Way to Normal
(2008) Stems and Seeds
(2009) Release date 17 September 2008 Label Epic/Sony Records | Artist Ben Folds Producer Dennis Herring Genre Alternative rock | |
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Released 17 September 2008
27 September 2008
29 September 2008
30 September 2008 Recorded Ben Folds' Recording Studio,
Nashville, TN Similar Ben Folds albums, Alternative rock albums | ||
Ben folds hiroshima b b b benny hit his head
Way to Normal is the third studio album by Ben Folds. It was released on 30 September 2008 in the United States and on 29 September 2008 in the United Kingdom. The album is Folds' highest-charting album ever in the US, reaching #11 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release.
Contents
- Ben folds hiroshima b b b benny hit his head
- 01 brainwashed way to normal fake
- Track listing
- Personnel
- Fake leak
- Leak track listing
- Songs
- References
A music video for "You Don't Know Me" was directed by Eric Wareheim, featuring Eric himself and his comedy partner Tim Heidecker.
In 2009, Folds re-released the album in less compressed audio quality as Stems and Seeds, adding various bonus tracks and providing "stems" for fans to create their own remixes.
01 brainwashed way to normal fake
Track listing
All tracks written by Ben Folds.
Personnel
Fake leak
On 16 July 2008, an anonymous user posted what they claimed was a "leak" of Folds's latest album on two fan sites. The file contained nine tracks along with a PDF of supposed cover art, and was a mix of what appeared to be legitimate songs from Way to Normal and bizarre pastiches of foul-mouthed humour and melodramatic pop. Accordingly, the online forums became full of debate as to which were real and which were fake until 12 August 2008 when Folds admitted on Triple J radio that many songs in the leak were fake. He claimed that he and the band recorded fake versions of songs from the new album when they "had a night to kill in Dublin", and had a friend leak it to the public "to give them something to listen to". After confirming that the leaked Brainwascht, The Frown Song and Free Coffee Town were fake, he stated that they will be used as B-sides and bonus tracks on upcoming releases. A few days later, in a Rolling Stone article, Folds discussed the differences between the real album cuts and the fake leak cuts. The "long way to go" coda of the "fake" track "Way to Normal" was later adapted into "Long Way to Go", a song on Folds' 2015 album, So There.
Leak track listing
All tracks written by Ben Folds.
Songs
1Hiroshima (B B B Benny Hit His Head)3:38
2Dr Yang2:30
3The Frown Song3:38