I’m not interested in possible complexities. I regard song structure as a graph paper.

The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me.

‚House of Balloons‘ was special because I had no deadlines, and nobody knew me, so there were no expectations. Spent a year making it perfect. Every song had at least, like, 7 different versions to them before picking the right one.

The concept of commercialism in the fashion and art world is looked down upon. You know, just to think, ‚What amount of creativity does it take to make something that masses of people like?‘ And, ‚How does creativity apply across the board?‘

I don’t listen to the radio very much, but that could be because I don’t have a car.

I do not paint a portrait to look like the subject, rather does the person grow to look like his portrait.

I don’t give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.

No, I can’t do rap music!

Yes, and I can sit down on a white piece of paper and work because I don’t believe too much into inspiration, only I’m waiting for inspiration, work and then inspiration may come. It’s a little too easy to say that.

I have so many playlists full of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown.

Speaking purely from a musical standpoint, I think I am a great performer.

I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things.

I don’t sing because I’m happy; I’m happy because I sing.

I just want to keep pushing the envelope without it feeling forced.

Of all noises, I think music is the least disagreeable.

I’m never gonna step away from stand-up. I can’t. That’s what got me where I am, and that’s also my muse. That’s how I stay level-headed. That’s what keeps me going.

Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess?

I only type every third night. I have no plan. My mind is a blank. I sit down. The typewriter gives me things I don’t even know I’m working on. It’s a free lunch. A free dinner. I don’t know how long it is going to continue, but so far there is nothing easier than writing.

Meditation has been a loyal friend to me. It has helped me write my books.

I’m a big fan of songs like Joe Cocker’s ‚You Are So Beautiful‘ and Eric Clapton’s ‚Wonderful Tonight‘ – songs that go straight to the point.

I’ve definitely seen bands before they made money kind of change their thing on the next tour, and I prefer it when it’s a little more raw.

Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.

Where I come from it was really unheard of to be at a party and someone says, ‚What kind of music do you make?‘, and you say, ‚Pop music.‘ You may as well have ‚I’m not cool‘ stamped on your forehead.

You know, my sister sings, my brother plays drums in my band. My whole family is a bunch of musicians.

No great thing is created suddenly.

My mami and papi love my music. They’re always listening to the radio waiting for one of my songs to come on. And when it does, they turn up the volume – and turn it back down when it’s over.

I really am a fan of Ye’s music.

We live in a bewildering world.

Every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen.

It’s kind of like a challenge to myself to be able to hear somebody else’s hook and kind of interpret the words. Because my own hooks, I already know what I mean when I write them.

We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first, rock ‚n‘ roll or Christianity.

I don’t want to do free jazz! Because free jazz – which is the musical equivalent of free marketeering – isn’t actually free at all. It’s just constrained by what your muscles can do.

We must use time creatively.

For me, ‚risky‘ is revealing what really happened in my life through music. Risky is writing confessional songs and telling the true story about a person with enough details so everyone knows who that person is.

For the introduction of a new kind of music must be shunned as imperiling the whole state; since styles of music are never disturbed without affecting the most important political institutions.

It’s insane that, since the Beatles and Dylan, it’s assumed that all musicians should do everything themselves. It’s that ridiculous, teenage idea that when Mick Jagger sings, he’s telling you something about his own life. It’s so arrogant to think that people would want to know about it anyway!

I’m gonna make what I want to make, and other people are gonna like what they’re gonna like. It doesn’t really matter.

There are events which are so great that if a writer has participated in them his obligation is to write truly rather than assume the presumption of altering them with invention.

Because you have things like ‚American Idol‘ and you’ve got radio stations that play music made entirely by computers, it’s easy to forget there are bands with actual people playing actual instruments that rock.

When I do listen to music, I’m more prone to listen to the people I’ve always listened to: George Jones, Otis Redding, Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris.

One of my most popular songs, ‚Satellites,‘ I paid $300 for that beat on SoundClick.

There’s something missing in the music industry today… and it’s music. Songs you hear don’t last, it’s just product fed to you by the industry.

I don’t really believe in the type of pressure that people are wanting to put on the type of music that I make.

Some of the stories I admire seem to zero in on one particular time and place. There isn’t a rule about this. But there’s a tidy sense about many stories I read. In my own work, I tend to cover a lot of time and to jump back and forward in time, and sometimes the way I do this is not very straightforward.

I think that, whatever happens, I’m just happy I’ve written those songs and I’ve made an album. That’s really big for me, and I’m proud of that.

In my songs, I’m not saying something that’s never been said before. The have lyrics aren’t going to blow people away. It’s the emotion and the melody that drive it home.

Doo-wop is special music to me because it’s so straightforward and melody-driven and captures emotions.

Painting, I think it’s like jazz.

The arts have only ever interested a small minority of people, which acted as a kind of nursery to support artists.

Everybody born comes from the Creator trailing wisps of glory. We come from the Creator with creativity. I think that each one of us is born with creativity.

I love dresses, and I’ve definitely thought about designing them someday. I just want to make sure that I wait until the time is perfect and I can do it right.

Anybody can be specific and obvious. That’s always been the easy way. It’s not that it’s so difficult to be unspecific and less obvious; it’s just that there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, to be specific and obvious about.

I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.

Originality is a thing we constantly clamour for, and constantly quarrel with.

That terrible mood of depression of whether it’s any good or not is what is known as The Artist’s Reward.

I collect records. And cats. I don’t have any cats right now. But if I’m taking a walk and I see a cat, I’m happy.

Science never solves a problem without creating ten more.

I’m not claiming divinity. I’ve never claimed purity of soul. I’ve never claimed to have the answers to life. I only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as I can… But I still believe in peace, love and understanding.

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week sometimes to make it up.

Television sounded really different than the Ramones sounded really different than us sounded really different than Blondie sounded really different than the Sex Pistols.

We need to try to unite audiences, unite countries, join musical tastes, unite people.