The band that gave Jack Black a spiritual awakening: “It’s like touching God, it’s that good”
Jack Black seems to have music running through his DNA. Before he became an established Hollywood star, he earned acclaim for his comedy rock band Tenacious D, which allowed him to demonstrate his innate talent for effortless humour, which came to shape his acting career.
Before Black truly broke through as an actor, he could be seen in the short television series Tenacious D, which he created alongside bandmate Kyle Gass, as well as David Cross and Bob Odenkirk. However, when Black earned widespread recognition as an actor in the early 2000s, it was for his supporting role in High Fidelity, a music-themed romantic comedy-drama.
He played Barry, a music-obsessed record store worker who you certainly wouldn’t want to get into an argument with about niche rock bands – you wouldn’t win. He followed that with a leading role in Richard Linklater’s School of Rock, which saw him portray a slacker musician who fakes his way into a job as a school teacher, where he encourages his class to form a band.
With these breakthrough roles, Black asserted his place in Hollywood as a comedic actor with plenty of musical knowledge and talent to boot. While he has gone on to star in many popular movies, from Nacho Libre and The Holiday to Kung Fu Panda and several Jumanji sequels, Black has continued to write and perform with Tenacious D, never forgoing his musical roots.
Black has been inspired by many bands throughout his life, but there is one that he compared to “touching God.” On Armchair Expert, Black discussed one of his favourite bands with Dax Shepard, who coincidentally also classes the group as one of his favourites, too.
The band he likened listening to with having a spiritual experience was, of course, Steely Dan, the classic American band known for their iconic 1977 album Aja. “Steely Dan is the Radiohead of the ‘70s,” said Black, who added, “I think Steely Dan might have been my first Chrono marathon. When Steely Dan hits you, you’re like, good lord, ‘Peg’?, they’re touching God, it’s that good.”
He revealed his devotion to the band, explaining, “And I was like, you know what? I need to one time listen to everything they’ve ever written because their genius is so apparent, I wonder, there must be nuggets that I’ve never heard.”
Agreeing with Shepard, who believes “you’re never suffering through a song ‘til the next one comes,” Black stated, “There’s never a bad one.” Unfortunately for the actor, “It’s one of my great regrets is I never saw them live in their full capacity, and now one of them is in the hereafter, so it’ll never be.”
Black might not have had a chance to see Steely Dan perform in their original line-up – the band’s lead singer and co-founder Donald Fagen stopped performing in 1974 when Black was just a kid – but he has dedicated himself to their catalogue, believing them to be one of the most flawless and enduring bands of their generation.
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