Ben Folds is best known for rekindling the romance between rock music and the piano starting in the 1990s. Now, he's betting fans will fall in love with college a cappella groups. Folds joins GQ senior editor Mickey Rapkin to talk about the genre's popularity. Plus: rock icon Marianne Faithfull joins us in the studio.
Revenge of the A Cappella Nerds
For years, college a cappella groups lived in the shadows, hiding their extracurricular indiscretions behind a veil of shame. But sweet harmonies are nerdy no more. University-based a cappella groups are touring the world, and some of the best appear on a new compilation CD curated by alternative rock icon ...
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull was 17 in 1964 when she became a pop star, recording “As Tears Go By,” written by her boyfriend Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. She then led a rock 'n' roll life: topping the charts, acting in movies, dealing with drug addiction and turning into an iconic figure. ...
A Cappella Gets the Ben Folds Treatment
Fair warning: In the words of a certain hollerback girl, collegiate a cappella is about to go b-a-n-a-n-a-s.
Atlantic Records signed the Indiana University group Straight No Chaser to a five-album deal. The group sold an impressive 100,000 copies of their Christmas CD over the holidays. Meanwhile, NBC has ...
Ben Folds goes back to school
Ben Folds, the pop pianist/songwriter and leader of the Ben Folds Five, has a new album. Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella just cries out for you to make fun of it. A whole album of university a capella groups doing versions of Folds's songs? Are you kidding?
Apparently ...