I did a lot of writing for a lot of different kinds of bands that I was in and out of during those five years and that left me with a little body of songs that I liked better when I played alone, so I ended up going out solo and very soon made my first album.
The way I write my songs is that I have to believe what I'm writing about, and that's why they always end up being so personal - because the kind of artists I like, they convince me, they totally win me over straight away in that thing. Like, 'Oh my God, this song is totally about me.'
I don't feel I have to write deep and meaningful songs; they can be light and meaningless. It has to do with the place I am in my life, a really good place.
The reason we did 'Land of a Thousand Dances' and 'Gloria' on 'Horses' was because I liked repetitious, three-chord rock songs, but I didn't understand that I could write my own. I didn't realize that you could use those chords a million times.
I need a big picture. I can't just do a collection of songs; that doesn't work for me.
Now, we are selling over 5 million songs a day now. Isn't that unbelievable? That's 58 songs every second of every minute of every hour of every day.
I think a lot of my fans are anxious for more than just my singles. They know I'm a dreamer. They know I'm someone who is real spiritual. I love to have fun, and I always have fun songs - songs you can party to. But I also always have songs you can live to, that when you're depressed, it may lift your spirits up.
There's so much talk about the drug generation and songs about drugs. That's stupid. They aren't songs about drugs; they're about life.
I knew that collaborating on songwriting would be difficult for a lot of people, because I was known very much, for my independence and the fact that I wrote these quirky songs that were not typical structure, not typical sound - you know, really original stuff.
I don't like to make fluffy little songs, but now I want to make some light songs.
'Rather Be' and 'Real Love' are two of the most fun songs to perform; they're such feel-good tracks. 'Rather Be,' especially - I've sung it so many times, but I'm still not bored of it.
I've never been good at rock'n'roll songs, anyway; either I'm blessed or I'm cursed, but whatever I write comes out sounding old.
I'm always in that mode - whenever I have a little free time, I'm always recording songs, writing, whatever I gotta do. It's like my job is my vacation.
The biggest thrill you can have is to tell people one of your songs, and have them be able to hum it.
It's pretty amazing to write under any circumstances when someone gives you an assignment to write a song, even if it doesn't get accepted. I've written songs a couple of times, some for Disney, that haven't actually ended up in their films, but then you're left with a song forever.
The skit was very successful based on the applause. After that show, the three of us decided to get together and try and come up with some songs that we could all participate in.
We are so proud of 'Unconditional'. I couldn't have been more honest in these songs, and I can't wait to see the impact they have. This record is exactly what it's supposed to be.
'The Beatles' did whatever they wanted. They were a collection of influences adapted to songs they wanted to write. George Harrison was instrumental in bringing in Indian music. Paul McCartney was a huge Little Richard fan. John Lennon was into minimalist aggressive rock.
I stay way from that area, and there's only so many songs you can write about love, sex and death.
I fell in love with singing, and through singing, I learned how to write songs. Anything you're consistent with and that you do all the time, you're gonna reap benefits off it at one point. You're not gonna get worse!
I'm not a very spiritual guy when it comes to music. I remember hearing Carlos Santana say that angels helped him write his songs. And I thought, 'Really, angels?'
A lot of my albums that I've done, a lot of the songs have been the first take. It's before you mess with it too much - you can take away all the spontaneity and the emotion of something by trying to make it sound perfect.
I can think of only two or three songs out of hundreds I've recorded that I performed as originally written. I like to become intimate with the material and change it to suit me.
Songs suffer at the mercy of the performer.
It's funny; Luther and I have written many songs together, but we've never written songs in the same room.
Maybe out of the fifty top Beach Boys songs, I was probably the co-writer and singing lead on forty of them.
If people had good albums, they'd be buying albums. But people are buying singles because they only have good songs.
I never thought of having platinum albums and winning awards. I just wanted to write songs and sing when I started out in the music business.
Lyrically and thematically, the title 'Doctor Faith', that song is about therapy, psychotherapy, and that song is about emotions and personal insight. I think all the songs on the record sort of go along with that.
The bigger your songs get, the bigger the festivals you play at will be, until you make it to Ultra. It happened super quick for me. I'm still in shock, actually. I have to pinch myself a lot.
When my dad died a lot of songs came, and they're still coming.
Danny and I wrote 10 songs in seven days, which I thought might be close to the record until you probably look at some of the Beatles statistics.
Then I decided I couldn't just crawl in the corner and die, so I started putting pen to paper and wrote some songs. I had no idea what for or who I was going to work with. I tried to find my way and direction.
Yes, all my songs come from personal experience and relationships.
The bands that wrote the big, heroic rock songs - I really wanted to make a record like that.
Ozzy wanted to get us back together. It's been 20 years. We did a couple of songs during his farewell in 1992 and that got the ball rolling.
