Not every song I write is ecstasy. And it can happen only one time. After that, when you sing the same melody and words, it's pleasure, but you don't get wiped out.
I've written a screenplay that is a series of monologues and songs; they form this sort of human tapestry across time and place. The form is strange, but I find it really fascinating.
Artists don't always know. Almost every song I ever recorded that was a hit at the majors that the promotional people picked I didn't think it would be a hit. I was wrong every time!
There was a time we decided that it was songs that were done especially from my background because of the things we were dealing with, but nowadays, anybody who has a need, and can find the need, they can sing the blues.
Writing songs is not something I wanted to share with people for a long time. It was precious to me. I didn't want someone to crush it. I waited until I felt strong enough to take the criticism.
If you're going to write an anthem for an old man who's up at political bat for the last time, give him a decent song. Send him off with something that creates some chills or something.
I heard 'More Than A Feeling' for the first time when somebody came running into my office in the engineering department and said, 'Your song's on the radio in the drafting department!'
When I'm working in the studio, I like to be on my own because I don't know where I'm going; I want to be completely free to spend lots of time on songs.
That's my dream job, to be able to mail songs out to people who want to hear them. Paste my face on them and not travel all over the world trying to sell them.
Michelle Burroughs: [singing] Watch them fly... Slater: [stoned] Hey you know that song is about the aliens?
Teatern - Filip Landahl: ...They no longer wish to hear the songs of giants. They are content with the tunes of dwarfs.
Sam: You gotta hear this one song, it'll change your life I swear.
Marco Zuluaga: Love is the saddest thing when it goes away, as a song by Jobim goes.
Member of the Jets: [in the middle of the Officer Krupke song] Hey, I've got a social disease!
Money's really - you know, song writing, yes, there's money to be made and things like that. But really, when you talk about the real money, you talk about touring. No question.
We'll set up a demo session and try to knock out eight or ten songs and make them sound as close as we can to a record with the money and time we have.
I'm always glad when people come together to help each other - whether they're raising money for somebody in a bad situation or making a creative piece like a song.
Writing songs has always been hard and easy. It's not always easy when you want it to be, and then sometimes it's just like turning on the faucet. That's just the nature of it.
I do not want a personal relationship with my fans. Or to do anything that encourages them to think they have one with me. They can have a personal relationship with my songs. That's fine, but they don't know me.
As a songwriter, you respect and appreciate the writings of other people, and I often get asked, are there songs out there I wish I'd written? Yes. There's many of them!
Throughout my career, if I have done anything, I have paid attention to every note and every word I sing - if I respect the song. If I cannot project this to a listener, I fail.
