"Way to Normal" Ben Folds

I cannot claim to have an encyclopedic knowledge of Ben Folds and all of his dealings, his releases and whatnot. I can, however, claim to be among the legions of his fans that have been listening since the day I first got what "Brick" was about (hint: abortion). I also spent an inordinate amount of time listening to "Reinhold Messner" when I was in High School (I purchased my copy from Used Kids when it was still located underground, and it has the initials "KMH" scribbled in Sharpie on the disc). That's not to mention the almost painful connection I have with the song "Landed" from "Songs for Silverman", a song so fitting for a pretty bullshit time in my life, that the fact that Ben has since released songs that mimic some of the important locations in my life (Normal, IL and Salt Lake City) just adds to its weight.

And yet, before this album arrived at my doorstep late last week, I hadn't listened to Mr. Folds in ages. I still had a bad taste in my mouth from my overall disappointment at "Songs for Silverman". Despite many listens and many attempts, I was never really able to get into that album, outside of the aformentioned "Landed". This latest album, however, grabbed me from note one.

Some of you may be in the know enough to have been aware of a supposedly fake leak that was purportedly disseminated by Ben himself. I will admit to falling prey to that fake, and I must say it was a very risky move. The songs were pretty bad, poorly recorded and just not that interesting, as far as I can remember. I was only able to listen once or twice when I decided that he hadn't improved at all since "Songs for Silverman" and I was ready to retreat to his back catalogue and relive my adolescence.

I was lucky enough to discover, however, that these crap songs were well and truly fake as I heard the first ecstatic piano notes of "Hiroshima" pumping through my speakers on Friday morning. The song, a live (-like?) track featuring crowd singing and an incredibly realistic arena echo. Even with the liner notes telling me that the crowd singing is from "audiences on tour", indicating multiple audiences and not just one show, it's hard to believe that he was so accurately able to recreate the sound of a live show in a studio. If it is a live song, then it's an incredibly innovative way to start an album (at least as far as I know). I have never heard of an artist starting a studio album with a single live track before launching into their album proper. The song itself, a retelling of a head injury that he sustained while touring in Japan, is a great piano stomper, funny and sincere and fun. I'm guessing the story is true, but due to my non-encylopedic knowledge, I'm not 100% sure.

As he strolls through a set of songs that I think are some of the best he's recorded since he left "Five", he touches on several gems. "You Don't Know Me" is a great duet featuring smokey voiced Regina Spektor, all pounding drum machine and tambourine, staccato vocals and strings. The soft, gentle, "Cologne" reminds me of the sadder moments of "Rockin' the Suburbs" and earlier. Whether the lyrics match the tone or not, it still stands as another of his uniquely touching ballads, absent all the pomp and insincerity that plagues lesser artists.

When he reaches "The Bitch Went Nuts", I'm reminded of his seminal shout-along, profanity-laden anthem, "Bitches Ain't Shit". It's yet another entry into the canon of great swear-along songs, like "The Man Don't Give a Fuck" and of course "Bitches Ain't Shit". I can just hear a crowd of sweaty fans jumping into the air, arms held high above them in the pit, a single unit of torsos and faces and eyes shouting "THE BITCH! WENT NUTS!" at every refrain. A perfect concert song, begging to be added to every setlist.

The last song I want to talk about - and one of the selfish, completely subjective reasons why I love this album - has got to be "Effington". Besides being an absolutely hilarious, completely SFW song about the possibilities of dropping everything and starting a new effing life in Effington, in it, he specifically mentions seeing the town while, "Making my way to Normal, IL".

Because of our recent relocation, when I first heard his latest album would be called, "Way to Normal", I couldn't help but think of our new home. "What if he means 'Normal, IL'?" I would ask, before promptly chiding myself, "Surely he's never heard of Normal, IL. Why should he?" Thus my utter shock, amazement, giddiness, etc etc, when I heard this song on my iPod the other day in the Coffeehouse (in Uptown Normal, natch). I wanted to tell all of my friends about it. I wanted to stand up and tell everyone in the Coffeehouse about it. I was acting like a little kid with a new toy that I just wanted to show everyone.

I know it's silly, but that kind of giddy excitement is lacking in a lot of things nowadays. I know this has nothing to do with the economy or the election or anything like that, but this moment of utter elation, of happiness with no strings and very little cause, is making me smile now and every time I hear Ben singing, "And then the people who live in Normal/will buy the movies I make in Effington/that's what Normal people do/Do Normal people do it to?"

"Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)" Ben Folds
"Bitch Went Nuts" Ben Folds
"Effington" Ben Folds

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