Ben Folds - Way to Normal

The way back to normal, oh those normal days where I would write regularly and people were interested in music. Well, I am going to start a mission to return back to normal. I am going to provide a review each day of the music I have been listening to that has been released over the last few weeks, months, etc. This week we start with Ben Folds - Way to Normal. The reason I am starting with this album to review has nothing to do with any great interest in the album or because it is the latest release I have been listening to. No, no it has to do with my disagreement of Pitchfork's review of this album. I understand that as a music critic they have a right to not like the music they listen to as we all do music critic or not. 

Ben Folds has been around a little while, he writes very much the same music as he did in the mid-90's. He writes funny little songs about break ups and insane women who he has dated. Way to Normal isn't any different, really it's the same as a lot of his music. But, what is nice about Ben Folds is that his music is charming and he infectious lyrics and harmonies make his music very easy to listen to. This latest album is not his best work and will not make any one's 'best of list' this year. But he writes about relationships gone wrong and getting free coffee which everyone can relate to. Sure it isn't original, but sometimes a little bit of constant is a good thing.  

Way to Normal offers up plenty of nice, quaint diddy's such as "You Don't Know Me" with Regina Spektor, which is a great blend of Ben's and Regina's vocals on a 'stuck in your head' kinda song. "Free Coffee" and "Bitch Went Nuts" are those kind of songs that you'll start humming out of no where, like "Peaches" by the Presidents of the United States of America. The rest of the tracks are not as catchy, but they don't assault the ears and the entire album can be listened to on a sunny day while walking down the street. 

Sometimes, it isn't easy to let you know whether or not you should get the albums I review. I picked it up, because I hadn't heard Ben Folds in a while and wanted to reconnect with a band I enjoyed in the 90's. But, I also listened to this album for free before I picked it up, so that would be my suggestion if you are at all intrigued. Listen to it for FREE first! In this current economic crisis where we are all pinching our pennies the smart musicians are going to give people the chance to listen to the album first before they make the decisions to spend their money on the albums. 

Tomorrow's album is a very solid album from a band touring with the Dandy Warhols. 

Cheers,

Dave

=w=

Hello,

This week we have a very special guest writer for New Music Tuesday joining me. I am very jealous, but one of my greatest friends, Diana, was lucky enough to see Weezer play in Toronto and was amazing enough to write a stellar review for us to enjoy. So here it is - Take it away Di.

It was definitely a top five in the all-time concert listing. We were late and missed Tokyo Police Club and (unfortunately) caught most of Angels and Airwaves, who sound like Dashboard Confessional with 1/2 the talent. They were stunning in their mediocrity. Then came an amazingly short set change (like 20 minutes compared to an hour and a freakin' half for Modest Mouse) and....

WEEZER!

The guys came out in white coveralls and slammed into a three song opener: back to back to back big hits, "My Name is Jonas", "Pink Triangle", and "Perfect Situation". After that the lights went down and when they came back up the coveralls were gone, revealing the band members in red track suits. Rivers Cuomo said they needed the wardrobe change "to take it to the next level - you know, like the mezzanine of rock".

This was followed by one of the most electric moments of the concert: moody lighting and the deafening sound of thousands of people belting out "Say it Ain't So." From here my memory of the exact set list gets a bit fuzzy, but I know that they did play "Pork & Beans", "El Scorcho" (which was awesome), "Hash Pipe", "Susanne" and a couple I'm missing. Rivers introduced the band and got each member to say where they were from and how far it is from the Canadian border, pronouncing each member "practically Canadian", even the guy from Tennessee. He finished with himself, declaring himself practically Canadian because he's going to play for Toronto FC (at this point he booted a soccer ball into the crowd).

They then got the douchey lead singer of Angels and Airwaves back on stage, along with A&A's drummer, for a duet of "Undone - the Sweater Song", which was good because how on earth could it be bad. After this there was a brief discussion of Noel Gallagher's having been tackled in Toronto earlier this year, followed by an amazing cover of "What's the Story (Morning Glory)". and followed up (coincidence? a jab at Oasis' egos?) with "I'm the Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" - which was hilariously sensational live, especially the operatic parts. Some more stuff off the new album - I heard "Troublemaker" and not sure what else. Then the band leaves, and comes back for...

The Hootenanny! This was so hilarious and amazing - they had at least 50 people on stage with them, Rivers on vocals and the rest of the band on acoustic guitars. There was an accordion player who got to do a solo, a double bassist, tonnes of guitars and bongos, a guy with a triangle and some instruments I've never heard of before. They did "Island in the Sun" with the crowd on supporting vocals for the "hip, hip"s and then "Beverley Hills". THEN...

The band leaves and one of the roadies sets up a bright red Weezer chair with a turntable on it and puts on a record - that's right, a Weezer record. I didn't recognize the song but there was a lot of singing along. THEN....

The band comes back on stage and Rivers flying kicks the turntable and chair over and they bust into a Nirvana cover of "Grandma Take Me Home", and then close out the show with "Buddy Holly".

As you can tell, they played for a long time (over 2 hours, I'm pretty sure). It almost makes up for them touring only once every three years.

Thanks Di for a wonderful review, it sounds like an amazing show and I really wish I was there...but I am in T.O tomorrow and will be able to catch wonderful shows in the T.O in only a few more months. Okay, well I have some new tunes for you to check out, it may not have been released today but dang is it good.

CD REVIEW:

Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Oh goodness, this album it amazing. 12 times I have listened to it and it is still a great album. I would write more and will at some point, but I need to pack so check it out it's worth it.

That's all the time I got this week, Thanks again to Diana for the contribution and I am in need of some new tunes, so if you have heard something let me know so I can check it out.

- Dave