The clock never stops, never stops, never waits. We're growing old. It's getting late.
The clock never stops, never stops, never waits. We're growing old. It's getting late.
But I really do have a soft spot for the solo shows. Any musician who writes and sings will tell you...
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But I really do have a soft spot for the solo shows. Any musician who writes and sings will tell you that's the center of it, that is it. It's almost like there's something church-like about it and you gotta go back there, if you're a songwriter that sings your material.
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You never know when you put out an album that's unique whether it'll get beat up for it or not.
You never know when you put out an album that's unique whether it'll get beat up for it or not.
The press is like any business. It's a group of really intelligent individuals that ends up being on...
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The press is like any business. It's a group of really intelligent individuals that ends up being one slathering, one-eyed, drooling monster.
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Rock and roll is - and should be - a kid's place.
Rock and roll is - and should be - a kid's place.
There is still some art in pop music. But it can't happen if you're not inspired.
There is still some art in pop music. But it can't happen if you're not inspired.
I'm older than I was, and I'm still washed-up, and I haven't changed my music one iota. It's just mu...
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I'm older than I was, and I'm still washed-up, and I haven't changed my music one iota. It's just much easier to do this when people are being nice to you.
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Next door, there's an old man who lived to his nineties and one day passed away in his sleep. And hi...
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Next door, there's an old man who lived to his nineties and one day passed away in his sleep. And his wife, she stayed for a couple of days and passed away. I'm sorry, I know that's a strange way to tell you that I know we belong.
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Now that I have found someone, I'm feeling more alone... than I ever have before.
Now that I have found someone, I'm feeling more alone... than I ever have before.
My job is to be some sort of music/lyric psychic, to figure out that that's the right song to not fi...
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My job is to be some sort of music/lyric psychic, to figure out that that's the right song to not fight the lyric.
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Because I write very simply, but inside the simplicity, there's a lot of subtlety. That's what I'm p...
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Because I write very simply, but inside the simplicity, there's a lot of subtlety. That's what I'm proud of.
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My idea is to play with the people who you know want to get it right. Then it's fun and easy to reco...
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My idea is to play with the people who you know want to get it right. Then it's fun and easy to record, and you can get down to details, like taking out cymbals so the verse doesn't dwarf the chorus, something like that.
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With the a cappella groups, every voice is like one string on a guitar, one note on the piano, or on...
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With the a cappella groups, every voice is like one string on a guitar, one note on the piano, or one cymbal, and you don't have the luxury of falling back on anything.
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People ask me what this song's about... I was asked about it a lot, and I didn't really wanna make a...
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People ask me what this song's about... I was asked about it a lot, and I didn't really wanna make a big hairy deal out of it, because I just wanted the song to speak for itself. But the song is about when I was in high school, me and my girlfriend had to get an abortion, and it was a very sad thing. And, I didn't really want to write this song from any kind of political standpoint, or make a statement. I just wanted to reflect what it feels like. So, anyone who's gone through that before, then you'll know what the song's about. - Explanation of the song "Brick", 1997.
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The way I see it, there's only one melody for any song.
The way I see it, there's only one melody for any song.
Why would I want to sound like Joni Mitchell? I've got Joni Mitchell records, and they're great, and...
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Why would I want to sound like Joni Mitchell? I've got Joni Mitchell records, and they're great, and I couldn't possibly be that good.
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I do have that mindset - that most good art comes from some turmoil, from someone trying to come to ...
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I do have that mindset - that most good art comes from some turmoil, from someone trying to come to some equilibrium, or come up and get a breath.
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The nature of honesty is that if someone has information or knows something about you that you don't...
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The nature of honesty is that if someone has information or knows something about you that you don't want heard, then they have power over you.
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I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big...
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I used to do this big rant at the end of some gigs with Ben Folds Five. The band broke into this big heavy metal thing and I started as a joke to scream in a heavy metal falsetto. I found myself saying things like: Feel my pain, I am white, feel my pain.
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Everyone, when you're a teenager and you're growing up, you do feel like your life is dramatic enoug...
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Everyone, when you're a teenager and you're growing up, you do feel like your life is dramatic enough to be on a TV screen, but we know that it's not.
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Everybody knows it hurts to grow up... and we're still fighting it.
Everybody knows it hurts to grow up... and we're still fighting it.
Even though I live in America more, I feel like when I go to Adelaide, that's when I get to go home.
Even though I live in America more, I feel like when I go to Adelaide, that's when I get to go home.
I'm not really a strange person or anything, so if there's music I like, usually there's other peopl...
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I'm not really a strange person or anything, so if there's music I like, usually there's other people who like it too.
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I'm really good at writing 'almost hits'.
I'm really good at writing 'almost hits'.
It's a tough thing to know that when you're making your album, you're going to end up collaborating ...
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It's a tough thing to know that when you're making your album, you're going to end up collaborating with, say, Wal-Mart, on your artwork. That just sucks. And the pressure behind getting the numbers real fast is, to me, dizzying.
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In many ways, I've chosen to be plain, almost too plain, too self-effacing. Like, if I record a voca...
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In many ways, I've chosen to be plain, almost too plain, too self-effacing. Like, if I record a vocal and I don't like the way it sounds, I would have them turn it up and take the reverb off it to make it as plain as possible.
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A lot of 18-year-olds are like old men. They think they've seen everything.
A lot of 18-year-olds are like old men. They think they've seen everything.
I'm aware that I'm very fringe, and it's nice that way.
I'm aware that I'm very fringe, and it's nice that way.
The reason I stop playing songs is usually because I get sick of them, and then they find themselves...
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The reason I stop playing songs is usually because I get sick of them, and then they find themselves back into the set list at some point.
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Maybe this is wrong, but I feel like I craft my songs carefully enough that I still find that fiftee...
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Maybe this is wrong, but I feel like I craft my songs carefully enough that I still find that fifteen years after having written one, it still works for me - I'm not cringing.
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Billy Joel and Joe Jackson were both great, and they both play piano.
Billy Joel and Joe Jackson were both great, and they both play piano.
