Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs

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Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs

Ben Folds has gone through more change in the last three years than most people have to deal with in a life time. He has become a husband and father (to twins), he has left America for Adelaide, Australia; brought an end to his quirky alt-rock band Ben Folds Five, and on Sept 11., one day before his 35th birthday, will releases his first solo album Rockin' the Suburbs. "[The album] is all about change," Folds told Rebecca Caldwell "My whole life is like that. I guess most people's are, but being a musician, my job is, partially, to talk about it."

In 1998 Folds first solo effort, released under the name Fear of Pop, Fear of Pop Volume 1, was mostly experimental, instrumental heavy tracks, it included everything from synthesizers to dance beats, even William Shatner on the spoken word track "In Love." The album languished on shelves as Ben Folds Five fans largely ignored it. Folds carried over some of that experimentation to last years Ben Folds Five album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. Most of the hard core fans dug the album, but the casual fans that "discovered" the band through it's radio ballad "Brick" drifted away. Rockin' the Suburbs is a decidedly "pop" album. "I know my task at hand right now, and it's a very uncool thing to say, but I'm trying to revive myself a bit. I just made two albums that weren't very commercially viable albums and that's cool with me." Folds says "But I kind of have to make an album which is a pop album. "It's a very old-fashioned notion, kind of like the way the used to make records in the seventies. The guys would say, 'I'm going to make my art record, man, and then I'm going to make my commercial record.' Well, that's what I'm doing, I'm making my pop record."

Rockin' the Suburbs certainly qualifies, a majority of the album sounds a lot like early Ben Folds Five only this time with synths, guitars and various other instruments brought into the mix. Folds plays it all on the album; bass, guitar, drums, piano and whatever else needed to be on the song. A majority of the album was recorded in an old church in Adelaide, with producer Ben Grosse (Fuel, Filter, B-52's).

Folds has a knack for writing relatively up beat music with at times tragic lyrics. The album opener "Annie Waits" illustrates this, with it's pounding piano and synthed out bass rumbling along as Folds tells the story of Annie who waits for some one to love but never comes along. "Still Fighting It" slows things up and tells the story of growing up and having children (Everybody knows\It sucks to grow up \And everybody does\It's so weird to be back here).

"Gone" starts out with crashing drums and some appealing vocal harmonies, before detailing a boyfriend writing a letter to an old flame telling her if she has time, drop him a line, but if not he will just move on. We first heard the story of Fred Jones on the Ben Folds Five track "Cigarette" and how he had to care for his ailing wife, and how he couldn't sleep for fear that in her drugged stupor she would burn down the house with a cigarette. In "Fred Jones (part 2)" things are any cheerier. Here we find Fred clearing out his desk after 25 years of work. It details the emotions of being forced into retirement, and how nothing in his career or job performance has made an impact - there is no party, no gold watch to say thanks for all he's contributed. Anyone else can do his job, maybe even better, and nothing will change when he's gone. It's probably one of the most moving songs on the disc and certainly one of my favorite Ben Folds tracks to date. The final two verses and chorus features Cake front man John McCrea, however their voices sound so great together you'd barely even notice if you weren't listening for it.

"The Ascent of Stan" starts out with some frantic piano playing, before slowing down to a crawl, then taking back off with a mixture of synths, shakers, and a bouncy bassline. The song stops and stutters several times, brining to mind a dance track you might find at some rave if it didn't have Folds singing about a disillusioned hippie over it.

"Losing Lisa" and "Carrying Kathy" are great songs that sound like they could have been on any Ben Folds Five album. In fact "Carrying Cathy" sounds a lot like "Missing the War" or "Smoke" from Whatever and Ever Amen.

"Not the Same" tells the tale of a guy on a bad acid trip at a party, and climbs up a tree and refuses to come down, and when he finally does he's given his life to Jesus Christ. The title track and first single is up next and takes on "new metal." The track makes fun of every rap rock band out their, as Folds tells of how he's all alone in his white boy pain.

(Let me tell y'all what it's like\Being male, middle-class and white\It's a bitch, if you don't believe\Listen up to my new CD).

As for the video Folds told Rolling Stone "The video has to be very legit." "I'm gonna get whoever makes Korn's or Limp Bizkit's videos. Maybe I'll get Fred to do it. In fact, I put in a request for Fred Durst to do it if he's got the time." However Durst didn't have time and the king of parodies Weird Al directed the video which is already surfacing on some music channels. The slow contemplative love ballad "The Luckiest" closes out the cd. The track is one of the better tracks on the album and does a good job of taking the album out on an emotional note.

Overall one of the best albums to come out this year. If you liked Ben Folds Five or just like songs about unrequited love and painful heartbreak give this disc a spin.


	Steamer Trunk \| home stuff about me \| album reviews \| PS2 game reviews \| pictures \| web watch \| getting in touch Rilo Kiley - Take Offs and Landings \| Slipknot - Iowa \| Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three \| Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs \| Lit - Atomic \| Garbage - Beautifulgarbage \| The Strokes - Is This It \| Live - V \| Tori Amos - Strange Little Girls \| Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American \| Blink 182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket \| Weezer - The Green Album \| Alkaline Trio From Here to Infirmary \| Alkaline Trio - Hell Yes \| American Hi-Fi \| Our Lady Peace - Spiritual Machines \| Aerosmith - Just Push Play \| Dave Matthews Band - Everyday \| Blue Meanies - Post Wave \| Weston - The Massed Albert Sounds \| U2 - All That You Cant Leave Behind \| Green Day - Warning \| Offspring - Conspiracy of One \| Everclear - Songs from an American Movie Vol. 2 \| Radiohead - Kid A \| Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water \| Smashing Pumkins - Machina II \| Superdrag - In The Valley Of Dying Stars \| Voodoo Music Festival Ben Folds - Rockin' the Suburbs Ben Folds - Rockin' The Suburbs Ben Folds has gone through more change in the last three years than most people have to deal with in a life time. He has become a husband and father (to twins), he has left America for Adelaide, Australia; brought an end to his quirky alt-rock band Ben Folds Five, and on Sept 11., one day before his 35th birthday, will releases his first solo album Rockin' the Suburbs. "[The album] is all about change," Folds told Rebecca Caldwell "My whole life is like that. I guess most people's are, but being a musician, my job is, partially, to talk about it." In 1998 Folds first solo effort, released under the name Fear of Pop, Fear of Pop Volume 1, was mostly experimental, instrumental heavy tracks, it included everything from synthesizers to dance beats, even William Shatner on the spoken word track "In Love." The album languished on shelves as Ben Folds Five fans largely ignored it. Folds carried over some of that experimentation to last years Ben Folds Five album The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. Most of the hard core fans dug the album, but the casual fans that "discovered" the band through it's radio ballad "Brick" drifted away. Rockin' the Suburbs is a decidedly "pop" album. "I know my task at hand right now, and it's a very uncool thing to say, but I'm trying to revive myself a bit. I just made two albums that weren't very commercially viable albums and that's cool with me." Folds says "But I kind of have to make an album which is a pop album. "It's a very old-fashioned notion, kind of like the way the used to make records in the seventies. The guys would say, 'I'm going to make my art record, man, and then I'm going to make my commercial record.' Well, that's what I'm doing, I'm making my pop record." Rockin' the Suburbs certainly qualifies, a majority of the album sounds a lot like early Ben Folds Five only this time with synths, guitars and various other instruments brought into the mix. Folds plays it all on the album; bass, guitar, drums, piano and whatever else needed to be on the song. A majority of the album was recorded in an old church in Adelaide, with producer Ben Grosse (Fuel, Filter, B-52's). Folds has a knack for writing relatively up beat music with at times tragic lyrics. The album opener "Annie Waits" illustrates this, with it's pounding piano and synthed out bass rumbling along as Folds tells the story of Annie who waits for some one to love but never comes along. "Still Fighting It" slows things up and tells the story of growing up and having children (Everybody knows\It sucks to grow up \And everybody does\It's so weird to be back here). "Gone" starts out with crashing drums and some appealing vocal harmonies, before detailing a boyfriend writing a letter to an old flame telling her if she has time, drop him a line, but if not he will just move on. We first heard the story of Fred Jones on the Ben Folds Five track "Cigarette" and how he had to care for his ailing wife, and how he couldn't sleep for fear that in her drugged stupor she would burn down the house with a cigarette. In "Fred Jones (part 2)" things are any cheerier. Here we find Fred clearing out his desk after 25 years of work. It details the emotions of being forced into retirement, and how nothing in his career or job performance has made an impact - there is no party, no gold watch to say thanks for all he's contributed. Anyone else can do his job, maybe even better, and nothing will change when he's gone. It's probably one of the most moving songs on the disc and certainly one of my favorite Ben Folds tracks to date. The final two verses and chorus features Cake front man John McCrea, however their voices sound so great together you'd barely even notice if you weren't listening for it. "The Ascent of Stan" starts out with some frantic piano playing, before slowing down to a crawl, then taking back off with a mixture of synths, shakers, and a bouncy bassline. The song stops and stutters several times, brining to mind a dance track you might find at some rave if it didn't have Folds singing about a disillusioned hippie over it. "Losing Lisa" and "Carrying Kathy" are great songs that sound like they could have been on any Ben Folds Five album. In fact "Carrying Cathy" sounds a lot like "Missing the War" or "Smoke" from Whatever and Ever Amen. "Not the Same" tells the tale of a guy on a bad acid trip at a party, and climbs up a tree and refuses to come down, and when he finally does he's given his life to Jesus Christ. The title track and first single is up next and takes on "new metal." The track makes fun of every rap rock band out their, as Folds tells of how he's all alone in his white boy pain. (Let me tell y'all what it's like\Being male, middle-class and white\It's a bitch, if you don't believe\Listen up to my new CD). As for the video Folds told Rolling Stone "The video has to be very legit." "I'm gonna get whoever makes Korn's or Limp Bizkit's videos. Maybe I'll get Fred to do it. In fact, I put in a request for Fred Durst to do it if he's got the time." However Durst didn't have time and the king of parodies Weird Al directed the video which is already surfacing on some music channels. The slow contemplative love ballad "The Luckiest" closes out the cd. The track is one of the better tracks on the album and does a good job of taking the album out on an emotional note. Overall one of the best albums to come out this year. If you liked Ben Folds Five or just like songs about unrequited love and painful heartbreak give this disc a spin.