released with the original band "ben folds five", this album is some of the earlier work of an artist i have long adored. i love ben folds because he's so eclectic, sarcastic, and blunt. it feels like almost everything he does is a piss-take in some way, and one doesn't tend to equate that with beautiful, jazzy piano. he's a classic contradiction - a lot of his lyrics are sombre to the point of melancholy, but overlaid with quirky, animated beats.
i'm not myself recently. for the last month or so i've been uninspired, lethargic, and a bit sad. it's fair to say that general apathy and major boredom have kinda been calling on me recently, so this album was an apt choice this morning. personally i don't think it's his best work, but in some ways that's exactly what i like about it. there are some quite obvious vocal and production flaws in this album, but that seems remarkably in keeping with the general tone of an album whose title is drawn from a track called 'battle of who could care less'. i guess it's kind of metaphoric that it's not perfect, but it's real, and it's happy to just be what it is.
it's an unusual compilation, really. even those unfamiliar with ben folds will still surely know the ubiquitous 'brick', a stripped-back, emotional, almost poetic song about abortion. thrashed by teenage girls everywhere in the 90s, it is nonetheless a superbly written song that musically mirrors the emotional journey of the lyrics, a gentle start building to a climactic bridge, and fading out again. i find it intriguing - and doubtless no accident - that this quite raw and gentle song is immediately followed by 'song for the dumped', a furious song with furious thumping piano, and furious lyrics aimed squarely at a woman. it's a harsh song in every respect, and the contrast with the track preceding it is exquisite.
the album explores a range of styles, sometimes not altogether cohesively, ranging from straight jazz, quirky rock, through to swing and other influences. it's refreshing to listen to a rock band not driven by a guitar, and what i love about ben folds is you get the impression he just kinda sat down and wrote what he was thinking. not all of his lyrics fit, but you sure get the feeling that they're derived from real life experience. it's real, it doesn't really care what you think of it, there's almost always an ironic twist, and above all else, it's totally original.
in picking ben folds, the risk i ran this morning was that his sometimes sarcasticly bleak outlook on life might push me further into this weird mood. of course the counter to that was that his cheeky humour and fantastic, upbeat songs might just pick me up. i'm pleased to report that after half an hour of ben folds i was slicking on my brightest red lipstick and skipping my way to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment