Ben and Jason - Clasic or Dud?

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They refused to sign my wife's neck brace. See the Rogan Whitenails thread.

― Alex, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tuneful folky pop that tries a little to hard to be clever and that Kathryn Williams and Kings Of Convenience do a hundred times better.

Not classic by any bizarre stretch of the imagination. But alright in a wallpapery sort of way.

― electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Again, the creator of this thread is a joke. Right?

― Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I can't tell them apart from Badfinger (I've only heard Emoticons, btw). I like some of their songs...

― Jez, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

prefer hagen daz.

― XStatic Peace, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I don't understand you, Robin. Can't you accept that there really are people in the world like me?

― Alex, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Please - nobody else contribute to this thread, until me an Robin have sorted this out. We need some time alone.

― Alex, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Okay, I think we're alone now, Robin. I suppose all I want to say to you is that I'm not a joke - niether well nor badly told (although, I do have a sense of hunmour). My wife did wear a neck brace to the Rogan Whitenails/Ben and Jason gig at Borders and, I know it wasn't you who said it - it was Nick Rhodes, in the Rogan Whitenails thread - but I cetainly did not insult Carly Simon on The Tube in the mid eighties. I don't even know who Alex Langdon, the child stand up comic, is. I realize we share the same name.

― Alex, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I said, erroneously, that Nick Rhodes accused me of being Alex Langdon in the Rogan Whitenails thread. After dramatically slamming the door, I now have to re-enter the room to say that Nick Rhodes actually accused me of this in the Stephen Duffy/Lilac Time thread. This is evocative of a scene in Father Ted, when Ted does a similar thing. So now you can see that I must have a sense of humour - I watch Father Ted. He is one of my comedy influences.

― Alex, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sorry, Alex.

I only thought you were a joke because of all the stuff about Derbyshire. I tend to think anyone from Derbyshire is a joke (indeed I sometimes wonder whether the place actually exists).

― Robin Carmody, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

one month passes...

it would be a lie if i didn't say classic. but then i'm in the band! it's amazing what you can find out there to read about yourself. and the try hard comments have all been said before and maybe we have stopped trying so hard. we've just got back from a tour of the uk where we sold out every night and had more than plenty of very sincere people telling us how our music has been a big part of their lives. now that feels good. really really good. to know that something you've created has made a difference to anyone's life.

that's the success i'm looking for. it doesn't lie at the top of the stairs at the brit ceremony or at the end of a line of cocaine or in a gold disc somewhere. i'm not a platinium selling artist but i'm happy. really happy. can anyone ever take that away from you?

Ben.

― Ben Parker, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ben Parker's comments not withstanding, I'd say that Ben & Jason's tunes are somewhere between classic and above-average (certainly not dud). If they could shed the Nick Drake influence (and the Nick Drake string-arranger for that matter) they'd be well on their way to classic status. 'Emoticons' is freaking brilliant. 'Ten Songs About You' is good, but across its 40 minutes, fewer songs/moments stand out. C'mon guys, you know you've got it in you. Make the album that kicks the asses of your peers. *On a side note, everyone should own a copy of 'Emoticons' -- it's an amazing album!!!

― Tim DiGravina, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I still don't think Emoticons is amazing. I'll certainly concede that the three singles are all excellent songs, but I just find too many of the non-single tracks all too uninspiring. I had the same complaint with Hello - 2 excellent songs surrounded by unmemorable Radiohead-ish folk.

― electric sound of jim, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Electric sound of jim, three singles does not an excellent album make? Please let me know what albums you're listening too. An album with more than three great songs these days is a rarity... unless you're talking about The Clientele. 'Emoticons' is fantastic.

― Tim DiGravina, Sunday, 24 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'll just add my voice and say 'classic', based on "Hello" and "Emoticons", both of which are very lovely indeed. Haven't got round to "10 songs..." yet but I'm sure it'll be fine. I kind of like the Nick Drake-isms, really, it suits the music fine. And Ben, if you're still reading, do another tour of record shops - I saw you play in Diverse in Newport a few years ago, fantastic little gig.

― Rob M, Monday, 25 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

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