Customer Reviews

Fear of Pop: Vol. 1

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

First and foremost, I think I should say that Fear of Pop is not for the casual Ben Folds Five fan, unless that casual Ben Folds Five fan is VERY open-minded or is also into the music Ben Folds presents to the listener in this solo effort. You won't hear any of the key-pounding, harmonizing vocals, or rippin' piano solos that Ben Folds Five is known for; what you get instead is a collection of kitschy '70s theme-song-like songs, techno songs, and a William Shatner narration. However, much credit goes out to Ben, because not only are the songs themselves gems, but he plays most of the instruments on this CD. The songs are catchy; "Slo Jam '98" is actually quite eerie, while "I Paid My Money" is lively and makes for good driving music. "In Love" satisfies the Trekkie in everyone, and "Rubber Sled" contains a very obvious inside joke. If you appreciate hearing a lot of layers in music (and therefore having a lot to pick out musically) this is a treat for your ears; same thing goes if you appreciate an artist who isn't afraid to branch out and try different sounds. I give it a "5" because each song has great qualities, and there appears to be no filler here.

Ok. This is Ben Folds (alone), not Ben Folds Five. As many of your probably know the band has broken up. However, at least for me, I know Ben Folds will continue to make great music. I believe this to be a highly experimental album on his part, and I know it will open new doors in his own music career as well as make people think about the state of music. Most of this album is spoken word, meaning he is either talking or screaming rather than singing. Maybe you'll see how fine of a line this is after a listen. The most popular song here must be In Love, this song features William Shatner, and honestly makes me wonder why he has not ever made music on a greater level. I know that this music is easy going and fun, but it is still real music. It's not a joke, and I love that about it.

Ok, so my favorites must be Fear of Pop, I Paid My Money, and In Love, but the entire album is spectacular. If you go for it, you'll need an open mind, but I think you'll get some really enjoyment out of it. Give it a shot.

Forget whether you love or hate Ben's previous albums. This album is completely out of left-field compared to his other works. However it proves that even with a completely different genre of music than his normal piano-laden pop, he is still a musical genius and one of the best songwriters of all time.

... this is indeed a foray into 70's funk crossed with a bit of techno house, and nobody can forget Bill Shatner ("Possibly... Maybe...") doing a stint reminiscent of his Priceline commercials. It is not very lyrics-heavy, like most of Ben's music - it won't change the way you view the world. However, this album has a Lot of humor mixed into the grooves, more than almost any other album, unless you count "Naked Baby Pictures'" '...Fanny Packs' and 'Underground'. The best examples of this humor are found in 'I Paid My Money' and 'Rubber Sled'.

This is an album I reccomend to all my friends, telling them to forget all they think they know about Ben Folds. The grooves on this album are so infectuous as to ensnare anybody with a pulse, while retaining a feeling of being fun and loose. The only reservation I have in listening to this one is the opening, title track 'Fear of Pop' - I suppose it's because I'm not too big on Ben repeatedly screaming "FEAR OF POP" on top of his lungs throughout. I usually just skip to the excellent second track, 'Kops', and sink down into the extra-funky goodness that is this album.

I agree with other reviewers though - if you are looking for an album that represents the best of Ben Folds, buy "Whatever and Ever, Amen" or the excellent "Ben Folds Live." If you are just looking for something different to listen to, whether you are a fan or not, check out this album!

Ben Folds, leader of the infamous Ben Folds Five, and the genius behind the BFF self-titled album, Whatever and Ever Amen, Naked Baby Photos, and other works brings us Fear of Pop, his solo album. Fear of Pop is something of a departure from his usual work---it is almost entirely instrumental and spoke word---but don't think for second that this album isn't a worthy addition to any music collection. Although it is generally not the same sort of fare found on BFF albums, Folds' distinctive style and personality shine through, making this a work no Ben Folds fan should be without. The songs range from the bizarre instrumental Kops (great driving music), to the slow and easy-to-groove-to Slow Jam '98, to the hilarious Rubber Sled, a song so difficult to put into words that you just have to hear it for yourself to understand. And then we have the crown jewel of this masterpiece, a song entitled "In Love." The bitter ramblings on a relationship gone wrong (a theme avid BFF listeners will no doubt find familiar) are related to us in spoken word form by none other the great William Shatner (yes, you read that right) with excellent background music to complete it. In Love is a song on par with Song for the Dumped (Whatever and Ever Amen, track 4), hilarious and something that almost all of us can identify with. Now admittedly this album isn't for everything. It's bizarre and twisted, and probably not something that the mainstream of music fans would appreciate, let alone comprehend. For those who like this sort of music, it is a fantastic find. Ben Folds is a true musical genius, not some flash-in-the pan artist who spits out a handful of catchy radio songs but makes nothing of substance. Thank you, Mr. Folds, for bringing us this wonderful album.

First off, no, Fear of Pop is not a true work of masterpiece only accessible to the intellectual elite and the incredibly cultured. It is also not an attempt to foray into the scene of rave and techno. In my estimation, Fear of Pop isn't an attempt to foray into anything nor is it a pretentious aim at high art. The Unauthorized Autobiography of Reinhold Messner fits into that more pretentious category far better (but don't get me wrong, I love that album too) than this album does. This is one of the least pretentious albums I've heard, and in my estimation is nothing more than a smorgasboard of miscellanious ideas Ben has had for songs that don't quite fit into a standard, studio format. Some of these tracks barely qualify as songs in the traditional words-over-music meaning of the word. But I'll stand behind the statement that just about every track on this album is GOOD! They range from the catchy to the bizarre, and it's the kind of music that would drive some regular Ben Folds Five fans up the wall (especially if they love the music more than the wit and the personality of the band, or of Folds himself), but for those who will take the trip, it's a real joyride. In short, if you trust and enjoy the creative mind of Ben Folds like I do, this album is certainly worth getting. If you prefer to sticking to traditional "music" and don't want to support the hedonistic, self-indugant fooling around of a musician who can't be bothered to shoehorn all his ideas into four minute four/four pieces with meter and verse and a catchy hook, feel free to avoid it.

This is almost nothing like the Ben Folds Five material, or even Rocking The Suburbs for that matter. What it does seem to be is Ben Folds suddenly acquiring a lot of high-tech musical "toys" and having so much fun with them he decides to have a go at using every single one of them for an album. The main appeal to this cd is that you have no idea what style of music is going to come next: Generic 70's cop show background music? a Talking Heads homage/parody with lyrics about refusing to leave in the middle of a film? Breakbeat techno featuring a woman with an australian accent insisting that you give her something she can "root to"? Easy-listening bachelor pad music with sardonic spoken word by William Shatner? It's all here. Also, although this album seems to Folds' way of expressing his "fear of pop", there's always an underlying sense of melody around to keep it listenable. In an alternate universe Ben's harmony vocals on "In Love" could be the basis of a Ben Folds Five song, and most of the other songs have at least some elements that are downright catchy, in an odd, playful kind of way. The novelty of this album does tend to wear off after a while, but even then it's still good for an occasional play, and for use as unusual mixtape fodder.

This album's amazing. Now, I know that there's basically no melody or harmony, and that Ben's wonderful sense of humor alone shouldn't merit 5 stars. But hear me out. He's hidden themes in here that NO ONE ever seems to notice. And the theme is, of course, Fear of Pop. Really. Track 1: "You're free to run/but here's a hook." Track 2, right before the car chase: "Step outside, son, and show me your CD collection." Track 7: He sings the word "pop" over and over again. Track 8: "I wonder what he's running from? Pop? What is this pop everyone's afraid of? In my opinion, it's "In Love", with William Shatner, a track that, for me, was hilarious the first time and then got progressively more sad. Now I think it's genius. Ben's trying to say that it's stupid to be afraid of pop just because it's pop, and that it's possible to do something creative with pop. And, through the musical styles on this album, he makes fun of attempts, such as techno, to avoid pop. Other things I love: he samples his own CD; He makes fun of his own songwriting style ("I Paid My Money")!

I purchased Fear of Pop because it was amongst the last of Ben Folds CDs I had yet to buy. I dig the man, and heard this CD was different, so I went ahead and bought it. With that aside, the CD is different indeed. This disc takes a more electronic approach, to say the least. Whereas most of the BFF and solo works have roots in 70's era pop (ala Billy Joel), this goes with a more 70's "groovy" sound; somewhat danceable funk. You really don't realize it's Folds on a lot of these tracks, you sorta get [dragged] into the whole concept more than listen track, then track and so on. Keep that in mind. It does in fact take an open ear and mind to really appreciate it, but don't take the title lightly, this is NOT a pop album like his others. The anti-pops might dig this one. Some Bjork-esque elements (well, a lot) are in this too, which might appeal to some also. Plus you can't go wrong with William Shatner, c'mon people.

Ok, this isn't ben folds five. Don't expect anything closely resembling ben folds five, or whatever, which isn't neccesarily a bad thing, because, its still Ben Folds, My current Hero. I'm not the greatest at fitting music into categories, but, the way i can best describe this, is as an album of Moby-esque instrumentals, with that unmistakable Ben Folds twist. So, if you like repetitive beats, and the like, i recommend this, if you are a casual ben folds five fan, and looking for more of the same, you probably won't enjoy it. I enjoy it. I would recommend you listen to it for at least the spoken word William Shatner song, "In Love". It's actually not that bad...the uh...back up vocals are neat. :D I'd say borrow it from a friend to see if you like it, but the odds are none of your friends own this album. Enjoy.

Here's how I heard of the album. I remember it vividly: my friends and I were shooting our mouths off whilst driving across the bay bridge in San Fransisco when a quick drumroll kicked into the wigged out guitar riff that is "I Paid My Money". From there on, for the next 3 minutes or so, we sat in what can only be described as reverent silence as this totally wack-tacular song bounced around the car. As soon as it was over, we were scrambling in a panic, screaming to each other "someone catch the name of the song and the band!" and "who has a pen and a piece of paper!" unfortunately, no-one had the paper, so we were forced to warm up our memory faculties and wait patiently for the band name to be announced. Once I heard the word "Fear of Pop" announced, I would repeat the word to myself for the next five hours to commit it to memory until such a time as i could, very much like a junkie, get my new found fixation. Well, I did, and dernit all to heck.. it's not even the best song on the album! This album is amazing! It's a rip-roaring hoot of a good time from start to finish, and my cats were going crazy when it was being played, so I'm guessing there's catnip being run through some vocorders in at least the first half of the album. But on a less serious note, it's blatant to the point of embarassment that Ben Folds had WAY TOO MUCH FUN making this album, and as a result, i'm having WAY TOO MUCH FUN listening to it. It'll put more pep in your step than a triple ripple espresso enema! Yeah, bebe.