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Way to Normal

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk56% [1]
Allmusic [2]
ChartAttack [3]
Daily Music Guide [4]
Drowned in Sound [5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+ [6]
Evade the Noise [7]
Paste89/100 [8]
Pitchfork Media2.7/10 [9]
Q[citation needed]
RockLouder [10]
Rolling Stone [11]
Twisted Ear [12]

Way to Normal is a 2008 studio album by Ben Folds. It was released on 30 September 2008 in the United States and on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom.[13][14][15] The album is Folds' highest-charting debut ever in the US, reaching #11 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release.[16]

A music video for "You Don't Know Me" was directed by Eric Wareheim, featuring Eric himself and his comedy partner Tim Heidecker.

In 2009, Folds re-released the album in less compressed audio quality as Stems & Seeds, adding various bonus tracks and providing "stems" for fans to create their own remixes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ben Folds

Way to Normal
No.TitleLength
1."Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)"3:38
2."Dr. Yang"2:30
3."The Frown Song"3:38
4."You Don't Know Me (feat. Regina Spektor)"3:12
5."Before Cologne"0:54
6."Cologne"5:03
7."Errant Dog"2:24
8."Free Coffee"3:08
9."Bitch Went Nuts" (length includes a 52 second pregap)3:58
10."Brainwascht"3:49
11."Effington"3:33
12."Kylie from Connecticut"4:43
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
1."Way to Normal"4:10
2."Free Coffee Town"2:42
3."Frowne Song (Feeble Anthem)"3:50
4."Cologne (Piano Orchestra Version)"6:08

Personnel

  • Ben Folds: piano, Moog synthesizer, mellotron, vocal
  • Jared Reynolds: electric bass, backup vocal (holding coffee cup on album cover)
  • Sam Smith: drums, backup vocal (holding umbrella on album cover)

Production notes

The album is named after Normal, Illinois as referenced in the track "Effington". "Effington" refers to Effingham, Illinois.[17]

The song "Hiroshima" is about a time when Folds fell off the stage during a concert in Hiroshima. The subtitle "B B B Benny Hit His Head" is also a reference to the Elton John song Bennie and the Jets. John says "B B B Bennie" during the main chorus, which Hiroshima's subtitle mimics. Both songs share a fake audience in the background, as well as having a similar melody with different timing.

The metallic percussive effect on "Free Coffee" was achieved by placing Altoids tins on top of the piano strings and feeding the audio output through a distortion pedal; Folds demonstrated this in live performances of the song.[18] (See prepared piano)

"Dr. Yang" was used in the trailer for the 2011 film, Mars Needs Moms.

"Before Cologne" was used in the introduction of the Apple iPhone 4S.

Fake leak

On 16 July 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Folds's latest album on fan sites theSuburbs.org.uk and BenFolds.org. The file contained nine tracks along with a PDF of supposed cover art, and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from Way to Normal and bizarre pastiches of foul-mouthed humour and melodramatic pop. Accordingly, the online forums became full of debate as to which were real—and which were fake—until the 12 August 2008 when Folds admitted on Triple J radio that many songs in the leak were fake. [19] He claimed that he and the band recorded fake versions of songs from the new album when they "had a night to kill in Dublin", and had a friend leak it to the public "to give them something to listen to".[20] After confirming that the leaked Brainwascht, The Frown Song and Free Coffee Town were fake, he stated that they will be used as b-sides and bonus tracks on upcoming releases. A few days later, in a Rolling Stone article Folds walked people through the differences between the real album cuts and the fake leak cuts.[21]

The cover for the album seems to be a faked CT scan of a person's head, referencing Folds' fall off a concert stage in Japan and his subsequent medical needs. Hiroshima (the eighth track on the fake release and the first on the actual album) is a song that also references this experience, as the fall was actually in Hiroshima.

Leak Track listing

All tracks are written by Ben Folds

Way to Normal Fake Leak
No.TitleLength
1."Brainwashed"3:36
2."Way to Normal"4:10
3."Lovesick Diagnostician (Dr. Yang)"2:53
4."Free Coffee Town"2:42
5."Bitch Went Nutz"3:53
6."Frowne Song (Feeble Anthem)"3:50
7."Cologne (Piano Orchestra Version)"6:07
8."Hiroshima†"3:38
9."You Don't Know Me† (Featuring Regina Spektor)"3:10
  • † - Real version of song featured on main album[21]
  • "Cologne (Piano Orchestral Version)" is a bonus track on the iTunes version of the album. "Bitch Went Nutz" was available to those who pre-ordered the album.

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
2008 US Albums Chart 11[16]
2008 UK Albums Chart 70

References

  1. ^ http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=693822
  2. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r1423892
  3. ^ http://www.chartattack.com/reviews/61695/ben-folds
  4. ^ http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/ben_folds_way_to_normal_album_review_29092008_1912.aspx
  5. ^ http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/4076632
  6. ^ "Music Review: Way to Normal, by Ben Folds". Entertainment Weekly.
  7. ^ http://evadethenoise.com/2008/10/06/ben-folds-way-to-normal/
  8. ^ http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/09/ben-folds-way-to-normal.html
  9. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12370-way-to-normal/
  10. ^ http://www.rocklouder.co.uk/articles/6435/Ben-Folds---Way-Too-Normal.html
  11. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/benfolds/albums/album/22972319/review/23063445/way_to_normal
  12. ^ http://www.twistedear.com/index.php/Albums/Ben-Folds-Way-To-Normal.html
  13. ^ http://www.thesuburbs.org.uk/news/_Way_To_Normal__UK_Release_Date_29th_September
  14. ^ http://www.benfolds.com/info.html
  15. ^ http://www.imeem.com/benfolds
  16. ^ a b http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003871707
  17. ^ Charlie Amter (21 October 2008). "Small town Mayor to Ben Folds: We will bury you". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  18. ^ Ackerman, Jack (2009-02-12). "Nassoons join Ben Folds onstage at McCarter - The Daily Princetonian". Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  19. ^ "Ben Folds Interview". Triple J. 2008-08-12. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  20. ^ Triple J Radio "12 August 2008 Triple J Interview With Ben Folds". thesuburbs.org.uk. 2008-08-12.
  21. ^ a b Downs, David (August 13, 2008). "Why I Leaked It: Ben Folds Comes Clean About His Fake (And Real) New Album, "Way To Normal"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
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