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.
Lovesick Diagnostician
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gotta help me doc, I don't know where to start.
When she walked right out that door
Left me cryin on the floor
She said she's only going to the store
Dr.Yang, What's the lovesick diagnosis?
Cause she said she cannot cope with my neurosis
Dr.Yang
Dr.Yang, now her voicemail box is full
And she won't call me, I'm feeling like a fool
The last time I saw her in her car
I threw her shit out in the yard,
Locked her out and headed to the bar
Dr.Yang, What's the lovesick diagnosis?
Cause she said she cannot cope with my neurosis
I could always hurt myself, doctor she knows this
Dr.Yang
All the kings horses and all the kings men
Couldn't get back my girlfriend
Dr. Yang, if you can't fix my heart and head (heart and head)
Actually there is something you can do instead (do instead)
Call my girlfriend from your number
Explain that you're a doctor
Tell her that I love her so
She hurt me more than she could know
And even with all your degrees
There's nothing you can do for me
She won't have to block my number any more
Dr. Yang
(da da da daaa da)
Dr. Yang
(da da da daaa da)
Dr. Yang
Gonna kill myself tonight
Tell her that, Dr. Yang
The song "Lovesick Diagnostician" by Ben Folds speaks of a man who is heartbroken and seeking the help of a doctor, Dr. Yang, to help him mend his broken heart. He doesn't know where to begin, and the woman he loves has left him. He can't seem to get her out of his mind, and he wants the doctor to diagnose what he believes is lovesickness.
The lyrics suggest that the woman has cut off all communication with him, and he feels like a fool. He confesses that he threw her things out in the yard and headed to the bar. The man is desperate, and he's hoping that the doctor can diagnose his problem so he can find a way to fix it.
In the end, he asks Dr. Yang to call his girlfriend and tell her that he loves her and is hurting. He says that he will kill himself if he can't get her back.
Overall, the song is a mix of humor and heartbreak. It speaks about the desperation of love and how sometimes we need help to get through difficult times.
Line by Line Meaning
Dr.Yang, Help me mend my broken heart
The singer is seeking help from Dr. Yang to fix his broken heart
Gotta help me doc, I don't know where to start.
The singer is asking Dr. Yang for guidance on where to begin in mending his heart
When she walked right out that door
The woman left the singer and broke his heart
Left me cryin on the floor
The artist was devastated and emotional after the woman left him
She said she's only going to the store
The woman gave a misleading excuse for leaving and didn't plan on returning
Dr.Yang, What's the lovesick diagnosis?
The singer is asking Dr. Yang to diagnose his lovesick state
Cause she said she cannot cope with my neurosis
The singer's neurotic behavior caused his girlfriend to leave
You would think I had chronic halitosis
The extent of his neurosis is compared to a chronic bad breath problem
Dr.Yang, now her voicemail box is full
The woman is avoiding the artist's calls and her voicemail box is full
And she won't call me, I'm feeling like a fool
The artist feels foolish for wanting the woman to contact him when she clearly doesn't want to
The last time I saw her in her car
The singer's last encounter with the woman was watching her drive away
I threw her shit out in the yard,
The artist was angry and tossed the woman's belongings outside
Locked her out and headed to the bar
The singer went to drink at a bar after locking the woman out
I could always hurt myself, doctor she knows this
The singer is telling Dr. Yang that the woman knows he has a history of self-harm
Dr. Yang, if you can't fix my heart and head (heart and head)
The singer is asking Dr. Yang to fix his heart and head if possible
Actually there is something you can do instead (do instead)
The artist has an alternative request for Dr. Yang
Call my girlfriend from your number
The artist wants Dr. Yang to call the woman instead of himself
Explain that you're a doctor
Dr. Yang is advised to inform the woman he is a medical professional
Tell her that I love her so
Dr. Yang should tell the woman the singer still loves her
She hurt me more than she could know
The artist was deeply hurt by the woman's actions
And even with all your degrees
The artist acknowledges Dr. Yang's professional education
There's nothing you can do for me
The artist doesn't believe Dr. Yang can directly help his situation
She won't have to block my number any more
The singer hopes the woman will no longer feel the need to block his calls after hearing from Dr. Yang
Gonna kill myself tonight
The artist is feeling hopeless and contemplating suicide
Dr. Yang
Repeat of the call out to ask for Dr. Yang's help
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BEN FOLDS, BENJAMIN SCOTT FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind