When ‘Play’ first came out, journalists didn’t review it; it didn’t get radio play. And then it became this big successful record and, I hate to admit this, I found myself liking the fame. I bought into it.
The good thing about working alone is I get a lot done and I can experiment more. The bad thing is I miss out on the gregarious, social way that most musicians work.
What sounds good on the radio is really loud kick drums and loud snare drums, when everything’s bombastic and in your face. It’s the equivalent of a houseguest who screams all the time.
The term ‘renaissance man’ is always bandied about. I don’t think that applies to me. You think about Leonardo da Vinci, and he was a painter and a physicist and an architect, and that is a true renaissance man.
One of the central flaws in the state of contemporary music is that the major record companies have failed to incorporate that simple fact into their business plans. They’ve come into an industry that’s based on idiosyncratic artists and tried to erase every idiosyncratic aspect out of it.
There are a lot of great animal rights organizations who save dogs and save cats, but the Humane Society is actually really good at working with Congress and getting legislation actually passed.
There are a lot of public figures who, before they take a stand on a issue, they talk about it with their publicist and they figure out how it’s going to affect record sales. Life is really too short to worry about that sort of thing.
There might be a lot of difference between Republicans and Democrats on key social issues like women’s rights and health care. But when it comes to taking corporate cash, they’re pretty much the same beast.
It’s enshrined in our Constitution that an individual has a right to release information and disseminate information that makes the powers that be uncomfortable.
It seems so antithetical to the teachings of Christ to proclaim your faith in public. I mean, of course you’re not supposed to hide your light under a bushel.
There’s a fairly extensive network of musicians on tour who are all trying to stay sober, and we generally reach out to each other and offer support when and where we can.
I wish I could sing. I don’t technically have a terrible voice, but it’s certainly not as good as most of my friends. Whenever I hear myself on a record, it just reminds me I’m not a very good singer.
I’m perfectly happy for my videos to be on YouTube, whether I’m getting paid for them or not. If they’re on YouTube, people will see them. If for some reason my videos get taken down from YouTube, well, I apologize. If it was up to me they’d all be up there and they’d all be free.
I’ve had insomnia since I was a little kid and I never sleep well. Sometimes I sleep very badly and sometimes I sleep slightly badly. I get it especially when I’m on tour because you cross a lot of time zones, and I’m not very adaptable.
Here was long period on my life when I was very disappointed by the fact I wasn’t gay. Because I grew up going to gay clubs, living in New York and LA, both very gay cities.
If one of my heroes comes to me and says, ‘Do you want to work on something?’ I just say, ‘Yes.’ I don’t ask for details; I don’t expect to get paid anything. I just love working with my heroes.
If you and I become vegans, the global consequences aren’t going to be that much. But if we can get a few hundred million people to become a little more aware and cut back on their animal consumption, the consequences will be great.
If you make a record, you should ask yourself, ‘Did it make someone cry, in a good way, not a bad way?’ There should almost be subjective emotional criteria for evaluating work, instead of just profitability.
In the long, nonillustrious history of white people pilfering African American culture, have I just perpetrated that? I’m motivated by a love for the music and by a love of the performances, and I really hope I haven’t done anything bad.
In some of the greatest recordings ever made, the performance is a part of the recording. Dylan’s ‘Rainy Day Women No. 12 and 35’ is all about the esthetic of that performance. You can hear the room.