Ryuichi Sakamoto Quotes

My dad's music was a great inspiration to me.

The Beatles never sounded intimidated by their idols. They never interpreted old rock; they simply played it as well and as joyfully as they knew how. On 'Rock 'n' Roll,' John Lennon does nothing but interpret old rock.

I'm not a culture snob. So while, of course, I think the Mozart 'Requiem' or, say, Beethoven's 'Ninth' are some of the greatest works of art in the history of humankind, that's not to say the Beatles or Queen or Simon and Garfunkel aren't brilliant, beautiful, important works of art that should be sung without a sense of irony.

Music has influenced everything from my tattooing to how I talk to how I walk, I guess. I was classically trained in piano since I was 6. Then in my teens, my older sister introduced me to Metallica. It was all over. I had a mohawk soon after that.

I've always had a close connection to both rock and classical music.

Music was around in my family in two ways. My mother would occasionally sing to me, but I was mostly stimulated by the classical music my father had left behind. I had an ear for music, I suppose, so that's what began my interest in music.

Since I was a kid, music has been a huge part of my life. My parents had a pretty solid vinyl collection and exposed me to some amazing artists.

I'm not trying to emulate or imitate. But I do believe that I embody that spirit from Robert Johnson on up.

I've had so many different influences musically, even from people who aren't even musicians. If you're inspired by someone and you document it musically, then they are your influence.

I didn't grow up with classical music. My father was a folk music singer.

I have been influenced by music. I grew up listening to blues, jazz and all.

I leave everyone to have their own opinions of my music and my influence - or not - on others.

I think jazz is the foundation for a lot of great musicians, and then after that, you know, it's this broad expression of things that really have influenced and addressed your life.

The real Brahms is nothing more than a sentimental voluptuary

I think music gives so much inspiration. I listen to all kinds of music: pop, hip-hop, everything. I also love classical music.

In fact, the influence of Schoenberg may be overwhelming on his followers, but the significance of his art is to be identified with influences of a more subtle kind - not the system, but the aesthetic, of his art. I am quite conscious of the fact that my Chansons madécasses are in no way Schoenbergian, but I do not know whether I ever should have been able to write them had Schoenberg never written.

My father was a classical pianist, and my mother was a singer of just about everything.

What is music about? You can't listen to one era, one composer, and know what music is about.

Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record, that's the frosting on the cake, but music's the main meal.

My father, a mining engineer and colliery manager, gave his brood many advantages not least of which, for me, was his love of singing which gave music a central place in our lives.

My voice and the styles and genres I sing all express my appreciation for what I hear.

I have loved music so much from when I was little, and I don't know whether it was because I saw my dad doing it and then I got the idea; I don't know what came first... But I always had a hairbrush in the mirror singing. I was always with him backstage; I would go out and be pulled in for the last song.

I try to steal something from the great singers. Of course, I don't want to imitate their sound, but I try to do a sort of compromise.

I feel that through my father's music I've found my own voice in my own playing.

It's like my parents' musical tastes are the mother and father of my music. It's their fault for making me so emotional and in tune with my emotions!