Favorite Musical Artist

Trying to decided who my favorite musician is was a very difficult, taxing feat. I struggled over who to pick: John Mayer?? or Ben Folds?? Both musicians play very different kinds of music. John Mayer's bluesy, mellow guitar ballads are songs of loss, love, and struggle, all very personal songs to his life. Ben Folds comical, ad-libbed, piano playing is humorous, but yet he has some very somber heart warming songs. Live both of these men are stellar performers, but I think overall my favorite artist is Ben Folds. Folds will not wow you with his soulful vocals like Mayer will. His music is less mainstream than John Mayers'. Folds has never sold a hit record, and has only had one hit single on the billboard charts. Ben Folds is probably known the most for his composition and production of the soundtrack for Pixar's movie "Over the Hedge". Folds does not care about the worldwide success music, he seems to only care that his audience is pleased with what he is producing. At his live concerts Folds incorporates his audiences by having them be the background music or "orchestra" in his songs. When he performs his song "Not the Same" he stands on top of his piano pointing at sections of the audience, signaling them to sing "Ahhh-Ahhh" at specific points during the song. At one of his concerts that i went to, he pulled 5 people from the audience to come up on stage to sing with him for the 5 part harmony in his song "Underground". Before many of his song he tells anecdotes about how he came about writing specific songs, and what they are about. For example his song "Army" is about his college music final. Folds attended The University of Miami as a drum major. The week before his final, he broke his wrist and could not play the drums. He ended up failing his final because of his inability to perform. Upon news of his failing his threw his drum-set into the lake at Miami, and claims his set is still in the bottom of that lake today. In the song he drops out of school, enlists in the army, drops out of the army, and then decides to start his music career. In his song "Not the Same" He wrote about a friend of his that went to a party, used some illicit drugs, spent the night in a tree, and the next morning came down a born again Christian. Folds mostly performs in very small venues so the atmosphere is very intimate. I feel as if he is singing directly to me. Ben Folds is also classically trained, and has an immense appreciation for classical music. He has performed all over the world with many symphony orchestras including, The Perth Symphony Orchestra in Perth Australia, The Boston Pops, The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and The Philadelphia Orchestral Company. I have seen him in concert with the Baltimore Symphony as well as the Philadelphia company. These concerts were unlike any that I have ever seen before. In preparation for these concerts he recomposed and modified all of his own music to be played by these orchestras. These concerts gave me a new appreciation from a new type of music. These two concerts were some of the most beautiful sounding I have ever been to! Today Folds continues to experiment with several types of music genres. He just finished producing an acapella CD, where college acapella choirs sent him their renditions of his music. His passion for music is inspiring. I wish that other musicians were as dedicated to their fans as Ben Folds is. Here are some of my favorite lyrics of his.

Still Fighting It: Song written for his son Louie: good morning son i am a bird wearing a brown polyester shirt you want a coke? maybe some fries? the roast beef combo's only nine ninety five but it's okay you don't have to pay i've got all the change everybody knows it hurts to grow up but everybody does it's so weird to be back here let me tell you what the years go on and we're still fighting it and you're so much like me i'm sorry...

Ascent of Stan:Pangs of silence, From the room upstairs, How's the view there? Do you read what they're saying about you? That you're no fun, Since the war was won, In fact, you have become all of the things you've always run away from, The ascent of Stan, Textbook hippie man, Get rest while you can, So where'd the years go? All the time we had? Being poor was not such a drag in hindsight And you wonder why your father was so resigned Now you don't wonder any more

The Luckiest (my favorite song):i don't get many things right the first time, in fact, i am told that a lot, now i know all the wrong times, the stumbles and falls, brought me here, and where was i before the day, that i first saw your lovely face?, now i see it everyday, and i know..., (Chorus), that i am, i am, i am the luckiest, what if i'd been born 50 years before you, in a house on the street where you lived, maybe i'd be outside as you passed on your bike, would i know?, and in a wide sea of eyes, i see one pair that i recognize, and i know..., (Chorus), i love you more than i have ever found a way to say to you, next door there's an old man, who lived to his 90s and one day, passed away in his sleep, and his wife, she stayed for a couple of days, and passed away, i'm sorry i know that's a strange way to tell you that i know we belong, that i know... (Chorus)

Gracie: Written for his daughter Grace:You can't fool me, I saw you when you came out You got your momma's taste but you got my mouth And you will always have a part of me Nobody else is ever going to see Gracie girl With your cards to your chest walking on your toes What you got in the box only Gracie knows And I would never try to make you be Anything you didn't really want to be Gracie girl Life flies by in seconds You're not a baby Gracie, you're my friend You'll be a lady soon but until then You gotta do what I say You nodded off in my arms watching TV I won't move you an inch even thought my arm's asleep One day you're gonna want to go I hope we taught you everything you need to know Gracie girl And there will always be a part of me Nobody else is ever gonna see but you and me My little girl My Gracie girl

All U Can Eat: Son, look at all the people in this restaurant What do you think they weigh? And out the window to the parking lot At their SUV's taking all the space They give no fuck They talk as loud as they want They give no fuck Just as long as there's enough for them Gonna get on the microphone down at Wal-Mart Talk about some shit that's been on my mind Talk of the state of this great nation of ours People look to your left Yeah, look to your right They give no fuck They buy as much as they want They give no fuck Just as long as there's enough for them Son, look at the people lining up for plastic Wouldn't you like to see them in the National Geographic? Squatting bare assed in the dirt eating rice from a bowl With a towel on their head, and maybe a bone in their nose See that asshole with the peace sign on his license plate? Giving me the finger and running me out of his lane God made us number one because he loves us the best Well he should go bless someone else for a while Give us a rest...

Other songs to check out- Songs of Love, Learn to Live with What you Are, The Frown Song, You Dont Know Me, Cologne,