Come on baby, now throw me a right to the chin

It's November, and in Erik Adams' world, that means it's Ben Folds Five time.

The Five's music is perfectly suited to this time of year. Like the emotions I feel in the eleventh month of the year, it's optimistic and playful (Christmas is on its way!) and at the same time cynical and gloomy (frigid temperatures and impenetrable snowfall is on it's way!). Here's a couple of my favorite BFF tracks for November:

Selfless, Cold and Composed (from Whatever and Ever, Amen)
As an alternative rock band working with vocals, piano, bass, and drums, the Five were outfitted to strike the occasional jazz combo posture. The instrumental interludes in “Selfless” would work well under scenes of a college-age Charlie Brown getting the football pulled out from under him by an aloof ex who could give Lucy a run for her psychiatry stand money (the jingle bells in the outro don’t hurt either).
(Click here to buy the extended version of the album from Amazon.com)

Jane (from The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner)
Unauthorized Biography is the band's swan song, and as such, is often more introspective and cinematic than any of its predecessors; it's an album for grayer days. "Jane" strips away most of the album's excesses, exploring the recurring Folds theme of be-true-to-yourself-ism over a swaggering beat and electronic flourishes. Climaxing with a crunch from Robert Sledge's fuzzed-out bass, it's self-assurance in a cold November rain.
(Click here to buy the album from Amazon.com)