Comments on: Ben Folds Five Jump On The “Let’s Have Bands Perform Their Old Albums Live” Bandwagon

By: MrStarhead

MrStarhead — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:29:37 +0000

And they'll get another name. So nuke another Grandma's apple pie and hang your head in shame.

At a solo college gig about five years ago, Ben Folds performed "Army" with the local college marching band. It was actually really awesome.

By: cheesebubble

cheesebubble — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:16:21 +0000

There has to be a group of people in the audience yelling “Brick” for the duration of this performance!

By: Chris Molanphy

Chris Molanphy — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:07:38 +0000

@Jerkwheat: Citing "artistic differences," your band will break up in May. Then, in June, re-form without you.

By: DocStrange

DocStrange — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:13:08 +0000

@Bob Loblaw: I'll also stand up for it. It's a good album.

This idea still ain't as good as "Don't Look Back" (Slint!) but hey, I liked Ben Folds Five, nice to see that they don't hate each other like some bands that broke up (Huskers, anyone?)

By: D.R. Mosby

D.R. Mosby — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 08:18:31 +0000

@Bob Loblaw: Wow, not a single defender of poor Reinhold?

Oh, I'd be happy to stand up for it. I think the songwriting is just as good as on Ben Folds Five and Whatever..., only faltering in a few places (the aimless "Mess" and the regrettable Darren Jessee contribution "Magic"). I like the fact that it's not a retread of Whatever..., which surely would have been easy to make. On R.M. they expand the arrangements to include more instruments besides piano, bass and drums, but it's always in service of the song, not just to fill space. Bonus points also need to be given to whoever sequenced this album, because the "Hospital Song" / "Army" / "Your Redneck Past" section is just brilliant.

By: Jerkwheat

Jerkwheat — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:18:35 +0000

Woo hoo! I’m gonna grow a mustache and a mullet. Maybe get a job at Chick-fil-a.

By: Bob Loblaw

Bob Loblaw — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:46:41 +0000

Wow, not a single defender of poor Reinhold? It was their only real, cohesive album, lovable for its overreaching (oh, his Dad on the answering machine…), and with a cleaned-up middle section it might have been a true classic (I agree that it’s not)–Narcolepsy, Don’t Change Your Plans, Mess, Magic and Lullabye are a step and a half above anything else they ever did.

By: Ned Raggett

Ned Raggett — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:25:42 +0000

I approve of all this Adore love. It is the dark jewel of them all.

By: bcapirigi

bcapirigi — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:19:19 +0000

i always liked whatever & ever amen, despite the fact that it was REALLY overplayed on the radio. but even the alternative station here–which constantly kept telling us that it was the first station in the country to play bff*–didn’t really get into army.

(*by which i mean ben folds five)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 06:18:52 +0000

@Ned Raggett: I guess I'd be find with a Machina show seeing as they are one of my very favorite bands (just so long as they dropped "Heavy Metal Machine" from the set).

Adore is a classic.