Rock Singers

"I've heard a lot of really awful, negative things said about Pete, and it's like, “Dude, you don't even have a clue how honest and real that guy is” for the amount of crap that people talk about him. Pete said it, and it's true, they make you into a wrestling character. And it's also like reality TV editing. It's really easy to cut somebody in rolling their eyes when that might not have even happened next to the thing that it's being shown next to."

"I think Joe's underappreciated, I think Andy's underappreciated, I think Pete's underappreciated, I don't think people know how good he is. I think Neal [Avron]'s underappreciated, but if anything, I feel overappreciated. I think Patrick Stump gets enough attention."

"I'm not a drummer anymore. On my gravestone, if there is one, if anyone writes anything about me besides hopefully being a dad, it would be that I sang in my band when I was in my 20s. So I was like, "Yeah, I should probably focus on this a little more," so I just practiced a lot."

"What you want if you're asking that question is a specific time in your life to come back to you, and that will never happen. You will never be 15 years old again. I could write, verbatim, another Take This To Your Grave, and you won't feel the same way. It's not going to mean anything to you because it wouldn't mean anything to me."

"Sometimes people associate getting big with selling out, which is funny because that's not something you necessarily have choice in. That's not a matter that is entirely up to you and at the same time, who hasn't sold out? If you've heard of a specific artist, they're big enough--they got to you. Where do you draw the line between what's big and what's too big?"

"I don't mind if someone thinks I'm a sell out. I go to bed happy knowing I do what I do and I'm not doing anything for reasons of money, and if I were trying to pick up chicks, I'm doing a horrible job. And if I wanted to drive awesome cars, I'm doing a really bad job there too."

"Yeah, I've been writing a bunch of new stuff, but it's all secret. In fact, I may or may not have been writing stuff this entire interview."

"Whoever is in charge of my Wikipedia, all right, whoever you are - the major, most egregious thing in there isn't that, you know, apparently I'm bisexual and have like, twenty kids and that I learned everything I know from a sixteen-year-old who probably wrote that in himself, but the most egregious of all the errors is that it says I am a massive David Bowie fan, which is true, but it is a gross omission to leave out my obsession with Prince. Absolutely. So whoever you are, throw that in there. Go for it. You know what? Make me eighty feet tall. And, you know, make me a transsexual. But put in Prince."

"Joe Trohman: (referring to Pete and Patrick) You guys should just make lo- You guys should get married. Patrick: We are."

"Pete Wentz: Every action movie has to have a gadget guy. You hate being the gadget guy, huh? You're a good gadget guy, you wear glasses. Patrick: (throws glasses on the floor) Now I'm a HORRIBLE gadget guy!"

"Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever can not take care of themself without that law is both. For a wounded man shall say to his assailant, "If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven." Such is the rule of honor."

"I want you to pretend this is fucking Braveheart or some shit."

"I'm not a musician; I'm a screamer."

"I sit at home by myself with my headphones in Randy world, and thats it."

"They bend to each other, you know, its not like they like fuckin', beat each other over the head, its like 'oh, hear I come; wenenenenenen or chachachachacha' you know, they bend to each other, and they compromise, you know. And it makes for a good guitar relationship I suppose, you know. So Willie brings in the riff, and hes like 'jejejejeje', and Mark is like 'Oh, psh, wenenenenenen', and like, and you can see it happen dude, physically see it happen, like, they're melding, like Vulcans or something, like 'mind melding', I don't know, you know. I've learned a lot about music from watching those guys, by how different they are, and how they complement each other."

":7 But as all these things did come to pass, the Spirit that did cause man to create his God lived on within all men: even within Aqualung."

":8 And man saw it not."

":9 But for Christ's sake he'd better start looking."

":6 And Man became the God that he had created and with his miracles did rule over all the earth."

":5 And these lesser men Man did cast into the void. And some were burned; and some were put apart from their kind."

"I may make you feel but I can't make you thinkYour sperm's in the gutter, your love's in the sink."

"I don't think it's very easy to make friends with musicians. We're all a bit paranoid. It soon becomes very heavy."

"Oh father high in heaven — smile down upon your sonWho's busy with his money games — his women and his gun."

"In the beginning Man created God; and in the image of Man created he him."

"The original Jethro Tull was a 19th century English agriculturist who invented a seed drill you see... the first automatic process where by small holes were made in Mother Earth and even smaller seeds were deposited one at a time and neetly covered over as a cat does after having been naughty."

":2 And Man gave unto God a multitude of names, that he might be Lord over all the earth when it was suited to Man."

":3 And on the seven millionth day Man rested and did lean heavily on his God and saw that it was good."

":4 And Man formed Aqualung of the dust of the ground, and a host of others likened unto his kind."

"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."

"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!""

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Well, I remember! I remember, don't worry How could I ever forget? It's the first time, the last time we ever met But, I know the reason why you keep your silence up, No you don't fool me. The hurt doesn't show But the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me."

"Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I've heard in rock. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite."

"The subdivision you have to do as an incredible drummer who is also the lead vocalist is percussion in itself. On his first ever solo release, he plays what has to be the most iconic drum fill in existence — which is hard as a drummer at any stage of their career knowing that the most iconic drum fill has already been played and you will never be the person to write it."

"Well, if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand. I've seen your face before my friend But I don't know if you know who I am. Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes. So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been. It's all been a pack of lies"

"They're just horrible. Horrible, horrible guys. They're rude, not as talented as they think they are... I won't mince words here, but they've had a go at me personally."

"Past a certain point, the music is no longer mine. It's yours."

"Don't mess with my Phil."

"I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord. And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, Oh Lord. Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord."

"Stewart Copeland is an amazing drummer. I just wish he didn't think he was amazing. Sting is a lovely bloke. We've become friends. I felt honored to be on stage with him at Live Aid."

"[On his Live Aid appearance with members of Led Zeppelin] They wanted me there early to rehearse the old Zeppelin songs, but I couldn't make it and I told them, "Listen, I know the songs. I know them backward and forward." Well, that day the tempos were all over the place, and it may have seemed like it was my fault, because I was the one who hadn't rehearsed, but I would pledge to my dying day that it wasn't me. In fact, it was Tony Thompson who was racing a bit; he was a bit nervous, I guess. It came off because of the magic of being Zeppelin; but I remember in the middle of the thing, I actually thought, How do I get out of here?"

"I can't remember those words (Lyrics) even when we were on tour."