i was just talking about this the other day! we had a great radio station in the ny/vermont/quebec area called 99.9 the buzz. one minute you'd hear nine inch nails, next minute beck, then ben folds, chumbawumba, chemical brothers, squirrel nut zippers, the prodigy, bloodhound gang, nirvana, portishead, and bowie.... all within an hour of each other. was a wild time where everyone sounded different and everyone had varied tastes and were open to every genre.
Yeah, but now we have Justin Bieber and Meghan Trainor and all these Nickelodeon alums, so it's better music by far. Especially Bieber's "Ooh, Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby".
First heard "Underground" while driving home from school in Jacksonville Florida one day. The DJ said they'd be playing that night at the legendary Milk Bar. I rerouted to the nearest Blockbuster Music, bought the CD, and 2 tickets. My bestie and I saw them, along with maybe 20 other people in the audience. Still one of the best shows I've ever seen
“There are rooms in this house that I don’t open anymore. Dusty books and pictures on the floor.” I don’t usually pay attention to lyrics, but that still gets me just thinking about it.
I had the pleasure of seeing Ben Folds live a couple years ago. The entire show was one man on the stage with a piano... And he had the audience in the palm of his hand. Dude is extremely talented and an incredible showman!
I've seen Ben Folds more times than I can count. Those first two albums were lightning in a bottle. They just sounded so different from what was going on at the time. Thanks for the video.
I got to see Ben play at Ingram Auditorium in Nashville, attached to Blair school of music (part of Vanderbilt university), and he basically just told stories with songs interspersed, since it was a somewhat informal college setting. Some nuggets from that night: 1) he used to use the practice rooms at Blair to write songs, including “Best Imitation of Myself”. This is cool, at least for me, since that means I’ve played the same pianos as him (I was a piano major). 2) the Reinhold Messner album was originally written as one giant 45 minute-long song. Then someone pointed out to Ben that there’s no radio edit for that kind of thing, so he broke it up into songs of a reasonable length. The man is a creative genius
Ben Folds is like the next gen of Billy Joel and Elton John wrapped into one, but Ben Folds Five had a sound even Ben doesn’t have on his own. Whatever and Ever Amen is one of the rare perfect albums!
Great album! Agree that Folds is a talented successor to Joel and John, with an entirely different lyrical output. Darren Jessie was responsible for creating the chorus of their biggest hit "Brick" and rounding iut the song. Folds has said he waa stuck and couldn't finish it. I think the contribution of Jessie and Sledge shouldn't be overlooked. Jessie has written for his own band as well.
My favourite American band, hands-down. I saw the video for Uncle Walter on the MuchMusic show The Wedge late at night i guess sometimes in 97 and was amazed to see a piano-driven nineties band. A few months later Brick became a pretty big hit and i bought their albums. Wish i could've seen them live.
OH SHIT MY FAKE MAJOSHA CD IS IN THE VIDEO!!! 2:42 Majosha only made released their music on vinyl and cassette, so I made this fake copy in order to just physically have it in my collection... Man this is akward Love the video btw, its rare seeing people make video essays about Ben so this was a good treat!
I still remember the first time I heard Ben Folds 5 and "Underground". I was working at a 2-way radio shop in Nashville as an installer. I was installing a cage partition in the back of a Williamson Country sheriff's car. I had the radio tuned to Thunder 94. It just brought a smile to my face. What a fun song.
As a north carolinian, I'm proud they are from my great state. Even though I only know them for their song Underground, they seem like down to earth dudes
Lol I'm from florence sc. Yall got all that new age avant garde stuff. We produced from graves of valor, threw eyes of the dead, and the Independents lol
I moved to NC in 01, worked for a few years, radio was still hitting hard everywhere, especially in and around college towns, Ben Folds was played everyday on some of the rock and alternative stations, killer band!
A friend that I played with took me to see them at the Brewery in Raleigh before they were big. They were absolutely incredible playing to 40 people. One of my all time favorite shows. Never heard a note of their music before that show.
Neat to see my favorite band this kind of treatment! (And a photo I took makes the video!) tiny little note: the MySpace footage is from a solo MySpace event (credit, me, I was at both lol)
Enjoyed the video, and a great job of telling the story of the band!🙌 But I was a little disappointed that you didn't mention the song "One angry dwarf" though, as this was the first hit they had here in Australia,where I'm from) and was the song that got me into the band in the first place. "One angry dwarf" is still my favourite song from the band, and is a song that I regularly jam along to on the drums.
I think "Underground" was played a fair bit on certain stations, and that was the first song of theirs that I heard. I remember the video popping up on T.V. - probably on Rage. But yes, "One Angry Dwarf" was a lot more popular, made a much bigger impression.
Love that song! Honestly, Brick, while a very well written song, was one of my least favorite on that album. It was just a little too Cat Stevens for me and I was not a fan. Kate was another great one off that album, so happy.
Ben Folds is absolutely amazing to see live in concert. Well worth it to seek one out. His concerts performed with orchestras are mind blowing! Ben Folds five is the definitive sounds track to High School and College for me.
We inherited a baby grand, we didn’t play except maybe heart and soul or jingle bells, and it took up like half our living room, but we kept it for 5 years cuz we just didn’t want to move it. How this band lugged one of these around touring, that’s more amazing than any song or album they did.
Did they transport it themselves, or did they hire piano movers? Did they seek out venues that already had pianos? I've played guitar in bands and I hated lugging amps and pedalboards. I used to have a pedalboard that was heavier than my amp. Big mistake. Never again. Once I began approaching 40, I started losing the energy to lug equipment around. Bringing it home is the worst after a long day.
@@nicholasrella6904 Initially they did haul it around according to this video, in a small truck. And were met with unimpressed staff at venues because of how difficult it is to maneuvre into many places.
That reminds me of what happened when the Malaysian government tried to seize extremely valuable items which financier and scammer Jho Low had bought using funds he'd embezzled from the Malaysia Development Fund, of which he was in charge of or had access to. It was a massive fraud, and hit thr headlines a few years back. Low had spent lavishly on various things, extravagant parties for Hollywood stars and international celebrities in his role of financing films. He'd gifted a Warhol? or some other artwork by a famous artist, to Leonardo DiCaprio, using the Fund's government money. Leo wound up returning it to Malaysian officials after the whole scam collapsed and the government cottoned on. What does this have to do with your story, you're wondering? Well model Miranda Kerr, now the wife of the Snapchat founder billionaire, had been er, seeing Low. Kerr claimed they were merely friends but they'd spent time together on his yacht alone. And what male friend gifts a woman jewellery including a necklace worth several million dollars? Of course, it too was courtesy of the MDF. Kerr dutifully returned the jewellery. However the government let Kerr keep a custom made clear crystal grand piano worth millions. Why? Because it was simply too difficult and expensive to remove the piano from where it had been placed in Kerr's mansion which was remodeled solely to bring in and place the piano. To remove the piano would require breaking up parts of the building and then rebuilding it. And the government would have been liable for those costs. Hence they declined to repossess it.
I saw them play at the Flood Zone in Richmond, VA in the mid to late 90's. I've never seen anyone push and pull a grand piano around like that ever. It was one of the best shows I ever saw.
I come from the alternative/punk and hardcore scene and Forever and ever amen is a phenomenal record! I still blast that shit on the regular, cause it slaps hard as hell!!!
Saw Ben Folds Five Oct 22, 1997 @ West Palm Beach, FL, May 30 1999 @ the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN. Seen Ben solo 5 times all in Nashville, including the now defuct 328 Performance Hall and a secret show at the Exit/In in 2007
Maybe I'm coloured by my limited funds and expensive albums in Australia, but I absolutely see the connection between Ben Folds and The Jimmy Hendrix Experience. I modelled my bass playing after Noel Redding, none of the tallent, all of the love. I was also really into Ben Folds. One of the first albums I bought as an adult was "Naked Baby Photos". The breaking of sounds you can make whilst still making melodic music between Live At Winterland and Naked Baby Photos is an obvious link. "We like the cats, we dig them. We just want to do their sounds in their own way"
This video just came up and I had to click cuz years ago I was playing in a club band and one of the guys wanted to cover the song " gone" none of the rest of the band had ever heard of him but we played it like Zeppelin would have with four count Bonham esk fills between the verse chorus and we filled the dance floor every time and actually got requests for it.we got asked if we wrote it many times. I was a fan since then
I keep imagining an alternative timeline where the Ben Folds Five come to the UK to perform Brick and they do so accompanied by a brass band. As in the Grimethorpe Colliery Band or the Dunston Silver Band or the Salvation Army band that plays carols at Christmas. In this alternative timeline, this results in Ben deciding to remain in the UK (Sheffield, Gateshead, Merthyr Tydfil, whatever location the band the BBC paired him up with are based) and goes on to be an orchestral composer working on films and computer games and maybe some TV!
Well done documentary! I have got to admit I only listened to Ben Folds Five occasionally, I appreciated what they were doing. I totally never knew about the song Brick. But they are an interesting band
I got an iTunes collection of Folds back in the day wherein he interspersed stories about the songs between the recordings. He said Alice Childress began as his then-girlfriend writing a parody of a Ben Folds song. That first six bar run is unchanged from her parody, and he just continued the song from there. Lyrics: Some summers in the evening after 6 or so I walk on down the hill And maybe buy a beer I think about my friends Sometimes I wish they lived out here But they wouldn't dig this town
Great vid about a great band. One addition: I’m pretty sure the name “Whatever and Ever Amen” is a reference to the 1987 Randy Travis country hit, “Forever and Ever, Amen” written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz.
Interesting to note a lesser known Indie band, Suddenly, Tammy! which formed in 1991 played the same three instruments. They released two albums on Sub Pop and Warner Bros.
Just missed out on seeing them in 1999 and then they broke up. So glad I was able to see them twice when the reunited for the new album in 2012. I love just seeing Ben, but the band is the band.
Thank you for doing this. Sometimes it feels like the story of the 1990’s excludes BFF even though they were a big concert draw and toured with many of the biggest acts.
I'm pretty sure I listened to at least some of Ben Folds Five's self-titled album at the record store, but didn't pick it up. I did get Whatever and Ever Amen and played it a lot.
A video on here mentioning Superchunk, Polvo, Archers of Loaf and Morphine. Fantastic. I saw fairly early BF5 and they really battered their instruments. It was really unique at the time. The bit in the video where it said it was like having three people just playing their own bit as loud as possible was definitely true and was great. They got very little of the negative press in the UK btw. Nothing about being geeks or strange. Just seemed to be accepted for what they were. Although alternative stuff from the UK often used different instruments. Plus we don't have the whole Jock/Cheerleader thing over here at all. If someone in an interview or article had called someone a "sissy" they'd have been chucked from whatever outlet they worked for too.
That’s his Dad!!!! Awesome It may seem like an uphill struggle, but that’s because Reinhold Meisner is a Mountain of achievement. Great album. One of my all time favorites.
I'm a piano-playing rocker, so Ben was on my radar early. Sometime around, I dunno, 2001-2002 (I think) Ben Fold Five played in SF at Davies Symphony Hall, which was a very strange venue for them, but man, they absolutely killed it. Probably the highlight being a cover of Snoop Dogg's 'Gin & Juice' that went all the way there. Like, resting all three instruments completely for the line "so get on your knees, and suck that d*ck!" The crowd went wild. Not too many piano-based pop songwriters with a heart of pure punk, so the guy's always stood out to me. I think Joe Jackson in his early years is a fair comparison. If you listen to "Get Sharp" now, there are plenty of echoes.
The winter of 99, I worked at a pizza place in Chapel Hill (Pepper's Pizza) Ben Folds came in one evening with his wife/GF. Everyone that worked there wasn't impressed (or too cool) that Ben was there. I walked up to his table and asked for his autograph. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it back to me. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't friendly either. Later, I pulled it out of my pocket, it said "Pepper's Pizza" on it. We all laughed ;) Edit: that was right around the time they had their yellow tour van advertised for sale. They called it "The Big Yellow Fella" I believe.
A very unique band... like you said no guitar, mainly piano driven... they basically heralded the coming of Coldplay and Keane type bands in a way.. even right down to the ballads. Yes, I discovered them like a lot of normies thru "Brick" and even liked that Song for the Dumped on the same album, but they are a bit unusual for my tastes otherwise.
I always saw Coldplay as a watered down Radiohead ripoff. I'm not familiar with their later work. This was just my impression when they first gained popularity.
Oh besides the Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide" of that era, there was also The Verve Pipe's 90s mainstream hit song "Freshmen" which also deals with the subject of abortion and is also based on the autobiographical experiences of the lead singer, when he was in college though, not high school like Folds.
I saw the video for "One Angry Dwarf" in around September or October in 1997. Just once and I loved it. It's still my favorite of theirs. I couldn't find it, I looked for months. Then they played Brick on SNL. Suddenly Whatever and Ever was everywhere.
You should cover The Cribs. They rejected money and fame and went a different direction than the Kaiser Chiefs and The Killers but came from the same class of Garage Rock Revival Bands.
Thanks so much for sharing this was most interesting, I evaporated Jesus land, selfless cold and composed, gone, not the same, Annie waits, Zak and Sara, etc
He's worked with actress/pianist/singer Alicia Witt (played the daughter of Cybill Shepherd in her T.V. show "Cybill"), whom he dated for a while. Witt was a child prodigy, and became very accomplished on the piano at an early age. She played in the lounges of hotels like the Beverly Hills Wilshire I think, before her acting career took off. Incidentally she also had a role, as a young child, in David Lynch's "Dune."
I believe, thought, he was also in a band called Bus Stop in Greensboro? My ex-wife dated one of the band members (Evan Olson). Was probably quite short lived. I also think Ben's brother is in the band now and one of BF5's tracks refers to another member of the band, Eddie Walker. Sorry if this was in another comment. Btw, "Mess" is another beautifully orchestrated song off of Unauthorized Bio...
What a great opening line for a great song! It immediately tells you this band, this songwriter, is going to be interesting. Underground was my introduction to Ben Folds Five (immediately loved it) and to Folds' talent for writing some very witty, incisive and funny lyrics, and for creating portraits of characters.
Let me know what other topics you’d like to see me cover!
Can you please make a video about the lead singer from tantric
The band G. Love & Special Sauce.
Can you please do a video on Fields of the Nephilim! ✌🏼😊
Suddenly Tammy!, another Piano guitar-less trio that pre-dates Ben Folds Five
@@VicariousThePotsecond that
That’s what made the 90s alternative music scene so awesome to grow up with it was actually really varied stylistically
i was just talking about this the other day! we had a great radio station in the ny/vermont/quebec area called 99.9 the buzz.
one minute you'd hear nine inch nails, next minute beck, then ben folds, chumbawumba, chemical brothers, squirrel nut zippers, the prodigy, bloodhound gang, nirvana, portishead, and bowie.... all within an hour of each other.
was a wild time where everyone sounded different and everyone had varied tastes and were open to every genre.
Yeah, but now we have Justin Bieber and Meghan Trainor and all these Nickelodeon alums, so it's better music by far. Especially Bieber's "Ooh, Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby".
No comparison.@@glennhubbard5008
First heard "Underground" while driving home from school in Jacksonville Florida one day. The DJ said they'd be playing that night at the legendary Milk Bar. I rerouted to the nearest Blockbuster Music, bought the CD, and 2 tickets. My bestie and I saw them, along with maybe 20 other people in the audience. Still one of the best shows I've ever seen
Blockbuster Music! Now THAT'S a throwback
This was a pleasant surprise as a big Ben Folds fan.
Hope you enjoyed it
The unauthorized biography of reinhold meisner is one of my all time favorite full albums.
for sure
I love Magic
“There are rooms in this house that I don’t open anymore. Dusty books and pictures on the floor.” I don’t usually pay attention to lyrics, but that still gets me just thinking about it.
Same. Such an excellent album.
@@CarbonSolutions Such an incredibly sad, but beautiful song. I love the "tack piano" on that track too.
Ben Folds never gets enough credit for his lyrics. His playing is peerless but some of his lyrics are next level.
I had the pleasure of seeing Ben Folds live a couple years ago. The entire show was one man on the stage with a piano... And he had the audience in the palm of his hand. Dude is extremely talented and an incredible showman!
I've seen Ben Folds more times than I can count. Those first two albums were lightning in a bottle. They just sounded so different from what was going on at the time. Thanks for the video.
Their song "Smoke" is unforgettable.
I got to see Ben play at Ingram Auditorium in Nashville, attached to Blair school of music (part of Vanderbilt university), and he basically just told stories with songs interspersed, since it was a somewhat informal college setting. Some nuggets from that night:
1) he used to use the practice rooms at Blair to write songs, including “Best Imitation of Myself”. This is cool, at least for me, since that means I’ve played the same pianos as him (I was a piano major).
2) the Reinhold Messner album was originally written as one giant 45 minute-long song. Then someone pointed out to Ben that there’s no radio edit for that kind of thing, so he broke it up into songs of a reasonable length. The man is a creative genius
Whatever and ever amen was suuuch a good record. I’m sad I never got the chance to see this trio when they were still together.
I still regularly listen to this record.
I just listened to this album a couple days ago. December 2024
BF5 was amazing live. Saw them twice and they blew me away both times.
Ben Folds is like the next gen of Billy Joel and Elton John wrapped into one, but Ben Folds Five had a sound even Ben doesn’t have on his own.
Whatever and Ever Amen is one of the rare perfect albums!
Great album! Agree that Folds is a talented successor to Joel and John, with an entirely different lyrical output.
Darren Jessie was responsible for creating the chorus of their biggest hit "Brick" and rounding iut the song. Folds has said he waa stuck and couldn't finish it. I think the contribution of Jessie and Sledge shouldn't be overlooked. Jessie has written for his own band as well.
My favourite American band, hands-down. I saw the video for Uncle Walter on the MuchMusic show The Wedge late at night i guess sometimes in 97 and was amazed to see a piano-driven nineties band. A few months later Brick became a pretty big hit and i bought their albums. Wish i could've seen them live.
Don’t forget the time when they performed in Burt Bacarachs One Amazing Night. Brilliant performance of “raindrops keep falling on my head”!
OH SHIT MY FAKE MAJOSHA CD IS IN THE VIDEO!!! 2:42
Majosha only made released their music on vinyl and cassette, so I made this fake copy in order to just physically have it in my collection... Man this is akward
Love the video btw, its rare seeing people make video essays about Ben so this was a good treat!
One of the brightest points of the 90’s. This band was truly great .
I still remember the first time I heard Ben Folds 5 and "Underground". I was working at a 2-way radio shop in Nashville as an installer. I was installing a cage partition in the back of a Williamson Country sheriff's car. I had the radio tuned to Thunder 94.
It just brought a smile to my face. What a fun song.
Great video! Glad I could provide some video footage for you. Keep up the good work!
Thanks again!
I love that you included Morphine.
Every time I feel GenX old, I think of these bands and was lucky enough to see them live.
🤘 Whatever And
Ever 🤘
As a north carolinian, I'm proud they are from my great state. Even though I only know them for their song Underground, they seem like down to earth dudes
If you've not heard it, Landed is one of my favourite songs by these guys. It's absolutely joyous!
@b62boom1 hell yea!!! I gotta check that out later today
@@b62boom1
I will definitely check that song out later today
Selfless, Cold and Composed
Lol I'm from florence sc. Yall got all that new age avant garde stuff. We produced from graves of valor, threw eyes of the dead, and the Independents lol
They were the best and NEVER sold out.
I moved to NC in 01, worked for a few years, radio was still hitting hard everywhere, especially in and around college towns, Ben Folds was played everyday on some of the rock and alternative stations, killer band!
A friend that I played with took me to see them at the Brewery in Raleigh before they were big. They were absolutely incredible playing to 40 people. One of my all time favorite shows. Never heard a note of their music before that show.
Jeez, I didn't hear about Caleb Southern. RIP dude....that Whatever and Ever Amen record is one of my absolute favorites.
Thank you for the post! ✌🏼😊
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed it.
@ 👍🏻😊
Neat to see my favorite band this kind of treatment! (And a photo I took makes the video!) tiny little note: the MySpace footage is from a solo MySpace event (credit, me, I was at both lol)
Enjoyed the video, and a great job of telling the story of the band!🙌
But I was a little disappointed that you didn't mention the song "One angry dwarf" though, as this was the first hit they had here in Australia,where I'm from) and was the song that got me into the band in the first place. "One angry dwarf" is still my favourite song from the band, and is a song that I regularly jam along to on the drums.
I think "Underground" was played a fair bit on certain stations, and that was the first song of theirs that I heard. I remember the video popping up on T.V. - probably on Rage.
But yes, "One Angry Dwarf" was a lot more popular, made a much bigger impression.
Love that song! Honestly, Brick, while a very well written song, was one of my least favorite on that album. It was just a little too Cat Stevens for me and I was not a fan. Kate was another great one off that album, so happy.
Its weird how much I adore the 2 Ben Folds albums I bought but never thought to explore any others. Just Forever and Ever and Rockin the suburbs.
Saw them at the Cats Cradle in Chapel Hill in early 2000s, they were a great live band and the show was amazing. Worth checking out their Albums
Ben Folds is absolutely amazing to see live in concert. Well worth it to seek one out. His concerts performed with orchestras are mind blowing! Ben Folds five is the definitive sounds track to High School and College for me.
i fucking LOVED this band!!
Awesome you referenced Morphine! Loved that band.
He produced William Shatner’s spoken word album, Has Been. So good!
We inherited a baby grand, we didn’t play except maybe heart and soul or jingle bells, and it took up like half our living room, but we kept it for 5 years cuz we just didn’t want to move it. How this band lugged one of these around touring, that’s more amazing than any song or album they did.
Did they transport it themselves, or did they hire piano movers? Did they seek out venues that already had pianos? I've played guitar in bands and I hated lugging amps and pedalboards. I used to have a pedalboard that was heavier than my amp. Big mistake. Never again. Once I began approaching 40, I started losing the energy to lug equipment around. Bringing it home is the worst after a long day.
@@nicholasrella6904 Initially they did haul it around according to this video, in a small truck. And were met with unimpressed staff at venues because of how difficult it is to maneuvre into many places.
@ My back hurts just thinking about it.
That reminds me of what happened when the Malaysian government tried to seize extremely valuable items which financier and scammer Jho Low had bought using funds he'd embezzled from the Malaysia Development Fund, of which he was in charge of or had access to. It was a massive fraud, and hit thr headlines a few years back. Low had spent lavishly on various things, extravagant parties for Hollywood stars and international celebrities in his role of financing films. He'd gifted a Warhol? or some other artwork by a famous artist, to Leonardo DiCaprio, using the Fund's government money. Leo wound up returning it to Malaysian officials after the whole scam collapsed and the government cottoned on.
What does this have to do with your story, you're wondering? Well model Miranda Kerr, now the wife of the Snapchat founder billionaire, had been er, seeing Low. Kerr claimed they were merely friends but they'd spent time together on his yacht alone. And what male friend gifts a woman jewellery including a necklace worth several million dollars? Of course, it too was courtesy of the MDF. Kerr dutifully returned the jewellery. However the government let Kerr keep a custom made clear crystal grand piano worth millions. Why? Because it was simply too difficult and expensive to remove the piano from where it had been placed in Kerr's mansion which was remodeled solely to bring in and place the piano. To remove the piano would require breaking up parts of the building and then rebuilding it. And the government would have been liable for those costs. Hence they declined to repossess it.
I saw them play at the Flood Zone in Richmond, VA in the mid to late 90's. I've never seen anyone push and pull a grand piano around like that ever. It was one of the best shows I ever saw.
I come from the alternative/punk and hardcore scene and Forever and ever amen is a phenomenal record! I still blast that shit on the regular, cause it slaps hard as hell!!!
Saw Ben Folds Five Oct 22, 1997 @ West Palm Beach, FL, May 30 1999 @ the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN. Seen Ben solo 5 times all in Nashville, including the now defuct 328 Performance Hall and a secret show at the Exit/In in 2007
Maybe I'm coloured by my limited funds and expensive albums in Australia, but I absolutely see the connection between Ben Folds and The Jimmy Hendrix Experience. I modelled my bass playing after Noel Redding, none of the tallent, all of the love. I was also really into Ben Folds. One of the first albums I bought as an adult was "Naked Baby Photos". The breaking of sounds you can make whilst still making melodic music between Live At Winterland and Naked Baby Photos is an obvious link.
"We like the cats, we dig them. We just want to do their sounds in their own way"
This video just came up and I had to click cuz years ago I was playing in a club band and one of the guys wanted to cover the song " gone" none of the rest of the band had ever heard of him but we played it like Zeppelin would have with four count Bonham esk fills between the verse chorus and we filled the dance floor every time and actually got requests for it.we got asked if we wrote it many times. I was a fan since then
I keep imagining an alternative timeline where the Ben Folds Five come to the UK to perform Brick and they do so accompanied by a brass band. As in the Grimethorpe Colliery Band or the Dunston Silver Band or the Salvation Army band that plays carols at Christmas.
In this alternative timeline, this results in Ben deciding to remain in the UK (Sheffield, Gateshead, Merthyr Tydfil, whatever location the band the BBC paired him up with are based) and goes on to be an orchestral composer working on films and computer games and maybe some TV!
Some of the best gigs I’ve ever seen.
That was a great video!
Well done documentary! I have got to admit I only listened to Ben Folds Five occasionally, I appreciated what they were doing. I totally never knew about the song Brick. But they are an interesting band
I saw them play on the side stage on that first Lollapalooza tour. I was blown away. Great band.
Really solid video. The only thing I would have added was a little more on Darren Jesse's Hotel Lights
Thanks for the feedback!
I grew up on Ben Fold Fives. My favorite songs are "Song for the Dump" & "Alice Childress" 💯❤️🔥
I got an iTunes collection of Folds back in the day wherein he interspersed stories about the songs between the recordings. He said Alice Childress began as his then-girlfriend writing a parody of a Ben Folds song. That first six bar run is unchanged from her parody, and he just continued the song from there.
Lyrics:
Some summers in the evening after 6 or so
I walk on down the hill
And maybe buy a beer
I think about my friends
Sometimes I wish they lived out here
But they wouldn't dig this town
@@TeagueChrystie That is so very Ben Folds!
I thought Ben Folds Five was a poker reference. I didn’t even know that was his name until today
Same. I though he was folding his whole hand.
I love all three of them but as a bassist myself Robert Sledge was my guy. So melodic yet groovy and brutal, he is my biggest influence.
Wow. The reference to Soul Coughing. Beck. Amazing observations
I just saw Ben Folds at a solo gig on his Paper Airplanes tour. It was a fun show!
Great vid about a great band. One addition: I’m pretty sure the name “Whatever and Ever Amen” is a reference to the 1987 Randy Travis country hit, “Forever and Ever, Amen” written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz.
Thanks
Interesting to note a lesser known Indie band, Suddenly, Tammy! which formed in 1991 played the same three instruments. They released two albums on Sub Pop and Warner Bros.
Just missed out on seeing them in 1999 and then they broke up. So glad I was able to see them twice when the reunited for the new album in 2012. I love just seeing Ben, but the band is the band.
No mention of Rockin the Suburbs?
Right?? 🤔
that was a solo album, not Ben Folds Five
@@Space_Paranoids well that explains it then. I always thought is was the work of the five.
Underground is one of my favorite songs ever! Quality.
The bassist waited on my sister and her friend one night at a restaurant in Chapel Hill in 2000.
Sledge? He was working in a restaurant in 2000?
Thank you for doing this. Sometimes it feels like the story of the 1990’s excludes BFF even though they were a big concert draw and toured with many of the biggest acts.
You’re welcome
would love to see them get back together! they’re awesome!
I'm pretty sure I listened to at least some of Ben Folds Five's self-titled album at the record store, but didn't pick it up. I did get Whatever and Ever Amen and played it a lot.
I caught one of their shows in the late 90's, fun times.
Speaking of North Carolina...how about doing a video on The Connells?
The first Ben Folds Five album is such an amazing record
I've seen him live 3 times through the years, including his most recent tour. :)
A video on here mentioning Superchunk, Polvo, Archers of Loaf and Morphine. Fantastic. I saw fairly early BF5 and they really battered their instruments. It was really unique at the time. The bit in the video where it said it was like having three people just playing their own bit as loud as possible was definitely true and was great.
They got very little of the negative press in the UK btw. Nothing about being geeks or strange. Just seemed to be accepted for what they were. Although alternative stuff from the UK often used different instruments. Plus we don't have the whole Jock/Cheerleader thing over here at all. If someone in an interview or article had called someone a "sissy" they'd have been chucked from whatever outlet they worked for too.
This Metalhead absolutely LOVED BFF!! Underground is a classic!
That’s his Dad!!!! Awesome
It may seem like an uphill struggle, but that’s because Reinhold Meisner is a Mountain of achievement. Great album. One of my all time favorites.
Nice! Love BF5! Thanks for this! Would love to see you do something on Morphine or maybe Tim Minchin.
I'm a piano-playing rocker, so Ben was on my radar early. Sometime around, I dunno, 2001-2002 (I think) Ben Fold Five played in SF at Davies Symphony Hall, which was a very strange venue for them, but man, they absolutely killed it. Probably the highlight being a cover of Snoop Dogg's 'Gin & Juice' that went all the way there. Like, resting all three instruments completely for the line "so get on your knees, and suck that d*ck!" The crowd went wild. Not too many piano-based pop songwriters with a heart of pure punk, so the guy's always stood out to me. I think Joe Jackson in his early years is a fair comparison. If you listen to "Get Sharp" now, there are plenty of echoes.
The song is "B*tches ain't Sh*t," not Gin and Juice, but great comment nonetheless.
@@jdavila9902 Oops! Just one o' those things.
Robert Sledge is probably the reason that I play bass.
I was and still am a bit obsessed with Steven's Last Night in Town.
I know Ben's brother Chuck, and it took me about 2 years to put two and two together and realized his brother was Ben LOL
You mean Chuck’s band Chuck Folds Five didn’t give it away? 😂
If you ever have a chance to see Ben Folds in ANY iteration, do not sleep on that opportunity.
The winter of 99, I worked at a pizza place in Chapel Hill (Pepper's Pizza) Ben Folds came in one evening with his wife/GF. Everyone that worked there wasn't impressed (or too cool) that Ben was there. I walked up to his table and asked for his autograph. He scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it back to me. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't friendly either. Later, I pulled it out of my pocket, it said "Pepper's Pizza" on it. We all laughed ;) Edit: that was right around the time they had their yellow tour van advertised for sale. They called it "The Big Yellow Fella" I believe.
That's a great story! Thanks for sharing
Rockin the suburbs is a goated album
I was lucky to finally see Ben Folds Five in October of 2012, just before their permanent break up. What a great show.
I love this band, but how did I never know they had a fourth album? Holy cow!
Hold on a Second, isn't that the same singer of over the hedge?
Yep.
A very unique band... like you said no guitar, mainly piano driven... they basically heralded the coming of Coldplay and Keane type bands in a way.. even right down to the ballads. Yes, I discovered them like a lot of normies thru "Brick" and even liked that Song for the Dumped on the same album, but they are a bit unusual for my tastes otherwise.
I always saw Coldplay as a watered down Radiohead ripoff. I'm not familiar with their later work. This was just my impression when they first gained popularity.
Bout damn time!! I can definitely smoke a blunt to this one!
I am, my hempy friend!
Puff Puff Pass! 👍🏻
Oh besides the Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide" of that era, there was also The Verve Pipe's 90s mainstream hit song "Freshmen" which also deals with the subject of abortion and is also based on the autobiographical experiences of the lead singer, when he was in college though, not high school like Folds.
Rats forgot to include that one
The guitarist from Verve Pipe used to work on my cousins guitar
„Tossed his drumkit into a lake“ 😂 wth
Yup
I saw the video for "One Angry Dwarf" in around September or October in 1997. Just once and I loved it. It's still my favorite of theirs. I couldn't find it, I looked for months. Then they played Brick on SNL. Suddenly Whatever and Ever was everywhere.
BRICK WAS A GREAT SONG
I love that song, but I wonder if it really is about what I think? 🤔🫢
@SFDestiny abortion??? Cause that's the meaning his high school girlfriend having one
@anti-liberal7167 yes. he really nailed my experience
You should cover The Cribs.
They rejected money and fame and went a different direction than the Kaiser Chiefs and The Killers but came from the same class of Garage Rock Revival Bands.
Thanks so much for sharing this was most interesting, I evaporated Jesus land, selfless cold and composed, gone, not the same, Annie waits, Zak and Sara, etc
If you're curious about Ben Fold's solo career, check out Songs For Silverman - it's some of the best work he's done IMO.
He's worked with actress/pianist/singer Alicia Witt (played the daughter of Cybill Shepherd in her T.V. show "Cybill"), whom he dated for a while.
Witt was a child prodigy, and became very accomplished on the piano at an early age. She played in the lounges of hotels like the Beverly Hills Wilshire I think, before her acting career took off. Incidentally she also had a role, as a young child, in David Lynch's "Dune."
I was looking for this comment. Great album. That and Rockin' the Suburbs which I love from beginning to end.
you should do one on 'suddenly, tammy!', throwing muses, belly, & juliana hatfield trio.
I believe, thought, he was also in a band called Bus Stop in Greensboro? My ex-wife dated one of the band members (Evan Olson). Was probably quite short lived. I also think Ben's brother is in the band now and one of BF5's tracks refers to another member of the band, Eddie Walker. Sorry if this was in another comment. Btw, "Mess" is another beautifully orchestrated song off of Unauthorized Bio...
Hm, maybe it was always Chuck in the band and not Ben.
The first two BFF records are absolutely perfect albums.
12:12 "slum core" ?
Interested to know where this came from...
Give me back my black t-shirt 😂 god I love Ben Folds Five
Great video.
Thanks for watching!
Reinhold Messner is a great album! Mess is a heartbreaking song. So good.
The song “Cigarette” is AMAZING
One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces is such a great tune.
Three things I can't believe you didn't mention.. Gracie, Over The Hedge, and using Chatroulette during his live concerts.
i still have the shots i took at a lollipolooza when a bunch of girls were up on the piano dancin...
i still love Ben Folds.
I was never cool in school, i'm sure you don't remember me...
Hand me my nose ring. Show me the mosh pit.
What a great opening line for a great song! It immediately tells you this band, this songwriter, is going to be interesting.
Underground was my introduction to Ben Folds Five (immediately loved it) and to Folds' talent for writing some very witty, incisive and funny lyrics, and for creating portraits of characters.
Love BFF, and still listen to Toxic Popsickle as well
I play Brick every year on Dec.26
I am actually kind of shocked you didn't mention Ben's contribution to Amanda Palmer. Or the performance with Sara Barielles.