Take it away, @BenFolds:

It’s happening fo sho – Day 1 in studio with Robert and Darren through March #NewBenFoldsFiveRecord twitter.com/BenFolds/statu…

— benjamin folds (@BenFolds) January 25, 2012

When, Ben, when?!

Spring release @Andy_Hampshire #NewBenFoldsFiveRecord

— benjamin folds (@BenFolds) January 25, 2012

There you have it. More details soon, we’re sure.

According to Ben Folds superfan Scott Lapatine, Ben Folds Five only played their Robert Sledge-penned song “Tell Me What I Did” live once: At Scranton University in April 2000. (Do not ask me how he knows this.) (UPDATE: It was played a few times, actually.) This did not stop Folds from reconvening his old band in June to record a new version of the song for his forthcoming career-spanning collection The Best Imitation Of Myself: A Retrospective, out 10/11 on Sony Legacy and available as both a single CD and a triple-disc set. (Two more new songs, “House” and “”Stumblin’ Home Winter Blues,” also appear on the comp.) Listen to “Tell Me What I Did” and check out the tracklist below.

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It’s been a second since we had any news on the Ben Folds front — the last of it was Chatroulette-related, remember Chatroulette?! — but he’s posted a new track on his The Sing-Off profile page called “House.” The Sing-Off of course being NBC’s attempt to parlay some of that The Voice/American Idol mojo. Check it out at NBC — it’s being billed as “the first Ben Folds Five song in ten years,” so there’s that.

Folds’ career anthology, The Best Imitation Of Myself: A Retrospective is available for pre-order and is officially out 10/11 on Sony Legacy.

For background: A couple weeks back a guy named Merton started posting videos of himself improvising piano tunes on Chatroulette. NY Mag‘s Vulture guessed that Merton was actually Ben Folds. He’s not Ben Folds, but it was enough to get the attention of the real Folds, who paid tribute to Merton at a show Saturday night in North Carolina. This YouTube document of the night has all of the penises edited out, but Folds and the audience of 2,000 did sing to a guy on the can, and covered “Free Bird” for a middle-aged guy holding a lighter. The best tribute though, is the fact that Folds’ video can’t match the original. Also this seems pretty special, but honestly, musicians are on Chatroulette all the time. You just have to know when to catch them (between 4-6AM).

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Though they’re clearly still going strong, ten years ago yesterday Oklahoma’s favorite sons released their ninth and generally speaking most beloved album The Soft Bulletin. It was the Flaming Lips’ moody, poppy, deeply atmospheric followup to 1997′s quadruple turntable adventure Zaireeka and it was followed by another critical and commercial success, 2002′s Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, but The Soft Bulletin found the Lips (and producer Dave Fridmann) nailing something especially magical. It’s somehow welcoming, chilly, lonesome, communal, psychedelic, and down home at the same time. The collection crystallized the Lips’ step into less experimental directions, found them a larger audience, and provided a template for future releases. To celebrate The Soft Bulletin‘s 10-year mark we’ve collected seven assorted covers — from the worlds of indie, jazz, pop, folk, even a cappella — to give an idea of the album’s far-reaching impact. And, while you’re at it, you should listen to the original again. It still sounds like it was recorded entirely at sunset.

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A cappella’s been creeping further and further into the indie rock realm: Not necessarily bands who sing without instrumentation behind them, but straight-up college a cappella groups covering Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend, backing Rivers Cuomo. It’s like a sickness! Just kidding (sort of). One-upping these dabblings, Ben Folds has created a new album, Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella, a collection of the US of A’s best a cappella groups covering his songs. Over two months, he, his wife Fleur, and engineer Joe Costa recorded the tracks themselves. The sounds were all captured with six area mics. Each session got four hours. This is raw a cappella, people. And, as Folds says, “This is not a novelty .. I consider this my new record…I’m incredibly proud of this.” We have the artwork, the track list, and most importantly, sounds.

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For the third year in a row, we’ve turned to master bootlegger team9 to take some of our favorite songs of the year and mash them together. On Stereogum & team9 Present… MySplice III you’ll hear familiar blog hits from artists like Lykke Li, of Montreal, the Breeders, Bloc Party, Crystal Castles, and Beck remixed with beats and vocals borrowed from some of the year’s most inescapable pop hits. (There are some oldies thrown in, too.)

As always with our original compilations, you may download all the tracks for free, as individual MP3s, ZIP or torrent. There is no better way to celebrate 2008 for no money.

One hitch: we need an album cover! You’re creative, will you make one for us?

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Before Elton John revisited Yellow Brick Road with Ben Folds and others, Folds revisited The Unauthorized Biography Of Rienhold Messner with his old band. Said performance, which took place at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Memorial Hall, was organized as part of MySpace Music’s “Front To Back” series, so it makes sense MySpace would have really good video of the entire event.

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Last night Elton John returned to Broadway to perform his classic 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road start to finish. The event benefited a number of AIDS charitable organizations (tickets ranged from $250 to $2,500) and featured an all-star group of Sir Elton’s friends: Rufus Wainwright, Ben Folds, Jake Shears, John Cameron Mitchell, Jane Krakowski, Simba… That sounds awesome. From the New Amsterdam theater, here’s Elton with a “very important part of [his] life” Jake Shears, of Scissor Sisters/Queef Latina, animatedly tackling Bernie Taupin’s booze-soaked narrative “Social Disease.”

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Last night, while you were resting up from all those winks in the Vice Presidential debate, Regina Spektor joined Ben Folds for a playful version of “You Don’t Know Me” on Conan O’Brien. As tipster Marc C. points out, there’s another guest of note in the horn section: A mustached version of SNL‘s Jason Sudeikis having problems with this trombone. Something else to watch for: Regina’s Obama belt. All said, this performance has much more Spektor (and Flavor Flav), but less Josh Groban than the Tim & Eric-directed video for the track.

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