Live at Myspace (Limited 2-LP White Vinyl Edition)

For some early adopters of social networking, their first online friend was an unremarkable looking bro in a plain white T-shirt named Tom, the co-founder of MySpace. Arriving on the heels of the like-minded Friendster in 2003, MySpace was a haven for primitive gifs, blurry photos, and snark. It lacked the corporate sheen of its eventual usurper Facebook, but made up for its architectural deficiencies by serving as a hub for independent music. By 2006 the website had 100 million users, and to celebrate, MySpace held their first webcast, tapping the then-dean-of-snark Ben Folds. Recorded in Tennessee at his cramped home studio -- the audience is enthusiastic, but small -- the aptly named Live at MySpace sees Folds and his band tear through a ramshackle hour-long set that draws mostly from 2005's Songs for Silverman ("Jesusland," "Bastard") and 2006's EP compilation Supersunnyspeedgraphic ("There's Always Someone Cooler Than Me," "Bitches Ain't Shit") -- the latter is indeed a Dr. Dre cover. Toss in a pair of fan faves, "Army" and "Rockin' the Suburbs," and five songs that originally appeared on the digital-only iTunes Originals series ("Philosophy," "Brick"), and you've got a nice little career overview, albeit a live one, and a decent snapshot of the convergence of music and social media before things got really complicated. ~ James Christopher Monger