Alanis Morissette

A good man often appears gauche simply because he does not take advantage of the myriad mean little chances of making himself look stylish. Preferring truth to form, he is not constantly at work upon the facade of his appearance.

To me the biggest irony of this lifetime that I’m living is that for someone who thrives in the public eye in the creative ways that I do, I actually don’t enjoy being in the public eye.

The more vulnerable and the more confused the song is, the equal and opposite effect is how I feel after having written it.

I still indulge in a glass of wine or chocolate – treats are mandatory. Without deviating from the day-to-day healthy diet once in a while, it wouldn’t be sustainable for me, and that’s what I wanted: an approach to eating to last my entire life.

As a teen, I was both anorexic and bulimic.

I’ll be writing songs till I die. There’s just no question.

When you know the lyrics to a tune, you have some kind of insight as to it’s composition. If you don’t understand what it’s about, you’re depriving yourself of being really able to communicate this poem.

So What or Kind of Blue were done in that era, the right hour, the right day. It’s over; it’s on the record.

Music is born out of the inner sounds within a soul.

Jazz will endure just as long people hear it through their feet instead of their brains.

First I was working on classical music that didn’t move me at all. I hated it. So I decided to discover the kinds of classical music that did move me—like Chopin, Satie, Beethoven, and certain Mozart songs. Mozart would play a counterpart with his left hand while using his right to mock it. It was blue, dark, shadowy and it made me feel something. That’s when I realized music was inside me.

I guess what everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved. And to know that you loved me for my singing is too much for me. Forgive me if I don’t have all the words. Maybe I can sing it and you’ll understand.

I never believed in a set routine. It should depend on how you feel, because you play what you feel.

I have younger friends who don’t work and they aren’t doing so well. My secret is to keep going, keep working.

Knowledge speaks, wisdom listens.

I remember Elvis as a young man hanging around the Sun Studios. Even then, I knew this kid had a tremendous talent. He was a dynamic young boy. His phraseology, his way of looking at a song, was as unique as Sinatra’s. I was a tremendous fan, and had Elvis lived, there would have been no end to his inventiveness.

You don’t want to play like B. B. King. You want to be you. So what you do is listen to players you like, and try to “borrow” a little bit from each guy. You don’t try to sound exactly like the other guy, you just add the bits to your vocabulary. It’s like learning to read or write.

I’m no good with chords. I’m horrible with chords.

Miles Davis is one who writes songs when he plays.

I’ll always write music. Whether I release a record, whether I let the public hear it or not, I’m always writing music.

I wasn’t so interested in being paid. I wanted to be heard. That’s why I’m broke.