Home > Author > Jay Reatard
1 " I really don't think records should be made in the manner where you sit and write, and when you're finished writing, you start recording. That just seems conventional and old-fashioned to me. "
― Jay Reatard
2 " I refuse to write out lyrics for any of my domestic releases. I remember when I was 11 or 12 years old and I would listen to a song over and over and I would make up my own lyrics because I couldn't understand what they were saying. And later when I got the internet I googled the lyrics: What was he really saying? "
3 " In a live environment, the more bodies you put in a room, the more energy there will be. That's a real big payoff. That's really important, the live show, it's a big cycle of energy. If the audience is boring, it's tough to get excited about it. "
4 " It takes ten times longer to get rid of your reputation than it does to make it. "
5 " A single is really quick, man. You can get it out, and in two months have it on your merch table. And albums can take a really long time. But when you get done with an album, it's a lot more fulfilling. "
6 " During the writing process, I tend not to listen to too much music. I obviously wear a lot of influences on my sleeve, but if I was listening to too many records, I would turn into too much of a monkey. "
7 " My favorite songs are songs that create moods, rather than ideals. "
8 " I think there's a lot more freedom in doing the solo thing. It's almost like switching bands every time I do an album. Once this fourth one is out, I think it's going to be apparent that every record is not going to be the same. "
9 " I'd rather be half-assed at a hundred things than a virtuoso at one. "
10 " I was tossed into this place, I'll be tossed out, and all the stuff in between is a big fuckin' fight. "
11 " There was a moment when I was getting death threats and bullshit via the Internet, so I was being a little more conscious and reading local message boards before going to certain towns, just to see if people were making bullshit idle threats on the Internet. "
12 " I try to listen to a lot of music when I'm in the mixing process of a record, when I'm in post-production and trying to get everything to sound a certain way. "
13 " If I wouldn't have found music, I'm sure I would have been a petty criminal. "
14 " What I'm about is not being comfortable with the world. "
