“People in the business always say, "You look fabulous." You get that all the time and it kind of goes in one ear and out the other because most of the time they just say that to make you feel good. It's nice when you hear it from an ordinary person and then I appreciate it.”

“It's not what he says, it is how he says it that is making the difference. He doesn't scream at you, he doesn't embarrass you when you make a mistake. He just looks at you, and you get the message. Then when the time is right, he'll talk to you calmly and explain what he wants.”

“Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know that this is the moment you most need to make time to relax.”

“I think that I say those things that make people so angry, not because I really mean them, but because I simply thought of a clever way to say them. It's a kind of art, to think of the perfect way to say an idea, and when you think of it then you have to say it, because words don't exist until you say them."
"A pretty feeble kind of art, Nyef, and I say you should give it up before it gets you killed.”

“If you could just ravel out into time. That would be nice. It would be nice if you could just ravel out into time”

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.”

“And I want to be there when you're coming down / And I want to be there when you hit the ground
Don't go away / Say what you say / Say that you'll stay… because I need more time just to make things right
Damn my education / I can't find the words to say
Me and you, what's going on?/All we seem to know/Is how to show, the feelings that are wrong”

“Sometimes if you go to see a very, very, happy movie, a Hollywood movie, you can walk out of the movie and feel very depressed because it's so false. And other times you see a very depressing movie and it makes you feel good, happy because you've seen something real. You've seen something that talks to you and says that your bad feelings are legitimate. And then you can go further with that and say, "Well, this bad feeling is good, and this good feeling is bad, but is it good to feel bad and is it bad to feel good?" I'm concerned with feelings. And sometimes when I feel good, I'll write something very negative because I have the strength to do it. But when I really, really feel very bad, what I want to do is make myself feel better, so I'll write something happier.”

“I've missed you too! A lot of people have been wondering where I have been, and it's not very exciting news, and it's not very good news, it's just that I've been very ill. I've been very sick for a while and still trying to get better, slowly but surely…. Anyway, I was so overwhelmed —
Overwhelmed,
by all the
nice things you
folks said to me!
It was so nice to read everything that everyone was saying, and very, very sweet. I appreciate all the — oh, it made me cry, and — and it was just so nice, and I wanted to say a big 'Thank you!' to everyone for being so supportive and so nice to me…. I will be back in full swing, as much as I can, when I can, and in the mean time, I miss you all very, very much.”

“A scratch is nothing but the back-cueing that you hear in your ear before you push it out to the crowd. All you have to know is mathematically how many times to scratch it and when to let it go — when certain things will enhance the record you're listening to. For instance, if you're playing a record with drums--horns would sound nice to enhance it so you get a record with horns and slip it in at certain times.”