The stuff that I dig, it's usually got a soulful component to it. A singer that I really like. I might not understand the language that they're singing in, but I'm really communing with this person.

There was so much good and different music back then and you'd just keep moving through it and discovering more new stuff. I went through my Black Sabbath phase before I even started playing guitar.

I think I do myself a disservice by comparing myself to Steve Jobs and Walt Disney and human beings that we've seen before. It should be more like Willy Wonka... and welcome to my chocolate factory.

On our American tour bus, the bunks are a bit taller so that we don't bash our heads. On the English bus, we bash our heads every morning. It's not the best thing to do first thing when you wake up.

My guitar player calls the process of writing lyrics based on another story, "filling up the well" when you can get inspiration from other people's art without stealing, more being influenced by it.

My career is built around a pattern that just keeps repeating itself over and over again. There's nothing surprising about it at all. My changes are as easy to predict as the sun coming up and down.

I do think that there's a special connection between Australia and America. It's kind of unexplainable. It's just one of those things. It's all about God's timing. We're thankful to be a part of it.

My mom worked at [American] Vogue before I was born. She has always been fashion-minded. I grew up with original Yves Saint Laurent sketches on the wall in our house. A lot of that rubbed off on me.

It doesn’t honor God to pretend everything is OK. That’s the beauty of Jesus that so many people miss. The beauty is that he died on the cross for our sins, but also that he existed the way we exist.

What I feel like - 'cause I wanna be married, of course - I feel like the type of girl I would be with is a fellow superhero. So we get that 'already flying and now we're just flying together' thing.

This album is moments that I haven't done before, like just my voice and drums. What people call a rant - but put it next to just a drumbeat, and it cuts to the level of, like, Run-D.M.C. or KRS-One.

The hardest thing [for me] is to 'just' agree, and that is what sparks creativity, the feeling that something can be better, the feeling that something's missing, the feeling that something's needed.

While listening, to things like western swing, for instance, I'd work something out in my head, then play it on my National; not the same song, but one that captured the feeling of the original tune.

I try not to look back. I'm looking forward. I'm worried more about what I'm going to do next week than I am what I did last week. There are too many things to do. Looking back is for everybody else.

I have some people in my life who are stunning on the outside but maybe not as beautiful on the inside and I have people in my life who are such lovely people so I see them as being really beautiful.

There are people who want to hear what they consider your hits. There are people who want you to experiment and explore random, rare things. And it's kind of a different; they're two different beasts.

The main issue was deciding what to play: Should it be old Ramones material or new material? I had about three albums worth of new material, but I knew that people would rather hear the Ramones songs.

When I was growing up, it was 'All Eyes On Me' by Tupac and 'Doggy Style' by Snoop Dogg. I've met Snoop and he's the best. They say you shouldn't meet your idol - that definitely doesn't apply to him.

We have always tried to treat every album differently and even from day one I think that each Asia album has been approached with care and thought and hopefully that shines through twenty years later.

With NOAH, you can create some stunning, yet original soundscapes. Therefore, as a performance tool, it really comes into its own because you can make one single performance which has a lot of detail.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do! I'm half crazy, all for the love of you! It won't be a stylish marriage I can't afford a carriage But you'll look sweet upon the seat Of a bicycle built for two!

It's crazy that we live in a world where if your super positive and super creative...it's scary. Because what does that tell you about the mentality of most people if your scared of like...positivity.

I feel like it's almost a Renaissance thing, a painting, a modern version of a painting. I think it's important for Kim [Kardashian] to have her figure. To not show it would be like Adele not singing.

We wanted to guide the musicians, so we could create our own sound. We would never let the band just go in and play the chord sheets. We were very focused on what we had in mind for these productions.

Corporations don't have children. They don't have feelings or souls. They don't depend on uncontaminated water, clean air, or healthy food to survive. They are beholden to one thing - the bottom line.

The songwriters whom we think of being the greatest songwriters usually write one hit and six or seven flops. That includes the Irving Berlins and the Hoagy Carmichaels, the Harold Arlens, Cole Porter.

Even though there is obviously a marked stylistic difference between the majority of our catalog and a cover like 'The Sound Of Silence,' it certainly isn't the first time we've done an acoustic track.

Don't get me wrong - we love our hip-hop, but in its own context. Rap has no place in our music. Is what we do rhythmic? Sure. Is it syncopated? Certainly. But our music has nothing to do with hip-hop.

Any musician with a slight level of self-awareness can be taught to write a 'good' song. A great song is completely original. It feels as if the performer is the only person who could bring it to life.

Cowriting is very personal. A great song is an honest song, so you have to be able to open up to the person in the room. It's like a blind date. I know in the first five minutes if it's gonna be weird.

There are still many great surviving talents: Stevie Winwood. Another great talent is Stevie Wonder. Another one is Eric Clapton. Another one is Phil Collins. Eminem, Kanye West I like all those people.

While we have the freedom to share our love for God with Him and His people in our own language, let's make sure that what we are writing about is orthodox and embraces the "whole counsel of Scripture."

Many people have eclectic tastes. Many people like to listen to all kinds of different music. I mean, I do; I'll listen to many different styles inside a day, a week, a month, a year. It doesn't matter.

What keeps me interested is that I have to do it. It's like people wake up and they have to breathe; I have to write songs; I have to make music. That's like eating or breathing to me. It's that simple.

Even in the winter, in the midst of the storm, the sun is still there. Somewhere above the clouds, it still shines and warms and pulls at the life buried deep inside the brown branches and frozen earth.

People are being more ­experimental. I hear chords being played that really haven't been on the radio. I love that. I go to my kids' school and see kids playing in bands. It is a sign of what's to come.

The toughest thing for a homeschooler is the same as for a school teacher - shifting from a weak tea vision of math being grinding calculations to a rich frothy mug of math as an active way of thinking.

I believe in myself like a five-year-old believes in himself. They say look at me, look at me! Then they do a flip in the backyard. It won't even be that amazing, but everyone will be clapping for them.

Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed. I am not a fan of books ... I like to get information from doing stuff like actually talking to people and living real life.

I'm not a celebrity, I'm an activist. The fact that when I see truth it's really hard for me to sit back and just allow it to happen in front of me on my clock makes me, a lot of times, a bad celebrity.

If you're doing a musical, you should be out to give the audience something special, emotional, an uplifting feeling, something that stays with them. And you're not going to do that by bumming them out.

In the, uh, '30s and '40s, the Brill Building was the hub of, uh, musical activity in Tin Pan Alley in New York City. I believe Irving Berlin was there, and uh, and everything just centered around there.

I just didn't realize, being a young person, that if you sign up to make a film, a certain portion of your soul is forever gone. From there on, you are that character to everybody you'll ever meet again.

I could let these dream killers kill my self-esteem, Or use my arrogance as the steam to power my dreams. I use it as my gas, so they say that I'm gassed, But without it I'd be last, so I ought to laugh.

I don't know if it's cool to say this anymore, but I grew up listening to Gary Glitter. A majority of his songs were in that shuffle-blues beat, and I think that's probably why I tend to write like that.

I think the illest thing about Wiz Khalifa is how true to himself he's always been, and I miss that from artists. Nothing about what he does ever felt like he was reaching to be something that he wasn't.

There always has been a mystique and a romance about aviation, but in terms of the principles involved of satisfying your customer there's no difference between selling airlines seats and chocolate bars.

It was weird. I joined this band because my life was all about singing. Then Girls Aloud became successful, and suddenly it wasn't just about being able to sing any more. It turned into a beauty contest.

In any social situation I'd much rather be on the periphery of things than at the centre. When I'm standing at the edge I'm comfortable in my own skin. When I'm standing in the middle it's all confusion.

I think a lot about writing and I try to read a lot. Being a musician, I don't take the words lightly; they are very, very important to me. At the same time, the words have to be musical and have to fit.

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