Tuesday 22 July 2008

Mr Ben Folds writes and sings and records some brand new songs which are right here for your enjoyment.

Thr333 songs (three, 3, trois, tres, tre, drei, etc.) from Mr Ben's latest 'n' grrrrreatest long-playa, Way to Normal. There's un petit peu de confusion as to the exact nature of the songs that have so far leaked, the good folk of wikipedia speculating that some of the songs ain't real. The only one I can vouch for as being the genuine article is this one:

mp3: Ben Folds - Hiroshima

He played this 'un @ Glastonbury, and it was instantly happy-making. It's so darned catchy you start to wonder whether it's a cover of a nursery rhyme or something. The crowd noises in the background may be off-putting at first, and they may still be off-putting after several listens, I don't know, but it's an undeniably fun and instantly memorable ditty on a subject not oft written about (falling off the stage at your own show, bleeding over the keyboard, and getting an x-ray of your head). So, y'know, yay.

mp3: Ben Folds - Cologne

Ooh, a six-minute ballad. Who knows if it's 'the real thing', but I figure it is (my high level interweb scouting has unearthed facts and figures suggesting that this song at least shares the same lyrics with a song Ben recorded a video for recentement). It's kinda really good, in all seriousness. I love the lyric: "I'm wondering if you read that story too / And if we might be having the same imaginary conversation." Affecting stuff, even if it goes a bit bombastic @ the end. Muito recommendado.

mp3: Ben Folds feat. Regina Spektor - You Don't Know Me

The single apparently. I love love Regina Spektor, but I can't quite bring myself to fall for this track just yet. Has an interesting vaguely funky beat, but not quiiiite instant enough for the first single? Maybe? I dunno, that's just, like, *my opinion*, man (talking of The Big Lebowski - have you seen this? I *need* it...). What I do really like is the spoken-word-y conversation-y bits, where Ben says something about not wanting to say something for fear of it being distorted, and then Regina says "say it". And actually, as I listen to it for a four-and-a-half-th time, I kinda am starting to really like it. So, y'know, yay. In other news, it pretty much definitely is gen-u-ine; if there are two people who can imitate Folds and Spektor and someone managed to get them in a room together a sing a song that matches the title of the forthcoming single by those two artists, then I salute them.


In other other news, I saw Ben Folds at Glastonbury. Yay for me. Oh wait, I said that already :(
Well, he was good, on average. It was a show of three thirds. The first part was kinda disappointing actually, then he brought on Amanda Palmer off of Dresden Dolls, which was nice, and then he killed it in the third part by playing 'Landed', 'Army', and best of all, 'Bitches Ain't Shit'. Woop woop.

Catch up on yo' Folds-age with some compact discs from tha amazon.

2 comments:

Jim said...

I can't wait for "Way To Normal"- it's been way too long since "Songs for Silverman". I love pretty much every Ben Folds songs. I loved him with Ben Folds Five, but his solo work is just so different. I'm glad, though, that the classic Ben Folds sound has come back with the work he did on his last album.

I hope the album does well and that Ben will come out with an album more than once every three years!

~Jim

The Laptop Sessions Cover Songs

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