Ben Folds Five: an introduction

Today I’m posting another transposed Twitter thread from last month’s #18Days18DJs project, where I gave an overview of Ben Folds Five.

OK, let's get this one out of the way early: the band is probably best known for their 1997 hit "Brick". You know, the one about the teenage abortion that was on MTV every five minutes:

Ben had this to say about "Brick": "...the song is about when I was in high school, me and my girlfriend had to get an abortion, and it was a very sad thing ... I just wanted to reflect what it feels like."

"Brick" is an undeniably great song, but it's not really representative of the rest of the band's material. Let's go back and see how Ben Folds Five came to be!

1989, Greensboro, NC: College radio and local record shops were all playing an album by a band called Majosha, featuring one Ben Folds. Ska-punk? Funk? Indie? Who knows? Just shut up and listen:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRqT9hSrxjX55trI8GqC8VcvKed8aswnh

Majosha broke up in 1990, reformed as Pots & Pans, and ultimately fired Ben Folds and changed their name to Bus Stop (we'll circle back to this story later). Between 1990 and 1993 Ben wrote and recorded tons of demos, many of which would later become Ben Folds Five tracks.

In 1993, Ben connected with bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee and put a trio together, purposely not adding a guitarist. Described by Ben as "punk rock for sissies", the band's sound was something nobody expected in the post-grunge era.

The name came to Ben while he was mowing his lawn; while the original name was "Ben Folds Three", he thought it would be funny to call it "Ben Folds Five", which confuses new listeners to this day.

Ben Folds Five released "Jackson Cannery", their first single, in 1994. There were only 500 vinyl copies produced. The cover featured a photo of Ben's mother holding a pair of bongos.

The strength of "Jackson Cannery" led to a record deal and 1995's eponymous debut album. I'll let the band introduce their musical philosophy in a promo video from that year:

I discovered this album in a record store in Dallas in 1995. The name Ben Folds sounded super familiar, but I couldn't place it. I bought the CD and quickly put it together: this was the same guy from Majosha, who I'd seen play live in Greensboro!

The band's sophomore album, "Whatever And Ever Amen", came out in 1997 and featured the aforementioned "Brick" as its big hit. I ran to the record store to buy it on release day. Promo video:

Next up was the "odds and ends" compilation album called "Naked Baby Photos". Standout tracks: "Eddie Walker", written for Ben's friend who was the touring drummer in Majosha, and "Emaline", a reworking of the Majosha tune (with guitar!)

Ben Folds Five's last release before breaking up was 1999's "The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner", a name used by Darren on a fake ID in his teens. Messner was (unbeknownst to Darren at the time) a real person who was the first to climb Mount Everest solo.

"Messner" finds the band expanding their sonic palette, adding horns and employing a heavier use of strings. It's a "loose concept" album, following the arc of the titular character's life. Promo video from VH1:

The first single, "Army", tells the true story of Ben dropping out of college to be a musician.

"Army" also recounts the Majosha -> Pots & Pans -> Bus Stop story: "Citing artistic differences the band broke up in May, and in June reformed without me, and they got a different name".

I was lucky enough to see the band play live twice in Philadelphia in 1999, probably two of the best concerts I have ever attended.

After various solo projects and a one-off reunion performance in 2008, the band reunited in 2011 and recorded their fourth studio album, "The Sound of the Life of the Mind", released in September 2012. Here's "Do It Anyway":

We'll stop the intro thread here - it's absolutely worth checking out Ben's solo work, but that's for another time.

I've put together a playlist of my favorite BFF songs for your listening pleasure:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZxNoMtSJteJLNhWiFPPropOPC844FYLQ