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A Dream About Lightning Bugs
- A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons
- Narrated by: Ben Folds
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
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A Dream About Lightning Bugs
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Publisher's Summary
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
Critic Reviews
'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
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What listeners say about A Dream About Lightning Bugs
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- peter
- 18-11-2019
Absolutely loved it! Crazy brilliance.
Big fan of the man’s work, sincerity, and humour. A crazy genius. Loved learning more about the man and stories behind the songs.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sally Dunn
- 18-09-2019
Enjoyed this
Being a Ben Folds fan , I was excited to see he had released a book. Even better that the audio version narrated by the man himself.
Interesting background on his early life, his band life, solo life, the tantrums and sucky behavior and the insights into his songwriting- I really loved this. Whatever and ever ....amen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anthea
- 09-08-2019
Brilliant!
Loved this audiobook and all the little musical bits! Highly recommend. Folds is such a great storyteller.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-02-2023
No bugs on me
Loved this !! Fun from beginning to end. Have always loved Ben’s music but his story makes everything makes me understand why now .. he’s such an inspirational artist, humour to burn and a reminder not to take ourselves too seriously!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-10-2019
Listen, read
So glad I listened on Audible before reading my signed BF paperback! Both mediums a pleasure to absorb.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-10-2019
Heritage artist forever!
A really insightful, interesting and colourful biography. I have loved his music although been wary of him as a person. He's grown up but ultimately we are all only an accumulation of our past. Rock this bitch!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 21-08-2020
Illuminating
An interesting look at the music and life of Ben Folds. Thumbs up, loved it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emily Martin
- 19-08-2019
Phone in the pool
“What has been good for the music hasn’t always been good for the life”
I listened to this book on Audible. Ben narrates the book and even includes a little bit of piano and bass. It is worth using your monthly audible credit on this because I have never experienced an audiobook like this before.
I am a Big Ben (it autocorrected to capital letters which I find amusing) Folds fan and I wanted to review this with little bias as possible. Ben has created a fantastic auto-biography of his early years, Ben Folds Five (BFF) and post BFF. I found Ben’s recount to be honest reflection of his career so far. He really called himself out in some areas which was nice to see. I enjoyed listening to the creation of BFF albums and the Rocking the Suburbs album (one that will be always special in my heart).
I looked at other reviews on here about Ben not being more open and honest about his relationships. This seems to be a common occurrence in low reviews. This is true, he rarely spoke about his relationships outside Anna Goodman: I do believe this is out of respect for his children and that Anna was a big part of Ben’s early career.
I really have never been interested in Ben’s life and I didn’t know much about him. I think this made it even more thrilling.
Ben broke down music creation and creativity (I will always appreciate a pianist because I could never do this). If you are interested in music and even if you aren’t a BF fan, this will be an interesting book for you.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark G
- 01-01-2021
Great insights on my favourite artist
I'm a huge fan of Ben Folds / Ben Folds Five so downloading this book was a no-brainer for me. An engaging listen, a story well told and with some musical flourishes throughout. As a (prett ordinary) piano player - I took lots from Ben's thoughts on song composition, the 'muddy water' and just what you need to make a good song that you're proud of.
Some background into some song meanings and origins are always good too, and the trials and tribulations throughout his career.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jordan
- 01-01-2020
Great listen!
I’ve long enjoyed Ben Folds’ music, and always found him an interesting person as a human interest study. This book affirms what an interesting life he’s led, and is flawlessly produced and performed. Like his songwriting, he’s an evocative and masterful storyteller. Strongly recommend this to anyone.
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