Jack Black’s favourite musicians of all time: “Second to none”
The love that Jack Black holds for music is one of his most defining qualities. Not only do most of his famous movie roles incorporate music into their personalities or interests in one way or another, but the actor is also an incredibly talented musician, a match made in heaven considering his passionate eccentricity and effortless endearment that has lasted decades.
Black might be the furthest thing from self-restrained and reserved, but that’s been a part of his appeal since he broke into Hollywood with his iconic role in High Fidelity. Fitting, it would seem, that his first major role would be in a movie with an overarching music theme and a killer soundtrack. In the movie, the actor’s character also delivers an unforgettable scene dancing to ‘Walking on Sunshine’.
While we see many of these filmic tropes as points of comedic greatness, like his role as film composer Miles Dumont in The Holiday or rock enthusiast Dewey Finn in School of Rock, Black’s talent is undisputable, as proven by his extra-curricular musical side project Tenacious D and the various musical contributions he has gifted to other arts and works, like Meat Loaf, The Vandals, and Queens of the Stone Age, not to mention his appearances in music videos for Foo Fighters, Beck, Weezer, Sum 41, and more.
In truth, Black came from the same generation that saw the rise of some of rock’s most defining bands or was still enjoying the ripple effect of those set before, like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and more. Growing up in the 1980s, in his view, was “a bitchin’ time”, particularly because of all “the great rockers who were throwing up the devil horns when it was about the bible”.
Equally, however, unlike his character in High Fidelity, Black is no snob when it comes to music tastes and even often admits to enjoying the less “cool” or more understated acts, including ABBA and Arcade Fire. Moreover, longevity is a tough nut to crack in the music business, but one of Black’s favourites is an artist he’s convinced will withstand the test of time. “He’s gonna be here in 100 years,” the actor once told La Times, discussing the impact of Tom Waits and one of his favourite tunes, ‘Bad As Me’. “Can’t you look at some people and go, ‘100 years — still gonna be here?'”, he said, adding Leonard Cohen to that list.
According to the star, travelling overseas to Australia or England is a whole different experience for a rock lover, as over there, people seem to have “a lot more love” for the genre. In his words: “People know their rock over there; there’s a lot of encyclopedic knowledge.” His observation came off the back of naming Arctic Monkeys’ coveted debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, as one of his favourites after one of his friends recommended their music.
When it comes to the more unrelated records, Black mentions Frank Black and the Catholics’ Dog in the Sand, an album he says is “filled with so many incredible songs”. What strikes him the most is that this is a record that flies under the radar for unknown reasons despite being an exceptional talent. He says the same about Sebadoh and Urge Overkill – the latter of which he said “are basically my favourite band”.
Rather surprisingly, whether he felt the urge to be satirical or not, he also lumped Beastie Boys and The Beatles into the same category, concluding: “They just don’t get enough love.” Regardless of his intonation, there remains one outfit that he labels better than most, and that’s none other than rock legend Led Zeppelin.
Despite once deeming Nirvana the “best band ever”, he made the bold statement, “Led Zeppelin…the greatest rock and roll band of all time. Better than the Beatles, better than The Stones.”
Continuing, “And if you don’t agree with me, that’s because you haven’t done the Zeppelin marathon. It’s when you sit your ass down and listen to all nine Zeppelin albums in a row. The jams of Led Zeppelin are second to none.”
Led Zeppelin is certainly a worthy choice when discussing the greatest rock acts of all time, but Black’s musical interests span so far and wide that it’s tough to call how long the band will sit atop his list. Whatever his favourites may be, however, it’s safe to say that each and every one of them has been threaded through Black’s own talent as both a musician and a performer, resulting in a powerful amalgamation with an intriguing twist.
Jack Black’s favourite musicians:
- Led Zeppelin
- Nirvana
- The Beatles
- Arcade Fire
- ABBA
- Arctic Monkeys
- Tom Waits
- Leonard Cohen
- Urge Overkill
- Sebadoh
- Frank Black and the Catholics
- Beastie Boys
- Aerosmith
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