W. Kamau Bell on being called out on prejudices he didn’t realize he had:

When I started doing my solo show, one of my good friends, Martha, said to me, she’s like, ‘Kamau, you can’t end racism and make sexism worse.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean by that?’ And she went through my solo show and pointed out all the different parts of it that she felt were sexist. And that’s a good friend, a friend who will tell you that in a way that you can hear. And that was a real revelation for me, is that you can’t sort of pick your issue over other people’s issue — that if you want to end the ignorance of something, you have to end all the ignorances or at least not make some of the ignorances worse.

Jack Black, in his band Tenacious D, performing “Tribute.” From the Fresh Air interview:

It’s comedy folk rock. We’re two acoustic guitars at our core and singing like Simon and Garfunkel, but then we’re most heavily influenced by heavy metal bands of the ’80s. And we used to make fun of the devil because the devil’s influence on ’80s metal is so prevalent, and now it just seems so ridiculous and hilarious. But [our] new album is more about redemption. It’s a comeback-themed album.

The real challenge is if you don’t look super sexy, like a Brad Pitt, you’re going to have to try harder. You’re going to have to make up for it in other ways. You’re going to have to charm the pants off them. You’re going to have to make them laugh. But those are good hoops to have to jump through. You’re going to have to do some writing. Let’s face it, the great comedians now that are handicapped in the looks department are tremendous writers.

— Jack Black on comedian stereotypes

I don’t have any real spirituality in my life — I’m kind of an atheist — but when music can take me to the highest heights, it’s almost like a spiritual feeling. It fills that void for me.

— Jack Black on Fresh Air

Jack Black, on comedian stereotypes: “The real challenge is if you don’t look super sexy, like a Brad Pitt, you’re going to have to try harder. You’re going to have to make up for it in other ways. You’re going to have to charm the pants of them. You’re going to have to make them laugh. But those are good hoops to have to jump through. You’re going to have to do some writing. Let’s face it, the great comedians now that are handicapped in the looks department are tremendous writers.” [full interview here]

jonsnowknowsnothingg:

because tenacious d.

Today: Jack Black on acting, Tenacious D, prison, music, chest slapping…

My office is currently watching this video and attempting to do one-armed pushups. (It starts like half way through the video…) Happy Weekend! See you Monday!

Monday, baby.

Monday: Jack Black

stillonmybrain:

You can blame it all on bad luck, but in the end, maybe we just weren’t that good. Sometimes you gotta know when to quit. - School of Rock (2003)

On today’s Fresh Air: Mike White and Laura Dern.