Aaron Copland

Inspiration may be a form of super-consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness—I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.

Music that is born complex is not inherently better or worse than music that is born simple.

I would say that a composer writes music to express and communicate and put down in permanent form certain thoughts, emotions and states of being. The resultant work of art should speak to the men and women of the artist’s own time with a directness and immediacy of communicative power that no previous art expression can give.

A great symphony is a man-made Mississippi down which we irresistibly flow from the instant of our leave-taking to a long forseen destination.

I no longer feel the need of seeking out conscious Americanism. Because we live here and work here, we can be certain that when our music is mature it will also be American in quality.

I don’t compose. I assemble materials.

I think Viagra is wonderful if you need it, if you have medical issues, if you’ve had surgery. I’ve just never needed it. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind if there were an anti-Viagra, something with the opposite effect. I’m not bragging. I’m just lucky. I don’t need it.

Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It is a necessary thing to feel. Depression is very different.

If you said you had homosexual tendencies they sent you to a psychiatrist.

And every person can benefit from talking to somebody. I’m the most anti-medication person, but some people need medicine, and there was a time where I needed some too.

We can’t let people down when they can’t get any medical care, when they’re sick and don’t have money to go to a doctor. You help them.

For four to six months at a time, I would barely eat. I lived on a diet of Melba toast, carrots, and black coffee.

Yes. I am mentally ill. I’m not embarrassed about it. And I have written my best work not when flirting with the brink, but when treating my chronic health problem with consistency and care.

I’ll drink water. Sometimes tomato juice, which I like. Sometimes orange juice, which I like. I’ll drink different things. But the Coke or Pepsi boosts you up a little.

It was against my principles and all, but I was feeling so depressed I didn’t even think. That’s the whole trouble. When you’re feeling very depressed, you can’t even think.

The healthy stomach is nothing if it is not conservative. Few radicals have good digestions.

As a teen, I was both anorexic and bulimic.

In the medical community, you would never deny a diabetic his insulin ever. But for some reasons, when someone needs a serotonin inhibitor, they’re immediately crazy or something. And I don’t know, it’s a very interesting double standard that I often don’t have the ability to talk about but I certainly feel no shame about.

It’s not about eating healthy to lose weight. It’s about eating healthy to feel good.

A lot of people undermine their own anxiety because they’re like…nothing’s necessarily going wrong. It just happens and it’s just inside of you and that’s not something you should be ashamed of. It’s justified because it’s happening.

You have good days and bad days, and depression’s something that, y’know, is always with you.