Keith Richards Quotes
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Songwriting's a weird game. I never intended to become one - I fell into this by mistake, and I can't get out of it. It fascinates me. I like to point out the rawer points of life.
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You know, the BBC had not been particularly generous in its deliverance of blues and esoteric kinds of music.
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One minute I'm standing at Ronnie Scott's getting a standing ovation and the next minute, I'm on a marble slab...
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I've never had inner turmoil about all this. You find a lot of people these days who cannot stand to be alone. You could lock me up in solitary for weeks on end, and I'd keep myself amused.
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There's just certain styles of playing that you do play in your own way. Maybe it's in the way your fingers bend, for all I know. And so whenever you pick up the guitar it's not so much the sound of the instrument itself, it's like the ting that you add onto it-the attitude.
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We age not by holding on to youth, but by letting ourselves grow and embracing whatever youthful parts remain.
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Everybody starts by imitating their heroes. For me it was Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters.
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If you are going to get wasted, then get wasted elegantly.
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What interested me about Chuck Berry was the way he could step out of the rhythm part with such ease, throwing in a nice, simple riff, and then drop straight into the feel of it again. We used to play a lot more rhythm stuff. We'd do away with the differences between lead and rhythm guitar. You can't go into a shop and ask for a "lead guitar". You're a guitar player, and you play a guitar.
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And it was a very, very fruitful and great relationship between the Stones and The Beatles. It was very, very friendly.
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My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow.
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The electric guitar was vital in helping what I've achieved where would I be without it? Playing awfully quietly, for a start.
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Why would you want to be anything else if you're Mick Jagger?
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I like it here in Austin. Anybody got a room?
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But I'm not here just to make records and money. I'm here to say something and to touch other people, sometimes in a cry of desperation: "Do you know this feeling?
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The idea of retiring is like killing yourself. It's almost like Hari Kari. I intend to live to a 100 and go down in history.
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I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police.
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If you're gonna get wasted, get wasted elegantly.
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I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment...it's not what the Stones is about, is it? I don't want to step out on stage with someone wearing a fucking coronet and sporting the old ermine. I told Mick, It's a fucking paltry honour.
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There are certain guys that are band players and there's certain guys that ain't. If there's anybody lazier than me, it's Eric (Clapton).
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There's something beautifully friendly and elevating about a bunch of guys playing music together. This wonderful little world that is unassailable. It's really teamwork, one guy supporting the others, and it's all for one purpose, and there's no flies in the ointment, for a while. And nobody conducting, it's all up to you. It's really jazz__that's the big secret. Rock and roll ain't nothing but jazz with a hard backbeat.
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Guitar is easy, all it takes is 5 fingers, 6 strings and 1 a**hole...
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When you are growing up there are two institutional places that affect you most powerfully: the church, which belongs to God, and the public library, which belongs to you.
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Some of my most outrageous nights- I can only believe actually happened because of corroborating evidence. No wonder I'm famous for partying! The ultimate party- if it's any good- you can't remember it.