Anybody here dig Ben Folds Five and Ben Folds Solo? Folds is a fantastic singer-song writer and pianist and the trio, Ben Folds Five, from the 90s were quite talented and humorous. I haven't heard a song I don't like, which is quite uncommon -- the only other artist that has really done that for me was Queen. I'd love to read how you Queenies feel about Ben Folds and BFF.
I've never heard of him/them. Why don't you post a video or link to what you think is some of the best work? In fact, I think it would be great to have a general thread dedicated to sharing music we really like. Being an international group there is probably a ton of great music known to individuals but unknown to the group generally.
Thanks for posting those Steven. I had a chance to listen to them a few times over the last few days. Except the one with the language...couldn't stand that one for more than a minute five. :) I find I often need to let a song get familiar before I can get a bead on how I feel about it. I can appreciate what you like about him. I was trying to come up with some music that you might like because you liked him and it's challenging because he's a bit of a lot of things isn't he. I looked him up in Wiki and the 'Dumped' song made me laugh because he's on his FOURTH marriage. I found the hook in 'Brick' distracting because I thought it was a pretty bad lyric. Sorry! But I really liked the use of water in the video. I think I liked 'Jesusland' the best.
Anyway, I thought of a few similar (but not the same) people who you may have heard. John Ondrasik/Five for Fighting or Marc Cohn (for the singer/songwriter piano vibe) and Barenaked Ladies or Moxy Fruvous (for the serious/humourous). If you haven't heard some or any of that let me know and I'll post what I think is some of their good stuff if you're interested.
GratefulFan wrote:
Thanks for posting those Steven. I had a chance to listen to them a few times over the last few days. Except the one with the language...couldn't stand that one for more than a minute five. :) I find I often need to let a song get familiar before I can get a bead on how I feel about it. I can appreciate what you like about him. I was trying to come up with some music that you might like because you liked him and it's challenging because he's a bit of a lot of things isn't he. I looked him up in Wiki and the 'Dumped' song made me laugh because he's on his FOURTH marriage. I found the hook in 'Brick' distracting because I thought it was a pretty bad lyric. Sorry! But I really liked the use of water in the video. I think I liked 'Jesusland' the best.
Anyway, I thought of a few similar (but not the same) people who you may have heard. John Ondrasik/Five for Fighting or Marc Cohn (for the singer/songwriter piano vibe) and Barenaked Ladies or Moxy Fruvous (for the serious/humourous). If you haven't heard some or any of that let me know and I'll post what I think is some of their good stuff if you're interested.
Thanks again for sharing the vids.
I'm glad you found time to give him a chance. He's certainly a lot of things, I have a deep admiration for him. He studied music in college, which is what I'm doing, so I can kind of relate to him (even though he dropped out for complicated reasons, I think he was one semester from graduating? Not sure.). Anyway, I suppose going to college for music opens up your horizons a great deal (it is for me anyway) so he must have taken on so many various influences from numerous genres and styles. As far as I know, he actually plays in a few symphonies.
I'm sorry you didn't find B****** Ain't S*** appealing. I hope you realized that he wasn't singing that in order to support "gangster" lifestyle -- the piece was actually a cover which more or less mocked the original rap version. As for 'Jesusland', that's my favorite too. It's such a beautiful song with stunning harmonies...it's very soothing.
At any rate, I would sure love it if you were to share some videos of those artists. On this thread or another, doesn't really matter!
John Ondrasik is an American guy who struggled for a while until he finally got noticed. The record label(?) told him that 'one name' acts weren't that much in demand so asked that he come up with a name that would make him sound more like a group. He came up with 'Five for Fighting', a reference to the number of penalty minutes a hockey player gets for a fighting infraction. The hockey reference alone makes him especially a-ok in my book. :) As a bonus, he's a great artist too. This is a favourite track of mine from his 2000 album 'America Town'.
Hey Steven! Thought of you and this thread today. I'm in my office at work and have the "Has Been" CD cranking. It really is brilliant. I tease about Shatner all the time, but only because I really, really like him. I'm amazed that he did "What Have You Done". That is some soul-baring stuff there, and I wouldn't have had the stones to do it.
Anyway, thnks for starting the Ben Folds discussion here. I hope life is good and that you are well.
GratefulFan wrote:
And I just spend 20 minutes on a huge Barenaked Ladies post and lost the whole thing.
I'll be back when my computer and I make up.
Because I said I would:
And a live performance one of their signature tunes with something in the middle that surprised me and made me laugh out loud. This song grew out of improv between the two singers and the live performances carry that tradition forward. Check it out Queen fans. :)