Keyboardists

"Pop music is probably the only art form that is totally dependent for its success on the general public. The more people buy a record, the more successful it is - not only commercially but artistically."

"We all have ability. The difference is how we use it."

"Sometimes I think I would love to see … just to see the beauty of flowers and trees and birds and the earth and grass. … Being as I've never seen, I don't know what it's like to see. So in a sense I'm complete. Maybe I'd be incomplete if I did see. Maybe I'd see some things that I didn't want to see … the beauty of the earth compared to the destruction of man. You see, it's one thing when you are blind from birth, and you don't know what it's like to see, anyway, so it is just like seeing. The sensation of seeing is not one that I have and not one that I worry about."

"Most cassettes are afraid of me."

"I've been a vegan for two years, so that's helped my already good-looking self. I think that eating healthy is important. … We have to be about making our planet more greener, the urban areas more sustainable for the children. We can't just talk about it, we have to be about it. … I'm motivating people to do something about how we are living on this planet. … You know it is only possible to be able to have the blessing of song through the fact that God has given me life. And the only way we can have life is by perpetuating life in how we live."

"What I’ve not heard is a unanimous commitment to atone for the sins of this country... I know that dance. I've heard those songs. It was an 18-year fight to (make) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday... Yet it was a fight I was not willing to lose... Systemic racism can have an ending. Police brutality can have an ending. Economic repression of Black and brown people can have an ending... A movement without action is a movement standing still. To those who say they care: Move more than your mouth. Move your feet to the polls, and use your hands to vote... Black lives do matter. And this is not another digital, viral trend, moment or hashtag, Yes, all lives do matter, but they only matter when black lives matter too."

"Baby, everything is alright, Uptight, outta sight!"

"My Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore You're the only girl my heart beats for How I wish that you were mine."

"For once in my life I have someone who needs me, Someone I needed so long."

"For once in my life I won’t let sorrow hurt me, Not like it’s hurt me before, oh For once I have something I know won't desert me ‘Cause I’m not alone anymore."

"Like a fool I went and stayed too long, Now I'm wondering if your love's still strong, Ooh, baby, here I am, Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours!"

"But, very well, I believe I know you very well, Wish that you knew me too, very well, And I think I can deal with everything going through your head."

"When the summer came you were not around, Now the summer's gone and love cannot be found, Where were you when I needed you last winter, my love?"

"I'm happier than the morning sun, And that's the way you said that it would be, If I should ever bring you inside my life."

"You are the sunshine of my life, That's why I'll always be around, You are the apple of my eye, Forever you'll stay in my heart."

"I feel like this is the beginning, Though I've loved you for a million years, And if I thought our love was ending, I'd find myself drowning in my own tears."

"Very superstitious, Writings on the wall, Very superstitious, Ladder's 'bout to fall, Thirteen month old baby, Broke the looking glass, Seven years of bad luck, The good things in your past."

"When you believe in things that you don't understand, Then you suffer, Superstition ain't the way."

"I believe when I fall in love with you It will be forever."

"But what I'd like to know, Is could a place like this Exist so beautiful? Or do we have to find our wings and fly away To the visions in our mind?"

"A boy is born in hard time Mississippi, Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty, His parents give him love and affection, To keep him strong, moving in the right direction, Living just enough, just enough for the city."

"Her brother's smart, he's got more sense than many, His patience long, but soon he won't have any, To find a job is like a haystack needle, 'Cause where he lives, they don't use coloured people, Living just enough, just enough for the city."

"To see the heaven in your eyes is not so far, 'Cause I'm not afraid to try and go it, To know the love and beauty never known before, I'll leave it up to you to show it."

"I'm so darn glad he let me try it again, 'Cause my last time on earth I lived a whole world of sin, I'm so glad that I know more than I knew then, Gonna keep on trying until I reach my highest ground."

"But don't you worry 'bout a thing, Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama, 'Cause I'll be standing in the side when you check it out."

"He's a man with a plan, Got a counterfeit dollar in his hand, He's misstra know-it-all."

"'Where is your God?' That's what my friends ask me, And I say it's taken him so long 'Cause we've got so far to come."

"And I can't go on this way, With it stronger every day, But being too shy to say That I really love you."

"I like to see you boogie right across the floor, I'd like to do it to you 'til you howl for more, I like to reggae, but you dance too fast for me, I'd like to make love to you so you can make me scream."

"'Cause we are sick and tired of hearing your song, Telling us how you are gonna change right from wrong, 'Cause if you really want to hear our views, You haven't done nothin'."

"No more lying friends wanting tragic ends, Though they do pretend, They won't go when I go."

"And I'll go where I've longed to go, So long, away from tears."

"Love's in need of love today, Don't delay, send yours in right away, Hate's going 'round breaking many hearts, Stop it please, before it's gone too far."

"Would you like to go with me Down my dead end street? Would you like to come with me To village ghetto land?"

"Music is a world within itself With a language we all understand, With an equal opportunity For all to sing, dance and clap their hands."

"Well there's Basie, Miller, Satchmo And the king of all, Sir Duke, And with a voice like Ella's ringing out, There's no way the band can lose."

"Looking back on when I was a little nappy-headed boy, Then my only worry was for Christmas, what would be my toy? Even though we sometimes would not get a thing, We were happy with the joy the day would bring."

"I wish those days could come back once more, Why did those days ever have to go?"

"They've been spending most their lives Living in a pastime paradise. They've been spending most their lives Living in a pastime paradise. They've been wasting most their time Glorifying days long gone behind, They've been wasting most their days In remembrance of ignorance oldest praise."

"As around the sun the earth knows she's revolving, And the rosebuds know to bloom in early May, Just as hate knows love's the cure, You can rest your mind assured, That I'll be loving you always."

"For you, there might be a brighter star, But through my eyes the light of you burns all I see. For you, there might be another song, But all my heart can hear is your melody."

"Goin' back to Saturn where the rings all glow, Rainbow, moonbeams and orange snow, On Saturn, people live to be two hundred and five, Goin' back to Saturn where the people smile, Don't need cars 'cause we've learned to fly, On Saturn, just to live to us is our natural high."

"You took me riding in your rocket and gave me a star, But at a half a mile from heaven You dropped me back down to this cold, cold world."

"Everyone's feeling pretty, It's hotter than july, Though the world's full of problems, They couldn't touch us even if they tried."

"Didn't know that you Would be jammin' until the break of dawn, See nobody ever told you that you Would be jammin' until the break of dawn."

"Well I'm a man of many wishes, Hope my premonition misses, But what I really feel, My eyes won't let me hide, 'Cause they always start to cry, 'Cause this time could mean goodbye."

"You know it doesn't make much sense, There ought to be a law against Anyone who takes offence At a day in your celebration, 'Cause we all know in our minds That there ought to be a time That we can set aside To show just how much we love you, And I'm sure you would agree, What could fit more perfectly Than to have a world party On the day you came to be? Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, Happy birthday."

"I just called to say I love you, I just called to say how much I care, I just called to say I love you, And I mean it from the bottom of my heart."

"Call up, ring once, hang up the phone, To let me know you made it home, Don't want nothing to be wrong, With part-time lover."

"We are undercover passion on the run, Chasing love up against the sun, We are strangers by day, lovers by night, Knowing it's so wrong but feeling so right."

"And though you don't believe that they do, They do come true, For did my dreams Come true when I looked at you, And maybe too if you would believe, You too might be overjoyed, over love, over me."

"Raindrops, passionate raindrops, The kind of rain that writes 'They're so in love' on our skin. Raindrops, that we hope won't stop Cooling the red hot love that we are making."

"Shame on me, shame on you, Shame on them, shame on us, Shame on me, shame on you, Shame on them, shame on us, So what the fuss."

"I don't know what life would be like without music. In my lonely times, music has been my closest friend. It has also been my doctor-and my lover, in the sense that I sometimes listen to music and dream of a lover that doesn't exist. Late at night, when I don't feel sleepy, I'll play music-all types of music and lose myself in its mystery. I might decide to play Stevie Wonder, or Debussy, or Tchaikovsky. It depends on my mood."

"As Stevie Wonder says in his song (It will take a long time before white America can understand what his music is about at all; it's almost like a code. They don't really know what Stevie is singing about or what Stevie is saying. They can't afford to know.) Stevie says, "I ain't gotta do nothing to you; I ain't even gotta do nothing to you; you cause your own country to fall." And that's what's happening."

"Stevie Wonder delivered an emphatic, at times impatient video message Tuesday urging on the Black Lives Matter movement. Saying he has listened to "voices on the left, voices on the right," Wonder added, "What I’ve not heard is a unanimous commitment to atone for the sins of this country."... Wonder lamented that three states — North Dakota, South Dakota and Hawaii — have failed to formally recognize Juneteenth as a holiday. "... It was an 18-year fight to (make) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday," said Wonder, who teamed with late U.S. Rep. John Conyers in that ultimately successful campaign... The short video, titled "The Universe is Watching Us," was posted to Wonder's social media channels Tuesday afternoon."

"And most of all, I'd like to thank Stevie Wonder, who didn't make an album this year."

"You can give him a ukulele and he can make it sound like a Stradivarius."

"I believe that any "awareness" of life is "spiritual" since awareness can only be a quality of the spirit not of the material world or of matter and machines. Only a spiritual being has awareness. But if you mean "spiritual" in the sense of a kind of "celebration of Life", then yes, I write music to celebrate life. I think most artists do, no matter how they themselves describe it. It's the joy of creating. It's a way of life."

"The values that Scientology states are universal values. Values that any good mother or father or friend couldn't possibly disagree with. They're the values of health and improvement. It's not a belief system where you have to sign up and believe something particularly. People of all religions study Hubbard, and Hubbard himself encouraged religions to flourish because in our day and age, in our mechanized society, what is lacking is the humanities and people with faith and beliefs. So that's one of our operations. We encourage that. I require a certain amount of ethics from anybody I work with."

"It's a way of life for me. To me, Scientology is the very thing that artists need, in the sense that it's not a religion that you have to change the way that you pray or think about the Creator. What's incredible about Scientology is that this is the first time there's been a real technology on human relationships. To me, that's what's missing in the world. Like most of us, I grew up in a mechanical world. And when I got into music, it was mechanical in the sense of choosing notes and chords. Missing were the humanities. What ever happened to how you really live? How you feel? How you relate to people? How you reach out and help someone? I think that's one of the most basic, natural tendencies all people have—to help. Scientology gives you the necessary tools to be successful at helping someone."

"The most prolific and versatile of any modern jazz musician"

"You a motherfucker!"

"Jazz's most protean and unpredictable character."

"Acoustic, electric, latin, free – Chick Corea’s career seems to have touched all the bases in today’s jazz scene. Yet that variety is firmly centred in some abiding principles: a passion for music, the piano, and performance. They were a kind of birthright. [...] Working with all kinds of bands, and absorbing all kinds of styles – with a special fondness for fiery Latin rhythms – Corea built a reputation as composer and player."

"From what I know about alcoholism, I'd say there's nothing romantic, nothing grand, nothing heroic, nothing brave — nothing like that about drinking. It's a real coward's death."

"I'm insane. I'm fucked up. I have problems. But I don't get depressed and I don't get bored."

"I write songs about things that I'm simultaneously trying to not think about."

"It just sort of happened. I wrote like what I'd always read and what was in the movies … I'm sure popular music is supposed to be like this."

"Well, first of all, let me say that I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years. It was one of those phobias that really didn’t pay off."

"You know, you put more value on every minute … I mean, I always thought I kind of did that. I really always enjoyed myself. But it's more valuable now. You're reminded to enjoy every sandwich, and every minute of playing with the guys, and being with the kids and everything."

"Sickness, doctors, that scares me, not violence — helplessness. That's why I turn to violent stories."

"I wrote my songs despite the fact that I was a drunk, not because of it."

"She's so many women, He can't find the one who was his friend. So he's hanging on to half her heart. He can't have the restless part, So he tells her to hasten down the wind."

"Poor, poor pitiful me. Poor, poor pitiful me. These young girls won't let me be. Lord have mercy on me. Woe is me."

"Loneliness and frustration, We both came down with an acute case. And when the lights came up at two, I caught a glimpse of you. And your face looked like something Death brought with him in his suitcase"

"So much to do, there's plenty on the farm; I'll sleep when I'm dead. Saturday night I like to raise a little harm; I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Carmelita hold me tighter, I think I'm sinking down. And I'm all strung out on heroin On the outskirts of town."

"And if California slides into the ocean Like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill.Don't the sun look angry through the trees? Don't the trees look like crucified thieves? Don't you feel like Desperados under the eaves? Heaven help the one who leaves."

"Except in dreams, you're never really free."

"Roland the headless Thompson gunner, Norway's bravest son. Time, time, time For another peaceful war. But time stands still for Roland 'Til he evens up the score. They can still see his headless body stalking through the night In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun; In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun."

"He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom. Excitable boy, they all said. And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home. Excitable boy, they all said."

"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain. He was looking for a place called Le Ho Fooks. Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein."

"He's the hairy-handed gent, who ran amok in Kent. Lately he's been overheard in Mayfair. You better stay away from him. He'll rip your lungs out, Jim. Huh, I'd like to meet his tailor."

"I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen Doing the werewolves of London. I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's... His hair was perfect."

"We made mad love: Shadow love, Random love, And abandoned love. Accidentally like a martyr. The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder"

"Well, I went home with the waitress The way I always do How was I to know She was with the Russians, too"

"Send lawyers, guns and money. Dad, get me out of this!"

"I'm the innocent bystander Somehow I got stuck Between the rock and the hard place And I'm down on my luck"

"Now I'm hiding in Honduras I'm a desperate man Send lawyers, guns and money The shit has hit the fan"

"So I'm gonna hurl myself against the wall, 'Cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all."

"Every day I get up in the morning and go to work And do my job — whatever. I need some Sentimental Hygiene. Everybody's at war these days. Let's have a mini-surrender. I need some Sentimental hygiene"

"They made hypocrite judgments after the fact, But the name of the game is be hit and hit back."

"I woke up this morning and fell out of bed; Trouble waiting to happen. Should've quit while I was ahead; Trouble waiting to happen. I turned on the news to the Third World War, Opened up the paper to World War IV. Just when I thought it was safe to be bored, Trouble waiting to happen."

"When I was young, times were hard. When I got older it was worse."

"I'm very well acquainted with the seven deadly sins I keep a busy schedule trying to fit them in I'm proud to be a glutton and I don't have time for sloth I'm greedy and I'm angry and I don't care who I cross."

"Down in the basement I have a Craftsman lathe. Show it to the children When they misbehave."

"And I'm searching for a heart, Searching everyone. They say love conquers all. You can't start it like a car, You can't stop it with a gun."

"We contemplate eternity Beneath the vast indifference of heaven."

"Life'll kill ya, That's what I said. Life'll kill ya, Then you'll be dead. Life'll find ya Wherever you go. Requiescat in pace That's all she wrote."

"I can saw a woman in two. But you won't want to look in the box when I do"

"You know I hate it when you put your hand inside my head And switch all my priorities around. Why don't you go pick on someone your own size instead?"

"My shit's fucked up. It had to happen to the best of us. The rich folk suffer like the rest of us, It will happen to you."

"It seems as if I am making a comeback but I have never really been away. It’s very strange because the whole attitude changes and everything is turned inside out. Now I am seeing the shiny side again."

"Art was what I originally started out to do and music came second at first. I had a year at art college but I left because it was too much like school. I give all my paintings away to people I like."

"Geoffrey Robertson: You don't think that this man deserves to die? Yusuf Islam: Who, Salman Rushdie? Robertson: Yes. Islam: Yes, yes. Robertson: And do you have a duty to be his executioner? Islam: Uh, no, not necessarily, unless we were in an Islamic state and I was ordered by a judge or by the authority to carry out such an act — perhaps, yes."

"Rather than go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author Salman Rushdie, I would have hoped that it'd be the real thing."

"If Rushdie turned up at my doorstep looking for help, I might ring somebody who might do more damage to him than he would like. I'd try to phone the Ayatollah Khomeini and tell him exactly where this man is."

"In Islam there is a line between let's say freedom and the line which is then transgressed into immorality and irresponsibility and I think as far as this writer is concerned, unfortunately, he has been irresponsible with his freedom of speech. Salman Rushdie or indeed any writer who abuses the prophet, or indeed any prophet, under Islamic law, the sentence for that is actually death. It's got to be seen as a deterrent, so that other people should not commit the same mistake again."

"I'm very sad that this seems to be the No. 1 question people want to discuss. I had nothing to do with the issue other than what the media created. I was innocently drawn into the whole controversy. So, after many years, I'm glad at least now that I have been given the opportunity to explain to the public and fans my side of the story in my own words. At a lecture, back in 1989, I was asked a question about blasphemy according to Islamic Law, I simply repeated the legal view according to my limited knowledge of the Scriptural texts, based directly on historical commentaries of the Qur'an. The next day the newspaper headlines read, "Cat Says, Kill Rushdie." I was abhorred, but what could I do? I was a new Muslim. If you ask a Bible student to quote the legal punishment of a person who commits blasphemy in the Bible, he would be dishonest if he didn't mention Leviticus 24:16."

"I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attacks, it must be stated that no right thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action: the Qur'an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims at this sorrowful moment."

"We understand the anger, the anguish and suffering which this act of international terrorism has created amongst people. What we are worried about is the impact of the wrong kind of response to it. … We believe that the civilised world is a multicultural, multi-religious world. That is the type of message we want to get across. … I think there are many who are Muslims and non-Muslims, who are not warmongers but peace makers and want this world to be a better place. We believed the unison of the voices of so many people standing together against international terrorism is something to be valued and something to be built upon."

"I wanted a break. I had been on the road more or less since I was 18, you know? And I hadn't known any other life, other than, you know, hotel rooms and concerts and records and studios and press conferences. … and to me, here was a chance to jump off that kind of wagon and see life for real. You know, actually my last album was called Back to Earth. So that was the meaning of it. I wanted to join the human race again. I didn't want to be a star. I didn't want to continue with that thing, because so much illusion and non-reality is connected to it. I wanted to be real. And so I — I kind of — I found an opportunity. And the actual point about music was — the imam who I met and who I first embraced Islam with in London's Central Mosque, he actually told me to continue making records."

"It seems to be the easiest thing in the world these days to make scurrilous accusations against Muslims, and in my case it directly impacts on my relief work and damages my reputation as an artist. The harm done is often difficult to repair."

"The last place I wanted to return to was the music business. But it's the people and the cause that matter and right now there's an important need, which is bridge-building. I wanted to support the cause of humanity, because that's what I always sang about. Music can be healing, and with my history and my knowledge of both sides of what looks like a gigantic divide in the world, I feel I can point a way forward to our common humanity again. It's a big step for me but it's a natural step. I don't feel at all irked by the responsibility — I feel inspired."

"I wrote a song called "Father & Son" about the son running off to do his own thing. Now the story is about my son coming back and bringing a guitar into the house. A couple of years ago, one morning after prayers, his guitar was lying around. I picked it up and my fingers knew exactly where to go. I'd written some words and when I put them to music, it moved me and I realized I could have another job to do. Things just grew from there."

"I had to learn my faith and look after my family, and I had to make priorities. But now I've done it all and there's a little space for me to fill in the universe of music again."

"A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing … You come to a point where you have sung, more or less … your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road."

"I was a sitting target, in a way, for anybody who wanted to make some kind of headline. … I certainly never supported the Fatwa, but when I was asked about … the actual principle of blasphemy and capital punishment, well, like the Bible, I said, "You know, yeah, it's there, it's in the Koran." And I couldn't deny that."

"A big turning point happened when my son brought back a guitar into the house — You know, 'cause I'd given all those guitars away to charity — way back in 1979 and hadn't really touched the instrument, you know, for like two decades. … So then one day … when everybody's asleep and nobody's watching, I pick it up — and lo and behold, I still know where to put my fingers and out comes this music. I said, "Maybe I've got another job to do." And in this time and period it's probably the best thing I can do because lecturing, politics, God, I've got nothing to do with that. I want to just get heart-to-heart, make sure people understand some of the real subtle beauties of what I've discovered."

"Here's a chance, I think, for us to kind of remind ourselves, of those things we all commonly enjoy and love and share, try to get back together. You know, singing out for a more peaceful world today, I think, can only do good. … I do believe that … a lot of Muslims have yet to learn, you know, the incredible great history and contribution of Islamic civilization — and its become very, if you like, in some way puritanical — that puritanical approach will become narrower and narrower and even become more fragmented. Its that vast middle ground where people actually live, you know, that we have to reclaim; and in that area, everybody should be able to live together. And I don't think that God sent us prophets and books to fight about these books and these prophets. But they were telling us, actually, how to live together. If we ignore those teachings — whichever faith you belong, you profess, then I think we'll be finding ourselves in an even deeper mess."

"I never called for the death of Salman Rushdie; nor backed the Fatwa issued by the Ayatollah Khomeini — and still don’t. The book itself destroyed the harmony between peoples and created an unnecessary international crisis. When asked about my opinion regarding blasphemy, I could not tell a lie and confirmed that — like both the Torah and the Gospel — the Qur’an considers it, without repentance, as a capital offense. The Bible is full of similar harsh laws if you’re looking for them. However, the application of such Biblical and Qur’anic injunctions is not to be outside of due process of law, in a place or land where such law is accepted and applied by the society as a whole."

"In 1989, during the heat and height of the Satanic Verses controversy, I was silly enough to accept appearing on a program called Hypotheticals which posed imaginary scenarios by a well-versed (what if…?) barrister, Geoffrey Robertson QC. I foolishly made light of certain provocative questions. When asked what I’d do if Salman Rushdie entered a restaurant in which I was eating, I said, “I would probably call up Ayatollah Khomeini”; and, rather than go to a demonstration to burn an effigy of the author, I jokingly said I would have preferred that it'd be the “real thing”. Criticize me for my bad taste, in hindsight, I agree. But these comments were part of a well-known British national trait; a touch of dry humor on my part. Just watch British comedy programs like "Have I Got News For You" or “Extras”, they are full of occasionally grotesque and sardonic jokes if you want them! … Certainly I regret giving those sorts of responses now. However, it must be noted that the final edit of the program was made to look extremely serious; hardly any laughs were left in and much common sense was savagely cut out. Most of the Muslim participants in the program wrote in and complained about the narrow and selective use of their comments, surreptitiously selected out of the 3-hour long recording of the debate. But the edit was not in our hands. Balanced arguments were cut out and the most sensational quotes, preserved."

""Peace Train" is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions. There is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution."

"Life is a journey, you know; and a lot of journeys, you go out, you come back."

"I love my dog as much as I love you But you may fade, my dog will always come through."

"The first cut is the deepest, Baby I know — The first cut is the deepest 'Cause when it comes to being lucky, she's cursed When it comes to lovin' me, she's worst But when it comes to being loved, she's first That's how I know The first cut is the deepest."

"My Lady D'Arbanville, why do you sleep so still? I'll wake you tomorrow, and you will be my fill, Yes, you will be my fill"

"Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry? Will you tell us when to live; will you tell us when to die? I know we've come a long way, We're changing day to day, But tell me, where do the children play?"

"I’m looking for a hard-headed woman, One who will make me do my best, And if I find my hard-headed woman, I know the rest of my life will be blessed"

"I know many fine feathered friends But their friendliness depends on how you do They know many sure fired ways, To find out the one who pays And how you do"

"Now that I've lost everything to you You say you wanna start something new And it's breakin' my heart you're leaving Baby, I'm grieving"

"Baby, I love you But if you wanna leave, take good care I hope you make a lot of nice friends out there But just remember there's a lot of bad and beware Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world It's hard to get by just upon a smile Oh, baby, baby, it's a wild world I'll always remember you like a child"

"Lord, my body has been a good friend But I won't need it when I reach the end Miles from nowhere, Guess I'll take my time Oh yeah, to reach there"

"I love everything So don't it make you feel sad 'cause I'll drink to you, my baby I'll think to that, I'll think to that"

"I don’t want to work away Doing just what they all say"

"Longer boats are coming to win us Hold on to the shore, or — They’ll be taking the key from the door"

"I built my house from barley rice Green pepper walls and water ice – And everything emptying into White"

"So on and on I go, the seconds tick the time out There’s so much left to know, and I’m on the road to find out."

"Then I found my head one day when I wasn’t even trying And here I have to say, ‘cause there is no use in lying, lying Yes the answer lies within, so why not take a look now? Kick out the devil’s sin, pick up, pick up a good book now."

"It’s not time to make a change, Just relax, take it easy You’re still young, that’s your fault, There’s so much you have to know. Find a girl, settle down, If you want you can marry Look at me, I am old, but I’m happy"

"But take your time, think a lot, Why, think of everything you’ve got For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not"

"It’s always been the same, same old story. From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen Now there’s a way and I know that I have to go — away"

"All the times that I’ve cried, keeping all the things I knew inside, It’s hard, but it’s harder to ignore it"

"Bring tea for the Tillerman, Steak for the sun, Wine for the women who made the rain come, Seagulls sing your hearts away ‘Cause while the sinners sin, the children play"

"I listen to the wind To the wind of my soul Where I’ll end up well I think, Only God really knows"

"Ruby my love, You’ll be my love"

"If I laugh just a little bit Maybe I can forget the chance That I didn’t have to know you And live in peace, in peace"

"Don't you feel a change a coming From another side of time, Breaking down the walls of silence, Lifting shadows from your mind."

"How can I tell you that I love you, I love you But I can’t think of right words to say."

"If I make a mark in time, I can’t say the mark is mine I’m only the underline of the word Yes, I’m like him; just like you, I can’t tell you what to do Like everybody else I’m searching through What I’ve heard"

"And if I ever lose my hands, Lose my power, lose my land. Oh, if I ever lose my hands, Ooh, I won't have to work no more.And if I ever lose my eyes, If my colors all run dry. Yes, if I ever lose my eyes, Ooh, I won't have to cry no more.Yes, I'm bein' followed by a moon shadow, Moon shadow, moon shadow. Leapin' and hoppin' on a moon shadow, Moon shadow, moon shadow."

"Now I've been happy lately Thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be Something good has begun. Oh, I've been smiling lately Dreaming about the world as one And I believe it could be Someday it's going to come."

"Now I've been crying lately, Thinking about the world as it is. Why must we go on hating? Why can't we live in bliss?"

"Now come and join the living, its not so far from you And its getting nearer, soon it will all be true Oh peace train sounding louder"

"Oh I’m on my way, I know I am, Somewhere not so far from here All I know is all I feel right now, I feel the power growing in my hair Sitting on my own not by myself, Everybody’s here with me I don’t need to touch your face to know, And I don’t need to use my eyes to see"

"Oh I’m on my way I know I am, But times there were when I thought not Bleeding half my soul in bad company, I thank the moon I had the strength to stop"

"Now I’m not making love to anyone’s wishes, Only for that light I see ‘Cause when I’m dead and lowered low in my grave, That’s gonna be the only thing that’s left of me"

"As years went by the boy grew high And the village looked on in awe They’d never seen anything like The boy with the moon and star before And people would ride from far and wide just to seek the word he spread "I'll tell you everything I've learned," And "Love", is all he said."

"She moves like and angel And seven evening stars Dance through the window Of her universal house"

"Her breath a warm fire In every lovers heart A mistress to magicians And a dancer to the gods"

"Her clothes are made of rainbows And twenty thousand tears Shine through the spaces Of her golden ochre hair"

"Sing a song of love and truth We’ll soon remember if you do When all things were tall And our friends were small And the world was new"

"Oh I can’t keep it in; I can’t keep it in, I’ve gotta let it out I’ve got to show the world; world’s got to see, See all the love; love that’s in me"

"Well I rode a while, for a mile or so Down the road to the 18th Avenue And the people I saw were the people I know And they all came down to take a view"

"O caritas, O caritas nobis semper sit amor mos perituri mortem salutamus — ah, ah sola resurgit vita"

"Give me time forever here in my time"

"Underneath her kiss I was so unguarded Every bottle’s empty now and all those dreams are gone Ah, but the song carries on … so holy"

"All those days are frozen now and all those scars are gone Ah, but the song carries on … so holy"

"Where’s it leading to, freedom at what cost? People needing more and more and it’s all getting lost"

"Yesterday I was on the edge Hoping everything was going to work itself out A good honest man doing the work of God Trying to make things better for Him A lover of life in a school for fools Trying to find another way to survive"

"I said, ‘Put back your heart, and sing, sing While you know you’re still living.’ Sing, sing, sing, while you know there’s still – New Music, new Music, new Music Sweet Music can lighten us Can brighten the world – can save us"

"Oh very young, What will you leave us this time? There’ll never be a better chance to change your mind. And if you want this world to see better days, Will you carry the words of love with you? Will you ride the great white bird into heaven? And though you want them to last forever, You know they never will — you know they never will. And the goodbye makes the journey harder still."

"Sun is the reason And the world it will bloom ‘Cause sun lights the sky And the sun lights the moon"

"They crossed the wood and hanged him A long time ago They still misunderstand him Those who don’t know And in the evening his love will lead the blind In every secret corner there in your mind"

"I love, I love, I’m ready to love — yes"

"And if my mind breaks up In all so many ways I know the meaning of The words, “I love you”"

"I’ve, I’ve had it enough All those lonely rooms And blank faces Had it enough And I want you, I want you no more"

"Come the morning I’ll be far from here Slowly rising in another sphere"

"Dark and empty was the place to which I’d come Cold and silent was the house my name was on Nine rooms — and a tomb in every one"

"Novim's Nightmare"

"This stranger had the key To any door he wished — with his eyes, I say What kind of majiks, of majiks? What kind of man — Can make me turn and see the way I really am?"

"One is the ever kindling star King of the immortal spark In heaven’s eye"

"Don’t you remember the days Of the old schoolyard When we had imaginings and we had All kinds of things and we laughed And needed love … yes, I do Oh and I remember you"

"I never wanted to be a star, I never wanted to travel far I only wanted a little bit of love So I could put a little love in my heart"

"Well, if you want to sing out, sing out, And if you want to be free, be free. 'Cause there's a million things to be, You know that there are."

"Morning has broken, Like the first morning, Blackbird has spoken Like the first bird. Praise for the singing! Praise for the morning! Praise for them springing Fresh from the Word!"

"Then, in 1978, he turned his back on it all, embraced Islam and changed his name. For many of his long time fans, it was a baffling decision - why would a man who appeared to have it all throw it all away? Now, in a major interview for Radio 2, Yusuf Islam charts the long journey from pop stardom to religious enlightenment and reveals the reasons behind his decision."

"Yes, Martha Stewart is going to jail and Cat Stevens is being deported. Man, I feel so much safer now."

"A flight from London carrying the artist we all used to know as Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangor, Maine after his name showed up on a terrorist no-fly list. I tell you, it's a real success story in the war on terror. You know, we finally got the guy that wrote "Peace Train.""

"For many years, Yusuf Islam has been pretending he didn’t say the things he said in 1989, when he enthusiastically supported the Iranian terrorist edict against me and others. However, his words are on the record, in print interviews and on television programs.… I’m afraid Cat Stevens got off the peace train a long time ago."

"I was appalled that the San Francisco ethic didn't mushroom and envelope the whole world into this loving community of acid freaks. I was very naive."

"It was the first time many of the bands had met and saw each other perform, so we were all really marveling at each other. It was just one good group of people after another. And different kinds of music — from Jimi Hendrix to Ravi Shankar, The Mamas and the Papas to The Who. They had a backstage area where there was food being served 24 hours a day, so everybody was wandering around meeting each other. It was just amazing."

"She's more even -[daughter China] - I think it jumps generations. You get a screwball in one, and then the next one is straight, then you get a screwball. My grandmother was goofy, my mother was straight."

"But we all do sort of the same thing and that is rearrange what you thought was real, and, uh, they remind you of the beauty of very simple things. You forget, because you're so busy going from A to Z, that there's, uh, 24 letters in between."

"One pill makes you larger And one pill makes you small, And the ones that mother gives you Don't do anything at all. Go ask Alice When she's ten feet tall."

"And if you go chasing rabbits And you know you're going to fall, Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar Has given you the call. Call Alice When she was just small"

"When the men on the chessboard Get up and tell you where to go And you've just had some kind of mushroom And your mind is moving low. Go ask Alice I think she'll know."

"When logic and proportion Have fallen softly dead And the White Knight is talking backwards And the Red Queen's "off with her head!" Remember what the dormouse said: "Feed your head! Feed your head!""

"In Germany I ingested the entire contents of the hotel mini-bar before a show and stuck my fingers in this guy's nostrils because I thought they would fit."

"I've enjoyed the accommodations offered by police departments from Florida to Hawaii. Any time I saw a badge, something in me would snap."

"Jim Morrison was a well-built boy, larger than average, and young enough to maintain the engorged silent connection right through the residue of chemicals."

"The first words I ever heard the alcohol rehab counselor say were 'Good morning, assholes!' With that, I liked him right away."

"The wiser you get on the inside, the uglier you get on the outside. The world's great gurus have beautiful things to say but they generally look like shit."

"Man is the only animal that knows he's going to die, so we invent a heaven to keep from going crazy. Most people are hypnotized by organized religion from childhood."

"Loss either teaches you to persist in the face of suffering, or hardens you into a bitter cynic. Sometimes, it does a little of both."

"Janis knew more than I did about "how it was", but she lacked enough armor for the inevitable hassles. She was open and spontaneous enough to get her heart trampled with a regularity that took me thirty years to experience or understand. On the various occasions when we were together, she seemed to be holding in something she thought I might not want to hear, like older people do when they hear kids they love saying with absolute youthful confidence, "Oh, that'll never happen to me." Sometimes you know you can't tell them how it is, they have to find out for themselves. Janis felt like an old soul, a wisecracking grandmother whom everybody loved to visit. When I was with her, I often felt like a part of her distant family, a young upstart relative who was still too full of her own sophistry to hear wisdom. Did we compliment each other? Yes, but not often enough."

"If you remember the Sixties, you weren't there."

"A startling presence, both vocally and visually... Off the cuff, like the whole '60's were off the cuff. An Oscar Wilde in drag who combined insight and sarcasm that was sometimes light, sometimes dark. A provocateur."

"Maybe I should try singing like a man."

"JB: We had 200 Russians lined up pointing their weapons at us aggressively, which was... and you know we'd been told to reach the airfield and take a hold of it. And if we had a foothold there then it would make life much easier for the NATO forces in Pristina. So there was a political reason to take hold of this. And the practical consequences of that political reason would be then aggression against the Russians. Interviewer: Might have been World War III. JB: Absolutely. And that's why we were querying our instruction from an American general. Fortunately, up on the radio came Gen Mike Jackson, whose exact words at the time were, 'I'm not going to have my soldiers be responsible for starting World War III, and told us why don't we sugar off down the road, you know, encircle the airfield instead."

"Beautiful dawn (beautiful dawn) You're just blowing my mind again Thought I was born to endless night, until you shine.High. Running wild among all the stars above Sometimes it's hard to believe you remember me."

"My life is brilliant, My love is pure. I saw an angel, Of that I'm sure. She smiled at me on the subway; She was with another man. But I won't lose no sleep on that 'Cause I've got a plan."

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true. I saw your face in a crowded place, And I don't know what to do. 'Cause I'll never be with you."

"Look who's alone now, It's not me, it's not me. Those three wise men, They've got a semi by the sea. Got to ask yourself the question, Where are you now? Got to ask yourself the question, Where are you now?"

"I am a dreamer and when I wake, You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take. And as you move on, remember me. Remember us and all we used to be. I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile. I've watched you sleeping for a while. I'd be the father of your child; I'd spend a lifetime with you. I know your fears and you know mine, We've had our doubts but now we're fine. And I love you, I swear that's true. I cannot live without you."

"There are children standing here, Arms outstretched into the sky, Tears drying on their face. He has been here. Brothers lie in shallow graves, Fathers lost without a trace. A nation blind to their disgrace, Since he's been here.And I see no bravery, No bravery in your eyes anymore. Only sadness."

"I would call you up every Saturday night And we'd both stay out 'til the morning light. And we sang "Here we go again." And though time goes by, I will always be in a club with you in 1973, Singing "Here we go again.""

"Saw the world turning in my sheets And once again, I cannot sleep. Walk out the door and up the street, Look at the stars beneath my feet. Remember rights that I did wrong. So here I go."

"Trouble is her only friend and he's back again. Makes her body older than it really is. She says it's high time she went away. No one's got much to say in this town. Trouble is the only way is down, Down, down.As strong as you were, tender you go. I'm watching you breathing for the last time. A song for your heart, but when it is quiet, I know what it means and I'll carry you home. I'll carry you home."

"Many prophets preach on bended knee, Many clerics wasted wine. Do the bloody sheets On those cobbled streets mean I have wasted time?"

"And if this is what we’ve got, then what we’ve got is gold We’re shining bright and I want you, I want you to know The morning’s on its way Our friends all say goodbye There’s nowhere else to go I hope that you’ll stay the night You'll stay the night."

"Tell me the wars you're fighting Behind the smile you're hiding All of the things I know you want to say We tried our best to find us But there are no lights to guide us I can't sleep beside a stranger now And piece by piece we fall apart With every beat slows down my heart."

"So many voices, Too many noises. Invisible lies keeping us apart. So many choices, but they're all disappointment And they only steal me away from you. Climb into our own private bubble, Let's get into all kinds of trouble."

"If time is all I have, I'll waste it all on you. Each day I'll turn it back. It's what the broken-hearted do. I'm tired of talking to an empty space Of silences keeping me awake."

"Your mouth is a revolver, firing bullets in the sky (Mh-mh-mh-mh) Your love is like a soldier, loyal 'till you die (Mh-mh-mh-mh) And I’ve been looking at the stars for a long, long time I’ve been putting out fires all my life Everybody wants a flame, they don’t want to get burnt And today is our turnDays like these lead to Nights like this lead to Love like ours You light the spark in my bonfire heart People like us, we don’t Need that much, just some One that starts, starts the spark in our bonfire hearts."

"It's ok, cause I know You shine even on a rainy day And I can find your halo Guides me to wherever you fall If you need a hand to hold I'll come running, because You and I won't part till we die You should know We see eye to eye, heart to heart."

"I'm sending postcards from my heart Your love for a postmark and then You know that you make me feel like We've been caught like kids in the schoolyard again And I can't keep it to myself."

"When I met you I was treading water And baby I know you know I got an eye that wanders But right now in this car that we're driving to your sister's All I'm lookin' for is something that's forever."

"It's a little after midnight There's a couple in the corner And I wonder what he said because she's crying And I guess they won't remember When they wake up in the morning With the headache from the whiskey and the wine I know that I have said things I regret when I am sober 'Cause we always hurt the ones we love the most."

"Don't give me those eyes 'cause you know me and I can't say no to you We can't have each other even if we wanted to In another life, darling, I'll do anything to be with you We can't have each other even if we wanted to Don't give me those eyes, don't give me those eyes."

"Without your arms around me, without you on my skin Without you on my body, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I don’t mean to be desperate or pretend that I’m not torn But I don’t want to let go of the things that keep me warm Without you, I’m just cold."

"I'm not your son, you're not my father We're just two grown men saying goodbye No need to forgive, no need to forget I know your mistakes and you know mine And while you're sleeping, I'll try to make you proud So, daddy, won't you just close your eyes? Don't be afraid, it's my turn To chase the monsters away."

"I got one entire song from fortune cookies (Land of Sunshine). On another one, I took words from different Frank Sinatra songs and pasted them together. Another one, I was just driving around and there was a piece of paper on the ground, so I stole it."

"Puffy's the only guy who's jealous. "All drummers want to be singers. I think it's a myth that the singer needs to be the focus. Bands perpetuate that myth. With somebody like Sebastian Bach it makes sense. Look at him. He could be in an Avon ad."

"It's (RV) about a slob sitting around who doesn't do anything. I kind of identify with it."

"Big Jim is over and out, as far as I am concerned."

"Trey Spruance didn't want to tour for ages. And Dean Menta has always been our guitar-roadie during Angel Dust, and I remember him playing fantastically during soundchecks. During each gig, he was watching from the side of the stage, seeing Big Jim play stuff that he could play better."

"There's a lot of positive stuff to say about him... Why can't I think of any now? (laughs) Oh, here's something positive: Big Jim's best trait of character was that he has always been himself... which was his worst trait of character at the same time."

"Oh, have you seen Beavis and Butt-Head when they watch one of our videos and Beavis goes: 'These guys sound just like the Chili Peppers?' As if I haven't heard that one before!""

"Recently, a girl chained herself to me with hand-cuffs after a gig, just because I refused to talk to her. I politely declined, though. I am a well-bred boy. I don't want to be too specific, but... it got pretty ugly."

"Despite the aural onslaught, King (For A Day) is not an assault I think it's us being us, more than anything. I think we finally had the resources to be us on this record."

"Revenge is good. I think revenge is healthy too, and if you can use music in that way, a sort of therapeutic way for yourself, it can't do any harm. So if King (For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime) is angry in any way, it's angry in a random, chaotic, healthy way. Like the guy who goes into a building, shoots a bunch of holes in the wall and then leaves. He didn't kill anybody."

"We just wanna be the happy bums that we are. That's all."

"I don't want to go to another roller-coaster ride of a movie. If I want that, I'll go to Magic Mountain. I'm really interested in the young directors that are doing different things in cinema. I think the movies people will hold onto are the Rushmores and the Being John Malkoviches. Those are the kind of films I want to do; that's what I'm passionate about."

"I don't think I'm very much like anyone else, really. I'm sure there are aspects of other actors that I share, but I don't see anybody else and go, "Damn, they stole my thing." I'm me, and I like that there are people who have an appreciation for that."

"I have trouble actually describing myself because I’m always suspicious of people who start describing themselves. I’m like, “OK, why are you trying to tell me what you are?”"

"I think a lot of what motivates me songwriting-wise is — this might sound silly — but, when I listen to a song that I love, it kind of makes me feel better. I think that’s the impetus behind everything I write; I want to make people feel better, whether it’s myself, or a friend, or whoever. I don’t know how to say this without sounding corny or banal, but I know a lot of people who are very hard on themselves. So this is sort of a cheerleading lullaby."

"My goal as an actor is always to be as truthful as possible, and to find the truth in the material I am representing. So I think that it’s the same with performing music. But in a way, performing your own music, it’s easier to find the truth in it, because it’s coming from yourself. There’s no translation needed."

"I would watch Wizard of Oz, like every day, when I was two. I had a hard time understanding that I couldn't go into the film, because it felt so real to me."

"O-o-old habits die hard when you got, when you got a sentimental heart Piece of the puzzle, you're my missing part Oh what can you do with a sentimental heart?"

"Why don't you sit right down and stay awhile? We like the same things and I like your style Its not a secret; why do you keep it? I'm just sitting on the shelf"

"I got to get your presence Let's make it known I think you're just so pleasant I would like you for my own"

"For those of you who tried, but didn't make it, Settle down — it's never what you think. The summit doesn't differ from the deep, dark valley, And the valley doesn't differ from the kitchen sink."

"For those of you who thought you'd be forgotten, The friends you've made will try their best, to make it so. Think of all the beauty that you left behind you. You can take it if you want it, and then let it go."

"For those of us who try to keep remembering, Try to do our better than our best. Think of all the children in the drifts of snow. Winners never quit, but winters never rest."

"I was never no, never no, never enough, But I can try, I can try to toughen up."

"Change is hard, I should know. I should know."

"I somehow see what's beautiful In things that are ephemeral I'm my only friend of mine And love is just a piece of time in the world in the world. And I couldn't help but fall in love again."

"Take it back Oh, take it back I don't want your lovin', anymore Let me live Oh, let me live It's not you who I sing for"

"I don't wanna' wonder whether you love me I don't wanna' wonder whether you care"

"When I saw you smile I saw a dream come true"

"I won't be waitin' any more cause I know Baby, baby I was made for you"

"My eyes are so bleary I guess I'm young but I feel so weary I've tried to express it But I think its all a bore Its at the heart of me, A very part of me"

"It's nowhere in here And its everywhere else that I don't wanna be, But I'm stuck here getting misty over you I'm alone on a bicycle for two."

"Saw your face, My hand you took Just like in a story book, And you got me Yeah, you‘ve got me"

"I can feel your heartbeat, Where I lay my head ‘Cause you’ve got me Yeah you’ve got me"

"When I was a little bit younger The strain I was under could make me cry. Now I’m a little bit older, A little bit bolder, Never so shy"

"Sweet darlin’, come hold me, Just a little bit longer now"

"There's thieves among us Painting the walls All kinds of lies, and lies I never told it all"

"What's in my pocket? You never knew You didn't know me well So well, as I knew you"

"And I know, and you know too That a love, like ours Is terrible news But that wont stop me crying No, that wont stop me crying over you"

"It’s hard to be ignored When I look at you, you look so bored My baby, my darling, I’ve been taking a beating… Well alright (well alright) It’s okay (it’s okay) We all get the slip sometimes every day I’ll just keep it to myself in the sun In the sun"

"Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone, but I never had yours I followed you back to the end of the path, but I never found the door"

"Don't look back all you'll ever get is the dust from the steps before I don't have to see you every day, but I just want to know youre there"

"I like to learn things slow I like learning alot I like to get it all again and in the end You know you get what you got"

"And the world's like a science And I'm like a secret And I saw you lingering still, still I saw you lingering still"

"He was different at first But then he won't understand Because he's never gonna know me If he doesn't want to just shake my hand"

"Well I’m back in your good graces again Remember when you told me that I was your only friend?"

"Well I know that you worry a lot about Things you cant control There are so many things wed like to have But we just cannot hold, You've got to be kind to yourself You've got to be kind to yourself"

"California is a great big nation of one They never knew what they wanted ’til it was already gone"

"Why don’t we just sit and stare and do nothing? Nothing at all for a while I like the way you smile I could be your state and I could be your nation It doesn’t get better than home, now does it?"

"I want to be where your heart is home I want to see you with the light in the morning There’s never been such a beautiful warning to me, to me"

"You never tried facing the sting Walking all in circles, take it all in stride Faces are not what they seem, I always dream lost in the tide"

"The world’s been waiting, they’ve been waiting for years And they’ve just gotta hear it The kids are waiting, they’ve been shedding tears So open your arms and sing for us"

"Why do I always want to sock it to you hard? Let you know what love is like when I’m keeping all my cards up on the shelf Where you can’t see them Why do I always want to keep it to myself?"

"I had some brand new shoes They were all red but they gave me the blues And they're runnin' away, they left me a letter It's just like you told me it'd be It's nothin' nothin' nothin' nothin' at all"

"We are all made of air There's stars in my eyes and there's sun in my hair And I'm runnin' away, it makes me feel better"

"If you can't sleep, I'll be there in your dreams. I'll be there in your dreams if you can't sleep at all. And in your dreams, I'll touch your cheek And lay my head on your shoulder. Goodbye shadows"

"Shut your eyes, there are bluer skies For you're embraced in my heart"

"Hair got caught in the sunlight darling But I just wasted the day. I knew it would happen this way."

"Can't get up in the morning lately and I'm just sunk in a dream I'm always the ship in the stream"

"All I know is that I'm tired of being clever Everybody's clever these days Take a win Take a fall I never wanted your love But I needed it all…"

"As you celebrate this special occasion with your family and friends, please know I am grateful for all you have done to encourage and support young women who are making a difference across our country. I hope your day is filled with love and laughter, and I wish you all the best for good health and happiness in the year ahead."

"Zooey Deschanel is one of those rare artists to transcend the pitfalls of being an actor/musician. Together with the talented M. Ward, the other half of She & Him, she crafts beautiful songs that sound like vintage radio hits. Their debut album, Volume 1, wowed the critics. Volume 2 is even better."

"I think that one of Zooey's skills in songwriting is the storytelling, and I hope that the production doesn't get in the way of that, and I hope that the era that we're living in doesn't get in the way of that, if that makes any sense."

"Practice. I used to sit on the edge of my bed with a six-pack of Schlitz Malt talls. My brother would go out at 7pm to party and get laid, and when he'd come back at 3am, I would still be sitting in the same place, playing guitar. I did that for years — I still do that."

"I don't like doing interviews, I don't like doing what I'm doing right now. I'd rather be at home playing my guitar."

"Playing together without having to compromise our sound was a dream come true."

"In 1971, a young Eddie witnessed Page’s one-handed solo for Heartbreaker, “took the idea and ran with it”. And then some."

"Eddie could play his borrowed Clapton licks at four times their original speed. But describing EVH’s guitar playing as “fast” undervalues it, like describing the Great Pyramid of Giza as “large”. Not just the best soloist on the planet, Eddie was possibly even better at rhythm – effortlessly grooving, extremely dynamic, and with the best swing in the game. Debates about whether he invented tapping (answer: no) are beside the point. Eddie Van Halen also did not invent harmonics, divebombs, palm muting, legato, or high gain tones, but no one had combined them seamlessly into one coherent guitar style, let alone perfected it on their debut album. [...] Where he hits a wrong note, he styles it out and keeps on wailing. Like the gymnast Simone Biles, no matter what acrobatics happen in the air, he always sticks the landing."

"[Eddie's solos are] short, concise and brilliantly crafted. They’re not just about speed. He can do a bit of something that’s quite gentle, and then throw in something that just blows you away because of the sheer pace of it for a second—and then he goes back to something else."

"Like Jimi Hendrix a decade earlier, Van Halen caused guitarists to look at their instruments in an entirely new way, and, arguably, no single guitarist has had such universal impact since."

"It’s an incredible technique for what he does. I can’t do it. I can’t smile like him either."

"Eddie’s smile reflects the sheer exuberance bursting from the grooves on the first Van Halen album. [...] Eddie’s licks had soul, even when he was showing off. Then there was the tone. It’s doubtful the electric guitar has ever sounded better. Guitarists have devoted their lives to trying to discover how it was done. [...] The 23-year-old Eddie didn’t just invent 80s rock guitar; he did it in a way that no one would ever surpass. A generation of shredders took his technique to new heights, but no one had the tone or the vibe, and no one else looked like they were having nearly as much fun."

"In 1978, Edward Van Halen redefined virtuosity on the electric guitar."

""Eruption" changed everything. Sure, it clocked in at less than two minutes and never came close to being a hit. As presented on the first Van Halen album in 1978, it seemed like an instrumental introduction to "You Really Got Me", the band’s debut single. But it was obvious to anyone who heard the Eddie Van Halen masterpiece that the world of rock guitar had changed dramatically. [...] Before Van Halen, guitar heroes were known mainly for their mastery of the blues and ability to pull a rich, vocal tone from their axes. [...] With Eruption, Eddie Van Halen set new standards on both fronts. He not only ripped through demisemiquavers with a speed and clarity that made McLaughlin seem splay-fingered; his mastery of feedback, tremolo and pinged harmonics made his guitar sound as fluid as a synthesizer."

"The incredible speed and consistency of his take on [the tremolo picking] technique has been a source of fascination for 35 years. In Van Halen’s approach, the picking hand hangs suspended in mid-air, with no anchoring or muting at all, and uses a middle-index pick grip to generate positively giant picking movements. It really seems to break all the rules."

"As unpredictable and flamboyant as Hendrix, Van Halen has had an unmeasurable impact on the guitar community. By the mid Eighties, his self-described “brown” sound, over-the-top techniques (including two-handed tapping), and revolutionary trem-bar effects inspired a generation of aspiring guitarists who bought the one-pickup, one-volume-knob, Floyd Rose–equipped Strat-style guitars that Van Halen made famous."

"I don't get it... did we look like transvestites or something?"

"I'd hate the sound of thirty thousand people booing."

"Sonia Mowlicker."

"I can’t tell you. I would say that if I did, I would have to kill you, but that wouldn’t be polite."

"I drove a bus down Sunset Boulevard once, and I didn’t kill anyone."

"How can you look at this and not see it as the symbol for the self-referencing nature of progressive evolution."

"I didn't know people had that much water in them!"

"I just wanted to sing on TV."

"When life gives you lemons, get tequila and salt."

"Sour patch kids gone wild."

"Let's give them something to talk about, other than H A I R!"

"I like singing in the street, so if you saw a little Indian kid walking on the street singing loudly, that was probably me."

"I would have Simon Cowell sing 'Shiny Happy People' by R.E.M. just to show his true personality."

"I hope she saw the passion, and no need to tell Mark Anthony about it."

"I learned the hula, so now I know how to shake my booty Hawaiian style."

"Thank you! Welcome to the Universe of Sanjaya!"

"I don't eat sugary cereal."

"Whether I was in my body or out of my body I know not. God knows it!"

"I did think I did see all heaven before me, and the great God himself."

"I should be sorry if I only entertained them, I wish to make them better."

"You have taken far too much trouble over your opera. Here in England that is mere waste of time. What the English like is something that they can beat time to, something that hits them straight on the drum of the ear."

"Er ist der Meister von uns allen!"

"Händel ist der unerreichte Meister aller Meister. Gehen Sie und lernen Sie von ihm, wie gewaltige Wirkungen mit einfachen Mitteln zu erreichen ist."

"Händel ist der größte Komponist, der je lebte. Ich würde meine Kopfbedeckung abnehmen und auf seinem Grab knien."

"Händel ist der Größte und Fähigste aller Komponisten; von ihm kann ich immer noch lernen."

"His hallelujahs open the heavens. He utters the word "Wonderful," as if all their trumpets spoke together. And then, when he comes to earth, to make love amidst nymphs and shepherds (for the beauties of all religions found room within his breast), his strains drop milk and honey, and his love is the youthfulness of the Golden Age."

"Handel is so great and so simple that no one but a professional musician is unable to understand him."

"Handel paralysed music in England for generations and they have not yet quite got over him."

"Every Englishman believes that Handel now occupies an important position in heaven. If so, le bon Dieu must feel toward him very much as Louis Treize felt toward Richelieu."

"Handel is one of the giants of musical history. His is happy, confident, melodic music imbued with the grace of the Italian vocal school, an easy fluency in German contrapuntal writing and the English choral tradition inherited from Purcell."

"We are young, heartache to heartache we stand No promises, no demands Love is a battlefield. We are strong, no one can tell us were wrong Searchin our hearts for so long, both of us knowing Love is a battlefield."

"Don't count on me I engineer on every Move we make from here I'll take the lead You take the pain You see, I engineered This game."

"Dem höchsten Gott allein zu Ehren, Dem Nächsten draus sich zu belehren."

"Und soll wie aller Musik also auch des Generalbasses Finis und Endursache anders nicht als nur zu Gottes Ehre und Recreation des Gemütes sein. Wo dieses nicht in acht genommen wird, ists keine eigentliche Musik, sondern ein Teuflisches Geplerr und Geleier."

"Not brook, but ocean should be his name (Bach is the German word for brook.)"

"Bach is the immortal God of Harmony."

"To Bach, notes were not just sounds but the very stuff of creation."

"To be able to hear J. S. Bach take a melody and improvise what amounts to a spontaneous composition is the most amazing thing I can think of."

"My hero was J. S. Bach. It was from his works that I came to understand mathematics and, through a greater understanding of math, came to a greater understanding of Bach—the golden ratio, the rise of complexity through the reiteration of simple elements, the presence of the cosmic in the common."

"One of the most extraordinary things about history's most extraordinary musician is the fact that this man's music, which exerts such a magnetic attraction for us today, against which we tend to measure much of the achievement in the art of music in the last two centuries, that this music had absolutely no effect on either the musicians or the public of his own day. And the strange thing about Bach is that he doesn't at all fit our conception of the misunderstood genius who was years ahead of his time. He was certainly misunderstood, but not because he was ahead of his time, rather because according the musical disposition of that day, he was generations behind it."

"For Bach, it wasn't finality that mattered in music, it was simply the joyous essence of being."

"The prerequisite of contrapuntal art, more conspicuous in the work of Bach than in that of any other composer, is an ability to conceive a priori of melodic identities which when transposed, inverted, made retrograde, or transformed rhythmically will yet exhibit, in conjunction with the original subject matter, some entirely new but completely harmonious profile."

"I think that if I were required to spend the rest of my life on a desert island, and to listen to or play the music of any one composer during all that time, that composer would almost certainly be Bach. I really can't think of any other music which is so all-encompassing, which moves me so deeply and so consistently, and which, to use a rather imprecise word, is valuable beyond all of its skill and brilliance for something more meaningful than that – its humanity."

"Bach is, for me, the touchstone that keeps my playing honest. Keeping the intonation pure in double stops, bringing out the various voices where the phrasing requires it, crossing the strings so that there are not inadvertent accents, presenting the structure in such a way that it's clear to the listener without being pedantic - one can't fake things in Bach, and if one gets all of them to work, the music sings in the most wonderful way."

"Pongileoni's bowing and the scraping of the anonymous fiddlers had shaken the air in the great hall, had set the glass of the windows looking onto it vibrating: and thus in turn had shaken the air in Lord Edward's apartment on the further side. The shaking air rattled Lord Edward's membrane tympani; the interlocked malleus, incus, and stirrup bones were set in motion so as to agitate the membrane of the oval window and raise an infinitesimal storm in the fluid of the labyrinth. The hairy endings of the auditory nerve shuddered like weeds in a rough sea; a vast number of obscure miracles were performed in the brain, and Lord Edwards ecstatically whispered "Bach!""

"I would vote for Bach, all of Bach, streamed out into space, over and over again. We would be bragging of course."

"All roads lead to Bach."

"Bach opens a vista to the universe. After experiencing him, people feel there is meaning to life after all."

"JS Bach has been called 'the supreme arbiter and law-giver of music'. He is to music what Leonardo da Vinci is to art and Shakespeare is to literature, one of the supreme creative geniuses of history."

"I feel that music is the art which can best express the emotions which flow within us. It conveys something bigger than it is."

"I'm starting to realize that touring really involves a lot of waiting around doing nothing."

"A song is not just a collection of melodic riffs, it is an emotional statement."

"One of the most common failings [when writing a drum track] is repetition. Nobody wants to hear that same stupid 16-line bass-snare pattern throughout the WHOLE song. Didn't your mother ever teach you that variety is the spice of life?"

"There's a big difference between playing shows for fun, and playing shows because you're in desperate need of the money."

"I think as a musician you really have to have a wide variety of tastes, or else you will unconsciously get into a rut."

"If anything I probably gravitate to things with great melodies/harmonies, and interesting/syncopated beats."

"Some people are like "Oh, I hate guitars." How can you hate a guitar? It makes no sense. It's just an instrument."

"I find a lot of club music extremely boring."

"One of the issues these days is the sheer amount of music out there to be listened to. There are more bands than one could ever hope to explore."

"Ideally, a song should contain both elements of high melodic tension, and low melodic tension. No listener wants to sit through a totally high-energy 180 BPM non-stop 6-minute ride through synth mania unless they are already busy grooving madly on some dance floor in a smoky club somewhere. Also, unless your listener is on heavy sedation, he or she will not enjoy your sparse 18-minute ambient tune which consists of the same languid piano riff repeated over and over again."

"Silicon approaches certain fundamental limits; organic bliss is the soul catcher."

"Once you have a basic grasp of the theories underlying music, you can pretty much pick up any instrument you want."

"I've been fascinated with arcane chord progressions since I was young. The trick is to keep them interesting, while still in the realm of 'normality' (otherwise the listener has no context to appreciate the progressions in)."

"Well anyone can make a 'weird' [chord] progression by randomly picking triads."

"As with any collaboration, you have to find someone that's in your 'mode' of making music."

"Usually musicians have egos and personality quirks which makes it difficult to form collaborative efforts (for long periods of time, anyways)."

"I'm not a big fan of asynchronicity just for its own sake - a lot of people push rhythmic variation so far that the basic pulse of the music gets lost (and the listener is confused)."

"Unfortunately, as technology has improved, that which was 'underground' now heads towards obsolescence."

"I think that the public judges a song on the overall feel, not individual samples. If a sample contributes too heavily to the song, and the sample is recognized, the opinion of the piece goes down."

"It's hard to quantify a 'top ten' list of songs for many reasons. I like many styles of music, and it's difficult to compare radically divergent types of music with each other."

"If I was obsessed with making money off of my music, I wouldn't have released it for free on the internet for the last 5 years."

"I'm much more into 'electronica' (yeah, I know it's cliche these days)."

"A lot of [my] songs have various strange oddities in them - usually this is the result of late-night dementia."

"Sometimes if you polish too much, you rub off the shine."

"Every musician, I guess, wants to alter the world to his or her taste in some fashion... That's part of why I write music."

"I try to avoid categorizing music as much as I can, though. Everyone steals so much from everyone else these days, the lines between genres are very washed-out."

"Stylistic evolution comes from listening to what other people have done and making a Darwinistic modification."

"I'd like to see people try to sample the sound less and try to sample the style a bit more. Some people see this sort of 'copying' as offensive... I'm inclined to think the opposite - all music is built on imitation and expansion."

"Unfortunately Sting's jazz work isn't nearly as inventive as his rock songs."

"I think we'll soon see a new breed of musicians who have both a modern chordal sense (jazz) and a high comfort level with synthesizers and new breeds of sounds (from the electronica/techno/dj scene)."

"Music is nothing but ratios and harmonic math, anyways."

"A lot of my tracked music was written when I was very young, relatively speaking. I was very optimistic, I had finally discovered some sort of public musical outlet, it was generally a very happy time. So, the music of that time sort of reflects that, I think? By the time I started the Alpha Conspiracy project, I was older, a bit more sophisticated (and, well, cynical), and so the music got more complex."

"We started out in the middle ages creating music which had certain desirable physical properties (for example, a major chord sounds "nice" because the frequencies are in integer ratios to each other). And then as society evolved, we created these emotional contexts for certain instruments and progressions. Major-chord arpeggios sound "happy", minor chords sound "sad", chromatic scales can sound "scary", et cetera. In the 20th century, film soundtracks reinforced this point as people associated certain kinds of music with certain visual and emotional experiences. It's a giant feedback loop, really; once you grow up in a given culture, it leaves this musical fingerprint on you which colors your experiences."

"To impact someone emotionally, [a musical piece] has to contain "interesting" melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic content, and what defines "interesting" is up to the listener."

"You could argue that there's maybe some mathematical interest in a Bach fugue, say, but the only thing that music does really well is "move" people -- make them feel something."

"So, if you played a C major chord to pretty much any person on the planet, they'd say that it sounds "harmonious" (or pleasing, or happy, etc, etc). But now when you want to put chords and melodies in an ordering and make a larger piece called a "song", then that is a much more difficult process, and gets very subjective. At that point, it's not just the chords, it's the lyrics, rhythms, instrumentation, tempo, intensity, any number of other things that goes into a song... so many variables that it's almost impossible to predict how a song will affect a given person."

"Certainly there are songs out there that are massively popular, and you can use some reverse analysis to see how they're put together, but it's difficult to reliably engineer a "hit". Add to this the constantly swirling winds of cultural taste, and you can see that the music industry is more akin to playing the lottery than anything else. Having some talent or taste can give you a bit of an edge, but it's still a huge roulette wheel.."

"Well, when music "moves" someone, it doesn't necessarily have to be in a positive direction. Some people certainly get moved by darker music, and there are all sorts of emotions which music can create that are interesting -- aggression, foreboding, anger, fear. Not everyone wants to feel happy all the time :)"

"If someone only ever listens to, say, Nickelback, their opinion [about music taste] is valid but largely meaningless since they don't bring any depth to the discussion :)"

"I think there are some objective [musical] qualities... how complex something is, how melodic, how diverse the tonality is, et cetera. But I could also make a piece of music that contains all of those and yet isn't "good" from a subjective viewpoint. For example, take Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata", Beatles "Yesterday", and Underworld's "Born Slippy", and play them all on top of each other at the same time. Great music in their own right, but terrible sounding together."

"Imagine presenting a Nirvana or BT track to someone from the 1850's, they would probably see it as noise and not much else. Society as a whole has a much more nuanced and wide view of what music can be now. It still usually contains various rhythmic, melodic, and vocal components, but they can be combined in so many interesting ways now."

"The usual problem with progressive rock is that the band can get so wrapped up in their own fantasy land that their music becomes completely inaccessible. "Wanky", if you will."

"I have a love for cheesy music. I don't want to list any bands and embarrass myself ;D"

"I think [Britney Spears] is a perfect example of an artificial construct -- someone with a decent voice and a very marketable image, that producers and business people turned into a pop star. Unfortunately, I think it took a toll on her, mentally, and I feel bad for the trouble that success has brought onto her. However, her music is pretty disposable, and she doesn't have the intelligence and cultural impact of someone like, say, Madonna."

"The problem these days is again just the sheer amount of music available, and that music isn't as important an experience in people's lives in the 21st century as it was previously."

"If someone gave me a million dollars to run a music label, I would focus on creating a specific artistic point of view, and creating some channel to build a fanbase. Warp Records was a great example of a label that had a particular style, and many people would buy records just because the artists were associated with the label."

"I love philosophy. It's fascinating to try to discover how perception, or experience, or memory works. I've always been a diehard relativist at heart, and I find it very interesting to read other people's philosophical ideas and how they see the world through their particular lens."

"I think much of the conflict in the world is directly the result of people's varying interpretations of reality, or perhaps you could term it the "distortions" in their lenses. The best one can do is to try to consume as much knowledge as possible, both from your experiences, and from the words of others, in order to try to form a complete picture of the world."

"A human is a complicated organic/electrical system, which is immersed in a culture. Try raising a monkey like a human, it won't work, you need the human's certain brain characteristics (including self-reflection) in order to create a truly intelligent creature. The brain processes inputs and perception in very particular ways, and I think until we understand the underlying processes better, there is no way to really simulate it in software. Computers will continue to be good at simplistic analysis, and raw processing power, but the subtlety of emotions is something intrinsic to the human organism and culture."

"Religion is a simplistic answer that society has created in order to make people feel better, but there is little evidence as to its validity. There are thousands of religions in the world, each with their own "correct" answers, and each contradicting each other. For now the most sensible explanation to me is that we are the result of a lucky combination of cosmic factors, we're the "mold" that has grown on this particular planet and in a universe as vast as ours, it's expected that somewhere this would happen."

"There may not be a high-level purpose for humanity, but that doesn't mean we can't find inspiration in the world. I think there is a combination of psychological and environmental factors that combine to create various urges in humanity -- most importantly the urge to create, to contribute something to the world, to express your personal worldview and see how the world responds. Art doesn't happen in a vacuum, and if it were only for personal gain then nobody would ever release music to the public. The process changes you, and also changes the world itself, creating ripples of inspiration which flow between the artist and the listener."

"Rock music pays off. Rock music takes me on a joyride. Rock music keeps me off the hell city bus. Rock music will always look out for me. But I will not let my torture profanity demon shoot it down."

"My demons talk to me in profanity. They think I'm a jerk. A bum. And an asshole. I just say they're a jerk, they're a bum, they're an asshole. They're no good. They better leave me alone and get off my case."

"The music I love to play is Rock 'N Roll. I love to rock like a wild animal. I love to rock it well enough to whip a yak's ass. I love to whip it good on a horse's ass. I love to rock it real hard. I love to rock it all the way to Russia. I love to kick out the Jazz and kick it out all the way."

"Here's what I'm going to have to say to all of you. If some of you have demons in your head who talk to you in profanity or whatever, don't let your demon shoot down your rock music, don't let your demon keep you off the joy bus. So like I say, Rock music pays off."

""Rock over London. Rock on Chicago." - Repeated at the end of most songs"

"Once upon a time I fucked a slut in the ass. She was all over my dick. I made her lick my dick off, then I turned around and rammed my big black dick back in her ass. / Say Ronald Reagan, what the fuck are you doing in my house? Get out of here right now, and don't you ever come back over here again! If you come back this way, I will shoulder the weapon and shoot the living shit out of you!"

"Number 1. I'm gonna do this song again. Number 2. I'm gonna do this song again all the way up your ass. Number 3. I'm gonna fuck your ass up like in a car crash. Number 4. I'm gonna fuck you up like a goddamn accident. Number 5. Jesus is the answer!"

"Before I got fat, I was slim / That was this time when I was eating McDonalds."

"From now on, I'm staying away from fatty foods, by eating healthy foods, and going on a strict diet"

""McDonald's is a place to rock / It is a restaurant where they buy food to eat / It is a good place to listen to the music / People flock here to get down to the rock music." - Rock 'N Roll McDonald's"

""McDonald's hamburgers are the worst / They are worse than Burger King's" - Rock 'N Roll McDonald's"

""I am a good person to the max / I am a good guy in Jesus' name." - Wesley Willis"

""I have a mean schizophrenia demon in my head / My demon racks me with profanity / My demon tells me lies and says I'm a jerk, a bum and an asshole / My demon keeps me from joy bus riding by torturing me" - Wesley Willis"

""The vultures were hungry." - The Vultures Ate My Dead Ass Up"

""Suck a polar bear's funky ass!" - Suck a Cheetah's Dick"

""It was Sunday, March 12th, 2000 at 6:20 PM / I was about to fly from Chicago-Midway to Orlando, Florida / Suddenly my mean schizophrenic demon called me a jerk / Suddenly I yelled 'FUCK YOU' on the airplane" - My Keyboard Got Damaged"

""Dale Dunkey shot my house up / He shot it up to get rid of the termites / He then shot at me with his BB gun" - The Termites Ate My House Up"

"Do something about your long filthy hair / It looks like a rat's nest" - Cut the Mullet"

"Take your ass to the barber shop / Tell the barber you're sick of looking like an asshole" - Cut the Mullet"

"Once upon a time, I was cursing at Daniels Chapel AME Zion Church / I called one of the deacons a motherfucker / Reverend Henry E. Miller preached about my vulgar language / He told the congregation in the sanctuary that I got a nasty filthy mouth" - They Threw Me Out of Church"

""My mother smokes that crack like a cigar / She had a good time at it / She jacks my brother for dope money / She does this by threatening him with a Smith and Wesson" - My Mother Smokes Crack Rocks"

""At 11:00 PM, the police came to my mother's house to eject her ... they locked her up for being a loser." - My Mother Smokes Crack Rocks"

""Batman beat the hell out of me and knocked me to the floor / I got back up and knocked him to the floor / He was being such a jack off" - I Whupped Batman's Ass"

""You are nothing but a crazy ass jerk!" - You Fucked That Man's Car Up"

""You think you can get away with murder / You don't know who you're fooling with / I'm going to shoot you with my BB gun" - Fuck With Me and Find Out"

""Fill me full of lead in my ass crack" - Shoot Me in the Ass"

""You are my favorite movie star / You are my big buddy / You are a low-down rotten man / You are crazy like a roll lizard" - Arnold Schwarzenegger"

""I love your movies! I love you, too!" - Arnold Schwarzenegger"

""This beast killed as many as 100,000 people / It's wings can flap like a bird / It can break a glass / It can also stab you in the ass" - The Chicken Cow"

""When the police pulled up, I was doomed / I was arrested for possession of a controlled substance / I was taken to the metal clink / I was nothing but a loser" - I Smoke Weed"

""I smoke my crack pipe everyday / I have a good time at it / I jack my mother for dope money / I do it by threatening her life with a semi-automatic" - I Smoke Weed"

"At 10:00 PM, I drove my bronco back to Birdman's real estate / I jumped over his fence after dark / I picked up a brick and shattered Birdman's window pane / Birdman sighted me doing it and reached for his pistol / Suddenly I jumped back in my bronco and took off like O.J. Simpson" - Birdman Kicked My Ass"

""The bandit wore a werewolf mask" - Attempted Armed Robbery"

""Stop shooting old ladies." - Stop the Violence"

""Destroy civilization, motherfucker!" - Stealth Bomber"

""It's the end of World War I / It's the end of World War II!" - It's the End of the Western"

""Christmas is Jesus Christ's birthday! / That's what it is all about in the mix!" - Merry Christmas"

""Suck a racehorse's bootyhole / Suck a snow leopard's ass / Suck a constipated goat's dick / Suck my doberman pincher's cock" - Suck My Dog's Dick"

""Jim Sym got on my ass for screaming like a wild animal at Genesis on Western / I freaked out a lot of customers / I also said 'suck my dick' in front of a lot of people" - Outburst"

""I used to eat McDonald's hamburgers / I used to eat three Big Macs a night / In 1992, I gained 23 more pounds / Suddenly, I weighed 360 pounds heavier" - I'm Slimming Down"

""After I stole your Sony ESP Car Discman, I went across the street to a gas station / I found me an empty jug and filled it up with gasoline / Suddenly, I ran back to your Lamborghini to set it on fire / I doused your Lamborghini with gasoline and torched it" - I Broke Out Your Windshield"

""You are so great. You are my brother / You are a cold-blooded KILLER! You are a mass murderer!" - Chuckie"

""Spider-Man messed with my girlfriend / Spider-Man wrapped his arms around her with my bedroom door closed / Suddenly, I opened the bedroom door on Spider-Man's sneaky ass / I caught him kissing my girlfriend and beat him to a pulp with a rubber hose" - I Whipped Spider-Man's Ass"

""O.J. Simpson was a no-good jerk / He is a fucking asshole / He had no business killing his ex-wife Nicole, or her friend Ronald Goldman" - O.J. Simpson"

""This man watches the football game / He enjoyed every minute of it / He was watching the Chicago Bears beat the San Francisco 49ers / You damn right!" - NFL Shit"

"Of course, Willis is above criticism -- it's hard to criticize something that is essentially variations on one simple theme, let alone a batch of songs written by a schizophrenic -- but that still doesn't make listening to any of his records any easier."

"I was been raised to believe I was an artist. I believed what my parents said and fulfilled it, like a prophecy."

"All we have is the past, but for people of the future, there's not even going to be a history there. The history of recorded music has turned into a flat fucking screen of an iTunes playlist. I'm preserving something that's going extinct! That's all rock'n'roll has been since day one. It's all necrophilia."

"The first time my brothers saw me, when I was a day or two old and still in the hospital, my brother Mark could not pronounce the name "Kimberley," and I was an especially happy baby, so he decided it would be easier to call me "Happy." From that moment on, my family members never used the name Kimberley. I was forced, however, to use my given name while attending school. As soon as I turned sixteen, my name was legally changed to Happy Tyler Rhodes. As far as I'm concerned, it's the ony name I've ever had. When people ask me if it's my real name, I always say "yes.""

"I'm thrilled that people can get something out of my music. I have to attribute that to integrity and honesty. I've found that people aren't really as different as they sometimes seem. We all have joy and tragedy in our lives. So it only follows that if I write something from my heart and stay true to myself, others will easily identify."

"I wrote and recorded music for many years, thinking I was only pleasing myself. The fact that so many people have appreciated the music, makes my life incredibly rewarding and full."

"Why couldn't someone have patience for me? Why couldn't someone be wise to my fears? Tell me why couldn't somebody cry for me This time? And if I should die, who'll be the first to cry?"

"I'll be over your head Ecto Now don't be afraid Ecto Don't reach out Ecto Just be glad that I exist Ecto"

"When the rain came down, I was older than the earth. I could die right now, and plan another birth Anytime I choose. I am in peace, in love, in harmony, when the rain comes"

"When the rain came down, I was standing in the green My soul was touched by every tree that my eyes could see I am in peace, in love, in harmony when the rain comes downWhen the rain came down — melded with my tears When the rain came down — flow away the fears When the rain came down — bigger than the sea When the rain came down — then came me."

"Every step I take, I am alive. I am Life."

"I dreamed I was an animal In a human world; Now when I hear big sounds I cry like a little girl. I'm talking about connections Between here and there; All things exist at once Seems more than we can bear."

"Tell me all the plans You have for the great beyond, Will you be physical again Or be a cosmic vagabond?"

"I am transparent An open book; There's no choice in the matter But the breath from my mind Is living air, And the notes from my heart Are what I share. Words weren't made for cowards."

"There's not much to hide behind We can see for a mile Without our eyes. I can see through a smile To any lie."

"Do I have to dig? Do I have to prod? Reach into your chest And pull your feelings out? Are you dancing dead? Or maybe walking toast? If you feel anything Be brave Come forth Let it show. Tell me what d'you think of life? Tell me do you think at all?"

"My time's too short to waste on Things you say without your brain. Will you paint works of art When you speak? When you open your mouth Will I weep?"

"As I walk through fire I am shielded from the flame Although the guilty parties Take no blame. Don't try to tell me there's no Reason for any moment in time; Every memory of mine Those years are lines of Color on my face. My past is warpaint. The past is warpaint."

"We are the number one offender Of specieism and yet Here we are reaching out for aliens Looking for our salvation. Pity our emptiness Save our souls."

"Come on down and see our Zoos and refugee camps Ain't it worth your time? Pity our emptiness Save our souls."

"He is broken, far from free Words were spoken, 'tween him and me: "I had friends, yes, I was admired I'm so old now, feel so tired." Well he walks to the gate and he looks behind at life in rewind And wishes he had known these things while still alive."

""I can see the purpose now and all I've learned All the roads and where they've turned I can see, I can see everything, the total truth I'm ready for another youth." Going to fly"

"With all the confidence I have It seems I could go forever But forever has no rest-stops And my endurance sometimes fails Hold me, hold me, hold me in your arms Can you tell me how I'm gonna make it"

"If you stare into a flame You'll get an eye full of energy If you write your nightscapades You'll get a dawn full of promises"

"Turn the lights down for a while And have a rock with the solitude Many worlds are born tonight Because the needy is everyone."

"I wish I could promise I'll Be there when you dream I wish that when you spoke to me I'd know what you mean But you can't bring me comfort By filling up my eyes They don't stay dry Hard as I try Can't figure why Made I this choice"

"Where're you going Ra? Take me with you Ra... You're such a busy God I wish you could stay I only want to play and play But you're such a busy god and I'm such a mortal Ra"

"Oh, even the leaves laugh As you spin and tumble through We explode in color All for your honor"

"Even the leaves laugh 'cause they have what I have Reach from the best tree So he can see me And with your face With your face comes laughter And with your touch And with your touch comes joy."

"That I am one and many is at the heart of my dis-ease Yet I am one and many"

"I am skilled now, at casting iron To make a hardened bed for my heavy world"

"Can't stop flinching, everything is lethal Looking for a hero to get me outta this Can't stop flinching, tell me that you're ok Looking for approval and one last kiss."

"I want to go wherever you go because all the colors are brighter there and there is more magic in the air wherever you go, here and hereafter."

"She walked down the aisle with all eyes on her and she glowed Someone chose her above all other women they had known I can only wonder what it must be like to be so perfect in a lover's eyes, the only one they see Well, it’s never been me, the chosen one It’s never been me If ever I see a chosen one I feel ugly"

"Everybody sees me as a solitary entity but I long to be important to somebody It's a love of fairy tales that drives this guilty wish To walk serenely in front of family to collect my kiss and though this notion is as flawed as any I have learned I'd like to think that like the others, it's something I deserve"

"When the moon comes up, I go down For the first time There’s a garden deep, deep in my heart But it’s blossomed for the last time"

"I want every girl in the world to pick up a guitar and start screaming."

"I've always been provocative toward guys like that. They're lame, and they make it not fun for nerdy guys and nerdy girls and uncool people. They're like these self-righteous jock pricks up at the front, and they come there just to razz you— to tell you that they have a boner, or that they want to see your tits, or that you're ugly, or that you're a whore or something. They're ridiculous."

"If I fuckin' die without having written two, three, or four brilliant rock songs... I don't know why I lived my life."

"I try to place [beautiful imagery] next to fucked up imagery, because that's how I view things … I sometimes feel that no one's taken the time to write about certain things in rock, that there's a certain female point of view that's never been given space."

"Writing songs has a lot to do with your sexuality. I danced for awhile and just being around that made me realize what people use. And if you grow up blessed with a certain beauty or a certain intelligence that enhances your beauty, you can get into a better position in life."

"The American male runs half of the global world and grows up on rock music from day one. If you can alter the psyche of someone who's growing up to be a rapist or a total misogynist, you're creating values and instead of making the void bigger, you're making it smaller."

"You know what? I was doing Loveline on KROQ, and Lydia [Lunch] sent this fax in that said like, “You’ll never be smarter than me. Stop trying to copy me." So I read it out over the air and I said, "Lydia, I’ve been copying you since I fucking heard of you. You’re the best thing on the planet. I give you more tribute than anybody else and I love you and I wish you wouldn’t be so mad at me. And, Lydia, if there’s anything I can do for you – if there’s any philosophical, tax deductible thing that I can contribute to – you know how to get in touch with me.""

"Don’t eat cheese. There are a million things to eat that are not cheese."

"Does that make you happy, Mr. Rock & Roll Fantasy? You know what? Eddie Vedder’s gonna live to be 98. How’s that make you feel, huh? I love you, come back. You come back! You love us. You love me, don’t you? You love Frances. Where are you? Are you happier now?"

"[Internet forums are] kind of fun and stuff, but what's really weird is how they fucking give such a shit about how I'm spelling. It's like, what, I worked to be a clerical worker? I didn't take typing class, assholes."

"My thing is 'Don't fuck with me.' In real life, real real life, I'm supersensitive, but people tend to think I'm not vulnerable because I don't act vulnerable."

"My goal keeps me alive, and no personal issue is going to interfere with that. If people try to put me in the crazy box–'crazy fucking Courtney'–go ahead. But if you think you’re going to stop me from where I’m going, you’re not going to do it. I work my ass off. I deliver the goddamn goods. And I will deliver them again."

"I didn't ever really talk until I started hanging out in '80 or '81 with the drag queens at the Metropolis [or Met, a gay new wave club] in Portland. I was very, very quiet. So much so that at one point when I was very young I was diagnosed as a probable autistic. And then I started hanging around with bitchy drag queens and with [my friends] Ursula and Robin, and they basically raised me. I found my inner bitch and I ran with her."

"With me and Kurt, it was either Bonnie and Clyde, Sid and Nancy, or mommy. That's where it got at the end, but the rest of the time it was equal. The equality was based on Bonnie and Clyde, which is fucking goddamn fun. And Romeo and Juliet. But it was also Hamlet and Hamlet. Not Hamlet and Ophelia. These two fucking Hamlets sitting around."

"Imagine this: You're peaking. You're in you youth. At the prime of your life. The last thing you want to be is a symbol of heroin use. You've finally met somebody of the opposite gender who you can write with. That's never happened before in your life. The only other person you could ever write with wasn't as good a writer as you, and this person's a better writer than you. And you're in love, you have a best friend, you have a soul-fucking-mate, and you can't even believe it's happening in your lifetime. And as a bonus he's beautiful. And he's rich. And he's a hot rock star to boot. And he's the best fuck that ever walked. And he wants to have babies, and what you want is babies. You've wanted to have babies forever. And he understands everything you say. And he completes your sentences. And he's lazy, but is spiritual, and he's not embarrassed about praying, he's not embarrassed about God, Jesus, none of it. He fucking thinks it's all really cool. He wants to fucking learn the path. He wants to be enlightened. Everything. And there's even some room for you to fix him, which you like, 'cause you're a fixer-upper. He's perfect in almost every fucking way. The only fucking happiness that I ever had. And then it all gets taken away."

"I punched out Kathleen Hanna... Sonic Youth brought her. I punched her, and she screamed, "I'll take you on, any college in America, any feminist debate," and I said, "But Kathleen, that means you're going to have to read!""

"I wore a dress that was so restricting and shoes that were five inches high, I could barely stage-dive. Then I got the best write-ups, for being feminine, I guess. I couldn’t move well and I was restrained, which equals great review. That’s pretty horrid."

"I used to see media on Althea [Flynt] and she was very wild looking. She had a mohawk and she published Hustler—I thought that was crazy. But when you study her, she was so innocent and frail and sort of birdlike, and sweet. She stayed sweet until she died, but I don't know what happened for her to get into drugs or the things she got into."

"The deal with fashion is that proletariat male rock critics have a real Bruce Springsteen problem with denim boomer issues. We as females have thousands and thousands of years of fashion in our DNA. We want to wear nice fucking clothes—it's part of what we do, so I don't have an issue with it. If you have an opportunity to go to the Oscars in a fabulous gown, you're gonna fucking take it. I don't have to listen to a rule. Who made that rule? Some dumb guy."

"Without the benefit of history, there was no way you could be in the middle of all that and understand what it was like. To be a couple that persecuted, and to be such weak people, so frail and reactive, huddling together because the whole world is going [she makes a sound like a bomb going off]. You’ve got your own team, the sectarian left, splintering off and pointing accusing fingers. We’re fucking picking nits off Eddie Vedder and Eddie Vedder is trying to take on the constitution, and the whole fucking world is damning me to the stake. It was insanity. So in reaction to that, I made a record about it."

"Releasing those songs into the void, and not having the void answer back, led all of us to splinter off and attempt to make our mark by deconstructing. Instead of going forward with my tunesmithing, I went back to the beginning. And that’s what Pretty on the Inside was about. I said, ‘I’m not going to follow any of the songwriting values that I’ve been learning for a good seven years. Instead, I’m going to set up on my own land and make my own stake, and see where it goes.’ And the next place that takes me is Seattle, where what was happening was so heavy, and so intense."

"Even though I now feel more confident and happy, I was really paranoid for about a year and a half. Basically, what happened was that I quit taking drugs and I walked out into the world and was sort of in this film that was really well received. So, after years of living a more destructive lifestyle, I had to, instantly, kind of court this world which had incredibly nice value systems, but with protocols that I had never encountered before. And then I had to reconcile these two worlds. You know—I want to live a happier, more productive lifestyle, but the question was, did I want to renounce being in a great rock ’n’ roll band for that? The answer was ‘No way.’"

"Do you remember when you were young, and you’d stare at someone on-stage and think ‘Oh my God—he looked right at me?’ I do, so I have this kind of rescue-fantasy thing. When I see kids in the audience I think, ‘Okay, that’s me, and it would be kind of cool if the person on-stage would come down and save me.’ I’m not going to be able to save every one of them, but I’ll do my best, because I genuinely like kids. If I didn’t have my lust for my art, I probably would have ended up working with them."

"Since I’ve basically been giving my music away for free under the old system, I’m not afraid of wireless, MP3 files or any of the other threats to my copyrights. Anything that makes my music more available to more people is great. MP3 files sound cruddy, but a well-made album sounds great. And I don’t care what anyone says about digital recordings. At this point they are good for dance music, but try listening to a warm guitar tone on them. They suck for what I do. … I’m looking for people to help connect me to more fans, because I believe fans will leave a tip based on the enjoyment and service I provide. I’m not scared of them getting a preview. It really is going to be a global village where a billion people have access to one artist and a billion people can leave a tip if they want to. It’s a radical democratization. Every artist has access to every fan and every fan has access to every artist, and the people who direct fans to those artists. People that give advice and technical value are the people we need. People crowding the distribution pipe and trying to ignore fans and artists have no value. This is a perfect system."

"My brother, Toby, is six-foot-six, [and] he [went to] Vassar; my other brother, Brown; my sister, without one penny from me or my [step]dad, NYU Law, number one in her class—Jesus, it's such a functional family, I don't know where I came from."

"[Crack] used to be called freebase when white rich people did it. Then it got sold in batches, and white rich people were still doing it, and it was still called freebase. And then all of a sudden this guy named Ricky Freeway Ross started making it and he happened to be black, and— everything is political— and, then it turned into "crack.""

"I'm all for putting money back into the black community, who white people have been stealing from for years."

"We choose convenience over individuality every time—every time."

"I finally learned from Fred Durst, who is [of] my generation, that "selling out" means every ticket at The Forum got sold. I don't think Britney [Spears] and Christina [Aguilera] sit there agonizing over their record sales. The [term] "sell out" needs to be eradicated from the language, because if you don't "sell out," guess what? An asshole will."

"I'll always prefer to play with women and hang out with women, and I'll always be a feminist. But let me tell you something. Gloria Steinem never helped me out; Larry Flynt did."

"Look, you've got these highly intelligent imperious girls, but who told them it was their undeniable American right not to be offended? Being offended is part of being in the real world. I'm offended every time I see George Bush on TV! And, frankly, it wasn't very good music."

"I love being around people that are smarter than me, that think faster than me. So even if you're a dork, and you wear stupid clothes, and you make a fool of yourself, and everyone makes fun of you, and you're just an idiot—I don't care about the context. I don't care. If you're genius and I recognize it, I kind of dig that."

"I do remember not having good social skills [as a child], although I learned them later. I learned them from hanging out at a gay disco, learning them from drag queens; and I learned them in Liverpool, and I learned them in juvenile hall. So, I learned [my social skills] from future criminals, drag queens, and rock stars."

"I didn't know it was such a guy's job. It's like playing football in high heels and lipstick; no wonder it smears."

"When I post, I forget I’m famous. It’s a really bad thing."

"I never expected I would be connected to the Alpha male as some kind of ancillary object, and to this day it mystifies me."

"After what I've been through, I'd rather die than take drugs again."

"I started chanting when I was living on Hollywood Boulevard, working as a stripper. Within six months, I got my first million dollars and I didn’t have to strip for bucks any more. Then I met Kurt and we still chanted, but we did a lot of drugs together."

"Someone once said that Nirvana attracted everybody that had ever been through a broken home... my niche is a lot more specific: It's a lot of females, and a lot of gay guys, and a few advanced and evolved heterosexual men—not many, but there's a few out there."

"I don't know why I ever succumbed to any of it... [but] I liked the rush of going under. It's such a high—it's like dying. I die, but then I come out prettier."

"When I was fourteen, I was so bloody ugly and I thought I was Kate Moss. I chased this guy named Mark Rennie, who was the hottest photographer in Portland, around, convinced him to [take pictures of me]. I had this big schnoz, I had blusher on, I'm wearing white gloves, and I [was] making new wave faces, and, like, voguing... there was a gap in my teeth, and I was 180 pounds. So if someone calls me ugly, it sort of rolls off my back because it's not about looks, it's about attitude—you get laid on attitude."

"I don’t like coming to Seattle much. I talked to [[w:Chris Cornell|[Chris] Cornell]] about it not that long ago. And Jerry Cantrell. None of us like it. It is beautiful, objectively. The arboretum is great. But it freaks me out for obvious reasons. I didn’t really live there. I lived behind a gate. I would try to go up to [Pike Place] Market. My big expedition would be Urban Outfitters and the yoga store."

"America's Sweetheart was my one true piece of shit. It has no cohesive thread. I just hate it."

"It’s been twenty years—we didn’t even talk at [Kurt's] funeral. None of us. And so, twenty years of me getting Yoko-bashed, and Dave bashing, and me bashing and making it worse, all that shit. The legal stuff, the trial. We just buried it. It was really deep. It brings tears to my eyes to even talk about it."

"If I see a chick playing guitar, I’m drawn to that band immediately. I want to know everything, even if it’s completely electronic. But you have to really get my attention if you’re male. I can’t help it. It’s part of my nature."

"When my looks are shot—which I reckon will be in about six years—I’ll have plastic surgery here on my chin, and they can pull my cheeks back, but I’m not ready for that. And because of the smoking, the mouth is starting to give."

"I’ve protected it [the Nirvana catalogue] from everything from Kentucky Fried Chicken commercials to movies about board games. We’ve been offered $6 million for 18 seconds of one Nirvana song and I turned it down."

"I am a feminist and I’ve always thought of myself as a feminist. What I don’t like about feminism and the far left in general is the in-fighting, the way that the far left in-fights too much to get anything done and I feel like in feminism it’s like, ‘well, she’s not really feminist enough’ and there can be this kind of less-than thing in feminism. And also I think there’s a biological paradigm between men and women where men are just men and women are just women, and there is something to be said about that. But at the same time, I think equality amongst the sexes is critical."

"I always said I’d never go to New York until someone pays me—because I’ve seen people come back from New York like desiccated, broken… New York is a tough place if you’re coming out of Port Authority or from Oregon, and they were paying me 356 dollars a day to be on the set [of Sid and Nancy] so that was really wonderful. Then I did Straight To Hell which went straight to video (but) then Andy Warhol noticed me from those two films. Then I got to be in Interview magazine and I got this little measure of celebrity, but with no money (laughs) that sucks… (but) it feels great if you’ve been wanting it. A lot of people like to say, ‘oh I didn’t ask for this, it just happened. I’m the luckiest guy in the world…’ I always wanted it."

"I always took myself really seriously... but sometimes I’d be at a venue and the guy would call me ‘sweetie’ or ‘honey’ when we were doing drums and stuff. I’d carry the drums in myself so people wouldn’t say I was a bitch. I went very briefly to an engineering school, so I knew the difference between white noise and pink noise and what a view meter was, and a logs player and things like that. I didn’t need to know but it came in handy when I was sitting with Steve Albini like ‘really? Is that a good logs player?’ I barely know what it is, but I learned "Smoke On The Water" so I could go to Guitar Center and play that and not have guys look at me. It was a different time—I think girls get taken a lot more seriously now."

"LA is easier. People have garages. And then as you go up the coast, in Washington and Oregon people have bigger houses and bigger garages, and people have parents."

"When I was a teenage whore My mother asked me, she said, "Baby, what for?""

"Without, without a doubt Come on and let me out Hey, where the fuck were you when my lights went out?"

"Sister ectoplasma she's incredulous Just like a pro she takes off her dress And she kicks you down in her snow white pumps Just remember it was me who found the lumps"

"Don't blush when I rip you open."

"Slutkiss girls, won't you promise her smack? Is she pretty on the inside? Is she pretty from the back? Slutkiss girls, won't you water her rack? Is she pretty on the inside? Is she pretty from the back? Slutkiss girl, molasses, rot blackstrap Is she rotten on the inside Is she ugly, ugly from the back?"

"And the sky was all violet I want it again, but violent, more violent I'm the one with no soul One above and one below"

"I am the girl you know, can't look you in the eye I am the girl you know so sick I cannot try I am the one you want, can't look you in the eye I am the girl you know, I lie and lie and lie"

"He shakes his dead rattle Spittle on his bib And I don't do the dishes I throw them in the crib"

"Every time that I sell myself to you I feel a little bit cheaper than I need to I will tear the petals off of you Rose red, I will make you tell the truth"

"I want to be the girl with the most cake He only loves those things because he loves to see them break I fake it so real, I am beyond fake And someday you will ache like I ache Someday you will ache like I ache"

"I've got a blister from touching everything I see The abyss opens up It steals everything from me"

"I want my baby Where is my baby? I want my baby Where is my baby?"

"Oh, make me over I'm all I wanna be A walking study In demonology"

"Crash and burn All the stars explode tonight How'd you get so desperate? How'd you stay alive?"

"Love hangs herself with the bedsheets in her cell Threw myself on fires for you Ten good reasons to stay alive Ten good reasons that I can't find"

"And I wait staring at the Northern Star I'm afraid it won't lead you very far He's so cold, he will win the world tonight All the angels kneel into the frozen lights Feel their hearts they're cold and white"

"In your endless summer night I'll be on the other side When you're beautiful and dying All the world that you've denied When the water is too deep You can close your eyes and really sleep tonight Tonight"

"Hush your highness, don't you breathe No, baby, hold me in your arms, I'm shivering But what's all this for? If I was the battle, baby, you have won the war"

"The devil's driving my car tonight, and he's drunk He's pissed, he's mad I don't care which of you he fucks up"

"You should've loved me baby When redemption's too blind Nature took my soul And sin left a scar so wide Time ravaged my body And now I live in the house Where the red light's always on"

"Asphyxiate all your pain away Don't try to win; it will only end in disgrace Translucetize the cold light of day It's glorious, its terrible, God I need it It's beautiful, it's ravenous; I'll just feed it Coil down to your black dark decay And I will dig my own grave now I'm miss begotten I am the last one you save here It's all gone rotten"

"And they're coming to take me away now What I want I will never have I'm on the Pacific Coast Highway With your gun in my hands"

"People like you fuck people like me In order to avoid agony People like you fuck people like me In order to avoid suffering People like you fuck people like me Fuck people like you Fuck people like me Fuck people like you Fuck people like me Fuck people like you"

"So you think that you could save him, And we know that someone died. Oh, an unkindness of ravens, And we know that Mary lied"

"And I don't care what it takes my friend I will never go hungry, go hungry again Oh, and I don't care what I have to pretend I will never go hungry, go hungry again And the phoenix she rises, she is sure to descend She will never go hungry, go hungry again And you're looking to me more and more like a godsend We will never go hungry, go hungry again And we owe each other nothing, there's no one left here to offend We will never go hungry, go hungry again"

"It's my lie and I believe in it It's my lie and I wanted it It's my bed and I'll bleed in it It's my bed, and I'll lie And I sit on the corner And I drink drown soda I wanna bomb the whole state of Minnesota"

"You want retreat, filthy and deep A dead moon, a drunken sleep Baby, there is a room full of death and whores and truth And I am waiting in that room And I am waiting in there for you It's all hoarse, it's all pain It's all disease, man, it's all the same My little Judas, my little twin Where you start, that's where I begin"

"You look good in my dress I'll get your friends to clean the mess You look good in my clothes I can feel you where the doctor goes"

"She spent twenty years like a virus They want to burn the witches inside us Well, yeah, you don't fuck with the Fabulous Four Or you'll spend the rest of your life picking things up off the floor Oh baby, dry your dirty eyes My water breaks like turpentine"

"Hi. We're Hole. As in "asshole.""

"Why do guys get to take off their shirts and we don't?"

"Why did you pay twenty dollars to sit in the front row and tell me I suck? And you're a girl. That's stupid."

"Hi. Kiss my ass. We're Pearl Jam."

"On three, I want you to say "bitch" really loud. One, two, three, "bitch!""

"Is this the anti-gay state? Aren't you the people that voted on the anti-gay thing?"

"After the suicide of her husband, Kurt Cobain, 10 months ago, Courtney Love acquired a strange distinction reserved for Presidents, major felons and celebrity widows: every word she said and wrote became newsworthy. Her postings on the computer bulletin board America Online were repeated word for word in magazines; her arrests, scandals and the drug overdose of the bassist in her band, Hole, made national headlines ... People have trouble accepting Ms. Love because in her odd way she fits the classic model of the controversial celebrity. She is both fan and star, heroine and villainess, celebrity and pest, sex symbol and homely urchin, critical darling and tabloid pariah."

"Whatever you say about Courtney, you can also say the opposite. She's a walking Greek tragedy, and a comedy. She's horrible and great, inspiring and frightening, strong and weak. She's a role model – and everything you wouldn't want your child to be."

"She's always made it very clear that she needs to work with other musicians, and I certainly don't think that makes Courtney a bad one, because she can't do absolutely everything on her own... Whenever you have a woman who is threatening or unapologetic about her attitudes, I think you'll always have detractors who want to pull that person down... I think until somebody comes along who can do it better than she can, Courtney's still going to be around."

"If she can bring all of that—from that journey from literally the depths of hell, all the way back to the surface of, like "I have value"—that is an incredible, symbolic journey. If people can't get beyond their own preconceptions, they're missing the point. You have to go down to hell to come back up to make that journey. Most motherfuckers won't step two feet out the door, and sit in very deep judgment of those who do go there."

"I was seventeen when I first heard [Pretty on the Inside]... For me, the thing that I loved about [Hole] and [Courtney Love] was the anger, and aggressiveness, along with the tender side. That was something I hadn't seen before in a woman playing music. That was hugely influential and really inspiring. Women up 'til then were kind of one-dimensional, twee, sweet, ethereal, and that annoys the shit out of me."

"I ain’t scared of Beethoven or nobody when it comes to composing."

"In the beginning let's say Weather Report was a joint thing. Then, after the second album there's no question about it, it became more and more my group. Wayne wanted it like that, but we were always 'partners in crime'. No Wayne, no Weather Report."

"[Weather Report] has never put out a record that we didn’t believe in, and there’s no way in the world that anybody was ever involved in a one star album. This is a heavy thing, man. I mean, even if somebody doesn’t like the record, just for the compositions alone it’s got to be five stars. We played it very well; we worked hard on this record. Anybody who gives this record one star has got to be insane."

"That was one thing about [Mr. Gone] that I really love us for–that we did not try to jump on the bandwagon of ‘Birdland.’ Because that was suggested to us. ‘Hey man, write another ‘Birdland’ and you’ll sell a million fuckin’ records.’ Fuck you, man–we’re gonna do what we’re gonna do!"

"To me, this is very boring music—most of it. It has nothing happening. Nothing is sticking. They’re playing music perfectly with wonderful intonation and technique, but it’s dangerous for jazz itself. I do wish these people all the best."

"An instrument is not important. It is the way one plays that is important. Instruments don’t play by themselves. A piano is certainly not a better instrument than a synthesizer, but if a synthesizer is played like a piano, it becomes a very bad instrument. It doesn’t work. You can’t play a trumpet like a violin—it doesn’t go. That’s the problem—the players, not the instrument. Any instrument is a wonderful thing."

"Everything is in decline the moment you stop giving the artist freedom. That goes for everywhere, but it is happening in America right now. I think record companies are at great fault. In general, they don’t want to develop talent, but rather get the most out of them in the short term. They’re steering people to do things they perhaps wouldn’t do but have to do and not everyone has the integrity to say “No way.” People are hungry and they have to make money and take care of their families, so it’s a great pressure. Only when you can afford it from an artistic or financial point of view can you express what you want to express."

"Jazz music is a lifestyle. It’s not notes, chords and arpeggios. Today’s improvisation is too based on the knowledge of chords and the way they practice the chords. It’s not a melodic thing anymore like the older days. It was much more important to play shorter and to play more variable, valid stuff. Today, a lot of solos are long and uninteresting and the influence usually comes from John Coltrane’s group. He himself was a master musician, but he put so much emphasis on chord knowledge and technique, and now the kids want to show how fast they can play. This is the same with piano players and most instrumentalists—it’s speed. That’s gonna change again and hopefully the kids who are now 16 and 17 years old have a little more sense and maybe some more stories to tell."

"The eyes of love are watching you As you go from day to day The hands of love will catch you When you fall along the way My arms will hold and be with you Your whole life through 'Cause I am love And I'm in love with you."

"All right, stop, collaborate and listen."

"If there was a problem, yo I'll solve it — check out the hook while my DJ revolves it."

"Anything less than the best is a felony."

"To the extreme, I rock a mic like a vandal."

"Now there's no point in placing the blame And you should know I'd suffer the same"

"As an artist, I don’t like being able to be seen…If you’re having difficulty getting a part, it adds to the tension when the assistant engineer, engineer, producer and producer’s wife are hanging out. With the School-house, my engineer’s in the control room, and I could be doing vocals while stretching my T-shirt over my head and it wouldn’t matter. Everyone who’s worked here has gotten used to this nonvisual communication and actually found it to be advantageous. That’s what home studios are about — that funky thing."

"Creativity is an interesting thing…You can sit back, have a glass of wine, watch some television…and get a terrific idea of what you want to do…The great thing about being at home is that as soon as you get an idea you can put a mike at the piano and record it. That way you don’t lose the vibes, and you don’t have to worry about finishing before the studio’s next booking arrives…”"

"I'm the least technical person I've ever met...I hate anything with digital numbers on it. I just go by instinct. It's the same with a new AMS as it is with a synthesizer for me. I never read manuals. I just sit down with the thing for a couple of days and fiddle with the knobs until I figure out what it can do. And get what I like out of it. When it comes to producing too I just go for something that will jump off the record and into people's heads. Again, it's a question of what feels right. I try to make records which have a point of view to express and so you always have to concentrate upon the voice. When we did my album we tried very hard to keep the sort of R'n'B danceability in the vocals you'd expect from a D Train or Gloria Gaynor, but still keeping that Rock conviction you get from Foreigner."

"The bass suit was actually one of the first cordless guitars in existence, and I invented it. It was built right into this silver bodysuit so it looked as though the bass was coming out of my body, and the volume and tone knobs were on the sleeve...When it worked it was great, but the tunings were a little strange, plus I can’t tell you how many times I got shocked. It wound up being just one more thing that we had to worry about on tour: ‘Well, I wonder if this will work tonight.’ After a while I couldn’t stand wearing it anymore so I gave it up."

"In my mind, recognition has never been something to be obtained…I’m happy that more people appreciate what I’m doing, and are hearing my music. When I write, I communicate my own message, my own feelings and passion. I’m glad that they are being accepted."

"Sure. It does lean more towards the industry standard rather than towards my roots. But I meant it to be that way for a reason. To begin with this is my first album in about three years and my first for a new label. So I wanted the album to have the same basic listenability throughout and I wanted the record company to feel that they could hear four or five potential singles on it. Tracks that would work on the radio. Because that was what I was aiming for, I had to make sure that each song would capture an exact feeling which would get across to the most number of people. I always like to make records like that. I hate records where all the musicians or the artiste are really saying is 'Dig Me!' You can lose a lot of your potential audience by making self-indulgent statements. Unless, of course, you're so neat and groovy that people say 'Wow Man! Come All Over Me!'. Now I think I am pretty neat and groovy, but I prefer to make the sort of records which will make people think about themselves, not about me. Pop music shouldn't really express the innermost thoughts of the artiste as much as giving the listeners a feeling of exuberance or pain or power or whatever. To give them a sense of their own selves. Once you start making music with that sort of end in mind, you realise that you have to make it less jagged and more compartmentalised. And so the reason I Can Dream About You sounds maybe as Industry Standard as it does is because it was designed to get through to as many different sorts of people as possible. And that isn't necessarily a negative factor."

"...People get confused because they want the boxes your talent comes in to be always the same shape and the same colour. If you don't do that then people lose track of who you are. They say 'Oh, he doesn't know himself'. But I know who I am. The energy is the same, the expression is the same and the work diligence is the same. Always. It's just that sometimes it all comes in different boxes and different colours. It may be weird to some people but it surely doesn't bother me."

"It seemed to be a natural period when I wanted to stop doing pop records; it came with a falling-out between my record company and me...There was a hole in my career. Instead of a valley, it became a peak to me. I decided I was going to do something that I hadn’t really had time to do."

"I started reading books about the subconscious mind and intuitiveness, and what makes people tick when they hear songs that excite them, make them feel romantic or melancholy. I was in and out of bookstores and libraries. I read a lot of texts, including on primitive man and the workings of the way we emotionally react to things. It wasn’t scholarly or scientific. I read and skimmed and when I thought something was nonsense, I just moved on…"

"In a lot of ways this music is soothing. I think there’s a place for music that is peaceful and soulful unto the spirit. After plane bombings, AIDS and everything that has come upon us in this decade, I think we can use a little solace and reflection."

"I don’t necessarily do music for the pure art sake of my own self-expression, which is why a lot of people make music—to express themselves. I really feel that the work I do, be it writing, singing or producing, I do in order to help communicate feelings to other people, hoping they might feel the same things, that they somehow relate to it or get an experience from it that they can share with themselves."

"The reality of Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes is here, only if he were around now, he’d say “Now it’s five.” We’re going so fast, we don’t know what’s going on inside anymore. We’re becoming external, not feeling anything."

"I have a bit of anger about some things going on in the world that I know I want to sing about. I’ve never done that on a solo album before; they’ve been mostly about romance and relationships…The concept is Dan Hartman, so whatever’s happening to me when I begin to put out the feelings will be what the album is about. Whether I’m in love, out of love, or the next plane blows up…whatever, I just want to stay creative and hopefully keep people thinking and feeling…At least feel something."

"I think James Brown has made a lot of good records (in recent years)…But it was that purist James Brown thing that he was doing in the beginning and people won’t let him do that anymore because time marches on…That stuff is classic to me, but other people get bored with it. The challenge is to present something that is him, yet sounds fresh to listeners. That’s usually hard for (a veteran artist) to do. It helps to have someone step in from outside…I am proud of what we did on the album. I think it does present a contemporary James Brown. It’s not candy-coated. It has a lot of statement and a lot of heart."

"When you get into the areas of eroticism, politics, and belligerency, you have to be careful. Some of it will get out. Both Charlie and I have slanted minds. If “Relax” or “Sugar Walls" can be hits, there is a place for that kind of stuff, too. It's fun and interesting to write about that. Or with politics: Third World people own the bomb. That's probably where the nuclear war will start. They have nothing to lose. You can write about that. It'll be just another record from a romantic cynic."

"They said the scene was going to be patriotic, with the flag and Apollo fighting the Russian, and it had to be pro-American. We said we didn’t really want to go flag waving. We just wanted to have a good time, write a funky number and sing about America."

"I realize all you need to do is do it. I think we all restrict ourselves in our lives from doing things. We have choices and alternatives."

"I started producing before I even joined the Legends—around 1962... I produced some local R&B, rock and gospel acts at Baldwin Sound in Mechanicsburg [Pennsylvania]. People would hear what I'd done on someone else's record and call me up and ask if I'd produce them, too. I even wrote and recorded an advertising jingle for Sutliff Chevrolet out on Paxton Street when I was 16. So it's always been something that I could fall back on throughout my career--to keep my mind going, to keep me musically inspired, and to keep me moving without having to make statements of my own…"

"Dan was the first person I enlisted for The Edgar Winter Group. It was a huge talent search; I listened to hundreds of demo tapes to choose talented people for what I wanted to be the quintessential American rock band...The thing that I loved about Dan was that he had a youthful innocence and enthusiasm. He loved commercial music, and he didn’t have to try to be commercial. He had a natural ability to come up with simple ideas that were never overdone...he was originally a guitarist...I had to talk him into playing bass. He was a multi-instrumentalist like myself, but he was not a virtuoso player. Yet he would always find the right part to complement the song. Rock solid, and with the right groove. As well as being a great songwriter, he knew what to play and when to play it."

"Dan always liked to have a lyric before he wrote a melody and created a track. He reasoned that he needed to know the essence of the song in order to inspire his creative process. As a result, we would discuss an idea and I would then write lyrics. Often, I would throw out some lines or titles before proceeding to ensure that Dan agreed on the direction. If he concurred then I would go on to complete a lyric. Dan was very tough and uncensored in his assessments but our dynamics allowed for this. Being satisfied with the final work was all that mattered. However, because of his unvarnished critiques, I developed a system wherein I would write many alternative lyrics so that Dan could have choices."

"...This guy was so multi-talented. We would wake up and come down to the den and hear somebody playing like Hendrix, with the amp low-tuned. He could play like Hendrix. And then he’d sit down at the piano and play all these Elton John songs. He loved the Philadelphia Soul — that’s why you can hear it in “I Can Dream About You.” He loved The Spinners, and all those guys. He was like a sponge; he soaked up all those influences. And it was amazing to see the guy be such a virtuoso at every instrument — singing, playing, producing, piano, guitar..."

"Working with Dan was like going to an institute of higher learning in pursuit of a PhD in the art of collaboration. Before this, I had been the lead singer in bands and expected to write the lyrics, and it had been expected for those lyrics to express my experience and worldview. That had been my job, and, for the most part, no collaboration had been necessary...which opinion was better or worse did not enter into the dynamic, because we both understood that our sensibilities were not the same, and that, left alone, either of our opinions might or might not have worked, but the point of the collaboration was to create a work that was Hartman and Midnight, not Hartman alone or Midnight alone..."

"Somebody asked him to write a song for Aretha. You would get a demo that sounded like, you know, Aretha! If you asked him to write a song for Barry White, you’d get a demo that sounded like Barry White. He was brilliant at that."

"With a comedy, you can easily take away the humor. So it’s very important to keep the pacing of it going, and to keep the lighthearted nature of it going. I think in many ways, a comedy is more difficult than drama"

"Never assume you know it all. There is always more to discover especially when working with other artists and musicians."

"The lights are on, but you're not home. Your mind is not your own. Your heart sweats, your body shakes. Another kiss is what it takes. You can't eat, you can't sleep. There's no doubt you're in deep. Your throat is tight, you can't breathe. Another kiss is all you need. Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh, yeah. It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough, you know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to love."

"When I was young I never needed anyone and making love was just for fun. Those days are gone. All by myself, don't wanna be all by myself anymore."

"I was blinded. Yes, I was blinded, and the tender touch that said so much doesn't need me now. I was blinded, how I was blinded. When I think about how far I've got to fall it won't help that I was blinded by it all."

"So take these broken wings and learn to fly again, learn to live so free And when we hear the voices sing the book of love will open up for us and let us in Take these broken wings You got to learn to fly again, got to learn to live so free And when we hear the voices sing the book of love will open up and let us in Yeah, yeah"

"It's easily said with your gun to my head, no one wants to fight a fighter. If this is a dream then I'll stay out of bed, It's always dark before it gets lighter. I'm not being used again. No I won't be used again. I said I won't be used again. You can't keep a good man down."

"Hold on, it'll take a while. You can't always be so juvenile. Hold on while the love we had loses nothing, could be half as bad. Waiting for the right time. You never showed me one sign. Give me your lifeline, but don't you give me your sympathy."

"Don't give up 'cause you have friends Don't give up You're not the only one Don't give up No reason to be ashamed Don't give up You still have us Don't give up now We're proud of who you are Don't give up I know it's never, never been easy Don't give up 'cause I believe there's a place There's a place where we belong"

"Sitting in your easy chair looking at the wall, thinking of the things that might've been. And as you wish your life away with dreams of mystic gold, imagine all the things you could've seen, imagine all the things you could've seen. Looking out the window staring at the rain, Wonder if the sun will ever shine? And if you only realised that life won't pass you by, the only thing that's passing is your time. The only thing that's passing is your time. Oh no! Oh no! No!"

"It's not time to make a change. Just relax, take it easy. You're still young. That's your fault: there's so much you have to know. Find a girl, settle down, if you want you can marry. Look at me, I am old but I'm happy. I was once like you are now, and I know that it's not easy to be calm when you've found something going on, but take your time, think a lot, think of everything you've got, for you will still be here tomorrow but your dreams may not."

"There's once in your life if you're lucky enough to find it, that special love, deep inside your soul, opening your eyes to a bright new day, leaving loneliness behind you. No words could ever say, oh darling, how precious you are to me. Don't you see? Oh baby, now that I found you, girl, nothing's gonna take you away, 'cause, darling, I will love you for ever and ever."

"He really does shine for the ladies with painted faces. He spends his time being seen in all the right places. You only get to know him nearly, there can't be anyone who knows him really. He's doing so well and there's no one to tell you but Glamour Boy."

"Highfly, touch the sky, Whatcha gonna do now the well's dry? Good time, feeling fine. Whatcha gonna do now there's no wine?"

"Could a feeling be so wrong? Why I left you for so long. Home. Though I miss you more each day there was nothing you could say, I had to go my way: show them I was older now and not some toy that they could play with. Tell me how everything I need today is? Lost, only traces on faces that won't remember me now. Yes I'm going back there somehow. Lost where my memory waits for me. Home is where I belong"

"Just another dead end kid. Can't believe the things I did. Lots of pretty ladies by my side. Take it all for Number One. Wasted days with no harm done. Always leave tomorrow open wide. You took me by surprise, now my empty eyes had to realise that my life wasn't the way I want to be. No, I'll never change my mind, couldn't be unkind, love is hard to find, and I know by now I should say more, but I have never been in love before."

"I started working on an old song for Rosie. My mind was only halfway there. She came to my house and you know what she told me, slow dancin' in my easy chair...? I always knew one thing could lead to another, it didn't mean a thing, but now that it's over...? I took a chance. I thought you'd never discover..., Oh why, I'll never know. Now you say you're letting me go. I'll never do it again, that's the last time. Don't shake your head. Say that you believe me? I'll never do it again. Oh what a fool I am. Don't walk away, let me tell you something..."

"I need your love, I need your love. I need your love, I need your love. Sometimes I feel lost and I don't know what you believe. My wires get crossed, and I wonder how you could leave. But one thing I know, I just can't go on living from day to day, Won't you listen to me when I say, I need your love?"

"Once a close friend, now a stranger. Where the wind blows, you'll survive. You won't ever have to leave before midnight, one more fool go stay the night. If you try to find a reason, happiness could ease your mind; what you're looking for is sometimes what you came from and it's been there all the time. But if old enough could be bold enough when you're losing the show, and if young enough was strong enough to know, of all the things that I might do I will never try to write this song for you. And it's not called Angel."

"It's not over, no, it's not over yet. Yeah, we'll put all this pain behind us, recover and start again, come on. It's not over, no, it's not over yet. Sweet forgiving rain, wash away my shame, let the clouds roll by and reveal a brighter day. Yeah."

"Lady of my life, won't you comfort me tonight, when the troubles of the world are on my shoulders? Lady, make it right, please don't fuss or fight, I need some peace now I'm a little older. Lady, lady, lady, lady of my life, lady, lady, lady, lady of my life, stay with me tonight."

"Sun is shinin' in the sky There ain't a cloud in sight It's stopped rainin', everybody's in the play and don't you know it's a beautiful new day. Hey hey hey! Runnin' down the avenue, see how the sun shines brightly in the city, on the streets where once was pity Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, hey hey hey. Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why you had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong?"

"Music was my first love And it will be my last Music of the future And music of the past To live without my music would be impossible to do In this world of troubles my music pulls me through"

"Nice Man Jack, you should see him when the children play! Nice Man Jack, he's the one to take their tears away. Nice Man Jack, so very warm and kind. It's a pity there aren't more like him. Nice Man Jack - and he's always there to lend a hand. Nice Man Jack, such a well-respected gentleman. Nice Man Jack, so charming in his way. It's a pity there aren't more like him. It's a pity there aren't more like him. It's a pity there aren't more like him."

"No hard feelings, no tears, no pain. No hard feelings, no fears remain. I could see you slowly drifting away like a vision into the wall but I've got no hard feelings, I've got no feelings at all. No hard feelings, no cold goodbyes. No hard feelings, too old and wise. "And what happened to forever?", they say, "A lifetime seems so small." But I've got no hard feelings, I've got no feelings at all."

"In our times of trouble we only had ourselves. Nobody else knows, no one there to save us, we had to save ourselves. Yeah. When the storms came through, they found me and you back to back together. When the sun would shine it was yours and mine, yours and mine forever."

"Maybe I'm wrong, living high and chancing. I feel an ice cold look in your eye cut me down with glances. We both said "No", but we can't let go, and I'm feeling like we try to hide. I know I've waited so long. Now that yesterday's gone you need me there by your side. Just once in your life show me that you know how to make it right. For once in your life take a look around you and hold on tight."

"Another night over. The new day begins. Remembering the dreams that you left your love in, and you wonder, can you face another day, one more day without love?"

"Take a look at the blind man wishing every day he could see. He lives his life in darkness. Be grateful, you and me. Take a look at yourself now, standing with your back to the wall. Pride will get you nowhere fast, we're waiting for the fall."

"One more day and he'll be dreamin'. Let the night time roll away. He'll do great things tomorrow (so much to do today). Another mountain he'll be climbin' to a valley down below. There's sunshine all around him where the peaceful waters flow."

"Plain Jane, chasing rainbows, building castles in the sky. Plain Jane, chasing rainbows, make the end before you die. Not for you a poor man's son, your dreams of fortune have begun, and once you're off the ground you have to fly."

"Pull the damn thing down, we're gonna build a highway, and either side we'll beautify, with concrete reaching to the sky. Pull the damn thing down. Soon you won't remember, as all the people turn their backs on cobbled stones and chimney stacks. Pull the damn thing down!"

"Days may come and days may go. Funny how the children grow so fast. Nothing can last. Always try, and try we will. Nothing ever standing still for long. Is it all wrong? Time: tell me where you've flown. Wind, where have you blown? Taking us along, and changing as you go everything we know, like the rivers flow. What have we to show? Ready to spread your wings and fly away."

"Not for me all the things you must do I am glad now that I can see through. They say that I'm crazy, I'm out of my mind, searching for something I'll never find. Don't call me a loser, call me a rebel. No one said I must run in this race. Always right, putting me in my place. I know it's not easy: believe in yourself, you won't find the answer in somebody else. Don't call me a loser, Call me a rebel. Call me a rebel."

"Misty silence of the early morning. All around another day is dawning. Goodbyes ain't easy, so no-one sees me when I go. Only time is gonna last forever. Just remember what we had together. I must be leavin' and I can't even let it show. I am on my way, Remember Yesterday."

"You're on your own, back on the street, out in the cold you feel the heat. One way ticket to nowhere at your feet. Take what you need, a word to the wise: only the weak need alibis. Stakes are too high, zero again, no second chances at the end. Run, tell me where you're gonna run to? Run, oh, oh, oh where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run?"

"People always rushing round, makin' time to fuss and to worry. Get your feet back on the ground, it's no good to live in a hurry. Take it easy on your mind, no one wants to get behind. Think about it, you will find time is on your side, slow down. (Can't slow down)"

"This is my song for you. Thoughts of winter, dreams of sunshine. Nothing that I can do changes how I feel in my mind. This is my song for you. Times I hope you will remember. Things that were meant for two, here in my heart, here in my song for you."

"You can have the world if the world is what you need. Just take me round in circles, I'll follow where you lead. Go anywhere, if it's where you wanna go. It used to be for something, but lately I don't know. "Take me far away", all the people say. You're the price I pay. Blame me. Leave you far behind. Search until I find. I could lose my mind. Shame me. Tame me."

"And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune then the piper will lead us to reason and a new day will dawn for those who stand long and the forests will echo with laughter. Oh-oh-oh-oh-whoa Ooh, really makes me wonder If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now It's just a spring clean for the May Queen. Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the road you're on."

"Buildings tower round me like they're waiting for the kill. For days I haven't eaten and I really do feel ill. If I cry for help, would you hear my call? If I stumble now, would you let me fall? Won't you give me a hand, try to understand that I'm a stranger in the city? Stuck inside these streets it's like a human traffic jam. People walk right over me, now they don't give a damn. If I ask for death, would you give me a gun? If I took your hand, would you turn and run? Won't you pity me, just try to see that I'm a stranger in the city?"

"The right to sing, the right to play. The right to do the things I feel in my own way. And if you took it all and asked me to pretend, you'd be breaking a heart that won't mend. The right to win, the right to lose. The right to fall in love with anyone I choose. And when it's my mistake and everything goes wrong I would write what I feel in a song."

"Locked up with freedom you don't want at all, in crowds there is no-one to turn to. Down, when you're high, is a long way to fall, and all the mistakes you won't learn through. Time is for ever, and no one can say time shows, love goes Only the fears as you go through the years till the last sand of time blows away. Till last sand of time blows away."

"Why wait to give yourself a chance tomorrow? Let the feelin' grow You don't need someone else for you to follow Anywhere you go Leavin' your shell You'll never turn around! You know so well What always tied you down Is it for love, or is it only a game you're playing? Now I'm saying: Turn yourself loose Destiny calling Turn yourself loose You can't wait for a better day Turn yourself loose Go without any warning Turn yourself loose You can fly away"

"Over and over over and over we will discover we will discover that we all fall down. Yes, we all fall down. Yes, we all fall down. Yes, we all fall down."

"I never saw what was coming down. (What goes around, comes around.) My heart just shattered in pieces on the ground. (What goes around, comes around.) Twist an old cliché till the words ring true. What you do to someone, it can happen to you. Cause we're all links in this human chain, just the cause and effect of so much passion and pain."

"When you lose someone so young, how do you start again? You can't run and hide from the world outside and you lock yourself in, wonder where to begin: it multiplies the pain. When you lose someone so young, how do you start again? As time goes by and tears run dry and hope appears in place of fears it takes away the pain."

"As it was in the beginning it will be until the end. Your money buys you people but it will not buy you friends. Your life is an illusion so live it day by day. Just draw your own conclusion It's gonna happen anyway"

"You're the voice, try and understand it Make a noise and make it clear Oh, whoa We're not gonna sit in silence We're not gonna live with fear Oh, whoa Ooh, we're all someone's daughter We're all someone's son How long can we look at each other Down the barrel of a gun? You're the voice, try and understand it Make a noise and make it clear Oh, whoa We're not gonna sit in silence We're not gonna live with fear Oh, whoa"

"Well, I think it's time to get ready To realize just what I have found I have lived only half of what I am It's all clear to me now My heart is on fire My soul's like a wheel that's turnin' My love is alive My love is alive, yeah, girl, yeah"

"Ooh, dream weaver I believe you can get me through the night Ooh, dream weaver I believe we can reach the morning light"

"Fly me high through the starry skies Maybe to an astral plane Cross the highways of fantasy Help me to forget today's pain Ooh, dream weaver I believe you can get me through the night Ooh, dream weaver I believe we can reach the morning light Though the dawn may be coming soon There still may be some time Fly me away to the bright side of the moon Meet me on the other side"

"It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking In the dark Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops Your heart. You try to scream, but terror takes the sound before You make it You start to freeze as horror looks you right between The eyes You're paralyzed 'Cause this is thriller, thriller night And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to Strike You know it's thriller, thriller night You're fighting for your life inside a killer Thriller tonight."

"Basically, if you’re a guitar player, there’s riffs that are going to come out. It just happens. It’s part of it. So we’re not lacking in inspiration. George (Kollias) is always playing drums, so he’s always got drum ideas. You know, (guitarists) Brian (Kingsland) and Zach (Jeter) are always playing. So there are always new guitar ideas. It’s not necessarily an endless well, and not every riff that we come up with manages to make its way into a song. That is where it comes from; we love to play music, so we’re always riffing. But, as soon as you try to dictate to the muse, it goes away. You can’t force yourself to be creative. You can be disciplined and work on your craft every day. That’s a little bit different. Not always is gold just gonna fall out of the sky, like when you hear a Nile record. You know that’s not just because we sat down in 10 minutes and said, “Okay, we’re done writing the record”. No, those songs took years to put together. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into taking the inspiration that we had and crafting it into something."

"People radically underestimate what it takes to try and take all that sonic abuse and turn it into something that you can listen to. It eats the mix (fast double kicks), and then you add some down-tuned guitars and some low screaming, growling vocals. How on earth do you hear anything?"

"I think we’re aliens. I think we’re not necessarily native to this planet. I think we came here from somewhere else, destroyed ourselves a couple of times, and what’s left after all that period of chaos, that’s what we have left, and that’s why no one knows where the fuck we came from. The early part of human history and civilisation is riddled with unknowns. Where did we come from? Where did these ideas come from? How do the Egyptians have such an advanced civilisation? Well, I think it came from before and just no one remembers. (The) last Ice Age, when the sea levels rose 400 meters. There’s a whole lot of stuff sitting out there, covered by water that we have no idea where the fuck it is. What was there? Just imagine if you took our sea level right now and raised it by 400 meters, how much of our current civilisation would then be underwater? So what happened at the end of the last stage? How do we know what was before the end of the last ice age? We only have a few things you know left. So you know, and how much shit survives 10,000 years of natural decay? Not much. Why do we still even know about the Egyptians? Well, they managed to build some shit that lasted 1000s of years, right? Otherwise, would we know anything about them? No, we wouldn’t; or it just be speculation, hearsay, and rumour."

"I didn’t get really exposed to metal until I was a teenager, but world history I loved from a very early age. I was in fourth grade and had to do a book report on Alexander The Great, and that just fired my brain up. My dad was always watching the epic flicks of the day like Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, Land Of The Pharaohs, so it was a worm in my brain from an early age."

"The 80s were a lot of fun. It was a time where everybody had disposable income so everybody was always going out. There were half a dozen places to play in my home town. You could have quite the life playing four nights a week, even as a cover band, but after a while we wanted to write our own songs. You have to start asking yourself, ‘What is it I wanna do? What do we wanna sound like?’ It was a chance meeting with [ex-Morbid Angel frontman] David Vincent while we were playing Charlotte, North Carolina, where he introduced me to this whole universe of underground death metal that I was completely unaware of. That was the poison apple that I bit and it soon infected my entire band. [...] The vibe in the late 90s was that death metal was dead. We didn’t care though, because we were going to do whatever we wanted to do, the world be damned. We were from Greenville, South Carolina, which is a nowhere town. Already we had wrestled with the idea that probably no one was going to give a fuck, so let’s just do what we like and own it. We didn’t care about the ebb and flow of whatever is currently popular. [...] That mindset has helped us over the years, remembering who we are and why we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s humbling in a way that we are just some guys from South Carolina who are willing to work hard. We were happy that the timing of the universe then worked in our favour. You can’t complain - you just have to thank the metal gods."

"It became obvious to us early on that if you put in too many exotic elements, at some point it’s no longer really a metal record. Different Nile albums have had varying levels of extraneous elements to them. [...] It’s always a variable based on what each songs need. It’s the randomness of the universe."

"Sometimes the riffs, the ideas that are simpler, make a more direct connection and you can allow it to have that weight. Heaviness, doom, it’s a very elusive quality. If you get too tricky with it you lose that feeling of doom very quickly. It’s fleeting. It will run away, like a deer!"

"Our ears get bored very quickly. Sometimes a guitar plugged into an amplifier isn’t really enough."

"We're just spinning where we stand"

"You are burdened by only your dangerous mind"

"I’m in a state again, but I stay polite It keeps me alive"

"I need to stop singing in code To start ringing true because true rings only"

"There comes a time when you decide if you fight it off or learn to die."

"You’ll be a home for ungrateful drones who will churn your bones to butter."

"This summer hurts!"

"You remain turned away Turning further every day"

"You take your car to work, I’ll take my board And when you’re out of fuel, I’m still afloat."

"You can’t resist her, she’s in your bones [...] And so it seems, only in dreams"

"What’s with these homies dissin’ my girl? Why do they gotta front?"

"When we couldn’t find sleep, things were better then"

"Ooh-wee-hoo, I look just like Buddy Holly"

"The workers are going home"

"Goddamn, you half-Japanese girls do it to me every time"

"I’m dumb, she’s a lesbian I thought I had found the one We were good as married in my mind But married in my mind’s no good."

"I’m shaking at your touch, I like you way too much"

"I did what my body told me to I didn't mean to do you harm"

"Everyone’s a little queer Why can’t she be a little straight?"

"Goddamn, this business is really lame"

"Tonight, I’m down on my knees Tonight, I’m begging you please Tonight, tonight, please Oh, why can’t I be makin’ love come true?"

"How stupid is it? I can’t talk about it I gotta sing about it And make a record of my heart"

"What could you possibly see in little ol’ three-chord me?"

"Widely regarded as one of the finest vocalists in all of metal (who possesses a multi-octave range), Danish theatrical rocker King Diamond first rose to prominence as a member of gothic black metal group Mercyful Fate before launching a solo career in 1986. Known for his elastic falsetto, distinctive face-paint, occult leanings, femur- and tibia bone-adorned microphone stand, and seminal 1987 concept album Abigail, Diamond is one of late 20th and early 21st century most iconic heavy metal figures, issuing a slew of quality, narrative-driven albums, [one] of which earned a Grammy nomination."

"It takes a special kind of musician to stand onstage with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Bonham and hold their own. John Paul Jones is that musician twice over, primarily on bass but also on keys. Jonesy’s Jazz Bass is an integral part of the Led Zeppelin sound, with its thunderous harmonic overtones providing a solid bed for Page to go ham all over while also not getting lost underneath the almighty power of Bonham’s gloriously animalistic drumming style."

"Perhaps the most interesting and undoubtedly impressive aspect of Jones' run is the fact he's essentially had two careers. The first came with Led Zeppelin, where he was arguably the most unheralded member of the legendary rock outfit . When Led Zeppelin disbanded following drummer John Bonham's death, Jones ensured he kept his bass plugged in. Jones, whose professional career began as a technically sound session player capable of playing anything from blues to hard rock, had no trouble making a living while working with the likes of R.E.M, Foo Fighters, and Peter Gabriel in his post-Zeppelin world."

"Swapping out the fully competent Tony Kaye for keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman put Yes on a completely new level."

"Wakeman, it turns out, is prog rock’s class clown. Possessed of a sharp and irreverent wit of which the public has only recently been made aware, his skills on the keys are no laughing matter. [...] Often an object of ridicule for his stage garb of silver capes and flowing locks, he is highly respected for his skill and humour."

"Like Tony Banks, Rick Wright (pictured on the right) was less a showy player than a musician who knew exactly which notes to play and which to leave out. His training and love of jazz made him one of Pink Floyd’s most musically-gifted members and his sensibilities can be heard on the wistful piano of "Us and Them." He was no slouch with a synthesizer, either. His performances with EMS VCS3 and Minimoog on the band’s classic Wish You Were Here have become etched into rock history. Musicians are still trying to suss out how he achieved his sounds on "Shine On, You Crazy Diamond." An effortless player, Wright was the breath that kept Pink Floyd alive."

"One can hardly skim a music magazine without seeing mention made of Mr Rudess. He has achieved fame as a keyboard virtuoso, a feat that seems almost impossible in a post-punk world.Yet the man’s skills are undeniable. He studied classical piano at Julliard at the age of nine before becoming enamoured of the synthesizer as a teenager. His first solo album earned him a Best New Talent award in a Keyboard magazine poll before he joined up with the Dixie Dregs and Dream Theater, with whom he still plays."

"Keith Emerson: the man who brought the keyboardist out from behind the organ (and then proceeded to throw said organ about the stage after teaching it a hard lesson involving knives). He (literally!) wrestled with his Hammond, climbed the rafters and showered sparks from the end of his custom Moog ribbon controller. Of course, such histrionics wouldn’t have been worth a hoot if the feller couldn’t play. But play he did. From blistering rock leads to impossibly fast baroque keyboard runs, Emerson has done it all. A surprisingly ballsy rocker, he wasn’t afraid to tone it down. His famous Lucky Man solo is etched into rock and roll history. Perhaps best of all, he dared to drag his monster modular Moog on stage."

"Deep Purple are responsible for an awfully lot of what we would come to know as heavy metal, so it might be surprising to learn that the band’s keyboardist was one of their driving forces. A classically-trained pianist, Lord fused blues, jazz, rock and classical styles to add a bit of sophistication to the bombastic barrages of Deep Purple, Whitesnake and more. He focused on the Hammond C3, though he was equally adept with a Minimoog. An outstanding and often overlooked player."

"When it comes to the leader and true soul of Iron Maiden, it's Steve Harris' show. Sure, frontman Bruce Dickinson, or even beloved Eddie, might be "the face" of Iron Maiden, but Harris is the guy who makes the operation run. He’s the band's principal songwriter and one of the slickest, quickest bass players in hard rock and heavy metal history. Known for his "gallop" method of playing the instrument, Harris' work shines on Maiden classics like "The Trooper" and "Run to the Hills." Harris has cited Phil Lynott as one of his many bass influences."

"When it comes to modern-day bassists, the creative Keeler stands tall above the field. The son of musician Fred Keeler, who jammed with the likes of Bob Dylan, Jesse has made a name for himself as the driving force within Canadian dance-punk duo Death From Above 1979 and the electronic-tinged MSTRKRFT. Whether talking dance, techno, electronica, punk, or pure rock, Keeler is a dynamic musician who continues experimenting with his overall sound. Keeler is usually sporting his see-through bass, which screams and howls with an almost haunting vibe."