Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I like Thelonious Monk, he's so gnarled, he's like a piece of machinery that's pulled up the bolts on the floor and gone off on its own.
I just don't like the word 'fun'--it's like Volkswagen, or bell-bottoms, or patchouli-oil or bean-sprouts...it rubs me up the wrong way.
I think this whole division between the genres has more to do with marketing than anything else. It's terrible for the culture of music.
Tori's my legal name. My niece and nephews, they all call me Aunt Ellen, because I went by my middle name years ago, before I turned 18.
You are my superstar. I'm your number one fan, give me your autograph, sign it right here on my heart. Girl, I'll be your groupie, baby.
I'm so sad to hear the horrible news of Amy Winehouse's death. I'm so happy I knew you Amy...Rest Well. Gone Too Soon...we'll miss you!!
I just wanted to have a look at my whole musical career, get right back to when I started and why I started doing it in the first place.
I don't like to condemn people because what that means is that you're only condemning yourself about a part of you that you can't stand.
Food can become such a point of anxiety - not because it's food, but just because you have anxiety. That's how eating disorders develop.
I am not good at aligning myself with any movement that comes along but also I don't like the thought of sitting back and doing nothing.
I knew I wanted to do something that wasn't just domestic and endless but I had no idea what and no inkling that it could ever be music.
I loved Hendrix. I mean, really, really loved him. As if he were one of the great classical composers. And he was. That's how I saw him.
We made mad love shadow love random love and abandoned love. Accidentally like a martyr. The hurt gets worse, and the heart gets harder.
Politics are wack - it's mostly about the characters instead of the issues, like how religion is about religion instead of spirituality.
I was just tapped on the shoulder from above and told to write these songs, as opposed to wanting to be a success in the music business.
I think you can hear the Delta blues thing in something like the intro to 'Heaven in This Hell,' which has that down-home acoustic riff.
Of course, life experience changes and adds to writing. And observations change too, where you put yourself in relation to other people.
Don't sit there and wallow in woe-is-me stuff that happened in your past. Move forward. Face whatever you're afraid of. Or deal with it.
Most of my friends in Nashville - almost all of them - seem to have had hits in the '70s, either as artists or songwriters or producers.
Coming out of 'Wretched and Divine,' I was still wanting to explore the more theatrical elements of songwriting. That led to Andy Black.
Brands frantically tried to compete for users' fragmented attention, spraying content on every platform in a 24/7 race to stay relevant.
I find myself being attracted to dudes all the time. I'm like, 'Wow, that's a beautiful man.' There's no shame in it; that's how I feel.
I remember my mom saying, 'I will take you to every audition, I will support you, but the minute you stop caring about it, I will stop.'
I wrote my first single, 'Keep Your Head Up,' and that's what got me on the radio and helped me develop a whole base around the country.
When I grew up as a kid, a part of my life - I grew up in Boston near Revere Beach, at my grandma's, and she would take me to the beach.
People are getting ready for music that makes them feel happy again rather than being depressed at the way the world is going right now.
I'm trying to focus on my job. I don't think that being famous is a job. My job is composing, singing, performing, but not being a star.
When I was 19 or 20 and doing my thing, I can't sit here and say I had this strong political agenda - I was literally just being myself.
I wasn't a big fan of Instagram at first. I felt it was watering down the way music is perceived 'cause it made things seem more normal.
I love not only the chubby ones, but also the skinny ones, black hair, the blondes... when I get up the stage, I give myself completely.
I don't know if I'm a tortured soul, but I was born heartbroken. I remember feeling it when I was so young. I was like, 'Mum, it hurts.'
One day, I just got up to read a poem and started singing. I looked around - the reaction was great. And I said, 'Oh, boy. I like this.'
When you first start singing something after you've written it, it has this sort of sparkle to it. And if you capture that, that's luck.
I'm satisfied with what I've done. I'm not satisfied with what has happened in my career, some of the real roadblocks I had to overcome.
Growing up, I was always trying to catch a great show. And that's where I learned an artist gets respect. That's what makes people talk.
A lot of time, if you spend too much time in Nashville, songwriters get caught up in charts and numbers and the music business politics.
I wanted to show people I'm like a modern Romeo. I'm romantic, but I can also be seductive. I can be cool and charismatic, swagger-type.
I'd rather believe in my own choice and see it all go wrong than do something I'm not fully convinced of and later feel guilty about it.
Realistically, English is a universal language; it's the number one language for music and for communicating with the rest of the world.
Songwriters, we're always looking for new concepts, fresh concepts, and there are only so many ways you can talk about partying, really.
It's not really a popular consensus to sing Sinatra - which I love! And I just think it's so cool that he disliked rock n' roll so much.
I don't talk to old people; they try to find ways to stay static. Young folks are the ones with the ideas and constantly moving forward.
The stuff I write I'm very proud of, but I'm smart enough to know I'll never get on the cover of 'Rolling Stone' next to Elvis Costello.
I'm going to try to make happy songs or some political songs, like 'A Country Boy Can Survive' - something people can get excited about.
I cry a lot when I feel empathy. I can feel heartbroken by life, and I cry quite easily, sometimes for no reason. It's healthy, I think.
A studio allows you to indulge your untidiness and your penchant for toys and curiosities that really wouldn't work in a grown-up house.
When I'm cutting a tree, if I'm thinking about anything other than that 40-foot oak tree... I'm a dead man. It's a therapy thing for me.
Since I was a child, I always loved music that made me want to dance. As a teenager, I used to dance the night away to electronic music.
I grew up with another pretty darn good writer: Glenn Frey of the Eagles. We were very good friends, and we kind of studied it together.
It's a very proactive thing to be dealing with your darkness and getting it out of your system. So it doesn't have to be in your system.