| "Do It Anyway" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover art by Luther Mosher | ||||
| Single by Ben Folds Five | ||||
| from the album The Sound of the Life of the Mind | ||||
| Released | May 4, 2012 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
| Label | IMA Vee Pee Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ben Folds | |||
| Producer(s) | Joe Pisapia [1] | |||
| Ben Folds Five singles chronology | ||||
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"Do It Anyway" is an alternative rock song by the band Ben Folds Five, from their 2012 album The Sound of the Life of the Mind . It was the first song released by the band in over a decade. [2]
The video [3] for the song features the Fraggles of 80's children's show fame. Uncle Traveling Matt is exploring the Silly Creatures' (humans') musical ritual (recording). The band's playing causes an earthquake in Fraggle Rock, which is under the recording studio. The Fraggles cautiously join the band to perform the song. Mokey joins Ben Folds on piano. Gobo pairs with bassist Robert Sledge. Wembley pops up behind the drums with Darren Jessee
Chris Hardwick plays a studio gate guard smitten with a cool receptionist (Anna Kendrick). After bumping into Hardwick's character in the hallway, Kendrick's character discovers that he has a tattoo of an artist she loves ("Boy Gorg", a humorous Boy George-styled Junior Gorg). The story ends with recording engineer (Rob Corddry) saying, "Wow. Guys, that was.. ok. I mean, I think we can do better. Let's actually record this one."
The video closes with Folds, Kendrick, Hardwick, and Corddry singing the Fraggle Rock Theme: "Dance your cares away. Worries for another day. Let the music play – down at Fraggle Rock (down at Fraggle Rock)." Boober pops up to deliver the traditional closing line, "down at Fraggle Rock."
The music video was accompanied by a behind-the-scenes video, [4] featuring interviews with Folds, Sledge, Jessee, Hardwick, and Red Fraggle. The executive producers were Hardwick and Lisa Henson.
The single was originally released with artwork by Luther Mosher [5] until the full album was released. Afterwards the album art was attached to the single, but the Mosher art was still being used in some places for promotion. [6]
Fraggle Rock is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim Henson.
Rockin' the Suburbs is the first solo album by American singer-songwriter Ben Folds released on September 11, 2001, after Folds disbanded his group Ben Folds Five. Rockin' the Suburbs was recorded in Adelaide, Australia, where Folds was living at the time. Two singles from the album were released, "Rockin' the Suburbs", and "Still Fighting It".
Ben Folds Five was an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprised Ben Folds, Robert Sledge and Darren Jessee. The group achieved success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes. Their single "Brick" from the second album, Whatever and Ever Amen (1997), gained airplay on many mainstream radio stations.
Benjamin Scott Folds is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the eponymous frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. He has recorded a number of solo albums – the most recent of which, What Matters Most, was released in June 2023. He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Since May 2017, he has been the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Whatever and Ever Amen is the second album by Ben Folds Five, released on March 18, 1997. Three singles were released from the album, including the lead single, "Battle of Who Could Care Less", which received significant airplay on alternative radio and on MTV, and peaked at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart and number 22 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the band's biggest hit, "Brick", which was a top-40 song in numerous countries.
Darren Michael Jessee is an American musician best known as the drummer of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five. He has also worked as an instrumentalist for Sharon Van Etten and Hiss Golden Messenger and released three solo albums and four albums as singer and songwriter for indie band Hotel Lights. His first solo album, The Jane, Room 217, was released on August 24, 2018, to near-universal acclaim from critics.
Robert Ewell Sledge is an American musician, best known for his work with Ben Folds Five.
Ben Folds Five is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, released on August 8, 1995. A non-traditional rock album, it featured a sound that excluded lead guitars completely. The album was released on the small independent label Passenger Records, owned by Caroline Records, a subsidiary of Virgin/EMI. Ben Folds Five received positive reviews, and spawned five singles. The record failed to chart, but sparked an intense bidding war eventually won by Sony Music. Several live versions of songs originally released on Ben Folds Five reappeared later as b-sides or on compilations.
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner is the third studio album by Ben Folds Five, released on April 27, 1999. Produced by the band's usual collaborator, Caleb Southern, it represented a departure for the band from their usual pop-rock sound to material influenced by classical and chamber music, with darker, introspective lyrics on subjects such as regret, death, and loss of innocence. The band broke up shortly after the touring period of the album, and as a result the record was considered the final release from the trio until they reunited in 2011 and released The Sound of the Life of the Mind the following year.
Ben Folds Live is a live album by Ben Folds, released on October 8, 2002. This album marked the first official release of the improvisation, "Rock This Bitch". The song, which changes with every performance, is now a staple of his live performances, with recorded versions also appears on his later albums Songs for Goldfish and on the Live in Perth DVD.
Naked Baby Photos is a compilation album comprising outtake material from recordings of Ben Folds Five's first two studio albums and live performances. Most of the tracks are previously unreleased rarities.
Majosha was an American alternative rock band formed around early 1988 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It featured Ben Folds on bass and keyboards, Millard Powers on guitar, Evan Olson on guitar, and Eddie Walker on drums. They released a self-produced EP, Party Night: Five Songs About Jesus in 1988, which contained four tracks, none of which were about Jesus. After gaining popularity, they released their first and only studio album, Shut Up and Listen to Majosha in 1989. The band disbanded in early 1990 and the members went on to pursue other projects.
"Brick" is a song by American alternative rock group Ben Folds Five. It was released in November 1997 as a single from their album Whatever and Ever Amen and later on Ben Folds Live. The verses were written by Ben Folds about his high school girlfriend getting an abortion, and the chorus was written by the band's drummer, Darren Jessee. "Brick" was one of Ben Folds Five's biggest hits, gaining much mainstream radio play in the US, the UK, and Australia.
Hotel Lights is an American indie rock band led by singer-songwriter Darren Jessee, the drummer for Ben Folds Five.
"Underground" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. The song is about geeks and social outcasts looking for solace in numbers in underground music and art scenes. It peaked at #37 on the UK Singles Chart. The track was #3 for the year of 1996 on Australia's Triple J Hottest 100.
"Philosophy" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. Folds continues to play the song on various tours as part of his solo career.
"Alice Childress" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds and Anna Goodman. The song is a look from a distance at the breakup of a couple who have fundamental differences in their outlooks on life.
"Where's Summer B.?" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 first album, Ben Folds Five. It was written by Ben Folds and Darren Jessee. The song, though up-tempo, deals with the disappointment of returning to a hometown after being away and seeing things much the same as before.
The Sound of the Life of the Mind is the fourth studio album by Ben Folds Five, released on September 18, 2012. It is the group's first release since 1999's The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner.
Live is the first official compilation of live material by the band Ben Folds Five. It was released on June 4, 2013, via Ben Folds' own ImaVeePee Records and distributed by Sony Music Entertainment.