The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.

Musicians are there in front of you, and the spectators sense their tension, which is not the case when you're listening to a record. Your attention is more relaxed. The emotional aspect is more important in live music.

Agressive music can only shock you once. Afterwards its impact declines. It's inevitable.

I've got a feeling that music might not be the most interesting place to be in the world of things.

Painting, I think it's like jazz.

When you look back on a historical period of music, it seems so obvious to you what the characteristics of it are, but they're not obvious at the time. So, when I look back at my own work, I could easily write a very convincing sort of account of it that made it look like I had planned it all out from day one and that this led logically to that and then I did this and then that followed quite naturally from that. But that's not how it felt.

If you grow up in a very strong religion like Catholicism you certainly cultivate in yourself a certain taste for the intensity of ideas.