Zitat des Tages von Billy Joel:
Musicians now find themselves in the unlikely position of being legitimate. At least the IRS thinks so.
When I was a young musician, the only option available to pursue secondary education in music was to attend a classical conservatory.
I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music.
For whatever reason, not all people are born with the particular gift of being able to express ourselves through music. And, believe me, it is a gift.
I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection.
It's really hard to make a living as a musician. It's almost impossible.
I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new, and that is ultimately good for the artist.
If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints - the sinners are much more fun.
When I look at great works of art or listen to inspired music, I sense intimate portraits of the specific times in which they were created.
I definitely prefer being a lover than a fighter.
Historically, musicians know what it is like to be outside the norm - walking the high wire without a safety net. Our experience is not so different from those who march to the beat of different drummers.
I have a theory that the only original things we ever do are mistakes.
I did write a letter to the archdiocese who'd banned the song, Only the Good Die Young, asking them to ban my next record.
I'm a history nut.
My songs are like my kids.
Why do musicians give so much time to charitable causes? The most humanitarian cause that we can give our time to is the creation and performance of music itself.
We are living in a time when American popular music is finally being recognized as one of our most successful exports. The demand is huge.
I can't think of one person I've ever met who didn't like some type of music.
There's nothing better than good sex. But bad sex? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than bad sex.
As human beings, we need to know that we are not alone, that we are not crazy or completely out of our minds, that there are other people out there who feel as we do, live as we do, love as we do, who are like us.
I never said I wasn't going to play any more. I don't know where that came from.
Those who have expressed doubts and misgivings about their ability to live this kind of life shouldn't try, because being a musician is not something you chose to be, it is something you are.
I'm probably writing music now for the same reason as I started writing songs when I was 14 - to meet women.
If you make music for the human needs you have within yourself, then you do it for all humans who need the same things. You enrich humanity with the profound expression of these feelings.
I consider myself to be an inept pianist, a bad singer, and a merely competent songwriter. What I do, in my opinion, is by no means extraordinary.
More than art, more than literature, music is universally accessible.
Have you listened to the radio lately? Have you heard the canned, frozen and processed product being dished up to the world as American popular music today?
The good ole days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.
Don't make music for some vast, unseen audience or market or ratings share or even for something as tangible as money. Though it's crucial to make a living, that shouldn't be your inspiration. Do it for yourself.
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
There's a deep-seated paranoia that Americans have about not being Americans or something.
Most people are satisfied with the junk food being sold as music.
In a way, we are magicians. We are alchemists, sorcerers and wizards. We are a very strange bunch. But there is great fun in being a wizard.
I have been both praised and criticized. The criticism stung, but the praise sometimes bothered me even more. To have received such praise and honors has always been puzzling to me.
I was drawn to boxing because I got beat up as a kid. I was the kid with the piano books in a New York neighbourhood.
