I always hated how I looked on camera. I never put a face to my music, which actually made the music that much more mysterious.

I think that I am better than the people who are trying to reform me.

It’s very fun to be the hunter of the sounds. The hunter of the right energy. And it’s not really about if every sound is correct; it’s more the energy – if it hits you in some way, it doesn’t really matter to me if it’s not perfect. I’m still very excited while hunting for songs.

I was doing sold-out shows before I got radio play.

Do not look for approval except for the consciousness of doing your best.

The fame isn’t important to me. It’s a blessing to have. Having so many people that support me, that love me and listen to my music, is beautiful.

I try to really capitalize off of what other rappers really can’t do. There are opportunities that rappers I love simply can’t get, because… you know… I don’t have the tattoos; I have a different image.

If I was just a fan of music, I would think that I was the number one artist in the world.

Life is a song to me.

If you hear Anarchy in the UK today your hair stands on end. It gives you the shivers.

Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.

I always put myself out there. I’m not afraid to commit to something.

I’ve made over 25 studio albums, and I think probably I’ve made two real stinkers in my time, and some not-bad albums, and some really good albums. I’m proud of what I’ve done. In fact it’s been a good ride.

I wouldn’t put myself forward to do a film like ‚Changeling‘ if I thought I couldn’t pull people into a story because of all the other ways people see me.

The whole slacker generation totally didn’t apply to us musically.

Mick Fleetwood was one of my first interviews. And if you’ve ever talked to that dude, he’s the sweetest guy in the world – he’s just a trip.

True politeness consists in being easy one’s self, and in making every one about one as easy as one can.

John Lennon was definitely my favorite Beatle, hands down.

Yes, some people say to me you’re too skinny, but never a skinny person says that to me, only people who could lose a few pounds say that.

It is curious how instinctively one protects the image of oneself from idolatry or any other handling that could make it ridiculous, or too unlike the original to be believed any longer.

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.

My body is damaged from music in two ways. I have a red irritation in my stomach. It’s psychosomatic, caused by all the anger and the screaming. I have scoliosis, where the curvature of your spine is bent, and the weight of my guitar has made it worse. I’m always in pain, and that adds to the anger in our music.

It’s always great to perform at home in the good ol‘ U.S.A.

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

Be proud to be Latino and never lose that pride!

I’ve always loved Def Leppard, ever since I was little.

I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like one.

My experience with songwriting is usually so confessional, it’s so drawn from my own life and my own stories.

Whenever I think about movies, I always look at that art process as having the best of a lot of worlds. Because if you watch a great film, you have a musical element to it, not just on the scoring, but in the way that the shots are edited – that has music and rhythm and time.

Rhythm is something you either have or don’t have, but when you have it, you have it all over.

Lots of songs aren’t even from my experiences, but they’re about accepting… the dark things about yourself.

What makes a song last is real content from a mind that is thinking a little bit harder about certain things. A lot of artists don’t really think that hard.

Nothing is capable of being well set to music that is not nonsense.

People today are still living off the table scraps of the sixties. They are still being passed around – the music and the ideas.

I enjoy all forms of music – pop, classical and opera.

I can understand how some people might resent me for having the audacity to continue playing music, but it’d take a lot more than that to stop me from doing it. I started Foo Fighters because I didn’t want to retreat.

My whole life and my whole career, even through my music, I tell people: let’s unify; let’s show more love.

No press, no television. If my mom calls and says, ‚Did you hear about?‘ I don’t want to know nothing about anything that is going on in relation to music. I shut it all off.

Mere bashfulness without merit is awkwardness.

Seeing myself on the screen makes me cringe. I understand that I am that way – pouty.

I’m odd looking. Sometimes I think I look like a funny muppet.

On a good night, I get underwear, bras, and hotel-room keys thrown onstage… You start to think that you’re Tom Jones.

I love making music. That’s what I love to do. So I don’t feel like there’s any need to take a break unless I want to.

If it’s good music, it’s good music.

The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up.

None but a coward dares to boast that he has never known fear.

Ability hits the mark where presumption overshoots and diffidence falls short.

I feel that when you care about your music, taking risks is something you should do to keep things exciting.

My only scheme was to be a rapper.

I tend not to really think about what other people say. I’d rather just try and focus on what I’m doing, try and win basically.

You have to just accept your body. You may not love it all the way, but you just have to be comfortable with it, comfortable with knowing that that’s your body.

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.

They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus, that means guns, sex, lies, video tapes, but if I talk about God my record won’t get played Huh?

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.

I know I’m stronger in the songs than I really am. Sometimes I need to hear it myself. We all need to hear those empowering songs to remind us.

She is a peacock in everything but beauty.

We have a Boesendorfer piano that I play every day. It keeps my brain and my fingers active.

It’s hard to be humble, when you’re as great as I am.

I would say things like ‚I am the greatest! I’m pretty! If you talk jive, you’ll drop in five! I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! I’m pretty!‘ When white people heard me talking like this, some said, ‚That black man talks too much. He’s bragging.‘

It is impossible to experience one’s death objectively and still carry a tune.

If you talk bad about country music, it’s like saying bad things about my momma. Them’s fightin‘ words.