Song Quotes
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When making the first album, I think I wrote a song about every six months. The first album was so much about the vocals carrying it.
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I like people that can strap on a guitar and don't sweat the fact that you have to come up with a song in an hour. I want to work with someone who won't feel like they have to play along with Jason Molina. I want them to just have the confidence.
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But, in fairness to them, too, the popular song per se is really a pretty shallow medium to perform in.
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I'm not good at happy, lightweight kind of music. I'm not really good at pop music. 'Cars' is probably the only true pop song I ever wrote. I wish I could write more, but I'm not very good at it.
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Many people say some of their best ideas come from dreams. Arguably the greatest Beatles song, 'Yesterday,' came to Paul McCartney in a dream.
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I'm intrigued by what video can do. It can endear you to a song that might pass your ears otherwise. You remember interesting imagery. It can change your perspective.
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Once I release a song, it's not just about me or the people... I write about. They're my stories, but they're not really mine any more.
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Just Enough Soil for legs Axe for hands Flower for eyes Bird for ears Mushrooms for nose Smile for mouth Songs for lungs Sweat for skin Wind for mind.
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Touring we thought was a waste of time. It was much more productive and much more creative to write and record. I am glad today that we didn't tour. We knew it begins and ends with a song. Back then the entire business revolved around the song.
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I like to have songs with me that have substance. That's missing from a lot of today's music. You might hear a song with a catchy beat, but what's it about? It's not empowering or helping anyone.
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I think there are some songwriters who are just brilliant who can write and then I think there are some songwriters who can like me I have a problem writing chorus lyrics but I can write a song in a story like that.
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I source images and ideas from different parts of my experiences, and sometimes they are things that are made-up, or just appear out of nowhere, like out of a dream or an image that I've seen in a book, or even the title of a book that I'm staring at on a shelf. It's a good way to write songs, just stare at a bookshelf!
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It's really cool when, in every genre of music, you can listen to a song and know what era it was from.
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'A Pirate Looks at 40,' we had to do that song. I've been covering that forever.
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This never happens, but I was writing with my friend Ryan Hurd and Eric Arjes, and we wrote this song called 'Last Turn Home.' The next day, my publisher emailed it to Tim McGraw's label. He listened to it, and I think within the week, he went into the studio and recorded it. And that never happens.
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If, on the other hand, the groups of underdeveloped countries, lured by the siren song of the vested interests of the developed powers which exploit their backwardness, contend futilely among themselves for the crumbs from the tables of the world's mighty, and break the ranks of numerically superior forces … our efforts will have been to no avail.
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I don't think any artist really knows why a song gets popular.
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I love a good old-school reggaeton song.
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I know I get a real kick, an emotional charge, out of playing a song I haven't played for 10 years. It just takes you back to that point in your life.
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I really like working with unique and unknown artists, as they usually bring something fresh to a song.
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I'd love to have a Christmas classic under my belt. It's hard to write a Christmas song.
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Each song has its own life.
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I'm so absolutely pro-Denver. I wrote a fake hip-hop song about Denver. I've been claiming Denver. Part of the joke of the song is nobody was really claiming Denver - no rappers, no comedians.
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I remember I was at a press conference where somebody came up to me with absolute confidence, like he knew me forever, and whispered in my ear, 'You should sing a song now. The Indian audience will enjoy it. Your songs will improve India and Pakistan's relations.' I clarified to him that I wasn't Ali Zafar.
