The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner

Today's Music That Has A Long, Unwieldy Album Title But Is Completely Worth It is The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, by Ben Folds Five. I think this is the last album the group put out before Folds went solo, and what a fine swan song it is. Apparently the Messner in the album title was a notable explorer, the first man to climb Mt. Everest without the aid of an oxygen tank. His name is also what the drummer used on fake IDs as a teenager. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Anyway, this album has all the hallmarks of a Folds LP: rambunctious, energetic piano, borderline falsetto tenor vocals, irreverent lyrics, good balance between jovial and serious songs. I've always loved how the mood of a Folds album can go from being melancholy and introspective to flippant and smart-assed (or vice versa) in the matter of minutes, sometimes even in the same song. And while the man may not be Dylan with respect to lyrics, they're certainly a strength. More than anything, though, I love this album because it is an album, not just a collection of songs.

While some albums are just a number of songs on a disc, these songs seem to fit together and are ordered and arranged well. Unauthorized starts out a little slow, and has these two wonderfully despondent ballads "Mess" and "Magic" in the middle, and allows songs like "Army" and "My Redneck Past" to lift the mood somewhat. And I'll be damned if "Lullabye" isn't a perfect album closer, the kind of song that sounds the way that crawling into bed and spooning with someone you care about feels. (The best all-time album closer, 40+ years and counting, is probably still the Beatles' "A Day in the Life". This is my opinion, but it's also damn near a fact.)

In short, this album doesn't really have any ringtones, but it's catchy, and well worth listening to. I think you'll get more out of it if you listen to it as a whole album, and pay attention, but the songs are good enough to stand alone if you can't sit still long enough.

In Other News:
Having a scooter is really great. Old Man Winter, you better stay away long enough for me to put some more miles on my scooter!

Tuesday night's capoeira practice was excusively devoted to throws and takedowns. Good fun but damned if I wasn't miserable yesterday.

Please don't let me screw this up.

"So I thought about the army,
Dad said 'Son, you're fucking high...'"

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.