Quotes About Artistry

In the past, some of the songs that were the most fun, and the most entertaining and rocking, fell by the wayside because I was concerned with what I was going to say and how I was going to say it.

I used to sing SWV's 'Weak' every day when people would ask me to sing.

I can be anything I want when I do an album. I can be vulnerable, I can be weak, I can be nasty, I can be strong, I can be good, I can be bad. They're all in there - but in society you don't get to use all these personalities because you're trained.

Production-wise, 'Looks Like a Job For... ' is an incredible album. I think that the weak point of the album was really me.

It's really hard to write personal songs. I'm not good at writing ditties because as far as writing hit songs that you pitch to the national artist, I just don't write that way.

Sometimes you see me on the pitch, and you think I'm playing on the street.

If someone pitches me a really great idea for an album, I would do it.

You know, I get a lot of people pitching songs to me.

I think one of the pitfalls of doing your own music is that sometimes you can never be satisfied with it: you're afraid to say that it's done, and you keep reworking it or re-recording it or re-writing it.

With 'Pity Party,' it's the first time seeing my vision come to life in front of my face. I'm super happy about it.

Most Pixar films are better than most live action films.

Pixar has the integrity to not rush.

At Pixar, of course, we have all these people, and they're just used to our process now where it's a discussion; it's a discovery. It's not individual artists going and fussing off by themselves in isolation and then handing their work in.

I listen to everything: The Pixies, The Beatles, The Avett Brothers.

The composers could no longer direct all performances in person, and so the responsibility of interpreting their works in the spirit in which they had been conceived was placed upon conductors.

When I started writing, I just wanted to do something different and creative. I first thought neo-soul was a good pathway for me, so I tried that out but realized I didn't want to be placed in that box.

What I loved about the 1950s is that there is an aesthetic to even the average film. The way the camera is placed, the way characters move, the way you dressed the sets, the respect for craft and actors, I do miss that in today's films.

If I can work with Shyam Benegal and Yash Chopra together, who are the kings of art house and commercial cinema and win awards for both of them then it means I have placed myself everywhere.

A song cannot be a gimmick as it requires talent and hard work. But if it is placed wrongly, then it can be called that way.

I love to come to L.A. because it's one of the most inspiring places because there are no rules.

Originality is undetected plagiarism.

In many senses, creativity and 'plagiarism' are nearly indivisible.

I've watched my mom take a plain piece of paper and create something beautiful out of it, and I think that kind of manifested for me in taking a character from the page and bringing that to life.

I didn't have any agenda or plan when I started writing stuff.