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.
Selfless Cold and Composed
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And what I wanted to say
So I will take it back
Are all the dishes intact?
Let them be broken, broken
[Chorus]
It's easy to be
When it doesn't mean anything
You remain selfless, cold and
Composed
You've done me no favor
To call and be nice
Telling me I
Can take anything I like
You don't owe me to be so
Polite
You've done no wrong
You've done no wrong
Get out of my sight
[Chorus]
Come on baby now throw me
A right to the chin
Don't just stare like
You never cared
I know you did
But you just smile
Like a bank teller
Blankly telling me
Have a nice life
Come on baby now
Throw me a right
To the chin
Just one sign that could
Show me that you give a
Shit
But you just smile politely
And I grow weaker and I
Said what you wanted to hear
And what I wanted to say
So I will take it back
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Ben Folds Five's song Selfless Cold and Composed tell the story of a relationship that has devolved into empty pleasantries and polite goodbyes. The singer has realized that they have been going through the motions, saying what the other person wants to hear, but not expressing their own feelings. The line "It's easy to be/easy and free/when it doesn't mean anything" encapsulates this feeling of emptiness and detachment.
The chorus of the song is particularly poignant, with the repetition of "selfless, cold, and composed." This phrase suggests that the singer is trying to be strong and put up a brave front, even though they are hurting. The use of alliteration in this phrase also reinforces the sense of icy detachment.
The final lines of the song, "And I said what you wanted to hear/And what I wanted to say/So I will take it back," suggest a lack of closure and a sense of regret. The singer has been unable to express their true feelings, and now it seems too late. The song leaves us with a sense of sadness and a longing for honesty and emotional authenticity in our relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I said what you wanted to hear
I told you what you wanted to hear, not what I truly wanted to say
And what I wanted to say
I had something else I wanted to say that was different from what you wanted to hear
So I will take it back
I'm going to take back what I said because it wasn't what I meant
Are all the dishes intact?
Did you break anything while I was gone?
Let them be broken, broken
It doesn't matter if the dishes are broken, it's not a big deal
It's easy to be
It's not hard to act a certain way
Easy and free
Acting easygoing and carefree can be effortless
When it doesn't mean anything
It's easy to act that way when there are no real consequences or meaning behind it
You remain selfless, cold and
Even though you're acting carefree, you're actually detached and distant
Composed
You're keeping your emotions under control and acting in a composed manner
You've done me no favor
You didn't help me in any way
To call and be nice
It's not doing me any favors to call and act friendly now
Telling me I
Saying to me that I
Can take anything I like
I can have whatever I want from you
You don't owe me to be so
You don't have to be overly polite to me
Polite
Manners and being courteous are not necessary right now
You've done no wrong
You haven't done anything bad or negative
Get out of my sight
Please leave my presence and I don't want to see you anymore
Come on baby now throw me
I'm asking you to fight with me
A right to the chin
Punch me in the face
Don't just stare like
Do something, don't just look at me
You never cared
It seems like you never cared about me
I know you did
I believe you actually did care about me
But you just smile
But all you do is smile
Like a bank teller
You're smiling like a bank teller who has to act pleasant all day
Blankly telling me
You're not saying anything important or meaningful
Have a nice life
You're basically telling me to have a good life without you
Come on baby now
I'm urging you to do something
Throw me a right
Hit me with a punch
Just one sign that could
Any indication that could
Show me that you give a
Prove to me that you care about me
Shit
Anything significant or important
But you just smile politely
But you keep just giving me a polite smile
And I grow weaker and I
And it makes me feel weaker and more defeated
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BEN FOLDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jake Rohn
What can I say. This tune is brilliant on all levels. Ben's piano rift is masterful. The piano melts into the rest of the song with absolute ease but off the charts genius in its tempo and complexity. Go to 5:20 for the home run.
Finn B
Absolutely agree
steve ramsey
I’ve never really appreciated Ben’s pristine vocal like I should have until recently
WISDOM CROW
I know right!! Well said! You must be a musician to be able to understand the beauty and majesty of this piece.
J M
Possibly one of the most underrated songs of all time
Charles Yuditsky
Yup and not on the radio
Alex James
It took me 20 years, but I always knew what this song was about, but now I understand it
WISDOM CROW
me too
Tyler Walker
Me too. I wish I didn't.
sam perry
It’s about a fun vacation