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.
Smoke
Ben Folds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Throw this book away
All the sadness all the rage
Throw this book away
Rip out the binding, tear the glue
All of the grief we never ever knew
We had it all along
Now it's smoke
The things we've written in it
Never really happened
All of the people come and gone
Never really lived
All of the people have come have gone
No one to forgive smoke
We will never write a new one
There will not be a new one
Another one, another one
Here's an evening dark with shame
Throw it on the fire
Here's the time I took the blame
Throw it on the fire
Here's the time we didn't speak
It seemed for years and years
Here's a secret
No one will ever know the
Reasons for the tears
They are smoke
Where do all the secrets live
They travel in the air
You can smell them when they burn
They travel
Those who say the past is not dead
Stop and smell the smoke
You keep on saying the past is not dead
Come on and smell the smoke
You keep saying the past is not even past
You keep saying
We are, smoke
The lyrics to "Smoke" by Ben Folds Five talk about getting rid of the past and forgetting about the negative events that have happened. The song suggests throwing away the book that we've written in, tearing it apart, and forgetting about the sadness and rage we've experienced. The lyrics continue to say that everything we've written in the book never really happened, and all of the people that have come and gone never really lived. The past is described as smoke, invisible and something that we can't hold onto.
The song reminds us that all of our secrets travel in the air, and we can smell them when they burn. The past may not be dead, but we can "come on and smell the smoke" and move on from it. The song ends with the line "We are, smoke," implying that we too are just as fleeting and impermanent as the past.
Overall, the song encourages letting go of the past and not allowing it to dictate our present or future. It urges us to burn the negative events and memories of our lives and move forward, embracing the present moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Leaf by Leaf, page by page
Gradually discarding every chapter of our lives
Throw this book away
Forget the past and move on
All the sadness all the rage
All the emotions and anger we've held onto
Rip out the binding, tear the glue
Removing all the connections and attachments we've had
All of the grief we never ever knew
All the repressed and hidden pain
We had it all along
We were aware of it without acknowledging it
Now it's smoke
It's all gone
The things we've written in it
The events we've experienced and recorded
Never really happened
They didn't have as much significance as we thought
All of the people come and gone
All the individuals who've been in our lives
Never really lived
They didn't make a lasting impact
No one to forgive smoke
Letting go of resentment as everything fades
We will never write a new one
We won't dwell on the past to make more of it
There will not be a new one
There won't be another version of the past
Another one, another one
We'll learn from our mistakes and create a better future
Here's an evening dark with shame
A memory associated with negative feelings
Throw it on the fire
Discard the distressing memory
Here's the time I took the blame
A moment of guilt or responsibility
Here's the time we didn't speak
A period of strained communication
It seemed for years and years
It felt like an extended timeframe
Here's a secret
A confidential piece of information
No one will ever know the
It remains unknown and hidden
Reasons for the tears
The source of the sadness and sorrow
They are smoke
It's all just a distant memory now
Where do all the secrets live
Not knowing the location of repressed thoughts and emotions
They travel in the air
They linger and affect our psyche
You can smell them when they burn
They become apparent when faced and dealt with
Those who say the past is not dead
People who don't believe in letting go of the past
Stop and smell the smoke
Acknowledge that the past is gone
You keep on saying the past is not dead
The inability to let go of past experiences
Come on and smell the smoke
Realize that it's over and move on
You keep saying the past is not even past
Holding onto the past even when it's over
We are, smoke
We too will fade and be gone like the past
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BEN FOLDS, ANNA GOODMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jasonwilkerson9497
Having listened to these guys back in the 90s going to college and working at a hardware store, and now still processing grief from a painful divorce, reading anything on grief, this song popped up on my feed. Love how God has me listening to a bunch of songs to distract me until I get to this one. The line about both of us not grieving our own past and how that affected the relationship is IT!! Such a gem in the rough.
@crlyhdedfnck
I would like to thank my Dad for showing me the talent of these three individuals.
He's not dead, I just wanna thank him.
@TheBarkley26
same lol
@dpgns0103
Same ...
@requiemforpsyche
id like to thank my mum for showing me the talent of these three lol
@lunatuna5203
@@requiemforpsyche True they are a parent, but I think you may be overgeneralizing on the comment :P
@guitarjag1
One of the most talented bands overall...everyone pulls their weight and then some. These sessions sounds almost exactly like the album versions; I didn't think it could be done so well live
@ckurtis
That whole 54th street series was golden. So much top content
@jonesnbones
Beautiful musicianship all around.
Watched this on PBS and this lovely dvd is still in rotation.
@dontpissoffraccoons
The ammount of musicianship shown in this video is insane