Keyboardists

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

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

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

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

""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."

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

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

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

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

"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."

"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."

"[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."

"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."

"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"

"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?"

"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."

"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 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."

"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."

"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."

"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…"

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

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

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

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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?"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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?"

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

"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"

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

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

"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"

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

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

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