Recovery


aired on ABC TV Australia
25th July 1998

In this TV show transcript, Dylan and Jane are the hosts.

An excerpt from this TV appearance was included on the Ben Folds Five limited edition video, Spare Reels. It's the part where they're singing "You're Living In A Fantasy World" with the toy piano.


Dylan -- ... "Whatever and Ever Amen", please welcome back Ben Folds Five!

(music and cheering as the band walk down the steps)

Dylan -- Hello, how are you? Welcome, thank you for being here. how are you?

???? -- Well?

J/R -- Well.

Dylan -- Sorry, you got your finger in your ear.

audience -- You look pretty!

Robert -- Sorry, it’s just, I’m getting something out.

???? -- Sorry.

Dylan -- Places to go. Welcome back, thank you very much for being here Ben Folds Five, um, it’s good to have you back. Caught you in the middle of your second Australian tour, already done Western Australia, South Australia and Melbourne last night, and how have your shows been going?

audience -- whoo

B/R/J -- Well...

Dylan -- Somebody here obviously went last night.

Jane -- There’re Ben Folds Five tour T-shirts in the row.

Dylan -- Those chicks up there in the audience wanted me to say hello to you for them

????????

Dylan -- there you go, isn’t that nice. Beautiful. Any different to your last tour, now that Australia is very very, uh, aware of you? More.

Darren -- Started to dress down a bit.

Dylan -- Yeah? Oh, I see. Okay.

Darren -- Yeah, don’t feel the need to, uh, be noticed for what we’re wearing anymore, yeah.

Dylan -- Just blend in.

Darren -- Yeah, blend in.

Ben -- Personality speaks for itself.

Dylan -- I think so.

Robert -- Darren?

Darren -- What is it?

Robert -- Is it safe?

???? -- Yeah.

Robert -- Are these walls bulletproof?

Dylan -- Yeah, yeah, you’re all, you’re very fine and safe, we’ve got the Enforcer looking after you here as well.

Robert -- Do you feel comfortable? Cause we can, we can change things.

Dylan -- Are you talking to me? Or them?

???? -- Sorry.

Robert -- I got a couple of people on

Dylan -- I’m sorry

Robert -- Do you feel good Darren?

Darren -- I’m okay thanks.

Robert -- Okay.

Dylan -- Do you, um, did you bring your own piano again this time?

Ben -- No, um, we’re, we’re renting a piano from, um, Harvey Rentals.

Dylan -- Harvey Rentals. That’s a bit of a plug for them. Um, how come you didn’t bring your own piano this time? I thought that was what you did.

Ben -- No, no, we, we, uh, we rent exclusively from Harvey Rentals.

Dylan -- From Harvey Rentals.

???? -- (laughs)

Dylan -- There’s that word again, and um, do they mind you renting from them, do they, have they been to your shows and seen what you do to the pianos?

Ben -- Um, they saw one show, yes.

Dylan -- And they let you still hire?

Ben -- Yeah, of course!

Dylan -- Very decent of them.

Ben -- Yeah.

Dylan -- Very decent.

Ben -- They, they know, they know who’s the boss.

Dylan -- Ben Folds does like to, in his live shows, if you haven’t seen, does like to smack and bash the piano, um, a lot, often with the piano stool, sometimes.

Jane -- Yes.

Dylan -- Bashing the piano.

Jane -- Like last night in Melbourne (laughing).

???? -- You watched us do that last night?

Darren -- Yeah.

Jane -- Ooh, yeah.

Ben -- Yeah.

Jane -- What’s the insurance like on that?

Ben -- It’s pretty heavy actually. Yeah.

Dylan -- Do they have to help carry the piano or is that your gig?

Ben -- Um, no I carry it all by myself.

Dylan -- That’s why you’re very muscly.

Robert -- We have people all over the world...

Jane -- Who carry pianos?

Robert -- To do loads of things, yeah.

Dylan -- Loads of things?

Robert -- Mmm-hmm.

Dylan -- Carrying pianos being one of them. The album "Whatever and Ever Amen" doing very well. "Brick" is doing sensationally in Australia at the moment, number 32 in the Triple J Hot 100, which is a good sign that it’s doing very well in Australia, "Brick" going sick, um, a little bit different to your last couple singles, perhaps more melancholy, should I say, maybe not? I dunno, I’ve talked for ages in this sentence, um, does "Brick’s popularity surprise you?

Jane -- Are you surprised at the success, yeah?

Ben -- Um, not really cause it did pretty well in the States first, so it surprised us there, but then when it did well here, we already...

Dylan -- Knew it would.

Ben -- ... kinda knew about that, yeah, that, and, and, um, that’s nearly, that’s the one where we can’t smash the piano.

Dylan -- Yeah yeah, because it’s so mellow. You could smash it, that’d be a little bit punk. This was recorded in ‘96 in Ben’s house in fact, um, and, since then a collection of B-sides and live recordings has been released, there it is there, "Naked Baby Photos", one for the fans?

???? -- Yeah.

Dylan -- Sure.

Jane -- This is great, this one.

Dylan -- Have you written some new stuff?

Ben -- Um, yeah, we have this song called, um, it’s uh, "You’re living in a Fantasy World", and another one called...

Darren -- "Let’s Keep It Very Very Very Real Baby".

Ben -- Yeah.

Dylan -- Oh, that’s nice. Hooky?

Ben -- Yeah, it just does that over and over again.

Dylan -- You wanna give us a little eg.? We brought a piano...

Darren -- (coughing)

Dylan -- ... it’s, it’s yours, so you can give us a bit of an example.

???? -- Alright.

Dylan -- It’s only one note at a time on this keyboard.

Ben -- Oh no.

Dylan -- Don’t worry about it cause there’s 102 notes.

Jane -- Well, no, Darren can press this button here.

(keyboard and drum button music starts)

Ben -- "You’re living in a fantasy world, we can’t go on like this no more"

???? -- "No more"

Ben -- That’s it, "let’s drive on down to the badlands"

Dylan -- "Badlands"

Jane -- "Badlands"

Ben -- "Girl it’s been a long time"

Dylan -- "Long time"

Ben -- Drum solo

Jane -- "Long time"

(drum button solo)

B/J -- Here comes the rap. Ready? (looks at Robert) Remember the rap?

Robert -- Yeah, okay, okay. (pause) "I’ve been kicking it in the USA, I got the master plan up my sleeve, I’m gonna roll some cheaper, then I’m gonna leave". That’s it.

Jane -- Wow!

(keyboard music stops)

(laughter and cheering from the audience)

Dylan -- I loved that, that rhyme master, rhyme master

J/R -- Kicking old school like that

Robert -- Yeah, yeah, I do, I kick in old school, so

Dylan -- Yeah, it’s good to kick old school.

Robert -- Yeah, it's sorta Shakespearian

Dylan -- A little bit rhyming couplet at the end, Shakespearian, do you, also do that

B/R/J -- Knock you really on your ass.

J/B -- Yeah.

J/B -- Yeah.

Robert -- I’m getting jiggy with it.

Dylan -- Getting jiggy

Ben -- Yeah

Dylan -- Getting jiggy wit it

(unintelligble over a whole lot of with it’s and wit it’s)

Dylan -- Also did a "Godzirra" song, did you see the movie?

Ben -- No.

Dylan -- Don’t worry.

Jane -- Do you want to see the move?

Ben -- No. (laughing)

Jane -- Funny about that.

Dylan -- We’re about to present a Recovery exclusive for the first time on television, we’re gonna see their new clip from "Whatever and Ever Amen", "Song for the Dump-ed". Im, the clips have been consistently marvellous, very high production, very slick, lovely, and this clip, um, guaranteed to be slick because they’ve got John Flansburgh directing! They Might Be Giants John Flansburgh!

Jane -- Ohhh!

Dylan -- Hurrah, how’d you get him involved?

Ben -- Um, Robert and, he and Robert uh, hang out at a, the, a disco together.

Dylan -- Hang out?

Ben -- Yeah.

Dylan -- With They Might Be Giants?

Ben -- Yeah.

Robert -- Just John.

Dylan -- You’re so cool.

Robert -- Just John because, uh...

Dylan -- They’re both John.

Robert -- But yeah, John, John...

Darren -- Yeah, but we, we call them John and InJohn (?)

Dylan -- We call in networks.

Darren -- Yeah, yeah, you know, we get together and have dinner and...

Dylan -- Swell.

Darren -- ... just kinda hang out and listen to, you know, CD’s, and

Dylan -- Ben Folds Five and They Might Be Giants CD’s?

Darren -- ... talk about what (??) about the world and how all of us can come together and make it a better place.

Dylan -- A global village?

Darren -- It’s like a global village except that you’re not invited...

Dylan -- Oh, okay.

Darren -- ... so it’s just us.

Dylan -- Exclusive global village.

Jane -- A private party.

Darren-- Right, yeah.

Jane -- Was it you or Robert that wrote "Song for the Dumped"? I h... heard it wasn’t Ben.

Robert -- That was, that was Darren.

Darren -- Yeah, but we all did it together because, um

Dylan -- You’ve all been dumped.

Darren -- We, we all, you know, slept with her, so

(Dylan and Jane laugh)

Dylan -- Righty-o, so.

Jane -- You think dumped is something everyone can relate to? Being dumped?

Ben -- At least half the world.

Darren -- Everyone except for Robert because Robert always ends up dumping his girlfriends.

Dylan -- Cause Robert’s the man. He’s got jiggy.

Robert -- Two weeks, that’s it.

Jane -- He’s always on the phone (??). (twirling her finger)

Ben -- Hey, does that mean wrap it up? (twirling his finger in imitation)

Dylan -- No, that means keep going, you’re going really well.

Ben -- Ohh, okay.

Jane -- Yeah, yeah.

(audience cheering)

(keyboard music starts again)

Dylan -- Got some gigs that you can, ooh, ooh, ooh, can you jive to that while I do this? Um... the 27th in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre

Ben -- 27th.

Dylan -- 28th in Sydney at the Enmore Theatre

Ben -- 28th

Dylan -- Twe... um, uh...

Ben -- Bleh, bleh, bleh

Dylan -- 30th in Brisbane at the Festival Hall

Ben -- Hall

Dylan -- Hall, hall hall, yeah. Find Ben Folds Five, if you haven’t already...

Ben -- You were getting jiggy with it!

Dylan -- I was getting jiggy wit it.

Darren -- With it.

Robert -- With it.

Jane -- Wit it!

Dylan -- For sure. Fully. Are you liking Australia?

Ben -- Turn this damn thing off.

Darren ?? -- Oh man.

(music stops)

Dylan -- Yes.

Dylan -- Yeah, you digging Australia?

Ben -- It’s great.

Dylan -- It’s great?

Robert -- Yeah.

Dylan -- It’s just great, isn’t it?

Robert -- It’s fantastic.

Dylan -- Well, we hope you enjoy the rest...

Robert -- Grand. It’s fabulous.

Jane -- Do you like the fashions here?

Ben -- Yeah, yeah, I got most of my influence comes from you.

Darren -- He broke into your closet!

Jane -- Thank you (laughing).

Dylan -- Is that alright with you? Do you mind?

Jane -- Not at all, we match, that’s all that matters.

Ben -- No, I’ve been a big fan for years.

Dylan -- I think it’s most smashing. Thank you very much for being here today, Ben Folds Five!

(lots of cheering)

Dylan -- That’s alright, mais oui (gulp) (someone throws a vibrating dog onto the stage). Can you just hold this for a tick? (catches vibrating dog and passes it to Ben, who passes it to Darren)

(keyboard starts)

(Darren jumps the dog on Robert's leg and Robert gives it a weird look)

Dylan -- Recovery exclusive, Ben Folds Five with "Song for the Dumped"!

(cut to clip -- "Song for the Dumped" - directed by They Might Be Giants John Flansburgh!)