then, he has delved into classical composing and his new disc, So There, features his first fully instrumental work.
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.
As my recent list of top 20 albums of the decade so far was wrapping up, my brother-in-law asked me if I’d forgotten to consider Ben Folds Five’s The Sound of the Life of the Mind.
For a moment, I thought I had. So I went back to my notes to see exactly how things shook out.
Turns out the album was in the 21st spot, bumped out of the countdown when I decided to make a space for Adele’s 21, which I had forgotten when first compiling the list.
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.
