A Dream About Lightning Bugs

A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons

De: Ben Folds

Narrado por: Ben Folds

Duración: 8 h y 34 m

Resumen del Editor

From genre-defying icon Ben Folds comes a memoir reflecting on art, life and music that is as nuanced, witty and relatable as his cult classic songs.

Ben Folds is an internationally celebrated musician, singer-songwriter and former frontman of the alternative rock band, Ben Folds Five, beloved for songs such as ‘Brick’, ‘You Don’t Know Me’, ‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’ and ‘The Luckiest’.

In A Dream About Lightning Bugs, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming, funny and wise chronicle of his artistic coming of age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller. He opens up about finding his voice as a musician, becoming a rock anti-hero, and hauling a baby grand piano on and off stage for every performance.

From growing up in working class North Carolina amid the race and class tensions that shaped his early songwriting, to painful life lessons he learned the hard way, he also ruminates on music in the digital age, the absurdity of life on the road, and the challenges of sustaining a multi-decade, multi-faceted career in the music business.

A Dream About Lightning Bugs embodies what 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.

‘I’m gonna learn to read for this’ Josh Groban

‘I read this in one glorious, giant gulp. As a fan and a musician, this is truly a gift ... moments for me to geek out, moments to laugh and cry and many fragments of pure, hard won wisdom and honesty’ Jamie Cullum

‘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

‘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

‘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

©2019 Ben Folds (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Australia

Reseñas de la Crítica

'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

'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 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

Cheap Lessons / Valuable Life

Superfan here.

Spending just under 8 hours with Mr. Folds was just great. From the conversational style, to the entertaining interludes and impersonations, it was like having a private one on one with the man himself. At the end you understood, even our heroes are just like us. I've grown up listening to Ben Folds' music since I was 17. Here's what stands out for me; being 17, alone and unloved, but happy when I heard one of his songs for the first time. Being 30, alone and unloved, but still kept company by the music of this talented and committed man. Being 43 and now not alone and with a full heart, and he's still there, reminding me that the peaks and troughs of life are meant to be there, because without them, we'd just have barren and empty flatness.

It was a great book and I'd highly recommend it to anyone, whether you've found your path or not.