Rivers Cuomo Quotes

We're real people and we're a band that's been playing on the scene for a long time. We've made a lot of friends, and one enemy we've always had was the NME. They've always basically slated us and they've basically never ever written about the music.

I was never too keen on the British music press. They've called us a supermarket hype, and they used to suggest that we didn't write our own songs.

I never do releases to try and make or break some contemporary band.

When the band begins to get a name for themselves, and the writers get assigned to bands, they'll hit somebody who just doesn't like that kind of music, or they love hip hop but hate guitar rock.

I always go for 'SPIN' magazine because I'm such a music buff.

It's like they had a backlash the first 11 years. I think the reason why it always seems like there's a backlash is because when bands are unknown, they only get written about by fans.

In the mid-2000s, I kind of accidentally became a music editor.

I don't read a lot of rock magazines for the most part.

What people have to understand is 'Billboard' is a magazine. They're like elected officials - they work for us.

As a journalist, I have wanted very much to find a way to write about the music industry, and it's been frustrating to me that that's never worked out.

I applied for a job on 'Melody Maker' once.

We did reach a wider audience with 'SNL,' but it's hard to know what attracts people to your band in the long run.

I read all the reviews. I remember the first review I ever read about our band was, 'They'll be gone tomorrow; they'll be gone quicker than they came.'

The Internet has essentially democratized the music industry in terms of what is popular and it's democratized the music journalism industry as well.

Critics don't sell records, unfortunately. No one reads what they write anyway.

We got our first significant pieces of press in the 'New York Rocker' from early gigs at CBGB.

Castle Face Records, run by The Oh Sees main man, Johnny Dwyer is always worth checking in with.

I spent most of my 20s playing music. I was in a band, and we worked really hard and did not get very far.

John Peel made his reputation with his radio show and his record label, Dandelion, by championing the underdog.

Everyone loves to complain that there are no real bands on MTV, yet no one wants to step up to the plate and try to change that.

Anyway, you know, when Richard Meltzer said rock and roll died in '68, what he means is Jefferson Airplane were no longer his buddies, that's what he really means. He means it in a political way: that was when the artists and the audience found themselves on different levels.

My mom has every issue of 'Billboard' I've ever been in.

My family had this dream where we would meet producers and songwriters, and it was not what we thought it would be.

I'd been trying to do this since I was 15, sending out the demo tapes and doing all the things that everyone told me that I should be doing. But no deal - like, never.

I assumed no one would ever listen to my music, and for quite a lot of years, I was right.