“Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took up a lot of space musically in the songs was really important to the way Rush developed. Geddy and Neil both were such active players and lot of the time we were all playing like crazy and it was too much and somebody had to reel it in and me being the faceless guy, I would do that.” WayImportantGuySongThreeSpaceToo MuchPiecesPlayerCrazyInfluenceHugeBandActiveChordsFaceless Author:Alex Lifeson
“What good men most biologists are, the tenors of the scientific world - temperamental, moody, lecherous, loud-laughing, and healthy. Your true biologist will sing you a song as loud and off-key as will a blacksmith, for he knows that morals are too often diagnostic of prostatitis and stomach ulcers. Sometimes he may proliferate a little too much in all directions, but he is as easy to kill as any other organism, and meanwhile he is very good company, and at least he does not confuse a low hormone productivity with moral ethics.” KnowsMenWorldMayLittlesDoeSometimesSongEasyCompanyMoralLaughingToo MuchKeysHealthyLowsEthicsVery GoodProductivityLoudGood ManStomachOrganismsHormonesAnd OffBiologistGood CompanyMoodyTenorsMoral EthicsUlcersBlacksmiths Author:John Steinbeck
“Claudia Rankine's Citizen comes at you like doom. It's the best note in the wrong song that is America. Its various realities-'mistaken' identity, social racism, the whole fabric of urban and suburban life-are almost too much to bear, but you bear them, because it's the truth. Citizen is Rankine's Spoon River Anthology, an epic as large and frightening and beautiful as the country and various emotional states that produced it.” CountryStatesWholeRealityAmericaBeautifulSongSocialToo MuchIdentityEmotionalBearsCitizensRacismRiversNotesVariousFrighteningFabricUrbanEpicMistakenDoomSpoonsAnthologyClaudiaMistaken Identity Author:Hilton Als
“Ever since I've been young I've been fascinated by the human body. I've written songs about it, but you can become quite morbid if you think about it too much - paranoid and a hypochondriac.” IfsThinkingHumansBodyYoungSongToo MuchWrittenFascinatedHuman BodyParanoidMorbidHypochondriac Author:Ellie Goulding
“All poets pretend to write for immortality, but the whole tribe have no objection to present pay, and present praise. Lord Burleigh is not the only statesman who has thought one hundred pounds too much for a song, though sung by Spenser; although Oliver Goldsmith is the only poet who ever considered himself to have been overpaid.” WritingHas BeensWholeSongPayLordToo MuchPoetHundredPraiseImmortalityPoundsTribesStatesmenObjectionsSpenser Book:Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think Source: Lacon: Or Many Things in Few Words, Addressed to Those who Think
“If I had to give up performing, it wouldn't bother me too much. But I couldn't live without my writing. I put all my feelings, my very soul, into my writing. I tell the world in my songs things I wouldn't even tell my husband.” IfsWorldGivingWritingSoulFeelingsSongWorkToo MuchHusbandGiving UpBotherPerformingMy Husband Author:Dolly Parton
“The orchestra's an amazing instrument, but I don't want to just arrange my songs for it. I think that might be kind of boring and a little bit overdramatic, perhaps. I'm still just having too much fun doing it my way, for the time being.” ThinkingWayWantKindLittlesStillsMightSongFunBitsToo MuchLittle BitInstrumentsBoringMy WayBe KindOrchestraToo Much Fun Author:Andrew Bird
“The main things to rebel against - over-production, too much technology, overthinking. It's a spoiled mentality; everything is too easy. If you want to record a song, you can buy Pro Tools and record four hundred guitar tracks. That leads to overthinking, which kills any spontaneity and the humanity of the performance.” IfsWantSongHumanityEasyTechnologyRecordsToo MuchFourHundredToolsPerformancesGuitarTrackProductionsRebelMentalitySpontaneitySpoiledOverthinking Author:Jack White
“There's probably some buried conservative inside of me, coming out like a little gremlin in my belly that I've suppressed. This is a sort of character I've done before: He's kind of dumb and he's kind of arrogant, and a little seedy. A little coke-y. He's gotten into the cocaine or he's had too much coffee. It's been pretty fun. Not all the songs are like that but it sort of creeps in there.” KindLittlesDoneCharacterSongFunToo MuchConservativeCoffeeDumbBuriedComing OutArrogantBellyCreepsCocaineCokeGremlins Author:Tim Heidecker
“I grew up watching Grease, and Grease 2. I fantasized about walking through school halls and busting out in a song. At that time, I was too much of a chicken to do so. Id love the challenge now.” SchoolSongChallengesToo MuchGrewWalkingGrew UpChickensHallsGreaseBustingBusting Out Author:J. D. Pardo
“It was writing about music for NPR - connecting with music fans and experiencing a sense of community - that made me want to write songs again. I began to feel I was in my head too much about music, too analytical.” WantFeelsWritingMadeSongCommunityToo MuchFansConnectingMusic FansNpr Author:Carrie Brownstein
“As a consumer, if I heard someone who said, "I've written this song," and then I found out it wasn't by them, it's a bit disappointing. A lot of the guys that do that are really talented and they've made some incredible music, but they get addicted to having success and feel too much pressure, so they get other people to make sure that their next song makes money.” PeopleIfsFeelsMadeSaidGuySongNextFoundBitsToo MuchWrittenHeardPressureIncrediblesMaking MoneyConsumersDisappointing Author:Howard Lawrence