M.I.A. Quotes
'Paper Planes' was an accident. It wasn't a song we made for the masses. It took two years to get popular, and there were many fights about censoring the gunshot sounds.
Quotes to Explore
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I close my eyes when I sing so I can feel the song better.
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I read Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Reader's Digest... I read some responsible journalism, and from that, I form my own opinions. I also happen to be intelligent, and I question everything.
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When you're collaborating with somebody, there has to be a spirit of cooperation. There are a lot of times when you just can't persuade someone to write a certain type of song, either musically or lyrically.
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Lebanese mezze, Cantonese dim sum and Basque pinchos have all evolved over years and are designed to make sense together.
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Madonna can still produce a catchy pop song, but she hasn't expanded her artistic vocabulary since the 1990s. Her concerts are glitzy extravaganzas of special effects overkill. She leaves little space in them for emotional depth or unscripted rapport with the audience.
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I tried for years to get an agent because I was told you needed an agent. The agent-hunting process was grim indeed.
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My mom started working at the California Shakespeare Theater in Oakland when I was two years old, so I've always grown up around theater.
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I had auditioned for 'The Vampire Diaries' years ago before 'The Originals' happened, so I was familiar with that mythology.
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I have a whole closet in my house that's dedicated just to jackets and coats, stuff that I've collected over the years.
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I went with Lionel Hampton for three years. Out of that came a trip to Europe.
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After 20 years, a million written words, and nine rejected novels, I finally landed a book contract.
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In all my years of baseball, I have always expected to be traded. I never liked the idea.
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I taught sixth grade for three and a half years.
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I imagine a future with no waste; material innovations have already become exponentially more vast, and I do think the future needs to be cradle to cradle. If designed properly, one product could be used for many years before needing to be recycled, or its components reused.
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I was eight years old when I knew I wanted to be an actress. I slowly started by getting into commercials, and then I was an extra on a TV show. And then the movies happened.
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I think that kids need to grow up watching what I grew up watching - great entertainment; you know, Judy Garland and all these musicals that bring song and dance and acting all together in a polished way.
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The White House New Media team circulates multiple highlights each day of what people are looking for online - Twitter trending topics, popular Google searches, etc. - and it gives us a sense of what's breaking through, what isn't, and a sanity check for what the larger online population cares about at any given time.
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The buzz you get when you're playing a song and everyone is screaming and dancing and what have you and singing along is incredible.
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'Can't Get Closer' I originally recorded in about half an hour, just on my bed with a microphone. I actually re-recorded the song with a cleaner vocal take, but I decided to leave the demo version on there, just because I felt that instant where it was created is what captured the most emotion.
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'Roc The Life' is a song I wrote with The Dream, who made 'Umbrella,' 'Single Ladies' and loads more.
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My work is very popular with performers, and there are theatre people who get what I'm doing and what tradition I'm working in. I'm very grateful to them - they're my people, who understand why I work the way I do.
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Act enthusiastic and you will be enthusiastic.
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Transportation funding is a win-win for everyone involved.
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'Paper Planes' was an accident. It wasn't a song we made for the masses. It took two years to get popular, and there were many fights about censoring the gunshot sounds.
