As of fall 2006, Ben Folds has released five solo LPs. His first album, Fear of Pop: Volume 1, an album of spoken word and instrumental compositions, was recorded and released while Ben Folds Five was still together. Since it was an uncharacteristic release, and officially released under the moniker of 'Fear of Pop', it is widely considered that his first "proper" solo album was Rockin' the Suburbs (2001), on which he played all the instruments by himself. A year later, in 2002, he released Ben Folds Live, a collection of live solo recordings. In late 2003, two solo EPs, Speed Graphic and Sunny 16, were released, with a third entitled Super D released in mid-2004. In 2005, Folds released a second studio album called Songs for Silverman. Most recently Folds has released the album "Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the lp" a compliation of his EPs, a The Bens track called "Bruised," "Still" from the motion picture of 2006 "Over the Hedge" for which Folds wrote all the songs, his cover of the Dr. Dre song "Bitches Ain't Shit", and, with the kind permission of his good friend Neil Hannon, a cover of The Divine Comedy song "Songs of Love". "Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the lp" otherwise includes remastered takes from the three internet EPs from 2002-2004. Ben claims that he wanted to have the CD in hard format so he could "put it past him."
Ben resides in Nashville. He often tours the United States, the United Kingdom, other countries in Europe, Japan, and Australia.
Folds' tours are famous for his solo act as "Ben Folds and a piano", often having the audience become involved by "playing" the accompanying instruments (such as the trumpet and saxophone harmonies in "Army") and singing choir-like backing vocals on "Not the Same". His concerts are charismatic, yet calm - an enjoyable experience for most. And although Folds is constantly putting out new songs, his concerts rarely omit classic fan favorites such as "Philosophy," "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces," and "Army." Also, a seemingly fan favorite that started in Chicago, IL was "Rock this Bitch," a song where Folds has to come up an impromptu new tune with the words "Rock this Bitch" in it; though the song seems to be phasing out, it still makes appearances on tours, such as the November 2006 tour and the Spring US College tour of 2007 and 2008.
Folds also produced and arranged the William Shatner album, Has Been (2004); he previously worked with Shatner on the songs "In Love" and "Still in Love" for Fear of Pop.
Folds described his former band, Ben Folds Five, as "punk rock for sissies," and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of depression, melancholy and self-conflict. Folds also provided a number of songs for film soundtracks. Some of these include "Lonely Christmas Eve" for the Jim Carrey film How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000), and a rendition of the Beatles' "Golden Slumbers" for the film I Am Sam (2001). He (as The Bens) has also done charity compilations, from singing "Wicked Little Town" (from film and stage show Hedwig and the Angry Inch) on the benefit album "Wig in a Box" (2003) to appearing on No Boundaries, a benefit album for Kosovo refugees, with the song "Leather Jacket." (written by Darren Jessee)
On a planned tour of Australia, Folds teamed up with solo artists Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country together as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Ben Kweller's official website. The trio also went on to record a four-track EP together, entitled The Bens.
In summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow rockers Rufus Wainwright and Guster. His second solo studio album, entitled Songs for Silverman, was released in the U.S. on April 26, 2005, featuring Jared Reynolds on bass, and Lindsay Jamieson on the drums, thus returning to the trio format, which had been so successful earlier, in earnest. This album includes the track "Late," a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, and also features backing vocals from "Weird Al" Yankovic on "Time." (Folds had played piano for Yankovic's song "Why Does This Always Happen to Me?" and "Weird Al" directed Folds' music video for Rockin' the Suburbs). In January of 2007 Lindsay Jamieson left the band and was replaced by Sam Smith, of The Comfies on drums.
Folds performed with Rufus Wainwright and Ben Lee in the summer of 2005 as part of the "Odd Men Out" tour. In addition, Folds has performed with many other famous musical names, including Weezer. Folds has also shown the complexity behind his authentic sound by performing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, in March 2005, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in November 2005. A DVD recording of Folds playing with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was released in December, 2005.
Folds was the first artist to do a "Live at Myspace" concert, held on October 24, 2006 in his recording studio in Nashville, the show was an hour long and had requests from the internet submitted via Myspace's Messenger. It also entailed several stunts, including a suicide attempt, and a falling audience member during "Jesusland". The DVD of the broadcast (almost whole) was released in February of 2007.
Folds supports the independent music scene, creating his own record label (Attacked By Plastic) and doing promotional work for independent record stores across the country.
In 2008, September 16 marked the release of Amanda Palmer's solo album which was produced by Folds. Two days following that release, Ben Folds Five had a one-time reunion concert held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the same place the band was formed. Weeks later, he released his third solo album entitled Way To Normal, released on September 30. Folds also recorded a fake album that was leaked intentionally during the summer to please fans and in an attempt to stop the real album from leaking. The fake tracks were recorded and mixed over a period of only several days. The leak contained 6 fake songs with names similar to the real songs or the album, and three songs from the actual release (except the song Cologne, which was an orchestral version of a song by the same name on the final album).
Since December 2008, Folds has been collaborating with English novelist Nick Hornby, writing the music while Hornby writes the lyrics. This album was originally planned to be recorded over a course of 3 days, the same amount of time in which the fake album was recorded, but Folds has since been recording the album in a more standard format, albeit attempting to retain the live recording format. He has also played several songs from the upcoming album at live shows since mid-2009, and the album is slated to be released on September 27th of 2010.
From December 14 through 21, 2009, Folds was featured as a judge on NBC's a cappella competition The Sing Off alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Shawn Stockman and offered insightful, constructive comments and criticisms to the contestants. On the final show, in a departure from his a cappella purism, showcased his talents and played the roaring, riffing piano background on "Why Can't We Be Friends?" sung by the two finalist groups, Tufts Beelzebubs from Tufts University near Boston and Nota, from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He again returned for the show's second season, and has been confirmed to return for the third season in September 2011 alongside Stockman and new judge Sara Bareilles.
Recently Ben Folds was assumed to be the anonymous pianist playing songs to random ChatRoulette users, named "Merton." Although Ben Folds has admitted to NOT being Merton, he paid tribute to the YouTube star at a concert in Charlotte in "Ode To Merton."
Ben Folds recently released his first album since So There, What Matters Most in June of 2023 after a 12 year hiatus.
Alice Childress
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I walk on down the hill
And maybe buy a beer
I think about my friends
Sometimes I wish they lived out here
But they wouldn't dig this town
No they wouldn't dig this town
Try not to think about it anymore
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore
Alice, the world is full of ugly things
That you can't change
Pretend it's not that way
It's my idea of faith
You can blow it off
And say there's good in nearly everyone
Just give them all a chance
Now let's give them all a chance
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore
No it didn't work out
No it didn't work out the way we thought it would
No it didn't work out
An arranged marriage is not so good
Thank God it's you
Ya know, your timing is impeccable
I'm not fooling you
I don't know what to do
Some dude just knocked me cold
And left me on the sidewalk
Took everything I had
Everything I had
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
It's getting late where you are, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore
Anymore, no not anymore
The song "Alice Childress" by Ben Folds speaks to the experience of living in a quiet town and feeling disconnected from those who live elsewhere. The singer reminisces about walking down the hill to buy a beer, getting lost in thoughts about people who are not present, and wishing that they too could appreciate the charm of the town.
The song derives its title from a mention of Alice Childress, an African-American playwright who was known for her plays that explored issues such as racism and inequality. Her work likely served as a source of inspiration for the singer, who tries to find faith in the goodness of people despite the many ugly things that exist in the world and cannot be changed.
The song also touches on themes of disappointment, as the singer admits that he did not achieve what he thought he would and that an arranged marriage did not work out. These lines serve as a reminder that life does not always go as planned, and that coping with disappointment often involves shifting one's focus towards what is good and positive.
Line by Line Meaning
Some summers in the evening after 6 or so
During some summer evenings after 6 o'clock
I walk on down the hill
I walk downhill
And maybe buy a beer
And perhaps purchase a beer
I think about my friends
I contemplate about my friends
Sometimes I wish they lived out here
Sometimes I desire that they resided here
But they wouldn't dig this town
However, they would not enjoy this location
No they wouldn't dig this town
No, they would not enjoy this location either
Try not to think about it, Alice Childress
Attempt to not ponder about it, Alice Childress
Try not to think about it anymore
Endeavor to not think about it any longer
Alice, the world is full of ugly things
Alice, the world is saturated with dark things
That you can't change
That you don't have control to alter
Pretend it's not that way
Pretend it's not the truth
It's my idea of faith
It's my concept of belief
You can blow it off
You can dismiss it
And say there's good in nearly everyone
And argue that everyone has some good in them
Just give them all a chance
Just give everyone an opportunity
Now let's give them all a chance
Now, let's give everyone a chance
No it didn't work out
No, it did not succeed
No it didn't work out the way we thought it would
No, it did not proceed as we intended
An arranged marriage is not so good
An arranged marriage is not optimal
Thank God it's you
I'm grateful that it's you
Ya know, your timing is impeccable
You know, your timing is impeccable
I'm not fooling you
I am not deceiving you
I don't know what to do
I am unaware of what to do
Some dude just knocked me cold
Some guy just knocked me unconscious
And left me on the sidewalk
And abandoned me on the pavement
Took everything I had
Took all my possessions
Everything I had
All I possessed
It's getting late where you are, Alice Childress
It's getting late where you are, Alice Childress
Anymore, no not anymore
Any longer, no not any longer
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANNA GOODMAN, BEN FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
bramhurvitz
Ben Folds deserve to be in the rock and roll hall of fame.He is one of the best piano players in the history of pop music.
CAMERON SPEIRS
Absolutely. Check out the solo in the live version of 'Erase me' (in red shirt) Stunning.
Westrocker 67
This is one of the greatest songs I've ever heard in my life. It feels so..beautiful. And that don't even really cut it...brilliant. This is his Yellow brick Road as far as I'm concerned.
CAMERON SPEIRS
Absolutely brilliant artist.....and the best song on the album. 🎹🍷
Survivor2002
Heard this song in a Barnes and Noble shopping one day. When I started the album and ended up listening to the WHOLE THING in the store. When I finally bought it that day, I knew that anything that BFF put out, I would buy it without having heard a single song, no matter what it was. Seeing them live, a couple of months later at on the GWU campus...incredible.
Will Pepper
Great Karma was looking down on you that day my friend. A Great Trio and like you said, incredible live.
Gaz Butler
Survivor2002 You have good taste! Ben Folds Five....wow! what can I say? People are missing out if they don't know about these guys!
Survivor2002
reniisgod Thanks... I will look that up!
Reni
Survivor2002 I highly recommend BFF latest album called "The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind" - there are some fantastic songs on there, if you like old BFF you will enjoy that album.
Survivor2002
reniisgod Haven't heard anything new in a long while, but the first two albums are still on my hard drive!