Bernard Sumner Quotes

I think everything Joni Mitchell did for music was big.

My lifelong friend and mentor Frank Barsalona is gone. And the music business as we knew it went with him.

Music is a huge part of my life and something I enjoy very much. I wanted to use my platform to share and promote the talented, undiscovered artists I listen to every day with a wider audience.

Smokey Robinson is one of my heroes as a singer and songwriter; a major influence on my own music from the very start.

Because I was in Atlanta, people didn't realize I'm one of the real forefathers in the game.

The first music I ever got into was the '80s alternative bands that my brother listened to, like The Cure and The Smiths and R.E.M. and Fugazi. I can remember specifically saying The Cure was my favorite band back in second grade.

In the high-stakes and elitist world of music collecting and fandom, we operate from an ab ovo perspective. The seed, the first incarnation - that is the most pure, the most lauded. Minutemen trumps Firehose, Throwing Muses beats Belly, Joy Division over New Order, Operation Ivy ruled Rancid, Undertones instead of That Petrol Emotion.

Don Cornelius was a genius. He created a show where he was breaking artists' songs. If you were on his show, he made the consumer want to go out and purchase your music. He will be greatly missed. If they ever try to recreate what he did, it has to been done right, authentic and real with soul! That's what Don displayed.

Lemmy is, I think, for anybody in the world of rock n' roll - you don't have to be a bass player - he is a pioneer, and he was true to his music and also the lover of a lot of different styles of music.

I love Dilla, and who knows where this beat thing would be without him.

I've never been a mega-star. I'm more of a tastemaker of hip-hop. I try to be more of an ambassador for the era of hip-hop that I came in.

Louie Vega was a huge influence on me.

I love Nirvana, Joy Division, and New Order - older alternative, I guess.

I want the biggest artist of 2030, 2027 or even 2025 to say, 'I was inspired by Cordae. Cordae is the reason I make music.'

Being world's champion is what I set out in life to do. I'm one of the few people on earth that can say they completed, in every aspect, what they wanted to do with their life.

I like stuff like Joy Division and Verdi, and then some naff stuff.

My brother came home from college with a Mountain Goats cassette and I was like, 'What is this?' The lyrics were crazy to me. I'd never heard anything like it.

I really love Death Cab.

I was pretty sheltered growing up. I just started getting into heavier music with the Tooth & Nail/Solid State era, which really kind of brought this whole thing to life for me, so I am really thankful for that label.

I have a beautiful collection of albums and try to frequent record stores.

My dad would play 'The Blue Album' a lot, the first Weezer album, and that influenced my alternative indie thing and that's kind of how I found tons and most of my favorite bands.

Erykah Badu - she's timeless, that's my second mom.

I'm on my own when I say this, but I'm one of the few people that think that 'Everybody Loves Raymond' is better than 'Seinfeld.'

I really liked punk music and experimental music that my brother was taking me to go see in the city, when I was probably, like, 13 years old. I was seeing a lot of teenagers making 'weird' music, and I think that was probably a big part of the reason that I actually started to play myself.

You never know: the next DJ Snake, the next Skrillex, the next big DJs might wait outside of the club. You gotta give back and listen to the next generation and show some love.