Rockin’ the Sub­urbs (2001)

This song high­lights Ben Folds’s abil­ity to be jok­ing at the same moment that he isn’t. This is an “angsty” song about the pres­sures of being white and mid­dle class. This appeals par­tic­u­larly to those who ARE white and mid­dle class because we feel left out of the “my life sucks” party. Ben gen­tly lays out our own prob­lems: hem­or­rhoids, need­ing record pro­duc­ers, peo­ple cut­ting into the line at Mickey D’s, the his­tory of slave own­er­ship, and (of course) the music of Bon Jovi.

In true passive-aggressive fash­ion, he sim­ply laments that he is “rockin’ the sub­urbs” much like bands before him, except that they were tal­ented. In fact, this song is so angsty that the lead instru­ment is gui­tar, not piano. And the way he resolves all that angst? By “cussing on the mic tonight”.

Do it, Ben. The worst they can do is take away your allowance.

lis­ten here — may con­tain strong language