Rockin' The Suburbs

Today's Music That Makes Jason Sad is Rockin' the Suburbs by Ben Folds. This is an album I first got into a few years ago, after having heard "The Ascent of Stan" on the ISU radio station. I was immediately interested in it, the piano absolutely hypnotized me. It was a bit of a surprise to find out that the same Ben Folds who was behind "Brick" (which i have no shortage of distaste for) wrote this song. I was able to get this album at the public library, and never looked back; I wouldn't say this is my favorite album, but it does have a place in my heart, I guess.

This album is classic Ben Folds: both silly and sobering, piano driven, featuring a tenor voice that is equally comfortable being flippant and serious. It's probably a good starting point for anyone interested in Ben Folds, as the songs are somewhat pop-ish and generally brief.

It's alternately melancholy and irreverent, but certainly full of good songs. In particular, I am especially fond of "Annie Waits", "The Ascent of Stan", and "Not the Same". The only song I'm not overly positive about is the title track, which abandons Folds' piano for a generic electric guitar. It's still kind of funny but doesn't really have the same impact of the other songs, seems to be more of a radio-friendly throw-away.

The whole album is kind of emo, but I'll take this over anything on popular radio anyday. The last song, "The Luckiest", is probably the saddest song I can think of, a ballad about appreciating one's life. It always manages to ruin my day and basically make me feel as alone as anything ever does, but it's still great. In fact, it's what I'm listening to now, and I think I'm going to go stare out a window for a while until the feeling passes.

In other news:
I had a pretty good weekend, even if nothing important really happened. Sometimes the best days are when nothing really happens at all though.