Song Quotes - Page 371

I do get a bit of a sense, just from e-mails some people send me, just a little sense of how people in different countries seem to respond differently to certain lines in a song.

I've been very lucky to work with many amazing animators and directors who can interpret and extend the music I make. When it's done well, it can create extra meaning and new context for the song.

I've written a lot of songs but I haven't had the opportunity to record a lot of them.

I've written about one song on several different albums.

Well first of all, I'm a singer. I sing since I talk. So the great ballad singers, the people that sang with so much feeling, jazz, blues, all those singers, they were songs that I listened to, records that my mom played for me, and then later I bought.

When I went to do "Carson" that night, they wanted us to do two songs, but we were a brand new band. "Conga" hadn't even hit the top 10 yet. They go, "Do you think you could do something that people know, because we want you to do a second song, but not two originals, because we don't want to lose the audience, just in case."

I wrote these two songs ["Coming Out of the Dark" and "Always Tomorrow"] as a celebration of hope. And I want to send it out to all of those people who are suffering through this terrible disaster [Hurricane Katrina], and please know that you are not alone - and you will not be.

When I write a song it's always from the point of view: makes the song the best it can be.

Esperando (Cuando Cuba Sea Libre) is probably one of the most personal songs from the new [September, 2007] CD, "90 Millas" . . . as it really speaks about the celebration, nostalgia and emotion that will happen the day Cuba is free. If we're to move forward in Cuba, we really have to have a lot of forgiveness for each other and look towards the future.

When you are happy it is harder to write [songs].

My favorite process is writing, from day one. The songs I have written throughout the years were a real great opportunity for me to communicate, because I think tha'ts my prime objective on this planet.

Yeah, but on the U.S Tour we threw a new song into the set almost every night. Of course, you can't do too many new songs every night as they've never heard it.

My vocal ability is very limited, but I'm fortunate in that I can write the songs around my vocal limitations.

I love Thelonious Monk's song "Just a Gigolo." It's probably a minor song for him, but whenever I hear a recording of him playing it, I'm mesmerized, because Monk clearly loved pop music. He took it very seriously and made an amazing thing out of it.

I love the art form of songwriting. I get to carry a lot of vibes to a lot of people. My songs are all about the human condition, and people will be able to find themselves in my songs.

Keeping the pen out of your hand as much as possible is the best way to write a song, in my estimation. But the pen must come in to tighten it up.

The goal for me is, I build the record that I put out as one individual song. Even though it's broken up into tracks, to me it's like one hour-long piece of music. In assembling the whole thing, I'm really thinking, okay, it's gonna end here, it's gonna start here, and I kind of have the idea of the journey.

I've always enjoyed taking pre-existing sound, songs I like, songs I want to share, and manipulating them and trying to do my own version. So just knowing there's that potential for that thing out there that I haven't discovered yet, really gets me motivated every day.

Something that distinguishes my solo work from normal rap production is that it has a lot of melody - it's not just cutting up a song and having someone rap over it.

I'm trying to separate myself from other people by having songs that would be considered - technically - original things. I don't seek out mashups. I'm associated with the whole mashup movement, and it's too bad because I'm not a huge fan of them.

The point of making records for me isn't to hear 300 songs in 50 minutes; it's to hear the 50-minute piece of music.

Sometimes the show needs that kick in the ass so being able to sing a Nirvana song kind of takes it there. I've grown up putting on extravagant shows with Girl Talk so when I'm playing I like to go nuts. After 30 minutes of pointing and clicking it's nice to scream into a microphone for three minutes.

I like to use recognizable songs, but other than that, this song would be perfect.

The whole basis of the music is that people have these emotional attachments to these songs - whether they love it or hate it. Being able to manipulate that is a really easy way to connect with people.

People can judge me on whatever level they think but I've always tried to make my own songs.