Fear of Pop is the name of an experimental recording project by Ben Folds (of Ben Folds Five) and

Caleb Southern Caleb Southern (born December 26, 1969) is an American professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, musician and record producer. He has worked with Ben Folds Five, Fear of Pop and Archers of Loaf. As of 2002, he was a member of Partners Ag ...

(Ben Folds Five's long-time producer), along with

John Mark Painter John Mark Painter (born c. 1967) is an American multi-instrumental musician, composer and arranger. He is best known for his role, with his wife, singer Fleming McWilliams, in the rock duo, Fleming and John. Painter grew up in Miami, and beg ...

(of Fleming and John),

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

and others. Their only album '' Volume 1'' was released in 1998.

Biography

Folds and Southern began recording music for the "Fear of Pop" project during 1997 in various locations around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as an outlet to make music away from Ben Folds Five. In an open letter to fans on Frank Maynard's quasi-official Ben Folds Five website, Folds said that Fear of Pop had "helped satisfy my need to express some things musically - textures, orchestration, rhythms - things that don't always naturally fall into the standard three-minute singer/song format. I love to paint sounds in an abstract way, discovering their effect after it's all put together. Once you’ve sold a million records, you've earned the right to experiment self-indulgently at the expense of your record company." In 1998,

550 Records 550 Music (originally known as Sony 550 Music) was a unit of Sony Music Entertainment, which operated through Sony Music's Epic Records division while in activity. Launched in 1992, the "550" name was inspired by the address of the Sony buildin ...

(under Epic/

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

) released Folds' '' Volume 1''. The cover of the album, an image entitled "Just Your Average Second On This Planet" by

David Bethell David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, featured the silhouette of a running man being pursued by cowboys on horseback with lassos. The back of the album case showed the silhouette of a boy in a cowboy outfit sitting on a park bench. The inner cover showed a woman being stabbed by a man on a television set seen by an open city window. At some stores, a limited edition 12" vinyl single for "In Love" was bundled for free with ''Volume 1''. It featured a remix of the song by

Thievery Corporation Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including bo ...

, as well as a couple of cuts from the album. The band also included a cast of musicians other than Folds, Southern and Painter.

provided vocals on "In Love" (as well as the reprise, "Still in Love"). Painter's wife, Fleming McWilliams, also sang on several tracks.

Frally Hynes Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and composer, who is the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., since May 2017. Folds was th ...

, Folds' then-girlfriend (and now ex-wife), performed frantic lead vocals on "Root to This." On January 22, 1999 Fear of Pop gave their first and only live performance on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

''. They performed "In Love", with William Shatner on lead vocals, along with Folds and McWilliams quietly duetting underneath the actor's monologue.

Eddie Walker Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

, the drummer for Folds' first band,

Majosha Majosha (formerly stylized as Majôsha) 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 ...

, played drums during this appearance.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Fear of Pop: Volume 1'' (1998)

References

External links

An open letter from Ben Folds to fans concerning Fear of Pop (archived version)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fear Of Pop American indie rock groups 550 Music artists