Quotes by Black Francis - Page 1 | QuoteForever

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Wise is the tongue, wet of perfect thought.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Wise
Perfect
Tongue
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There's more to life than listening to rock music.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Listening
Rock Music
Rocks
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It's obvious you shouldn't steal, kill or be cruel.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Obvious
Stealing
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I think everybody has a painter inside of them somewhere.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Painter
Thinking
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I think that painting is a very ancient form of expression.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Expression
Painting
Thinking
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If you're a good band then the filter of the band is pretty strong.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Band
Filters
Strong
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But the truth is that critics are by definition critical. That's their job.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Jobs
Definitions
Truth Is
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I have two step-kids and one of my own on the way. That's three college funds.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Kids
College
Two
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They're pretty good actually, Hall & Oates. I gotta give them credit. They got a lot of toe-tappers.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Credit
Giving
Toes
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Everyone thinks I'm a wimp and even my own band hates me. Oh, well. I guess I'll just flip 'em the bird!
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Bird
Hate
Thinking
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I've got a small, loyal audience, which is great. And I appreciate that. They're there for me every time.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Appreciate
Audience
Loyal
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I can remember back as far as age 8, performing with the Boston Folk Song Society. It was a Woody Guthrie song.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Age
Boston
Song
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I listen to Neil Young and jazz and classical stations and, if my girlfriend's driving, it tends to be Hall & Oates.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Driving
Girlfriend
Jazz
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If I have more creativity that I want to get out of me, I try to find other ways than pursuing solo records so much.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Creativity
Records
Trying
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As soon as I got into music, I tried to be a working, real artist who gets paid for what he does, who doesn't have a day job.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Jobs
Artist
Real
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The first thing that inspires any song is a chord progression. When I have one I really like, I get into the lyrics even more.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Firsts
Inspire
Song
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My most cryptic, strange songs might be my most personal, but that isn't how people are going to receive them, because they don't know the code.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Might
People
Song
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I don't like to have everything all worked out in my head because there's always a chance of it coming out different than you think it should anyway.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Chance
Different
Thinking
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It's sour grapes, I admit, I want to be more famous so people are examining my work couplet by couplet, you know what I mean? That's the level where I want to go.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Levels
Mean
People
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This is a particular thing, you know, catholic stories of martyrs who had their head removed and then continued to be miraculous in the last moments of their life.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Catholic
Lasts
Stories
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I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Cities
Country
Trying
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You should never rely on interviews with musicians as being factual. Most of them are mangled and even have made up stuff in them, that is to say, made up stuff by the writer or editor.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Editors
Musician
Stuff
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As I paint, I realise, while it's something I do very much by myself, it's very solitary, the creative process feels similar to making music to me now, at least as far as my brain is concerned.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Brain
Creative
Paint
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I'm not saying that people have to listen to rock music. It's a great, cool thing and it can really be liberating for a lot of people but, hey, so can Charles Dickens so I'm not going to judge.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Judging
People
Rocks
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I initially felt shy about doing painting because I wasn't a professional painter. I almost felt like I didn't deserve to paint. But I have gradually adopted a different kind of attitude about this.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Attitude
Different
Shy
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I don't make records that way, where I'm trying to please the marketplace or anything. Not because I have anything against that, it's just never been a part of my aesthetic, even when I was with the Pixies.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Records
Trying
Way
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Bob Dylan is quite a songwriter, and a great singer and musician. I won't bother with comparing myself to him, but I will say that I heard his records at a very young age and I still listen to all his records.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Age
Musician
Records
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I have always been a singer, a writer, and a musician, not as a prodigy or as in a trade handed to me by my parents, but because of an inner voice or maybe a command from beyond reality as it is usually defined.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Parent
Reality
Voice
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I like visual images and there are certainly other bands that have strong visual images going all the way back to Elvis Presley, but it's kind of like that's never really been my bag. Probably because I'm too shy.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Bags
Shy
Strong
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For some artists the live performance is the chicken before the egg of writing or recording of repertoire. For other artists the writing or recording of repertoire is the chicken before the egg of live performance.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Artist
Eggs
Writing
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I come from an art history background. I studied at a master's degree level; I chose to dork out on art for much of my adult life. A lot of my heroes are artists and a lot of my musical heroes have an artistic side.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Art
Hero
Musical
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I don't want to do children's music. I write kids songs, but the kids songs I write are for my kids - like when I'm putting them to bed. We sing some song that we made up but I don't want to make a record like that.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Children
Song
Writing
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I'm really inspired by the interplay of visual art and music, a total artistic environment where there's sound and visuals. When I think about that I get stimulated and excited. It's a feeling that you can't label with words.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Art
Feelings
Thinking
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People go back to the stuff that doesn't cost a lot of money and the stuff that you don't have to hand money to over and over again. Stuff that you get for free, stuff that your older brother gives you, stuff that you can get out of the local library.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Brother
Hands
People
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I certainly have gotten caught up in the music business at various times in my life, mostly because you want to get along with whatever record company you're dealing with. I don't want to be flaky. I don't want to be some temperamental, hard-to-work-with musician.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Musician
Records
Want
Copy Quote
When you're a creative person and you create art with other people, whether you're married to them or not, you're going to run into creative conflicts. If you're a couple, certain inhibitions and barriers are gone. I have those barriers with other people, but I don't have them with my wife.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Art
Running
Couple
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I have had UFO experiences, and yet, at the same time, I can easily be convinced that none of it is true. It's hard to say whether or not you're a believer. I've been interested in that subject matter, like lots of people. Perhaps foolishly, I've allowed some of that stuff to creep into my music.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Matter
People
Stuff
Copy Quote
That's the most important thing, to get along with people. When you feel like you click with them. That's more important even then what their background is or what they've done before, how good they are, how new they are or whatever. All that stuff is really secondary to just getting along with the person.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Done
Important
People
Copy Quote
You think you've made something really great, but there's a reason why it's not resonating the way some previous work did. But it's not that easy to just replicate. Some people think, "Oh, just go do that thing you used to do before." But it just doesn't work like that. It's a lot more mysterious or slippery.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Mysterious
People
Thinking
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I'm an untrained musician. Untrained musicians don't really have any music theory, they don't have a lot of rules. We break the rules, but it's mostly because we don't know what the rules are. It's easy for us to go to certain places, so I'm not surprised that a lot of people were amused by my songwriting style.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Musician
People
Style
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I'm always looking to rock out. But it isn't really about rocking out versus being mellow, in terms of your personal satisfaction. In the end, you just want to be good. When you look at something that's really good, it might be Iggy Pop or it might be Leonard Cohen. Whatever it is, you want it to be really good.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Looks
Rocks
Want
Copy Quote
I won't necessarily make new music because when you make a record there are these great expectations on the side of the record company who are going to produce your record, promoters that are going to do your shows. They want you to do interviews, they want you to play shows. I mean, they want it to be a campaign.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Expectations
Mean
Play
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When we've got something to say to the world, we will. I'm really happy that people are interested. "So, what's up with the Pixies record? So, what's up with the Pixies record?" One guy just kept asking me and asking me in an interview, and I kept saying, "I just got done telling you no, there's nothing to report."
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Done
Guy
People
Copy Quote
I think everyone should sell whatever product they want to sell for whatever price they want to sell it for, but ultimately the market will dictate what it is and people will have to charge less money for everything. Record companies have been overcharging people for way too long and now this is the trouble that they're in.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Long
People
Thinking
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There was a f**king review in f**king Melody Maker [of the first BOSSANOVA single, 'Velouria'] - 'Sounds like someone's been taking singing lessons'. Like, motherf**king A! I am the singer. Who do sing SONGS. It's like I never sang before; like I was - I don't know - reading PROSE on my previous records and now I sing. EXCUUUUUUSE me for singing
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Kings
Reading
Song
Copy Quote
I think all musicians and producers, they know the real goal is to come up with a record that is entertaining and not boring, that's the goal. I think if everyone agrees that that's the goal then it doesn't matter who's the band and it doesn't matter who's the producer. It just means that that you try to realise the ambition no matter what the situation is or who the people are.
Black Francis / Singer-Songwriter
Ambition
Mean
Real
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