The Rage in Placid Lake

 The Rage in Placid Lake 

At one point or another, we’ve all felt awkward in our own skin.  Not being liked, getting funny looks or being the target of bullying or scrutiny has crossed all our paths I’m sure. So when you’re Ben Lee, appearing quirky to others was a staple for him from childhood. But not only has he embraced his own quirkiness, he’s made it cool to be different. That’s why his one feature film performance to date, was the perfect fit for this Australian singer, songwriter and musician.

Now how did I come to discover the music of Ben Lee? I’d certainly heard his name in the late 90’s, early 00’s, but the radio didn’t play his stuff. If I recall, it was reading the “Hit”  entertainment lift out from the Herald Sun newspaper, that his latest album got a glowing review. Titled, “Hey You, Yes You!”, the front cover was the face of Lee, looking straight at you with his confidently unusual stare. He reminded me of a cross between Screech from “Saved by the Bell” and a guy I went to school with, but I can't remember who. The one-word review for the album was “Cool” so I headed down to the CD shop and bought a copy out of curiosity.

Listening to it the whole album in one sitting, the opening track grabbed my attention. The fast beat of hand drums, then hip electric guitar jumping in slightly out of beat, giving way to a funky song called “Running with Scissors”. Lee’s voice was youthful and energetic, and almost sounded like he was just talking, rather than singing. And the lyrics were catchy and honest, and very quickly I became a fan of Ben Lee.

Sometime later that year, I saw the trailers on TV for a film called “The Rage in Placid Lake”. At first, I thought this was a sequel to the crocodile movie (LakePlacid) from 1999, but I was wrong. Rather, it showed Lee in high school uniform, interacting with his wierd parents, getting beaten up by bullies and working in an office as a way to reinvent himself. I didn’t catch it at the movies, but I rented it upon its release to DVD.

Aside from listening to his album and that he was dating actress Claire Danes at the time, I knew nothing about Ben Lee. He was something of an enigma on the music scene, but his film showed an untapped acting ability, and a character at the centre of a story that was unusual but also refreshing. The story follows the character of Placid Lake (yes, that’s his name) in his final days of high school. He talks briefly about his childhood, and how his free-spirited and whimsical parents encouraged him to always be himself, regardless of what anyone thought. Even if this meant he went to school as an eight-year boy dressed in a girl’s dress. He quickly becomes the target of bullies, and this continues well into his high school years. His carefree parents are as "Out There" as you would imagine, openly talking about their sex life and all its frustrations with their son, forcing him into the middle of their dilemma. Despite this unorthodox situation, Placid acts as a mediator for his parents “problems”. 

Placid finds solace in his best friend Gemma (Rose Byrne); the opposite to him in every way. She’s the straight-laced, A+ student who excels in science and has an over-involved father convinced his daughter will win the Nobel Prize one day. But Gemma has a wild side, and enjoys regular debates and arguments with Placid, offering her analytical and logical perspective to his spontaneous and detached view of the world. And when high school comes to an end, resulting in an altercation with his long-time bullies, Placid decides it’s time to reinvent himself, running to the corporate world to test his wits among boardroom meetings and insurance claims. 

There is a lot going on in this film, and it’s a little gem of an Australian movie you should check out. I won’t spoil any more plot details for you, but indulge me as I share the ongoing story of my fascination with the artist called Ben Lee; his music, his lifestyle and his message. 

In late 2004, Lee released his next album, which was a quiet opener at first. “Awake is the New Sleep” showed a different side to Lee’s musical talents, and was also dubbed as “The Break Up with Claire Danes” album. Any artist who has a relationship with a high-profile person, and it ends, often does a break-up album. Check out Coldplay’s “Ghost Stories” for Chris Martin’s sad stories about parting ways with Gwyneth Paltrow. But back to Lee, who was determined to make a big splash in the music scene with his message about bringing out our consciousness, living more presently, and showing the world he could sing a catchy pop song to boot.

It was the release of his single “Catch My Disease” in early 2005 that brought Lee worldwide attention and acclaim, like he’d never experienced before. It was one of the biggest songs of the year, playing on radio about ten times a day, and ironically one of its closing lyrics was Lee proclaiming “…they don’t play me on the radio… but that’s the way I like it!”. It was a clever way to give the middle finger to the pop music scene which Lee had kept his distance from until now, but was now the biggest thing on that scene, whether he intended that to happen or not.

This album grew on me even more than the last, as every song was thought out, sung with heart and hung around in my mind for hours afterwards. My favorite track from the album was “Begin” where Lee sings about walking through the streets of New York, trying to find the meaning in his life. You can hear echoes of his sadness and remorse over his relationship ending, but the song has an upbeat twist, which is all about starting over before moving on. The song has remained with me ever since. 

It was in early 2006, that I was volunteering for the Commonwealth Games, being held in Melbourne that year. As I was part of the Opening and Closing ceremonies, I got to find out early which entertainment acts were headlining the event. For the opening, Ben Lee would pop up and bash out a couple of tunes. To a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground stadium of about 100,000 people he sung one of his other signature tracks from the latest album, called “We’re All in this Together”. My role, as one of the many ‘Audience Leaders’ volunteering in the stadium, was to sway my arms from side to side in time to the music, and encourage my section of the stadium to join in.  It felt awkward to say the least, but my little crowd of 300 or so people did it too, so I must have been convincing enough in my arm swaying. 

Then in 2007, I got the chance to see Ben Lee perform live. At a tiny venue called the Prince of Wales in St Kilda, Lee played songs off his latest album “Ripe”. Released quickly after Awake is the New Sleep, this album still had pop music ringtones to it, but also a more matured sound and signified that Lee had moved on from his morose mood after the Claire Danes break up. I was at the gig with some friends, and we got there early to bag a spot close to the stage. I was only a few metres away from Ben, who was wearing a suit made of golden plastic. He was very engaging, chatting to the audience, and I watched him make an effort to look every single person directly in the eye at least once. In an interview I watched online after this gig, he spoke about his mission to make a connection with his audience, and he did this just by being open and caring, and that was certainly the connection I got from watching him play live. 

Since this time, I have continued to be a Ben Lee fan. With every album he releases, he shows a new side to his mystique, and unveils details on his stage in life, which is always a fascinating journey to hear about. He now resides in LA permanently, and has been quiet on the music scene for a bit, but is keeping busy producing and exploring new mediums and genres of music. 

As an artist, an individual and a young guy, I looked up to Ben Lee with much admiration and inspiration through my twenties. His approach to life, his unusual style, and his genuine and honest expression of self though his music, showed that he stood for something that I aspired to emulate in myself – and that was just being myself. And the path to being myself would come from listening to my instincts and just trying to live in the moment, much like Ben Lee did.

And to experience the real depth of his music and message, I was in America in 2006. I’d just finished working my second summer on camp, and had arrived in New York as all we Camp Counselors did to party it up. I got into Manhattan early, and while waiting a few hours for some friends, I headed out of the hotel and went for a walk. It was right on Broadway, and I followed my footsteps until they led me into Central Park West. It was a perfect summer day, and people were everywhere. I didn’t have my disc-man with me, but the lyrics of that song “Begin” came flooding back over me

I’m walking down Broadway, each footstep is a new love letter

I’m trying to make eye contact, with each and every stranger that I pass…

And that’s what I did. Strolling through Central Park, I had the warm sun on my face, and the faces of hundreds of people walking by me on the track. I looked them in the eye, and smiled; some smiled back, others didn’t. But in that moment, I felt completely present, aware of who I was and that I was in exactly the right place. I got the message Ben Lee sung about, and his creative gifts introduced me to a new way of hearing and experiencing music I’d never done so before in my twenties up until that point. Listen to the song here... 

And re-watching “The Rage in Placid Lake” again for these reviews fourteen years later, was a real treat. I was reminded of Ben Lee’s gifts as an actor, and it would have been cool to see him do more films. But I think he chose that film carefully, as he certainly identified himself in the character of Placid Lake, and in his performance drives home an important message.

“Don’t ever try to be anyone else but yourself. Even if others don’t accept you, get you or like you; it’s not about being understood, accepted or popular. It’s about walking to the beat of your own drum, and inspiring others to do the same”.

Hence my connection with the music and movements of Ben Lee, planting the seed in my mind all those years ago. 






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