Randy Newman
I've worked with a band, and it's nice to have someone to travel around with, but I didn't like it as well on stage.Collection: Travel
It's very hard to get rich and famous at a young age and handle it well.Collection: Famous
I've always had a lot of respect from the people I respected.Collection: Respect
Stay away from drugs. They're not worth it. I've tried, but there's none of them that's worth it.
My music has a high irritation factor. I've always tried to say something. Eccentric lyrics about eccentric people. Often it was a joke. But I would plead guilty on the grounds that I prefer eccentricity to the bland.
I like the idea of taking a true classic written by a true genius and destroying it essentially! I like the idea of bringing it down to earth a bit - and even a bit lower than that.
Thank God for the potholes on memory lane.
I've written a song for Prince. I never showed it to Prince, but just to see if I could do it. At the time, when I sort of knew him, he was recording a song a day. I wondered if I could do that. So I wrote it.
What I'm most pleased about is that there's no particular decline. The songs I wrote 40 years ago are no worse and no better - there's a consistency.
I think the tax cut is ridiculous but so am I.
I am not overlooking any mail. I'm looking at all of it. I even wrote back to the Viagra people.
I once had dinner with Madonna and I wasn't nervous but within about a minute I found myself talking about underwear.
If we'd had another carefree 70's, I'd have been dead. It was a little too carefree, you know? I don't know how carefree they were for me, I think I was worried then, I can't remember what about.
I started recording because I was always complaining about the records that I was getting of my songs. At least if I did them and messed them up, I wouldn't have anyone else to blame.
Learn about the world, the way it works, any kind of science and anthropology, it's really an interesting place we live in. Evolution is a really fantastic idea, even more than the idea of God I think.
I like the performing. And interviews, even. And the stuff that's not sitting in a room by yourself with empty paper. But I never loved writing, to tell you the truth.
I don't remember ever having writer's block. If I sit in there for four hours, I'll usually have something.
Most of my songs are about insensitivity of some kind.
But I don't want to sing everything out of the side of my mouth, I want people to understand what I mean.
Mostly, I don't write overtly personal stuff.
'Rednecks' always made me nervous to play, but I'm glad I wrote it and I continue to play it. It's just that the language is so rough.
But if you're doing something, show up everyday, and something good might happen - it's not going to happen if you don't show up.
It's funny; people get so doctrinaire about music. It should be the last thing you don't have an open mind about.
I always thought my best album was 'Trouble in Paradise.' I was the happiest with that one.
I like Public Enemy a great deal.
I like science - geography, meteorology, cosmology.
I'm pretty proud of my film music in general.
If getting on the radio was a major motivation, I'd be one of the worst writers of all time. I admire people who do it, and I think it's a nice way to work, but I try to do the best I can and write what I like. I don't worry about it.Collection: Motivation
God bless the potholes on Memory Lane.Collection: Memories
You've got troubles, I've got 'em too. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. We'll stick together to see it through cause you've got a friend in me.Collection: Together
People become who they are. Even Beethoven became Beethoven.Collection: People
You keep wondering whether people will see that Barack Obama is a liar and not very bright.Collection: Liars
Writers have always liked my stuff, pretty much. That's what I wanted - I think my goal wasn't to get rich and famous, necessarily, though I cared about that. I always thought, "Oh, this could be a hit," or "that will sell records." But the first thing I wanted was that people who knew a lot about music, or had taste-making qualities, they would like my stuff. Writers, people like that.Collection: Thinking
It's a big surprise to me about America that there are 40 million people prepared to vote for (Trump). They wouldn't want him as a friend. No matter who you are, you wouldn't want him on your bowling team or to have dinner with him or anything. They would recognize it immediately in a guy. A big blowhard, braggart.Collection: Team
Some day you do something where you use everything you know. You don't do it ostentatiously where you see the workings going on. But some day, if you're lucky, that will happen.Collection: Lucky
They don't respect us, so let's surprise them, we'll drop the big one, pulverize them.Collection: Politics
I sit here in this chair, I pour myself some whiskey, and watch my troubles vanish into the air.Collection: Air
You know, they say you can reduce genius to someone who spent 10,000 hours trying to get good at something. I'm not claiming either one of those. I haven't done anything for 10,000 hours but sleep. But you do stuff enough, you get better at it. Usually it's a simple thing like that. Essentially, a brainless endeavor.Collection: Sleep
I've written about a lot of different things, but the whole idea of writing for another character is unusual for pop music... Most of the repertory is love songs, and most of mine isn't. I don't know if that's a mental defect, or shyness, or what.Collection: Song
The belief in the '70s was that music was changing the world. I never believed that it had that great an effect. The effect Madonna had on fashion and sort of mores of young girls was a bigger deal than anything Dylan may have said, even.Collection: Girl
My music has a high irritation factor. I`ve always tried to say something. Eccentric lyrics about eccentric people. Often it was is joke. But I would plead guilty on the grounds that I prefer eccetricity to the bland.Collection: Irritation
The best of my songs are more than just a joke. There's something else going on - a character, or it's not just a plain joke.Collection: Song
I'm dreaming of a white president. Just like the ones we've always had. A real live white man. Who knows the score, how to handle money or start a war. Wouldn't even have to tell me what we were fighting for. He'd be the right man, if he were a white man.Collection: Dream
I like the idea of taking a true classic written by a true genius and essentially destroying it!Collection: Ideas
Asia's crowded and Europe's too old, Africa is far too hot and Canada's too cold. And South America stole our name, let's drop the big one.Collection: Europe
Who would want to break into [the music business]? It's like a bank that's already been robbed.Collection: Want
We'll have a kid or maybe we'll rent one. He's got to be straight, we don't want a bent one.Collection: Family
If we'd had another carefree 70s, I'd have been dead. It was a little too carefree, you know? I don't know how carefree they were for me, I think I was worried then, I can't remember what about.Collection: Thinking
He got drunk last night, kicked Mama down the stairs. But I'm alright, so I don't care.Collection: Family
Short people got no reason to live.Collection: People