No one knows how powerful technology is.

Technology is 50% of rock 'n' roll - the magic, the art, the performance. If you don't have good technicians and a strong road crew who are devoted and believe in you and protect you, you're totally naked.

Got to lose control before you take control.

As an artist, I used to think that my responsibility was to do good work. But I had to learn from the 70s on that being a public figure presents another aspect of responsibility.

I reflected on the fact that no matter how good I aspired to be, I was never going to achieve perfection

I don't wear makeup. I can't stand nothin' on my face. It's a phobia. It's not a platform.

It got to the point where I started hiding because I didn't want to be photographed. (On living with Robert Mapplethorpe)