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.
Fred Jones Pt. 2
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's an awkward young shadow that waits in the hall
He has packed all his things
And he's put them in boxes
Things that remind him that life has been good
Twenty five years he's worked at the paper
A man's here to take him downstairs
There was no party and there were no songs
Cause today's just a day like the day that he started
And no one is left here that knows his first name
Yeah, and life barrels on like a runaway train
Where the passengers change
They don't change anything
You get off
Someone else can get on
And I'm sorry Mr Jones, it's time
The streetlight it shines through the haze
Casting lines on the floor
And lines on his face
He reflects on the day
Fred gets his paints out and goes to the basement
Projecting some slides onto a plain white canvas
And traces it
Fills in the spaces
He turns off the slides
And it doesn't look right
Yeah, and all of these bastards have taken his place
He's forgotten but not yet gone
And I'm sorry Mr Jones
And I'm sorry Mr Jones
And I'm sorry Mr Jones, it's time
The song "Fred Jones Pt. 2" by Ben Folds is a touching tale of a man named Fred Jones who has worked at a newspaper for 25 years and is now being forced to retire. The song opens with Fred alone at his desk in the dark, packing his belongings into boxes as an awkward young shadow waits in the hall. A man arrives to take Fred downstairs, and the singer apologizes to him as he leaves, saying "it's time."
Line by Line Meaning
Fred sits alone at his desk in the dark
Fred is sitting by himself in his office with no one around in the darkness
There's an awkward young shadow that waits in the hall
An awkward person or situation is waiting for Fred outside his office
He has packed all his things / And he's put them in boxes / Things that remind him that life has been good
Fred has packed up all his belongings that hold sentimental value as a reminder of his good life
Twenty five years he's worked at the paper / A man's here to take him downstairs / And I'm sorry Mr Jones, it's time
Fred has worked for the paper for 25 years and now a person has come to take him away, showing that it is time for him to leave the company
There was no party and there were no songs / Cause today's just a day like the day that he started / And no one is left here that knows his first name
There is no celebration or recognition for Fred as today is just like any other day he has worked and there is no one around who remembers or uses his name
Yeah, and life barrels on like a runaway train / Where the passengers change / They don't change anything / You get off / Someone else can get on / And I'm sorry Mr Jones, it's time
Life keeps moving forward like a train that cannot be stopped, with people constantly coming and going without making a significant impact, and it is now Fred's time to leave
The streetlight it shines through the haze / Casting lines on the floor / And lines on his face / He reflects on the day
Through the haze, the streetlight shines and creates shadows on Fred's face while he thinks about his day
Fred gets his paints out and goes to the basement / Projecting some slides onto a plain white canvas / And traces it / Fills in the spaces / He turns off the slides / And it doesn't look right
Fred goes to his basement and creates art by tracing slides onto canvas and filling in the empty spaces, but the final product does not meet his standards
Yeah, and all of these bastards have taken his place / He's forgotten but not yet gone / And I'm sorry Mr Jones
Fred feels forgotten as new people have taken his place at work, but he has not completely left and is still present
And I'm sorry Mr Jones / And I'm sorry Mr Jones / And I'm sorry Mr Jones, it's time
The song repeats its message to Fred, apologizing for this change and the necessity for Fred to move on
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BEN FOLDS, BENJAMIN SCOTT FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@argentorangeok6224
10 years pouring my heart into an engineering job in oil and gas. They laid me off like I was no one. Two years later and I'm head tool and carton die maker for a small company. I go to work and all of a sudden, eight hours have passed by. I'm well respected by my coworkers and the owner. I go home tired, dirty, and having done something objectively useful. I love it more than anything I've ever done. I'm never going back to the corporate world. Screw those people.
@frothywalrus
i'm so happy for you
@carsonneal
hell yeah bro
@matthewgrundy3284
And now.. we (that don't want this shot), may lose our livelihoods.
@JackForsterMUSIC
My Dad passed away in Nov 2021 from leukaemia and this is the song the blindsided me when it came on xxxxx made me think of him so much xxxx
@MadWithPowerBand
Knowing so many people in the newspaper business after having worked at one in the 80s, this is just a gut-punch.
@BetissaJohannson
The gorgeous combination of melody and pathos in this song have always killed me. The last chorus is always sung in loud sobs in my car.
@cydonia1
This is one of the saddest songs I know
@xCelineehh
the first song i ever heard from Ben Folds, and this exact version as well. been a fan from him ever since <3
@QuincyKane
This is one of my favorite Ben Folds songs; absolutely beautiful!