When I was growing up, there were no women in orchestras. Auditioners thought they could tell the difference between a woman playing and a man. Some intelligent person devised a simple solution: Drop a curtain between the auditioners and the people trying out. And, lo and behold, women began to get jobs in symphony orchestras.
Ruth Bader GinsburgI write my own songs. I made my own videos. I pick my producers. Nothing goes out without my permission. It’s all authentic.
Lana Del ReyIt confuses me and disappoints me when somebody says, ‚What does he do? What does he do?‘ My records are some of the biggest anthems ever. What do you think, they magically just appear? Obama walked out to my record.
DJ KhaledI just kept touring and touring until it became second nature to go onstage, perform, and sing.
The WeekndI don’t know, I feel desperate when I sing. And I look desperate – it feels like I’m singing for my life, which makes me twitch, if that makes sense.
AuroraWhere 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.
Lady Gaga‚Victory‘ is like, you won, so the question is, what? What did you win? I think that the songs go into that. It’s just about reaching a place in myself.
Nipsey HussleIt’s almost schizophrenic who I portray in my music.
The WeekndMusic when healthy, is the teacher of perfect order, and when depraved, the teacher of perfect disorder.
John RuskinI don’t like to feel like I’m in a club when I’m in my car and I turn on the radio. Anything that ceases to be a song and just sounds like house music kind of stresses me out.
Taylor SwiftThat thing about being an icon, the fifth Beatle, I just found it so freaky.
George BestI taught myself to play the guitar by listening to Paul Simon records, working it out note by note. He is an incredibly intelligent musician. He’s not someone who has a natural outpouring of melody like McCartney or Dylan, who are just terribly prolific with musical ideas.
Douglas AdamsToday, I’d like to talk to Bob Marley. I’d just like to ask him what was his method. Bob is one of the greatest songwriters ever. I don’t know if people understand how powerful his songs are and the simplicity and genius behind them, from ‚Redemption Song‘ to ‚Is This Love?‘ and ‚I Shot the Sheriff.‘
Bruno MarsIf you look deep enough you will see music; the heart of nature being everywhere music.
Thomas Carlyle‚Kiss Land‘ wasn’t about what people wanted to hear on the radio. It was the state of mind I was in – introverted, like David Cronenberg’s ‚Naked Lunch.‘ You didn’t know if you were hearing a chorus or a verse. It was just my thoughts.
The WeekndWhen I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.
Henry David ThoreauMusic is part of the life of fashion, too.
Karl LagerfeldTelevision sounded really different than the Ramones sounded really different than us sounded really different than Blondie sounded really different than the Sex Pistols.
David ByrneI play piano every day. I enjoy that.
Frank OceanMost of those melodies are me trying to find out what notes fit, and then hitting ones that don’t fit in a very interesting way.
Brian EnoIt’s always fun to talk about jazz.
Clint EastwoodI want my fans to love themselves. It’s almost like I want to hypnotize them so when they hear my music they love themselves instantly.
Lady GagaI wish I could make music about politics. I feel like it’s such an art and a talent that I admire tremendously, but when I step into the studio, I step out of the real world, and it’s therapeutic.
The WeekndMy purpose is to make exciting music, and I feel like I’ll be doing that for the rest of my life, so there’s no pressure.
The WeekndSome people are making music just for numbers and views.
Bad BunnyRap was my drug.
EminemRomania, which had the worst dictator in Eastern Europe, Ceausescu, he was a darling of the West. The United States and Britain loved him. He was supported until the last minute.
Noam ChomskyBob Dylan is like an alien on this earth, and I love him! I cried when I saw him play live because I was so close to him.
AuroraThere’s a reason why the Foo Fighters don’t blast out Nirvana songs every night: because we have a lot of respect for them. You know, that’s hallowed ground. We have to be careful. We have to tread lightly. We have talked about it before, but the opportunity hasn’t really come up, or it just hasn’t felt right.
Dave GrohlI want more of my favorite artists or more of the guy that makes the anthems. I want more.
DJ KhaledI think Mozart’s operas ‚The Marriage of Figaro‘ and ‚Don Giovanni‘ are the two most perfect ever written. The music is magical.
Ruth Bader GinsburgI remember talking with Arcade Fire after their first record, when they were getting all kinds of offers from major labels, and I don’t think I gave them any advice. They survived that whole onslaught pretty well anyway without me.
David ByrneI met India Arie, who is one of my favorite artists of all time. It was really sweet; I was broken up with a month before, and she stayed up texting me all night and was helping me through it. Her text message looks like a song of hers. She’s sort of become my fairy godmother.
Ariana GrandeI listen to my old records and I think, ‚How did I ever get on the radio?‘
Dolly PartonUntil it’s on the radio or online, it’s not real. With U2, our album isn’t finished until it’s in the stores.
BonoI’m putting out this free music, constantly putting it out.
Kendrick LamarTo be honest, I never really considered myself to be too much of an actress. So, whenever I get the chance to do music, I’m always, like, just in it. It’s like, ‚Oh my God, I finally get to do this. I’m so happy.‘
Ariana GrandeWhen I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band – or at least in a Pixies cover band.
Kurt CobainMusic is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.
PlatoI want to thank The Beatles for almost single-handedly getting me out of writer’s block.
Frank OceanHawaii is paradise. It sounds cheesy to say it, but there’s music in the air there.
Bruno MarsI love the song ‚I Hope You Dance‘ by Lee Ann Womack. I was going to write that song, but someone beat me to it.
Maya AngelouI learned how important it is to entertain people and give them a reason to come and watch you play.
Elvis PresleyIf music be the food of love, play on.
William ShakespeareYou can’t always write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say, so sometimes you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream.
Frank ZappaI am the most unselfish chef in Britain today.
Gordon RamsayI want to keep making records as long as I can, but I don’t know how long you can be taken seriously in rap.
EminemI try to devote my afternoons to making music in my home studio, but it’s a lot more fun hanging out with musicians and friends, and trying subtly to influence a band than making your own stuff.
David ByrneI think maybe people see bands and musicians as some sort of superhero unrealistic sport that happens in another dimension where it’s not real people and not real emotions. So, I grew up listening to Beatles records on my floor. That’s how I learned how to play guitar. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be a musician.
Dave GrohlI didn’t have nothin‘ going for me… school, home… until I found something I loved, which was music, and that changed everything.
EminemI never went to rock concerts when I was a kid. I didn’t see any rock & roll bands. I had posters on my wall. I had Beatles records.
Dave GrohlAfter silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
Aldous HuxleyEveryone I look up to is bringing me into the tech world. You’d be surprised by all the music people in it, invested in it.
DJ KhaledI’ve never written a political song. Songs can’t save the world. I’ve gone through all that.
Bob DylanOne of my big fears is people saying my songs are all starting to sound the same.
Taylor SwiftPhilosophy is the highest music.
Plato‚House of Balloons‘ was actually supposed to have more songs than it does.
The WeekndPunk is musical freedom. It’s saying, doing and playing what you want. In Webster’s terms, ‚nirvana‘ means freedom from pain, suffering and the external world, and that’s pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock.
Kurt CobainI never wanted to look pretty on stage and sing about something we’ve all heard about before.
Lady GagaRap music is the only vital form of music introduced since punk rock.
Kurt Cobain