Quotes About Music

I write to music, and Nina Simone is always on my playlist to write to. I mean, she's inspiring. She's truthful and real and raw.

I do think I'm country, but your definition of that word might be different from my definition. In my opinion, country music, the sound of country, has always evolved. But the one thing that has not changed is the story element. And I think country songs are truthful songs about life written by country people.

When you raise your voice in song to express what's going on deep inside of you, I think people just react to that because it's so truthful. It's so raw.

I wrote 'Healthy Sick,' from our first LP, when I was 19. I'll happily play it till I'm 91 because it always feels good and truthful.

It's truthful - every single song is an extension of me and a truthful piece of inspiration from my past or something I'm currently going through.

We did something that bands are kind of afraid of, or at least used to be, [which] is the YouTube scene. They don't want the YouTube stigma.

We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.

Every time I collaborate with an artist, I want to surprise fans. I want to do something new.

If you want to be happy, you listen to the music; if you want to be sad, you listen to the words.

I love making music. I never stop. I want to keep it moving forward. I like to go into the studio and make hits. It makes me feel good.

I continued to study Math and Physics on my own, but one and a half years later I realized that I did want to be a composer, and after that I never changed my mind.

I do think certain kinds of music can make you violent. Like, when I listen to Nickelback, it makes me want to kill Nickelback.

I think about legacy a lot, hopefully at the end of the day they say I was a good bluesman. That's all I want.

I'm meeting a lot of musicians and people in the music business, and am constantly trying to figure out what I want to do with music. We'll see. I want to do everything.

I usually have a very clear idea of where I want a song to go, sometimes very specific notes, but I'm generally open to suggestions.

Music has an immediate effect. If you want to go beyond that and look underneath, film is a good way of explaining.

There are times when I feel uninspired and I don't want to compose. I call these my 'bewitched' periods. I have to be touched with a magic wand.

It is our responsibility to learn how to speak to an audience that is less informed about music, to give it a reason to want to come and see us instead of going to the movies.

I can be a badass DJ when I want, but I am also an insufferable music snob.

I always try to write a song, I never just want to write a record. Originally I was not writing songs for myself. Songwriting is my gift from God.

I'm not interested in trying to have people who might like other kinds of music follow me. I don't want to please them.

I just got a new iPod. It's got 80 gigabytes. Because I like to jog for three weeks at a time and I do not want to hear the same song twice.

Either you write songs or you don't. And if you do write songs like I do, I think there's a natural desire to want to make records.

Film music really is about point of view and you can shift it wherever you want really depending on how you look at it.