Quote collection
390 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"There, in the chords and melodies, is everything I want to say. The words just jolly it along. It's always been my way of expressing what for me is inexpressible by any other means."
"There's a terror in knowing what the world is about"
"I think fame itself is not a rewarding thing. The most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants."
"Would you carry a razor, in case, just in case of depression?"
"Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity. So it's like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again. You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left."
"I never could get over the fact that The Pixies formed, worked and separated without America taking them to its heart or even recognizing their existence for the most part."
"I was studying Tibetan Buddhism when I was quite young, again influenced by Kerouac."
"Elvis was a major hero of mine. I was probably stupid enough to believe that having the same birthday as him actually meant something."
"I'm in awe of the universe, but I don't necessarily believe there's an intelligence or agent behind it. I do have a passion for the visual in religious rituals, though, even though they may be completely empty and bereft of substance. The incense is powerful and provocative, whether Buddhist or Catholic."
"If you come from art, you'll always be art."
"I once asked [John] Lennon what he thought of what I do. He said 'it's great, but its just rock and roll with lipstick on'."
"Rock has always been the devil's music... I believe that rock & roll is dangerous... I feel that we're only heralding something even darker than ourselves."
"The only art I'll ever study is stuff I can steal from."
"Strung out on lasers and slash back blazers."
"I don't have stylistic loyalty. That's why people perceive me changing all the time. But there is a real continuity in my subject matter. As an artist of artifice, I do believe I have more integrity than any one of my contemporaries."
"I surrounded myself with people who indulged my ego. They treated me as though I was Ziggy Stardust or one of my characters, never realising that David Jones might be behind it."
"See the mice in their million hordes From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads."
"I met my wife because we were both going out with the same guy."
"I am a moderately good singer. I am not a great singer but I can interpret a song, which I don't think is quite the same as singing it."
"All art is unstable. Its meaning is not necessarily that implied by the author. There is no authoritative voice. There are only multiple readings."