Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
We're all human and life is complicated.
Nylon string is still a new love and I'm not tired of it yet.
Christmas is cheery for some people and depressing for others.
Songwriting is what I do, and there could be worse burdens to carry.
I don't make demos. I don't have the interest or the energy or the time.
I don't worry about anything except my parents' health, things like that.
I have love in my heart, and I'm kind to people every single day of my life.
I wanted to remind people that there was a time when music required an attention span.
I make music to process - because I have to, not for praise or accolades or reactions.
There's never anything planned. I just do what I feel is best for the song at that time.
A gimmick would be something you'd do to attract attention or to bring fame and fortune.
I see myself more like a novelist or a polygamist than a musician in terms of my output.
I found Jerusalem to be a tourist trap. I hope that I don't offend anyone by saying that.
I didn't want to put myself, or anyone else, asleep with another quintessential Mark Kozelek album.
I think I'm better at songwriting now, and it does come easier. I have faith in my initial instincts.
I wanted to give my first instincts a chance without shooting them down immediately, which I sometimes do.
I'm always moving forward creatively and don't like stalling, trying to find the perfect snare drum sound.
I don't know what aids creativity. All I know is that it feels natural to hold a guitar in my hands and sing.
Songwriting isn't a choice. You're either called upon to bear the burden, or you're not. It's not all fun and games.
I've guess I've gotten older and my sex appeal has waned. It's OK. I've got an amazing girlfriend and she keeps me happy.
That 'Rollercoaster' album cover was very prophetic in its own way. My career has been a rollercoaster of highs and lows.
Anyone who has toured as long as I have, or who has traveled as extensively, and says that they've never cheated is lying.
Demos are something you do in the early stages of your career, but when you get going, you just go in and record the song.
I'm a boxing junkie, a serial-killer junkie, and a classical guitar junkie. All of these guys are great, poetic references.
I'm 45 and I don't have time to spend two years of my life bringing in producers and dragging the record around the planet.
When you're a touring musician, you're always turning over new rocks and there's always a certain level of tension in your life.
When I was young, a gatefold album by 'Pink Floyd' or 'Led Zeppelin' was something to get excited about, something you longed for.
Trying to cope with the balance between home life and road life has been a theme in my music since early Red House Painters records.
There were a lot more girls at the shows early on. I'd get off stage and there would be options. Those days are long gone, thank god.
Most of the people I interact with on a daily basis don't even know what I do for a living, so the 'persona' thing doesn't amount to much.
When I get compared to artists like Jose Gonzalez or Bon Iver, I can't help but think, "I've been doing this since they were in third grade."
The music business, and the travel that comes with it, is stressful, challenging, redundant, exhausting, exciting, and often very depressing.
When you get older, you're bothered, or inspired, by other things in life than a girl breaking up with you. Things get heavier as you get older.
I feel like when the songwriting slows, I'd love to help others with their records. If it's something I really believe in, it's worth the effort.
A band requires so much rehearsal and travel logistics. I didn't mind it when I was younger, but there's not much motivation for me to do it now.
Songs are puzzles - you get an intro, or maybe an end, but you gotta fill in the rest. Sometimes they come easy and sometimes they're a pain in the ass.
'NME' and 'Melody Maker' were saying I was the next Lou Reed or Van Morrison. So, everyone has their own version as to when the height of my career was.
Even on tour, I spend two hours a night singing songs and the rest of the time staring at the back of people's heads on airplanes, some fat guy coughing on me.
I don't have anything to prove as a writer anymore. I write about Panera Bread or Red Lobster or Satan or Richard Ramirez or whatever comes to mind. I just write.
Artists have kids, mortgages, or drug habits, and they got to do what they got to do. But reforming and the reunion stuff isn't me. I'm a 'moving forward' person.
If you're 25, I could see how you could be tricked into thinking 'Benji' is my most successful record, but I've been doing this long before online magazines existed.
You really think all of those indie music dorks go to SXSW every year to check out music? They go there to wear their laminates and act important and try to get laid.
I'm a remedial reading student from Ohio who grew up to write pieces on my mom and dad in the 'New York Times.' They were really touched by that - something they never saw coming.
I could have easily doubled my profit and made two records out of 'Among the Leaves', but the songs represented a certain period, and it made sense to get it out there as one piece.
I think people choose to be offended by things as a way of bonding, as a hobby. They embed some piece of information into their brain without thinking it through because it's easier.
If people want to write long, rambling, pathetic articles about how sad they are about song titles, have a blast! I'll be out playing music to a room full of people, having a great time.
Fights are nice because I can hang with my girlfriend and not leave the house. Shows are nice because that's how I can afford $65 pay-per-view fights and to go to Vegas and see them live.
"The Moderately Talented..." is just a commentary on the conflict that happens when a young artist girl looks up to you, but you're attracted to them in a different way than they are to you.
When someone important to you, someone that's played a big role in your life, when they're gone... When you write about them or pay tribute to them, you want to do it in a way that's thoughtful.
I don't make demos. I don't have the interest or the energy or the time. Demos are something you do in the early stages of your career, but when you get going, you just go in and record the song.