Frank and explicit - that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your own mind and confuse the minds of others.
Politics goes in one ear and out the other. I don't even know the president's name for sure. That's how stupid I am.
I think things changed as a result of a certain perception of our politics. When we went through our zealous, self-righteous period it didn't exactly win us any friends.
We were raised with that discussion about violence and non-violence, and we all pretty much came up on the side of non-violence. That became my foundation with politics and my livelihood.
I was raised to speak out about politics and the world around me. I would do it whether I was in the public or not. It is the way I was taught. The American way.
The writing is all done, so it's all about verbalizing everything from point A to point B, and certainly there's a bit of politics involved, so it's a different thing.
I deliberately did not read anything about the Vietnam War because I felt the politics of the war eclipsed what happened to the veterans. The politics were irrelevant to what this memorial was.
I've been in a band, so I understand the politics. Sometimes the bass player doesn't like what the guitar player is doing, and you have to sort of even that out.
I was the last one to screen test for The Hardy Boys. I'd like to play that's not as clean-cut as Frank Hardy. I play him as straight as possible.
I don't know how anyone could vote Republican. It's so obvious that their only interest is keeping the rich rich.
I have a great interest in classical mythology and I need to make a sphinx or satyr every once in awhile to satisfy those interests. (...)
The fact that I have such a problem that people... that that has to, you know, be on people's mind, what my personal background is. To me, to be very frank with you, is a totally irrelevant thing.
There are different kinds of artists and very often, I'll be very frank with you, I wish I were a different kind.
I can't focus when there's too many things around. Whenever I used to go to the office, I used to always say, 'Tidy up.'
My father was a politician, and a very important politician, and one of the leaders of the Iraqi Democratic Party, who believed in progress.
Maybe the way we have learned to look has changed in the last 25 years, and the exotic is much more acceptable. There are many artists now, younger artists, who work out of the exotic.
I always say that I am very proud of the work that I did with the Rolling Stones and that I am also proud of what I have done with the Rhythm Kings.
I'm an artist. And usually when I tell people I'm an artist, they just look at me and say, 'Do you paint?' or 'What kind of medium do you work in?'
German and English firms operate internationally, while French firms do not. The only place where they all have work is in China. Anybody can sell himself in China!
I play and I've played in heavy bands, but when I write for myself, I don't particularly feel like writing huge rock riffs. It just doesn't work for me and my voice.
I think if you touch ordinary people, they're simply ordinary people, the way they've always been. They work hard, they don't have really as much as they should.
