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“A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.” That’s Proverbs 14:30, the Good Book.
The girl opened her mouth and the angels flew out.
I was always good at dealing with big egos and difficult personalities; I was born to it, as my own father was a vicious drunk. The key is that you never take the piss out of them. You approach them with overwhelming respect, and then you do what you need to get done, and then you must be humble enough to say it was their brilliant idea all along. Understand: This has been half my talent working with rock stars. [Laughs]
I’m saying here was this stranger, clearly as crazy as I was, this person who dropped into my life out of nowhere, and he was reaching out his hand. What could I do but take it? What could I do but choose him back?
They like to say, usually about us, “Oh, So-and-So just has a natural talent, a natural rhythm, you can’t explain it.” Ain’t that disrespectful? Like, ain’t this an art form that we practice too? That we put our brains and sweat and heart and soul behind so we can learn and improve, just like you?
my personal definition of success is that you don’t do a goddamn thing you don’t want to. If you ain’t feeling it, you ain’t gotta do it.
Anyone who says they’re color-blind is a damn lie. But there is plenty of time between what you see and what you say.
See, this is what I say about America—we always gotta be assigning shit, always labeling it and stuffing it in a box. Always dictating who’s allowed to own what. But end of the day, that don’t have nothing to do with the music, you dig? The music is fire and passion and soul, and however you express it is how you express it.
When you approach art with the goal of making a quick and dirty buck, that’s fine; sometimes it has to be done. But nothing that happens as a result should come as a surprise to you.
the creative classes often display a wonderfully colorful spirit of résistance when we’ve had enough of the nonsense. Even the most delicate among us becomes weary of the tactics of bullies—we lift our pens, our brushes, our voices, our sequined off-the-shoulder floor-length gowns, and then? Mon dieu, we make a gorgeous noise.
he figured I was skinny enough and sufficiently fierce. Or whatever word they use when pretty ain’t it.
She wants to try something, let her try, let her get it out of her body! But you Americans with your boxes and demands, with your pick pick pick…
Come out of this loss setting up something bigger. Something that makes you proud outside of yourself. For me, that was you. Maybe for you, it’s this work. Whatever it is, I’ll try not to judge. But baby girl, you gotta decide.”
