Rock

Ben Folds: Dr. Yang and Rockin’ the Suburbs

March 12, 2018
2 Min Read

I found these songs courtesy of Yahoo Answers. Here is the start of the profile of Ben Folds Five at the band’s site. It seems, however, that the two tracks here — Dr. Yang above and Rockin’ the Suburbs below — were recorded while the band was on hiatus:

“I’d love for people to hear this record clean,” says Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five’s new The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind. “Like they never even heard of us before. If no one knew who we were and we put this record out, I think that would be terribly interesting.”

Sorry, Ben, but that ship has sailed. Ben Folds Five were among the most distinctive and inventive bands of the alternative era, beloved for their kinetic live shows and piano-powered popcraft. Now, more than a decade after the Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based trio first said farewell, Ben Folds Five are back and clichés be damned, they’re better than ever. The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind (ImaVeePee Records/Sony Music Entertainment) makes it plain that the years apart have only served to amplify the band’s already estimable gifts. Songs like the ebullient first single, “Do It Anyway,” or drummer Darren Jessee’s elegiac “Sky High” illustrate an increased subtlety as well as a soulfulness born of a truly inimitable group dynamic. (Continue Reading…)

Here is the start of Folds’ Wikipedia bio:

Benjamin Scott “Ben” Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. From 1995 to 2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. After the group temporarily disbanded, Folds performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world. The group reunited in 2011. He has also collaborated with musicians such as William Shatner, Regina Spektor and “Weird Al” Yankovic and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. In addition to contributing music to the soundtracks of the animated films Over the Hedge, and Hoodwinked!, Folds produced Amanda Palmer‘s first solo album and has been a judge on the NBCa cappella singing contest The Sing-Off since 2009. (Continue Reading…)

I’m a sucker for performers who go on kids’ shows, so I like Ben Folds Five: Here they perform Do It Anyway on Fraggle Rock. Check out Johnny Cash and Norah Jones on Sesame Street. They both are brilliant.

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