Ben Folds

Q&A: Ben Folds On The Ben Folds Five Reunion And Taking A John Lennon-Like Approach To Life

The last Ben Folds Five record, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, released 13 years ago. To give some perspective, that same year—1999—the Euro debuted, Bill Clinton sat in the Oval Office, and Monica and Chandler had just fallen in love on Friends. Our world might be a b ... More >>

Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere Tells Us About His Latest Experiment, Favorite Pranks, and Future Plans

On July 16, more than 3,500 New Yorkers converged on Battery Park City, iPods in hand, to take part in the 8th annual MP3 Experiment hosted by Improv Everywhere. Yesterday, we spoke with Improv Everywhere founder, Charlie Todd, about his group of pranksters and this latest experiment, which divided ... More >>

Pitbull, Top of the Dogpile

How he quietly became the biggest male star in pop

Week In Review: You Know We Were Kidding About That Best Year Ever Thing, Right?

A thing that happened. Photo by Phil Freeman.​In the week we debated whether 2010 was the best year for music ever (you guys know that was a joke, right?), we pitted Chris Brown against Katy Perry, Titus Andronicus against LCD Soundsystem, Taylor Swift against M.I.A., and house music against h ... More >>

Live: Ben Folds Swears Profusely, Goofs Around, And Covers Ke$ha At Beacon Theatre

Rockin' the suburbs, or at least the Upper West Side. Pics by Nicole Ankowski, more below.​Ben Folds Beacon Theatre Tuesday, December 14 Better Than: Watching The Sing-Off Ben Folds is doing fine, thanks -- onstage with four dudes who all look more or less like Shy Ronnie, doing his trademar ... More >>

SO SILLY TOGETHER

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby celebrate their new album

ChatRoulette Made Relevant Possibly for the Last Time by Genius, Hysterical Marketing Campaign (Video)

​Yes, if you can see that headline, you read it correctly: "Genius," and "Hysterical." Two things people haven't thought about ChatRoulette being since, well, everyone got over the initial excitement of ChatRoulette. Destined to be, at most, the Standard-Bearer for Sleepover Amusement (Compute ... More >>

Barack Obama, on ChatRoulette: "I'm Just Trying to Reach Out to Americans, But They Just Keep Reaching for Themselves"

Via The Daily What and Metafilter, singer Ben Folds has masterfully done it, the staff of Newsweek has done it to embarrassing and hysterical effect, The Daily Show did it, so naturally, it's now time for President Barack Obama to hit up the social freak experiment known as ChatRoulette. Of course ... More >>

Tonight! LCD Soundsystem, Dorian Wood, El Haru Kuroi, Mi Ami, And Ben Folds

"Yeah, this is English Breakfast tea. No biggie."​James Murphy, a/k/a the Musto-bashing raconteur known as LCD Soundsystem, takes over Webster Hall tonight for yet another "secret show." Should you fail to snag a ticket, head to Le Poisson Rouge for the quivering break-up folk of Dorian Wood ( ... More >>

Chatroulette Karaoke at Williamsburg's Legion = #fail or #success?

"It's just penises, lots of penises," is how the bartender at Williamsburg's Legion explained Chatroulette to a curious patron last night. Every Monday at the spot, there's now a weekly gathering of karaoke lovers with a taste for free drinks and naked dudes with webcams. But last night, at the ev ... More >>

The 50 Worst Songs of the '00s, F2K No. 7: Nicole Scherzinger, "Puakenikeni"

F2K is a countdown of the 50 worst songs of the decade. Track our progress here. In which the lead Pussycat Doll does her best Georgia O'Keefe impersonation, and nobody notices.

Why?+Owen Weaver+Flexible Trio

GREAT JOB, GUYS!

Tim and Eric bring their absurdity to the stage

Live: Amanda Palmer on New Year's Eve

photo by Dan Weiss Amanda Palmer Wednesday, Dec. 31 Bowery Ballroom If the very idea of a pancake made-up cabaret duo popular with the Hot Topic set puts you off, you probably won't notice that the Dresden Dolls' frontwoman-currently-solo Amanda Palmer branches out more from her insular culture t ... More >>

Bonnaroo Day 3: High Tide Blues, Mason Jennings, Abigail Washburn, B.B. King, Ben Folds, Chromeo

Bonnaroo Day 2: Jose Gonzalez, Fiery Furnaces, Swell Season, Raconteurs, Rilo Kiley, M.I.A., Metallica

Stuff You Need To Know This Week To Avoid Cultural Ostracism

Dare to Be Stupid

In defense, praise, and unrelenting awe of the increasingly vital Weird Al

Walk Unafraid

Yo La Tengo briefly convince us that New Jersey is for lovers

Jay-Z Vows to "Air Out" Joe's Pub Bouncers

Sonic Youths

A festival sets out to make musical theater seem hip again

Pop-Fearing Marvelous 3 Grad Not an Android Killing Machine Yet

Every Hung's a Superhero, Every Hung's a Captain Kirk

With Arms Outstretched

Redheaded indie wet dream Jenny Lewis brings even more of the good out of Rilo Kiley

Listings

Spreading the Net

Nothing Major

La Lutte Continue

Looking for a Mindset at CMJ’s Special Apocalypse Edition

Sound Checks

Your Choices Guide to Four Nights of CMJ Music

Lovers Not Fighters

You May Think It’s Stupid; Rhett Miller Thinks It’s Art

Where the Action Isn’t

Every Bit Counts