Title: A Dream About Lightning Bugs Pdf A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons
Author: Ben Folds
Published Date: 2019
Page: 336
“A Dream About Lightning Bugs offers a glimpse inside the head of another musical genius while also being one of the best-written, most interesting musical memoirs of the rock era.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“A masterfully written memoir, and so much more. Folds imbues this literary work with keen insight and humor to create an elegant and moving tribute to art and life itself.”—Daniel Levitin, author of #1 New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind“Delightful . . . Singer-songwriter Folds explores the ways in which music shaped his life and offers glimpses into the process of making music. . . . Folds’s fans will take great pleasure in this charming and insightful memoir.”—Publishers Weekly“A Dream About Lightning Bugs reads like its author: intelligent, curious, unapologetically punk, and funny as hell. This intimate look at his life from his own unique perspective is a rare and unforgettable gift that does what Ben Folds always has done for me as an artist and a friend: encourages me to be more myself, with a lot of swear words.”—Sara Bareilles“Engaging and solid . . . Rock memoirs have a distancing effect, but Ben Folds is as relatable as ever.”—The Washington Post “A memoir of sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll that’s long on wry humor and short on—well, sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. . . . A pleasure for fans and encouragement for novices to tune in.”—Kirkus Reviews “[Folds’s] journey, beginning with a dream he had at age three, is one of the most rewarding any musician has brought us along for in quite some time.”—Paste Magazine Ben Folds is an American musician who has created an enormous body of genre-bending music that includes pop albums with Ben Folds Five, multiple solo albums, a classical piano concerto, and collaborations with artists ranging from Regina Spektor to William Shatner. Folds, who was also a judge for five seasons on NBC’s acclaimed a capella show The Sing-Off, was named the first ever artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in 2017. He is an outspoken champion for arts education and music therapy, serving on the distinguished Artist Committee of Americans for the Arts, and as chairman of the national ArtsVote 2020 initiative.
“A Dream About Lightning Bugs reads like its author: intelligent, curious, unapologetically punk, and funny as hell.”—Sara Bareilles
Ben Folds is a celebrated American singer-songwriter, beloved for songs such as “Brick,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” and “The Luckiest,” and is the former frontman of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. But Folds will be the first to tell you he’s an unconventional icon, more normcore than hardcore. Now, in his first book, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming and wise chronicle of his artistic coming of age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller.
In the title chapter, “A Dream About Lightning Bugs,” Folds recalls his earliest childhood dream—and realizes how much it influenced his understanding of what it means to be an artist. In “Measure Twice, Cut Once” he learns to resist the urge to skip steps during the creative process. In “Hall Pass” he recounts his 1970s North Carolina working-class childhood, and in “Cheap Lessons” he returns to the painful life lessons he learned the hard way—but that luckily didn’t kill him.
In his inimitable voice, both relatable and thought-provoking, Folds digs deep into the life experiences that shaped him, imparting hard-earned wisdom about both art and life. Collectively, these stories embody the message Folds has been singing about for years: Smile like you’ve got nothing to prove, because it hurts to grow up, and life flies by in seconds.
Praise for A Dream About Lightning Bugs
“Besides being super talented, and an incredibly poignant and multifaceted musician, Ben Folds is a fantastic author. I couldn’t put this book down—and not just because I taped it to my hand. Ben takes us into his mind and into his process from the very beginnings of his childhood to where he is today—one of the greatest musicians and writers that has ever graced the art.”—Bob Saget
“A Dream About Lightning Bugs is an insightful, touching and often hilarious look back at [Folds’s] life and career, told with wit and good old-fashioned Southern warmth—like Truman Capote, but with more F-bombs.”—People
Ben Folds at his finest I’ve been a Ben Folds fan since his first album. I saw Ben Folds Five in concert several times, and then when he toured as a solo artist, and twice with Symphony orchestras. I am a huge fan, obviously. His music really spoke to me. This book brought his struggles to light. I felt like I was struggling along with him. For such an amazing talent, it’s eye opening to find out how hard he had to work to get to the level he currently enjoys. And he never stops evolving. I’m so thankful that he is such an advocate for music in schools. The book is written exactly as he speaks, which is humble and hilarious at times, heartbreaking at others. If you’re a fan, you will love the book.What a treat! Just finished reading Ben Fold’s book and it was an absolute joy to read. Very interesting life and perspective. I’ll say it ... he’s an odd bird (“wearing a brown polyester shirt?”) but he’d have to be to accomplish all that he has. Love the chapters about his early days in NC the most. Seems like the kinda guy you want to have a beer with ... humble and hilarious. Well done, Ben!! And thanks for all the awesome music...❤️Rocks the Suburbs, but not quite The Luckiest For Those of Y'all Who Wear Fannie Packs, know first I am a big fan of BF and all his projects. He covers a lot of them here, including Fear of Pop, The Bens, and his work with William Shatner. As seems to be the case for most autobios, he delves into nice detail for the formative years but glosses over some of the latter portions.By way of specific example, I'll share a few. There is no real mention of his work with Weird Al Yankovic, who was director of Folds' "Rocking the Suburbs" video from his solo album of the same name, who also sang backing vocals on his song "Time" off Songs for Silverman, and on whose album Poodle Hat Ben played piano. I thought this was an odd person to omit.There wasn't much mentioned of the breakup/hiatus of BFF. It was done in a few paragraphs. Stranger still is no real mention of how they got back together for The Sound of the Life of the Mind. It was just there, him talking about maybe two tracks from that album, and that was it. No real mention of Sledge or Jesse's work in the meantime or their friendship.Overall Folds is incredibly talented. This book looks at his mindset and approach to life and is full of nuggets like what the title "A Dream about Lightning Bugs" means for him metaphorically. There is plenty here on what he's learned and while he doesn't cover all four divorces in detail he gives a hint on some, particularly those which inspired songs. Personally, I wanted a LOT more about the songwriting process, effects used, studio life, etc as I've found in some other books. But I believe that wasn't the point for Folds here, who instead opts for the Picture Window memoirs method and covers the years with a broader approach you'd expect from a Sentimental Guy.This is still a Most Valued Possession for any fan of Ben Folds. Maybe later we'll get a follow up, or even specific book dedicated to his work. For now I Paid My Money and I saw it all.
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