A Dream About Lightning Bugs [eBook - NC Digital Library] : A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the genre-defying icon Ben Folds comes a memoir that is as nuanced, witty, and relatable as his cult-classic songs. “A Dream About Lightning Bugs reads like its author: intelligent, curious, unapologetically punk, and funny as hell.”—Sara Bareilles NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND PASTE 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 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 ' 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 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the genre-defying icon Ben Folds comes a memoir that is as nuanced, witty, and relatable as his cult-classic songs. "A Dream About Lightning Bugs reads like its author: intelligent, curious, unapologetically punk, and funny as hell."{u2014}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{u2014}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{u2014}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{u2014}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{u2014}one of the greatest musicians and writers that has ever graced the art." {u2014}Bob Saget "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." {u2014}Daniel Levitin, author of #1 New York Times bestseller This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind From the genre-defying icon comes a memoir that is as nuanced, witty and relatable as his cult-classic songs. Ben Folds is a celebrated American 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." 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. He opens up about finding his voice as a musician, becoming a rock antihero, and hauling a baby grand piano on and off stage for every performance. 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. ("There will be plenty of time for the limitations of the real world to impose themselves on your creation.") In "Hall Pass," he recounts his 1970s North Carolina working-class childhood and the race and class tensions that shaped his early songwriting, and in "Cheap Lessons" he returns to the painful life lessons he learned the hard way-but that luckily didn't kill him. Folds also ruminates on music in the digital age, the absurdity of life on the road, and the challenges of sustaining a multidecade, multifaceted career in the music business. 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, but everybody does, and life flies by in seconds 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 Reflections on art, life, and music from the genre-defying icon, in a memoir that is as nuanced, witty and relatable as his cult-classic songs. Ben Folds is a celebrated American singer-songwriter and frontman of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, beloved for songs such as 'Brick', 'You Don't Know Me' and 'The Luckiest'. In A Dream About Lightning Bugs , he looks back on his life 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 around for every performance. From growing up in working class North Carolina, to painful life lessons learned the hard way, he also ruminates on creativity in the digital age, the absurdity of life on the road, and the challenges of sustaining a multi-decade career in the music business. A Dream about Lightning Bugs embodies... Singer-songwriter Folds, the former frontman of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five, will be the first to tell you he's an unconventional icon, more normcore than hardcore. Here he 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. As Folds digs deep into the life experiences that shaped him, his essays embody the message he 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. -- adapted from jacket