A&B Quotes

“Passion is never pathetic.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“I've always loved Halloween: the one day of the year when you can blatantly dress as your number-one obsession and people will smile instead of snicker.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Co-writing. Man, just the word. I always thought it would be as intimate as sex and as serious as marriage. You'd come to each other committed but with no clue what to expect. You'd both lay down your tender ugly first-draft words and sounds, full of humiliating dents and bruises, and she'd see every part of your process as you sweated and chopped and swore your way to something plausibly songlike.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Art doesn't depend on suffering. That's a crock. It's about discipline. Showing up to do the thing you do. It's about watching and listening to the world and telling the truth with your own voice. It's about learning from what other people make, whether it's good or bad. And the most important thing? It's about taking care of yourself. So you can keep making and finishing your shit, for as long as you can.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“I want you back because... I like being with you more than anyone else. And because when I make you laugh I feel like the coolest person on the planet. And because we get each other in like, every possible way, and you don't know that's a huge deal until you grow up and meet a fuckload of people and you realize how rare that is.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“The way she says kiss, it sounds different. Like she invented the word specifically for the song.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Sad songs are not my strong suit. All the songs that have saved my life make you feel like driving with the top down or dancing in your room with your best friend.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Keep smiling, I tell myself. It's all good. That's what my wrist tattoo says and you only ink permanent words on your person if you plan to live by them.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“The threat of failure shouldn't kill the fun of dreaming.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Don't be fooled into thinking that love is special. That it'll fill you up forever. Anyone can fall in love, but only you can make the art you were born for. And that's the kind of happiness that lasts.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Close your eyes. Let a smile as big bright and bold as a disco chorus blaze across your face. Fall in love with the universe and everything in it. See yourself for one moment as the subject of every love song ever written. And as she drifts to sleep beside you, start a brand new song.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“They are kissing—finally, extravagantly, like it's the first thirty seconds of a kissing competition and they can't imagine they'll ever get tired.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Electricity crackles from her lips to mine and I'm stunned it's not visible.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“And yes, okay, I think she's pretty, but so? Lots of people, places and things are pretty. The Mona Lisa is pretty but you don't see me crushing on her.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Time flies when you're fulfilling your ambitions in a completely unexpected way.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Nothing's better for art than a little old-fashioned suffering.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“What she has is effortlessly remarkable, the kind of gift you only feel the weight of if it's something you don't have but dearly want.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“I have no idea how to be an artist and a lover, so I chose the one most likely to make me happy when I'm eighty and gazing back on a long and productive life.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Music is always the first thing I notice when I go someplace new.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B

“Writing catchy pop songs is a super-minor superpower, but it's mine.”
― J.C. Lillis, A&B