Negro music and culture are intrinsically improvisational existential. Nothing is sacred. After a decade a musical idea no matter how innovative is threatened.

I listen to crazy robust rock music where they sing their faces off and soul music which can be similar.

People often complain that music is too ambiguous that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear whereas everyone understands words. With me it is exactly the opposite and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words.

In middle school I really didn't have music but in high school I remember taking a lot of choir and drama.

I've loved Michael Jackson his music his music videos.

I was a big fan of Middle Eastern elements of music and experimental electronic and tribal sounds.

I feel like every project I've ever done has had music involved in it somehow.

I think the difficult thing is the transition between TV competition series and going into the actual music industry. There still seems to be a slight disconnect there.

I think Lady Gaga is great and is changing pop music and bringing back a certain rock 'n' roll spirit swagger to the game.

I'm very inspired by past music.

I've sung other people's music all my life.

It's been a transformative period and I really wanted to make music from what I've experienced.

Music is my life professionally for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.

I always preferred to hang out with the outcasts 'cause they were cooler they had better taste in music for one thing I guess because they had more time to develop one with the lack of social interaction they had!

What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz blues country music and so forth. I do them all like a good utility man.

I've programmed myself musically to come up with love-feeling tracks that are romantic sexy but classy all in one. And that's the challenge. Once I create that music then the lyrical content starts to come - you know the stories and things like that.

Music's been around a long time and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record that's the frosting on the cake but music's the main meal.

These seem to me so ambiguous so vague so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words.

Mike Patton is a genius... It is definitely the hardest music I've ever played.

I started writing rhymes first and then put it to the music. I figured out I could lock it to the beat better if I heard the music first. I like to get a lot of tracks put the track up and let the music talk to me about what it's about.

I always want to write erotic music... Not only about the love between men and women but in a much more universal sense - about the sensuality of the mechanism of the universe... about life.

I have a very lively and colourful show. It's two hours of hits and the music speaks for itself.

I remember when I was coming up the music stores where you could get guitar strings was where I got my records from. Now the place where you get your records from is where you can get your DJ mats and your mixers.

I'm a Cancerian the typical crab with the tough outer shell and the soft bit in the middle. I don't think I'll ever come to terms with people being unnecessarily nasty but I can take it if someone doesn't like my music - I'm not everyone's cup of tea.