Musician Quotes

A lot of people believe what other people say.

I guess you can look at me, and tell I'm the old man. My name is BB King.

I've put up with more humiliation than I care to remember.

Growing up, I was taught that a man has to defend his family. When the wolf is trying to get in, you gotta stand in the doorway.

The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn't know how other people would take it.

The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.

I've said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice. Stevie Ray Vaughan missed on both counts, but I never noticed.

I can't read, I don't know how to write, my whole life has been one big fight.

You can get really left of centre influences in mainstream pop. Michael Jackson and Prince are some of the most progressive artists ever if you actually dissect their songs there's some crazy stuff going on.

When you work on an album for three and a half years, you're kind of ready for it to get out there. To have your songs reach people.

There's a vulnerability in music but you've also got to protect your sacred place and have a place you can still retire to that no one else knows about. So that's a thing I just try to balance.

The fun of being in the pop world is you can really play with people's perceptions of what the word pop means.

People like Jeff Buckley, the Mars Volta and Bjork made me listen to music differently. You learn the voice is an instrument you can do crazy things with.

Obviously I don't really go to church any more - no time.

My process is to be by myself when I record. It's quite an emotional performance to pull off when someone else is in the room. I prefer to go away and have my own time with it, bring it in later.

It's a really cool time for artists who want to strive for a little more depth in what they want to say to come forward. We live in a very fast world right now. We've got all this media and music which is so accessible to us, it's here one minute gone the next.

It feels like it's just starting in America and the UK. It's great to have a loyal fanbase in Australia and New Zealand. People in America say how polished our band are, but that didn't happen overnight; that came from doing all this touring back home.

I'm turning 22, so I want to start getting into work that reflects where I'm at in life now.

I'm thinking about a few weeks in Montreal to work with a producer I met there.

I'm so fascinated by the human longing for meaning. The way we relate romantically to each other is so much to do with our longing for meaning as well.

I'm not very funny!

I want to be the kind of artist who keeps pushing on every album. I don't want to settle on a sound.

I think 'SNL' is so well-known for its musical performances, as well, and people really breaking into America through a really great performance on there. So I think me and Gotye are both really excited to be amongst such company. You know, it's great.

I started writing songs when I was 10. It was a natural way to express myself as a kid. It wasn't until I started listening to jazz, joined the choir and picked up a guitar that my little hobby became something far more serious.

I moved from New Zealand to Melbourne when I was 17. I'd planned to go to university to study French, but I was offered a contract to write and record an album that was too good to pass up. Looking back now I think that was pretty young but, at the time, I was ready to have an adventure.

I like challenging people. I love pop music that can just throw you off.

I haven't stopped writing which is good. I'm scared to stop completely otherwise it might lead to stagnancy.

I have times when I doubt what I'm doing. When those moments hit, I think about how grateful I am to be able to do what I do every day. It was harder when I started because I didn't see the response, but now I'm out there playing for people and seeing them happy, which makes it all worthwhile.

I guess there might come a point when I will want to live an anonymous life. I'm only at the start of my career, so I'm sure that moment will come, but I know how blessed I am to have this platform on which to speak and influence.

I feel far more connected to the whole band if I can somehow physically respond... with my body.