David Byrne Quotes

When you're a little kid, you just like music that makes you happy and is fun. As you get older, you reach college or your 20s and you decide that music should be challenging and all art should be smart. So you start to think it makes you like high art more to put down things you consider low art. I don't even think things are low art.

There aren't reasons why you like this song or this piece of music, or don't like it. It's just, it's either right or wrong, you know?

Music is only good sometimes.

I don't believe in good music and bad music anymore. I'm through with that phase of my life. Sometimes I just wanna feel good, so I put on a good record. But mostly I'm more of a businessman than a music fan, so I'm listening to music in terms of, is this effective or not effective?

Great music is in the ear of the beholder.

Every one of us has a response of some kind to music, so I don't think it's fair to ever judge what is proper and what's not.

I know music is subjective.

A lot of jazz artists think people should like what they're doing just because it's jazz. I don't buy that.

I'm not the best at choosing what's good and what's bad. I wouldn't even know what's a good pop song and what's a bad one. With that said, I wanted to say what's true to me. Some people might say that the Skrillex record was pop, but that was just about the chemistry between me and my boy.

I listen to music for emotion and I get zero emotion from rap.

I'm not a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen, and it's certainly not because of his politics. I just don't like the aesthetic.

I'm the worst critic about music myself. I hardly ever, ever like something the first time I listen to it.

I'm not gonna sit back and listen to somebody who listens to 3LW all day.

There is a field where all wonderful perfections of microscope and telescope fail, all exquisite niceties of weights and measures, as well as that which is behind them, the keen and driving power of the mind. No facts however indubitably detected, no effort of reason however magnificently maintained, can prove that Bach's music is beautiful.

I've been in love with music since I was old enough to establish my taste.

If you hear a song and you like it, you like it.

For some reason, as a kid, I felt outwardly embarrassed to say that I liked rock music. I don't know where that came from. For me, it just wasn't cool - orchestral music was cool.

I think it's pretty stupid to write off an entire genre of anything. It's one thing to say 'I don't like country music.' But it's pretty narrow minded to say 'All country music sucks.' Of course, that being said, all short-form improv sucks.

If they say they don't like the way I play Beethoven, then I can swallow that, and maybe they're right. But if they don't like what I've written, then it's about me.

I don't ever really feel guilty about music, quite frankly. When you're younger, you think that anything you don't like, you have to hate. I'm so far beyond that perspective. Although, I will say I resent Bruno Mars for making me like him as much as I do. I wish that he wasn't so likeable.

I just don't believe in the old definition that a fan of music is: I find a band, I listen to all of it and I pretend to like stuff that I don't like. Now if I don't like it, I just go, 'I don't like this.' It's way fairer.

I'm a big fan of Lily Allen's music, but I'm not a fan of her personality. I differentiate the two.

I think it's really hard to describe music without alienating somebody.

My faith is super important to me and it is who I am, but I don't ever want my faith to be used to judge me for other decisions that I've made or to have that questioned because that doesn't go over well with me.

I don't really hate a lot of songs, but I think Weezer has put out some songs I really hate because they've also put out a lot of songs I really like.