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.’
Ben Folds is one of my very favorite artists in part because he’s a master of both the melancholy and the manic. For every subtle, soft-hearted piano ballad you have an off-the-tracks ivory crasher.
‘Sports & Wine,’ from Ben Folds Five’s self-titled debut, is as light on its feet as anything the band produced. The studio version (my Song of the Day #873) gives each of the band members a chance to shine, especially Darren Jesse on drums.
When picking my five desert island songs, or however you want to characterize this list of essential tracks, I knew I had to include a Ben Folds Five tune.
The harder question was which one.
Something from the debut album — ‘Jackson Cannery’ or ‘Philosophy,’ perhaps, or ‘Alice Childress’? Or one of the lush standouts from their sophomore effort — ‘Selfless, Cold and Composed’ or ‘Missing the War’?
On a film podcast I listed to recently, the hosts discussed Sight & Sound‘s decision to no longer let critics combine The Godfather and The Godfather Part Two into one entry when submitting their “ten best films of all time” lists.
It’s no doubt the correct decision. It’s patently unfair to let two masterpieces join forces in facing off against individual films. But they tell such a potent and tragic tale together that you kind of want to bend the rules and just go with it.
