The Works of Ben Folds Five Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner

The band weren't aware that Reinhold Messner was a real and very famous person when they named the album - drummer Darren Jessee had used the name on a fake ID as a teenager. The liner notes credit coincidence as a "cosmic collaborator" for this reason.

Answer: One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces

"One Angry Dwarf" was the third single released from "Whatever and Ever Amen" - it's an upbeat and remarkably bitter song, apparently directed at elementary school bullies from the vantage point of adult success.

Answer: Darren Jessee

The verses of "Brick" were written by Folds on the subject of a painful and sensitive experience; Jessee, the group's drummer, had separately devised the brief piece that would become the song's chorus. Southern produced the track, and Short was the subject of "Stephen's Last Night In Town."

Answer: Ben Folds Five

"Uncle Walter" was the fifth and final single from the group's debut LP, written by Ben Folds. The song's subject is an amalgam of a few people Folds personally knew, but the direct namesake was a relative of his first wife, Anna Goodman.

Answer: Army

"Army" was the first of two singles released from "Messner" and appears as the sixth track on the album. The song is mostly autobiographical, touching on Folds' short stint at the University of Miami and the early days of his music career.

Answer: Julianne

"Julianne," the third track on the album, wasn't released as a single. It stands out as having a more abrasive sound than much of the rest of the album, supported in part by its atypical instrumentation (they threw actual trash around in the studio and recorded it).

Answer: The Battle of Who Could Care Less

"The Battle of Who Could Care Less" was the first single released from the album in 1997. In the context of the song, the album title is delivered by hypothetical Franklin Mint portraits of "General Apathy and Major Boredom," in keeping with the song's expression of frustration with (and admiration of) an especially lazy acquaintance.

Answer: A voicemail message

At 6:49 AM on Friday, November 20th, 1998, while still half-asleep, Dean Folds called his son Ben to make sure he was taking care of himself and to wonder out loud about John Glenn's time spent in space. Ben kept the recording and put instrumentation around it - it appears as "Your Most Valuable Possession."

Incidentally, there is a flugelhorn solo in "Don't Change Your Plans" - it's provided by John Mark Painter, a frequent collaborator on Folds' early work. He and his wife Fleming McWilliams recorded two albums as Fleming and John; their second, 1999's "The Way We Are," is a personal favorite.

Answer: False

The song was written by Folds' first wife, Anna Goodman, poking fun at his songwriting style. Folds may have stated in an iTunes interview that the name came from a woman who poured water on Goodman at a party - I haven't been able to find a good source to verify that, but it makes me laugh.

The famous Alice Childress is best known for the novel "A Hero Ain't Nothin' But A Sandwich" and the play "Trouble in Mind."

Answer: Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

All Saints performed "Always Something There to Remind Me," Barenaked Ladies covered "Close to You" (excellently, I might add), and Mike Myers did his best with "What's New Pussycat." Not to suggest that the Five were perfect - while they sound as great as ever, Ben switches the first and third verses, and if you listen for it you can hear him stumble over the words when he realizes it.