Quotes About Originality

I do not speak through my characters; it's not a ventriloquist act.

Many venture capitalists say they're looking for the next big idea. But they aren't, really; they're looking for something derivative, because derivative is safe.

Some people might think they need to venture out on their own to create their own image. I do not have any of those kind of feelings.

We believed the world didn't need another commoditized venture capital firm.

I think that cable TV is a great venue to do something interesting.

Vivian Abenshushan and Veronica Gerber write brilliant books that defy generic conventions.

Versace designs have always been bootlegged. Now it's Versace bootlegging the bootleg for the bootleggers to bootleg the bootleg.

Everybody trying to bite the style ever since we made 'Versace.' But they don't give us credit.

The idea is not to please the most amount of people. Growing up in Versailles, the idea was to please the least amount of people.

Of course you draw from yourself, but the artistic nourishment you want to get is be versatile, do something different, and I think I got a chance to do that in a lot of different ways.

I don't want to be anyone but me, but as a versatile as possible.

I want to show my versatility and how diverse I am, how I approach the track, my rhythm, my melodies. It's something different. Sometimes, the things I do haven't ever been done.

You always want to be innovating and creating what's next. Versatility is also really important for a producer.

I wrote my own verses. Anything I did, I wrote myself.

Verse satire indeed is entirely our own.

I'm definitely trying to make songs that people can sing along to and remember. If you can recognize a chorus and leave with it in your head, it's usually a good sign. But then with the verses, I can get a little more free form. I don't really like to copy and paste things.

Don't try to be me. No one but me can be me. But you can be you. Look inside yourself and get to know who the real you is. And then be that person. The best version of you.

The original version of 'Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang' was made to a Boz Scaggs song; I can't remember the name of the song.

I think the most productive thing to do during times of change is to be your best self, not the best version of someone else.

With Twitter, it's a little harder to tell jokes that somebody hasn't heard already. You have all these people out there sharing their opinions and telling jokes in real time, and by the time you get on, somebody's already done some version of what you're trying to do.

If you like looking at 'Starry Night' or water lilies or whatever, then why does it matter if it's an original? If the artist is still alive, and you want to support them, I get it. But if you want some famous dead guy's work, that's just a way for rich people to show off. It's the upper-class version of driving a giant Hummer.

'The Sound of Things Falling' may be a page turner, but it's also a deep meditation on fate and death. Even in translation, the superb quality of Vasquez's prose is evident, captured in Anne McLean's idiomatic English version. All the novel's characters are well imagined, original and rounded.

I abhor the words 'classical music.' Few things satisfy me more than a really good cover version.

Almost every second film today has a rehashed version of an old song. In fact, even non-filmi songs are now being rehashed and used in Bollywood films, which is a good thing. But I don't want to be a part of that trend, not as a composer or as a singer.