Synopsis

Ben Folds Five perform the song in a stark, stylized setting that matches its confrontational energy. The visual focus stays on Ben Folds, Robert Sledge, and Darren Jessee as the trio plays through the track's increasingly forceful sections, with energetic cutting and exaggerated performance imagery reinforcing the song's outsider-revenge attitude. Rather than following a literal storyline, the video turns the band's live intensity and Folds' furious piano playing into a theatrical statement of triumph over former tormentors.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in 1997, alongside the band's second album, "Whatever and Ever Amen." The track opens that album and runs for approximately 3 minutes and 52 seconds.

• Ben Folds described the song as a revenge anthem about someone determined to succeed so he can confront the people who once bullied him.

• The song's title plays with the contrast between one angry individual and a large group of disapproving people, reflecting its theme of turning humiliation into defiance.

• "One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" became one of Ben Folds Five's most durable live songs. Ben Folds also continued performing it during his solo career, often using it as a showcase for the song's demanding piano part.

• The three-piece's unusually full sound is central to the video's impact: Folds handles the lead vocal and piano, Robert Sledge supplies bass, and Darren Jessee drives the performance from the drums.

• The song appeared on the 1998 compilation "Triple J Hottest 100, Volume 5," extending its reach beyond the album and single campaign.