When you hear the first five seconds to a song and you've…

I have a whole life in New York and a life in L.A. and to live one-third of the year in a place that…

— Kerry Bishe

I think that if everybody changed and tried to make their music political, it'd be kind of a bummer.

— Jack Johnson

I always want to have time to experiment, and have transitional things, and have these weird non-songs, but usually the stuff I'm working on…

— Aaron Dessner

Portishead's production is just insane beats you would expect to be on a KRS-One album. But then there's this little white girl with an…

— Anders Holm

I don't know if any genuine, meaningful change could ever result from a song. It's kind of like throwing peanuts at a gorilla.

— Tom Waits

A song kind of comes out of anywhere. A song will come out of the sky, or an idea, or walking around, or playing…

— Mike McCready

I feel like a good song is one that ticks all the boxes, but a great song is one that has this kind of…

— Thomston

The best way to write a song is to think of something else and then the song kind of creeps in.

— John Prine

You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my…

— Joni Mitchell

Early on I realized when you write a song about someone, it flatters them on some level, and gives you a lot of room…

— Nick Cave

Any time you write a song, you kind of know what you want from it. You know what you're getting from it.

— Grace Potter

The best way to write a song is to think of something else and then the song kind of creeps in. The beginning makes…

— John Prine

I think one of the coolest things that you can do with music is when it sounds a certain way and can be kind…

— Declan McKenna

Writing a song is almost like cheating-writing because you don't have to finish your sentences, you don't have to use any punctuation, no one's…

— Mirah

I basically just write stream of consciousness to a certain extent. I let the song kind of go where it wants to go.

— Julia Holter