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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Sense of humor defines Ben Folds’ sounds

Ben Folds has his own way of doing things. A veteran of the music industry, he has not only been in bands, but also had a solo career and even took a stint as a judge on NBC’s a capella competition “The Sing Off.” But what’s great about Folds is his attitude towards the music business. He always has a smile and a joke at the ready.

One of his latest antics is now an Internet sensation. The idea came from a man on YouTube. “Merton,” a short guy at a piano with glasses and his hood up, created a video of himself on Chatroulette, improvising songs about the people he chatted with.

For a while, viewers suspected Folds to be the real “Merton,” but this was not the case. But in honor of the comparison, Folds decided to spend part of a recent show in Chatroulette, hood up, doing exactly what Merton did. The edited YouTube video features classic lines such as “Hey bam, on the can,” a part of a greater ode to one user who happened to be on the toilet. Folds’ video already has over one million hits in just two days.

But of course, this wasn’t Folds’ first time in the world of musical comedy. When it looked like his latest album, “Way to Normal,” was going to be leaked on the Internet, Folds took matters into his own hands. In an overnight recording session in Dublin, Folds and his band created fake verSense of humor defines Folds’ sounds sions of several of the songs on his real CD.

“Bitch Went Nutz” (not to be confused with the album’s “Bitch Went Nuts”) is about a young Republican who takes a drugged up date with hairy armpits to an office party; needless to say, it does not go over well. The song is an even bigger hit than the real version.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Folds said the new song was “one of my favorite songs I’ve written, lyrically and everything.”

“This is what the fake lyrics allowed me to do,” he continued. “Completely write earnestly from the point of view of a Republican ex-fratboy guy who’s trying to make it at his law firm and is horrified ‘cause his girlfriend has left, liberal views and it’s fun.”

“Way to Normal” continues Folds’ odd sense of humor, such as the ballad “Cologne.” The track features moving piano, yet references the astronaut who wore a diaper while driving off to kill her boyfriend.

The first single off the album, “You Don’t Know Me,” is a duet featuring Regina Spektor. The quirky track adds Spektor’s usual flair to Folds’ style. Folds told Rolling Stone he was blown away by Spektor’s talent.

“When she works it’s scary good,” he said. “She’s just all talent.”

But of course, not all of Ben Folds’ work is fun and games. Called his “signature” by MTV, the Ben Folds Five classic “Brick” is based on Folds’ experience in high school when his girlfriend had an abortion.

Maybe that’s what’s so great about Ben Folds’ music: he has the uncanny ability to be completely serious one moment and the next it’s back to jokes. No matter which way he decides to be from one album to the next, Folds’ fans will continue to listen.

Ben Folds will be playing at the 9:30 club this Friday, March 26, with opening act Zach Williams. And hey, if you can’t go, you can always hang out on Chatroulette and hope to be serenaded by the man himself!

You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.


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