ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS - Ben Folds

YEAR: 2001

LABEL: Epic

TRACK LISTING: Annie Waits, Zak and Sara, Still Fighting It, Gone, Fred Jones Part 2, The Ascent of Stan, Losing Lisa, Carrying Cathy, Not the Same, Rockin' the Suburbs, Fired, The Luckiest

IMPRESSIONS: Ben Folds was the sad sack of the Penguin Awards for a long while. This album is really magnificent and should've won the Penguin Award for album of the year but the competition was so incredibly fierce that year that there was no joy. The same thing happened later when Folds' song "Late" should've won for song of the year and didn't again. Folds was probably known as the artist whose had the strongest material NOT win a Penguin Award for several years. Thankfully for him he finally won a Penguin Award for cover song of the year with "Bitches Ain't Shit" but the fact remains that I still want to award him some sort of honorary Penguin Award for the album ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS because it's 100 times stronger than any of the Penguin Award winners for album of the year lately. Sometimes there's no justice! This album was first recommended to me by my Borders co-worker Tuba Dave and, not having ever listened to Ben Folds Five I was dubious; however I soon fell in love with the incredible melodies.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: Annie Waits, Zak and Sara, Still Fighting It, Gone, Fred Jones Part 2, The Ascent of Stan, Losing Lisa, Carrying Cathy, Not the Same, Fired

FACT SHEET: ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS is Ben Folds' first album after several with his band Ben Folds Five. The album had the misfortune to be released on September 11, 2001 but still became Folds' most successful album to date. "Not the Same" is based on a true story of a friend who climbed a tree at a party while on LSD, stayed there all night and came down a born-again Christian. ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS was nominated for the Penguin Award for album of the year and song of the year for "Carrying Cathy".