What Do I Do With All These Voices?

Ben Folds is going to release a career retrospective (back in my day they were called greatest hits), which will include several new tunes from Ben Folds FIVE, the first recorded in 11 years! NBC recently revealed House, which is quite nice despite sounding at times a bit like the classic HBO theme song. Stereogum has the exclusive Tell Me What I Did. Its more raucous and snarky feel is a good contrast to the adult contemporary vibes of House. Stereogum has also posted the entire tracklist, which has pretty much every tune you'd expect and then some.

Hey, BFF, how about a new long player, eh?!

The 3-CD box set comes out October 11. Pre-order The Best Imitation of Myself here. Perfect name, btw.

Which Fire Is The Fire That Calls You Out Into The Light?

Yesterday was what we'd call in the Too Poppy universe Super Tuesday. My checking account certainly couldn't keep up with the must-own new releases so I started off with The Posies' Blood/Candy (iTunes, Amazon MP3) and Gin Blossoms' No Chocolate Cake (iTunes, Amazon MP3). Both bands have been with me for nearly two decades now so they've earned it. After one listen, Blood/Candy is as stellar as I was hoping after I first heard Licenses to Hide. Suffice it to say that I think this is their best album since Frosting on the Beater - and every album since has been pretty damn good by most standards. On the other hand, after one listen I think No Chocolate Cake could've been called No Killer Tune. It's a nice but very safe Gin Blossoms album. I mostly like when they put away their mid-tempo AC tunes and turn on the power pop juice. So far I think this one could use more rocking out.

Only one listen each for both though so my thoughts could change. Gin Blossoms could be a slow-grower - I hope so - and The Posies could wear thin quickly - I highly doubt that.

Other notable new releases...

Ben Folds & Nick Hornby - Lonely Avenue (iTunes, Amazon MP3)
Pete Yorn - Self-Titled (produced by Frank Black!) (iTunes, Amazon MP3)
Neil Young - Le Noise (produced by Daniel Lanois!) (iTunes, Amazon MP3)
Eric Clapton - Clapton (iTunes, Amazon MP3)
Phil Collins - Going Back - uh, no

And Their Window Gives Them The Prettiest Picture

Ben Folds' collaboration with author Nick Hornby is now available to pre-order in different versions: Standard, Vinyl, and Deluxe:

This special deluxe edition of Lonely Avenue includes the album on CD, four short stories by Nick Hornby, and 15 images by acclaimed photographer Joel Meyerowitz, all in a hardbound, 152-page book. Orders include downloads of the album as high-quality, 320-kbps MP3s starting release day. Pre-orders include an exclusive, limited-edition Folds/Hornby-penned manuscript score from the album track "Picture Window," a number of which will be signed by Ben and Nick.

Check out the preview video below. I'm liking what I'm hearing!



Lonely Avenue is out September 28.

All I ask of music is that is sounds good.

Ben Folds has announced a new album and it's intriguing...

The album features music and vocals by Folds and lyrics by [High Fidelity author Nick] Hornby, with string arrangements by one of the most influential pop string arrangers of all time, Paul Buckmaster (David Bowie, Elton John, Leonard Cohen). The record, which Folds made specifically to be listened to on vinyl, was recorded on 2-inch tape and will be available on audiophile-grade vinyl, cut with the Direct Metal Master process at Abbey Road Studios and pressed at Pallas Manufacturing in Diepholz, Germany. Lonely Avenue will also be available on CD, digitally, and in a special deluxe edition that includes four short stories by Hornby.

Lonely Avenue is out September 28. I'm a big fan of both so it can't come out soon enough. Read more here.

I'm in Love With the World Through the Eyes of a Girl

Courtesy of AV Club's Undercover series, here is Ben Folds performing an excellent cover of one of Elliott Smith's finest, Say Yes...

I Can Feel That Someone's Blasting Me

Ben Folds is rockin' the suburbs and cities this spring:

3/13/10 House of Blues (Myrtle Beach, SC)
3/14/10 The Tabernacle (Atlanta, GA)
3/16/10 House of Blues (Orlando, FL)
3/17/10 University of Florida Phillips Center (Gainesville, FL)
3/19/10 The Fillmore Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)
3/20/10 The Norva (Norfolk, VA)
3/21/10 The National (Richmond, VA)
3/23/10 Jefferson Theater (Charlottesville, VA)
3/24/10 Rams Head Live (Baltimore, MD)
3/25/10 Meymandi Concert Hall (Raleigh, NC)
3/26/10 9:30 Club (Washington, DC) - SOLD OUT
4/6/10 House of Blues (Boston, MA)
4/7/10 The Klein (Bridgeport, CT)
4/9/10 Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)
4/10/10 Hershey Theatre (Hershey, PA)
4/12/10 Town Hall (New York, NY)
4/13/10 Town Hall (New York, NY)
4/15/10 House of Blues (Cleveland, OH)
4/16/10 St. Louis University (St. Louis, MO)
4/18/10 University of Dayton (Dayton, OH)
4/19/10 VIC Theatre (Chicago, IL)
4/20/10 VIC Theatre (Chicago, IL)
4/21/10 VIC Theatre (Chicago, IL)
5/7/10 Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheater (Austin, TX) - TICKETS ON SALE SOON
5/8/10 House of Blues (Houston, TX) - TICKETS ON SALE SOON
5/9/10 House of Blues (Dallas, TX) - TICKETS ON SALE SOON

Quite a hefty tour! Tix are all on sale now unless otherwise indicated. Go to his official site for links and more details.

Spread the Love Around

Ben Folds has announced quite a few tour dates running from 2/13 in Pennsylvania through 7/24 in Kentucky. Alas, no Iowa. No matter, I probably wouldn't go anyway. I still haven't listened much to his latest. What kind of pop music blogger am I?

A bored one.

Put a Little Money in This Type of Thing

Kudos to Lollapalooza - another hell of a lineup:

Depeche Mode, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Lou Reed, Vampire Weekend, Ben Folds, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Peter Bjorn and John, The Raveonettes, Ra Ra Riot, Thenewno2, and the like.

Who's up for a road trip in August?! Tickets are on sale now.

Damned by the Existential Moment

Dear Fellow Iowans,

I would like to offer you a reminder that tickets for Ben Folds' March 18th performance at the Val Air Ballroom in Des Moines go on sale tomorrow. Upon placing your order, you will be charged $30 plus $30 in CrapMaster fees.

You're welcome. Have a nice evening.

Sincerely,

2poppy

Effing In Their Cars

Once upon today, Ben Folds released Way To Normal.

Many are unimpressed.

The end.

You Don't Know Me At All

This is more evidence that videos are pointless:
Ben Folds - You Don't Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor)

Humorless, unfortunately. Song's growing on me a bit, though.

Save Time For Me

I've written a lot about Matthew Sweet and Ben Folds lately (naturally because they both have new albums and they both epitomize too poppiness,) so here's a twofer:

Matthew blogs about the value of albums.

Ben makes videos for new songs:
Cologne

And In June Reformed Without Me

Ben Folds Five is reuniting! It's only for a one-time gig for MySpace, but it'll be a classic.

The concert will be the band's first performance together in nearly ten years and will take place in the band’s former hometown of Chapel Hill, North Carolina on September 18, 2008 at the UNC Memorial Hall.

BF5 will be performing their under-appreciated The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner in its entirety. Tix on sale 9/8. Visit MySpace Front to Back to learn more.

Listen Up To My New CD

Ben Folds is giving you plenty of choices for his new album Way To Normal due out 9/30. You can pre-order the Super Deluxe version for a whopping $85:

The Super Deluxe Box Set edition features the CD, a DVD featuring 60 minutes of footage (includes 4 live performances, the "Hiroshima" video, a special performance of "Cologne," and loads of b-roll and interviews), 36 page booklet, full length 180-gram double vinyl, exclusive bonus cd with 8 live tracks, and the collectible box will come with an autographed fluorescent poster while supplies last!

Or the Deluxe version with only the CD, DVD, and booklet; standard CD version; 180-gram double vinyl version; or the easy and cheap iTunes version.

And don't forget, you can download the first single You Don't Know Me now on iTunes.

The Children Are Angry

Have you heard any of Ben Folds' new album? Careful...

Singer-songwriter Ben Folds responded to the inevitable leak of his forthcoming album Way To Normal in a unique way: he leaked it himself. Only the songs weren't real — he spent eight hours recording "fake" versions of six tracks during a late-night Dublin, Ireland session in early July, then let friends work their magic on the Web.

Clever, Mr. Folds. If you haven't heard the fake versions, here you go.

More on Way To Normal here.

Make It Possible For All White Boys to Dance

Quite a bit of information on the new Ben Folds album Way To Normal, due in stores 9/30:

Starting Monday, August 4th at 10 AM thru Thursday, August 7th at 10 PM, iTunes and Ticketmaster will be running an exclusive Ben Folds album/ticket pre-sale promotion. When you pre-order Way To Normal ($12.99 - 13 new tracks) you instantly gain access to a Ticketmaster pre-sale that allows you to purchase Ben Folds tickets before they are available to the general public.

You'll also get two news tunes you can immediately download. Here's the tour:

Wednesday, September 24th Washington DC*** Constitution Hall
Friday, September 26th Boston, MA Orpheum
Saturday, September 27th Storrs, CT University of CT
Tuesday, September 30th New York, NY Terminal 5
Wednesday, October 1st New York, NY Terminal 5
Friday, October 3rd Fort Wayne, IN** Embassy Theatre**
Saturday, October 4th Louisville, KY** Whitney Hall**
Wednesday, October 8th Athens, OH Ohio University
Thursday, October 9th Detroit, MI State Theatre
Friday, October 10th Chicago, IL Congress
Saturday, October 11th Green Bay, WI Resch Center
Thursday, October 16th St. Louis, MO Paegent
Friday, October 17th Minneapolis, MN Myth
Saturday, October 18th Kirksville, MO Truman State University
Wednesday, October 22nd Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater
Thursday, October 23rd Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
Friday, October 24th Houston, TX Warehouse Live
Saturday, October 25th Austin, TX Stubb's
Thursday, November 13th San Francisco, CA*** The Warfield
Friday, November 14th Los Angeles, CA*** Wiltern Theater


*Check back often - more tour dates to be added!
**Denotes shows not included in ticket/album pre-sale promotion
***Dates will be available for pre-sale starting Tuesday, August 5th at 10 AM and ending Friday, August 8th at 10 PM!

You can also pre-order a deluxe box set autographed by Mr. Folds himself here. Finally, BenFolds.com is getting revamped and will feature user-submitted YouTube videos (more here) as well as a new fan club and store. Wahoo.

UPDATE: Spinner has the exclusive premiere of Folds' new video for the first single Hiroshima, which sounds exactly how you want Ben Folds to sound. The stop-animation video freaks me out a bit - reminds me of nightmares I had as a kid. Quality work, though.

UPDATE TOO: Stereogum has You Don't Know Me, his collaboration with Regina Spektor from the new album. Nice to hear, but I can't say I'm overwhelmed by its greatness.

I'm Still Wondering Who To Be

Epic Records has released much more information about Ben Folds' upcoming album Way To Normal, now due out 9/30.

Way to Normal is an exuberant, raucous, and sometimes profane mix of sure-fire crowd-pleasers ("Hiroshima," "Bitch Went Nuts," and the frenetically fuzzed-out "Dr. Yang"), cheerful snark-fests ("The Frown Song," "Brainwascht"), and thoughtful, moving ballads ("Cologne," "Kylie From Connecticut") that Folds wrote at the end of 2007 following the finalization of a two-year divorce.

Cool. I like divorce records.

"The songs are not topical," Folds says. "I was not interested in making a record about the D-word. I got all that stuff out of my system on the last record [2005's pensive Songs for Silverman], which was deliberately stoic. This new album is really about me being free, which is why it feels cathartic and expressive. It's about me coming back to being myself." (Hence the title.) "I came out of the courthouse, kissed the ground, and walked straight into the studio. I felt like a bottle of champagne that had been shaken for 18 months and popped open in the studio. That's why this record has so much energy."

Ok, so not a "D-word" record. Sounds like a fun one. He'll be touring in support of the album through 09. Rock on.

Bitch Went Nuts

Paste Magazine recently talked to Ben Folds, who revealed some excellent details about his new album.

“It’s a fairly un-orchestral record,” Folds tells Paste. “It’s a fairly lyric-driven rock record. We’ve looked at taking a few of the songs on the new record and scoring them for orchestra and, uh, it was kind of slim pickins.”

I like rock. I like Ben Folds. I like the Wizard of Oz.

Way to Normal is due out September 16. Read the full interview here.

You're Hanging On

Ben Folds will be releasing his next album in September. It's going to have songs on it. It's going to be called something. You did not hear it here first.

---

lyric source

Yeah, You're the Shit, But You Won't Be Here For Long

John Mayer hit Des Moines last night and brought along Ben Folds to cheer everybody up. I couldn't didn't really want to go, but here's a summary of the show:

The combination for Monday night's Ben Folds-John Mayer show in front of about 8,000 people at Wells Fargo Arena really was an "Odd Couple" sort of arrangement.