Rockin' the Suburbs | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 11, 2001 | |||
Recorded | 2000 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 48:42 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Producer | Ben Folds, Ben Grosse | |||
Ben Folds chronology | ||||
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Singles from Rockin' the Suburbs | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 75/100 [1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Alternative Press | 8/10 [3] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [4] |
The Guardian | [5] |
Los Angeles Times | [6] |
Pitchfork | 6.3/10 [7] |
Q | [8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
Spin | 7/10 [11] |
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".
"Rockin' the Suburbs" is Folds' only single to make Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking there at number 28 in September 2001. The album peaked at number 42 on the Billboard 200 chart, and at number 11 on the Top Internet Albums chart. A remake of the title track featuring William Shatner appeared in the soundtrack for the 2006 film Over the Hedge , which stars Shatner as an opossum named Ozzie.
All tracks are written by Ben Folds, except where noted
No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Annie Waits" | 4:17 | |
2. | "Zak and Sara" | 3:11 | |
3. | "Still Fighting It" | 4:25 | |
4. | "Gone" | 3:22 | |
5. | "Fred Jones Part 2" | 3:45 | |
6. | "The Ascent of Stan" | 4:14 | |
7. | "Losing Lisa" | Folds, Frally Hynes | 4:10 |
8. | "Carrying Cathy" | 3:49 | |
9. | "Not the Same" | 4:17 | |
10. | "Rockin' the Suburbs" | 5:00 | |
11. | "Fired" | 3:49 | |
12. | "The Luckiest" | 4:24 | |
13. | "Hiro's Song" (Bonus track on Japanese CD and US vinyl releases.) | 4:23 |
According to Folds, "Not the Same" is based on a true story of a person he knew who, under the influence of LSD, climbed a tree at a party hosted by Darren Jessee (not Robert Sledge, as the song states), stayed in the tree overnight, and when he came down the next morning was a born-again Christian. Folds used Sledge's name instead of Jessee's in the lyrics because he thought "it sounded better". [12]
Folds performed "Gone" with Street Corner Symphony on the finale of Season 2 of The Sing-Off and performed "Not the Same" with the Dartmouth Aires on the finale of Season 3.
"Still Fighting It" is a bittersweet ode to the pain of adolescence dedicated to his son Louis. He would later write an accompanying song for his daughter Gracie on his 2005 album Songs for Silverman, and he often performs the two songs together live.
"Rockin' the Suburbs" parodies the nu metal style of Korn and Rage Against the Machine. Folds stated of the song "I am taking the piss out of the whole scene, especially the followers." [12]
Ben Folds stated that Hiro's Song was actually one of his favorites from the album, stating "I also did not use a song called "Hiro" about a Japanese guy. That is actually one of my favorite songs of the album. But it didn’t sequence. I like songs about names and characters. Because people are interesting." [12]
Of Zak and Sara, Folds said "I was thinking of these kids growing up in the Midwest. A 16 year old boy plays guitar and his girlfriend has to sit and watch him play all day. She just buzzes there and listens like she had nothing better to do. Maybe the girl is also writing songs and she has this idea in her of music that will happen in 20 years time. She really has some good ideas. But she is not saying anything, cause she is supposed to listen to her boyfriend. And he is playing music that was written 20 years ago." [12]
Credits adapted from album’s liner notes. [13]
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
2001 | The Billboard 200 | 42 |
2001 | Top Internet Albums | 11 |
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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2001 | "Rockin' the Suburbs" | Modern Rock Tracks | 28 |
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.
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.
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.
Volume 1 is the name of the first album by the experimental band Fear of Pop. The album was a project of Ben Folds, John Mark Painter, Fleming McWilliams, and others. It was released on November 17, 1998 on 550 Records.
Songs for Silverman is the second studio album by Ben Folds, released in April 2005 by Epic Records. The album reached No. 13 on the Billboard 200, making it Folds' highest-charting album until the release of Way to Normal in 2008.
"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.
"Rockin' the Suburbs" is a song by Ben Folds from the album Rockin' the Suburbs. It entered the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart on August 11, 2001, and peaked at number 28 on September 22, 2001.
Animosity is the third studio album by American rock band Sevendust, released on November 13, 2001, through TVT Records. The album appeared on the Billboard 200, remained there for thirteen weeks and peaked at 28 on December 1, 2001. It was certified gold on March 11, 2002 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Soup for One is the soundtrack album to the movie Soup for One by American R&B band Chic et al., released by Mirage Records in 1982. The album reached number 168 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and number 42 on the R&B chart. Besides three previously released tracks, Chic's "I Want Your Love" from 1978 album C'est Chic, Sister Sledge's "Let's Go On Vacation" from 1980s Love Somebody Today and "Jump, Jump" from Debbie Harry's KooKoo, the album contains five songs specifically written and produced by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers for the movie.
The discography of Ben Folds, an American singer-songwriter, consists of eight studio albums, two live albums, ten compilation albums, two video albums, eight extended plays, and eighteen singles. See also Ben Folds Five discography.
"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.
Ben Folds Five – The Complete Sessions at West 54th, also referred to as Ben Folds Five – Live at Sessions at West 54th, is a DVD containing musical performances by Ben Folds Five. On June 9, 1997 Ben Folds Five was one of the first guests to appear on a new series called Sessions at West 54th. Because of the 1/2 hour time constraint of the show, only a handful of the recorded tracks made it to air. The DVD contains the entire performance which, for the most part, includes tracks from their just released album, Whatever and Ever Amen.
"Sports & Wine" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by Ben Folds. The song is a snide dismissal of a "man's man" who attempts to put up the pretense of being sensitive so that he can appeal more to the opposite sex.
"Uncle Walter" is a song from Ben Folds Five's 1995 self-titled debut album. It was written by lead singer Ben Folds.
Wendy Moten is the debut album by American R&B singer Wendy Moten, released in 1992. It features the single "Come In Out of the Rain", which, although a minor hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, was an Adult Contemporary smash, peaking at number 5. It had similar success in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 8 when released in 1994. A second single from the album, "So Close to Love" also charted in the UK in 1994, peaking at number 35.
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.