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David McK (3425 KP) rated School of Rock (2003) in Movies

May 21, 2021  
School of Rock (2003)
School of Rock (2003)
2003 | Comedy
7
7.5 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Early noughties (2003) Jack Black musical comedy, in which he plays a slacker guitarist who is kicked out of his band and then gets a job impersonating a substitute teacher at a local high class school in order to pay his rent.

Initially reluctant to do any work at all or to engage with his class, that changes when he hears them during a music class and then decides to form a band so that he can enter the local 'battle of the bands', with himself as the lead singer (which later changes). Cue life lessons in confidence, sticking up for yourself, etc etc...
  
    Learn Italian with Babbel

    Learn Italian with Babbel

    Education and Travel

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Learn Italian with Babbel, the app that’s helped millions speak with confidence. Developed by a...

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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons in Books

Oct 14, 2019  
A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons
A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons
Ben Folds | 2019
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ben Folds--as you probably know if you're interested in his autobiography/memoir--is a singer-songwriter who became popular in the 1990s as part of the band Ben Folds Five. He's well-known for his piano skills, vocals, and songwriting. He's also had a somewhat tumultuous personal life, with multiple marriages that ended in divorce. This memoir covers his childhood and his fame with Ben Folds Five and his solo career, up until the relative present.


"This is a book about what I know. Or what I think I know. It's about music and how it has framed and informed my life and vice versa. About the stumbles, falls, and other brilliant strokes of luck that brought me here."


I discovered Ben Folds Five in college via my roommate/best friend, and I've been a fan ever since. I was excited to read this, but I've gotta admit: it was a slog. I basically forced myself to finish. I've always sort of thought of Ben Folds as a bit arrogant, so that may have clouded some of my reading of this autobiography. It certainly didn't help dissuade me of that opinion.

For me, the best parts were when Folds was talking naturally about his life and story. His childhood was interesting and it was really no surprise that he was a musically obsessed, somewhat irreverent kid. It was intriguing to see the various paths that led him to Ben Folds Five and stardom.

I did not enjoy--at all--the part where he felt the need to impart forced, preachy lessons about life and music. Maybe if I was more of a music person (as in, I played it versus listened to it) the music lessons would have been of interest. It felt like an editor said, "Ben, every few chapters you have to make sure the reader learns something." And he diligently and forcefully made sure we did. But the point of the book seemed to be that he was a screw up, who got where he was halfway by accident, so the whole lessons thing seemed awfully preachy and fake.

The better pieces were funny anecdotes--Folds playing as a one-man polka band and winding up doing a private gig for an elderly couple, where the husband had a wooden leg. Folds meeting a then-unknown Keith Urban. How he met Robert and Darren of Ben Folds Five. I was disappointed how much he skipped over as he became a more famous musician. We get a lot about his childhood, his various tries at college, and his musical attempts up until Ben Folds Five. He does talk about the formation of Ben Folds Five and how it felt to suddenly become so famous. But then, so much of the detail dwindles. He alludes to how the band might have had some tension, but the actual breakup, via email, gets a few sentences. Even his many marriages and his associated emotional turmoil gets glossed over quite a bit.

So, for me, I was left wishing for more with this one. It's a good quick brush-over of Ben Folds' life. There are some cheesy, slightly pompous "life lessons" inserted. You get a few funny stories among all this and the backstory behind a few songs: that, to me, was the good stuff. Otherwise, it was a bit of a drag, and I didn't finish really knowing much more about the real Ben Folds than I did when I came in. Rather disappointing. 2.5 stars.