The 2015 Ben Folds album So There features one of the most stunning examples of a meta-musical joke song, “F-10 D A”, a song so grand it basically puts every like-minded effort off of Los Doggies’ e’rebody to shame.
To quote Ben, he wanted to write a song to “teach kids how to cuss,” as well as learn “what notes they can cuss from, theoretically and correctly,” and so from the reverberated shower (where the best ideas come from), he came up with this dirty little chestnut. The double meaning of the cryptogram should be readily apparent in all its delightful childishness. Click on the melodies and drag over the chords to listen.
On the “D”, the piano plays an Ebmaj7 chord so that the melody hits the major seventh. This is a very Ben Foldsy kinda thing to do, although I can’t say why, and don’t have another example, but let’s just say he’ll often throw in Major Seventh chords and sing them (such as in the song “Narcolepsy”).
“F-10 D A” contains lots more note name puns and cryptogram fun such as in the line “See what it’s like to be flat.”
Good thing Los has long since moved out of the musical edutainment field and become a strictly emo band. Otherwise Ben Folds would’ve 25 skidooed us the eff out of there. Even better than the song is the interview he gave about the song in which he shares all of my obsessive compulsive concerns—the lack of an easy G note pun and the last note of the song mistakenly landing on the F despite saying “A”. I suppose nobody wants to get effed in the F though.
Is it possible to not like this man? He could cover one eye on his album cover and ritually sacrifice his former bandmates for all I care.
