This song kicks off the greatest of the Ben Folds Five albums, Whatever and Ever Amen, an album of virtuoso songwriting, pizzazz musicianship, hyperactive vocals, and a kind of humor that many people have taken for shallow jesterism, when in fact the craft and completeness of the language in most of these lyrics belies great sobriety and consideration.

Take, for instance, the song "Cigarette," which has lyrics that are one single, unbroken sentence.

"One Angry Dwarf" is a little more in the stupid side, relying on the good old angry-little-guy-becomes-tyrant-boss trope, with a few silly grade-school vendettas thrown in, but for a fast-paced opening number on the album, it fits the bill.

What I desperately love about this song is everything in the music, the highly original piano attack, the way the fuzz bass is a high-flying, melodic backbone, and the consistently impressive drum imagination.

Peak, energetic Ben Folds Five is all about the instrumental breakdowns, and "One Angry Dwarf" pulls out a beauty, a piano solo with propulsive bass/drum backing.

The bass playing is really so satisfying in most of Ben Folds Five, and the funk ghost notes in the instrumental are just one example. The piano hits only the main accents, leaving the bass to provide the real fun and movement. It's such a unique formula, but they really found their chemistry.