Way to Normal

In the elusive school of the unwilling, begrudging school of the errant hipster, Ben Folds might just be Dean. Or President. Or the guy who sits in the back of MUS 101 with a scowl on his face aimed at the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cirus, et. al. who seemed to have grasped success more so. And with his third solo album, Way to Normal, Folds flies the flag of the social outcast in Ray Ban's who never quite understood cool. Or didn't want to participate in it.

Fans of Folds will be delighted to hear iconoclastic Folds that Songs for Silverman seemed to sorely lack. From the hard piano rock of "Dr. Yang" to the soulful piano ballads ("Kylie from Connecticut") Anthropological issues are addressed, everything from gender to love to class. In "Free Coffee," Folds laments "when I was broke I needed more/and now that I'm rich I get free coffee." "Effington," like a sequel to "Jesusland," flips the bird to American conventions. The notion to marry, settle down, lead a quite life. "

The two standout tracks ( in my humble opinion, at least) are "Cologne (Piano Orchestra Version)" and "You Don't Know Me," featuring fellow piano prodigy Regina Spektor. The first is haunting in melody and message; semi-autobiographical in nature, a moody Folds decides to end things with his significant other, how they might have been happy if circumstances had been different. Besides being the top iTunes download, "You Don't Know Me" boasts serious indie-pop potential for the "Grey's Anatomy"/"The O.C"/"One Tree Hill"/"Gossip Girl" crowd of complex beats and existential meanings.

Regardless, Folds has proven that the way to normal is not the yellow brick road of promise. Let's hope, for listener's sakes, that it takes Folds many, many more albums before he becomes "Normal."

Quote of the Day: Bitch Went Nuts.