Tuesday Choons

Whether this feature will take off with much plight will depend mostly on whether I can don my organised hat and get lots of posts scheduled before the old dissertation deadline is more than just a dot on the horizon. Although at the minute it's less a dot and more a hunking great big boulder of evil just waiting to wreak havoc.

Anyway, morbidity aside I'm hoping to use some simple [although not really real] alliteration as an excuse to make every tuesday a chance to share some of my current musical lusts with you. Whether old or new, mainstream or alternative, Tuesday Choons will feature a different artist each week. I'll pop up some links to their websites and hopefully, if my inner computer geek is anywhere to be found, I'll embed my favourite track of theirs for you to listen to and hopefully enjoy. Or at the very worst learn never to listen to ever again. Let the heckling commence...

This lovely chap right here is Mr. Ben Folds. Now before I continue, until a few days ago I couldn't have professed myself a fan. Not even an occasional listener really. In fact, the one album of his I had listened to didn't actually feature his singing.

Confused?

I was too. But it turns out this guy is a musical Einstein. That album I mentioned was an A Capella record, made up of various tracks which he'd previously recorded, but sung by American university choirs. Though it left me in the dark as to his own voice, it certainly showcased his hilariously witty, stunningly blunt and often beautiful lyrics.

My fangirl of a sister was lucky enough to get tickets to see him for Christmas [man was she thrilled] and so I tagged along as more of a companion [and thwarter of a particularly strange fellow in the queue] than an excited fan.

But boy was he good. Even after five hours of standing on sore feet, I found myself laughing, swaying and clapping along to his latest tracks and, shock-horror, singing along to some oldies that I'd actually heard :)

It was so refreshing to watch an artist who doesn't take themselves too seriously, who isn't afraid to show their gratitude, and who, on multiple occasions, can flippantly compose and play a song based on drunken heckles from the audience. His musical response to ''show us yer bellybutton'' [no, I'm not sure why either] was genius, and a brief lyrical nod towards Birmingham was the cherry on top. 

My favourite track of his has to be Still Fighting It. The university choir version of this is stunning, but after hearing it live from the man himself I know now why he's done so well. What this one lacks for in his usually hilarious anecdotes, more than makes up for with heart-warming lyrics and beautifully simple harmonies.

                                                                                                 

And if you're after something a tad more upbeat, go for Rockin' The Suburbs [thanks to my sister for recommending this one :) ]- a sarcastic tale of the pains of being male, middle class and white. A terrible situation I'm sure.

[Watch out for the swearing, kids]

So there you have it, a brief introduction to Ben Folds. A cheeky chap who might just grow on you. Or at the very least draw out an impulsive giggle.