it sort of gave me permission to go, "oh, that thing i do naturally, which isjust bash the hell out of a piano and that kind of aggressive attitude to the piano, i don't have to sit there like, you know, a jazz or a classical player. i can have my own... there is a place for pop." it's a rock and roll attitude to the keyboard... that's exactly right. ..which ben folds brought, but also, there was a kind of a literate sensibility to the lyrics as well. there's a complexity, isn't there? there's also a very sardonic humour. that's exactly right. and ben, like many of the bands i've loved, uses lyrics... they're not comedians, and this plays into the conversation about my musical comedy. you know, the kinks, remember, they were writing dedicated follower of fashion and "i want to be like david." like, they were doing musical satire, and the beatles were winking and nodding and giggling through the whole