Ben Gibbard Quotes

Music has to change. I don't want to stay the same forever.

I do not think that music keeps evolving. It evolved through Bach; since then, in my humble opinion, all the innovations added nothing.

Music changes, and I'm gonna change right along with it.

There's been a progression in my sound.

Compared to other bands that have gone off the deep end with their sound, you know, I'm very confident. I did not go off the deep end; it just improved.

I can see that if this was an album done 10 or 15 years ago we could see we were moving on to some place else.

If our history can challenge the next wave of musicians to keep moving and changing, to keep spiritually hungry and horny, that's what it's all about.

Music in general is looking for something new overall.

I'm very much a traditionalist, but I think it's important to know about tradition so that you can evolve the music you are deciding to make.

What happened with reggaeton is that many artists kept recycling the same sound. But there are a lot of reggaeton artists that are still in their prime - like Daddy Yankee - because they've chosen to continue growing, to offer people more than just reggaeton. That's where I learned to always be able to try something new and not be afraid.

You could say, 'Oh, we're gonna write the heaviest album of all time' or 'We're gonna write an album that sounds like 'Iowa.'' Even if we set out to try to do so, it would never compare. We're not those people anymore, we're not that band anymore.

Music needs to move forward.

Our music is constantly evolving and changing, and when this band put out an album we always try to offer something different.

The greatest thing about me is I have always been able to reinvent. We have done that about three or four times with my sound.

I think that every band tries to mature their sound through their existence, you know?

Me and Jerry left because we felt we weren't getting anywhere playing our old songs in tiny clubs. The group was getting stale and staying behind the times.

Music has to keep moving. But I was lucky. For me there was always something around the corner.

Like many musicians, I don't look back much... only concentrate on what music I'm doing, and occasionally look ahead.

I would join a band, learn from that band and be committed and passionate and bring my thing to the band. Then, when I felt like we were going to repeat ourselves, and I needed to learn more, I would go somewhere else.

You need the past as a guideline. The history of music is a good basis, but to escape that stuff, that tortuous rulebook, you have to learn it first. It's kind of like religion - once you've written the Bible, that's it, move on.

Our approach makes it so if you hear a said song of ours in 2003 and then you hear it again in 2009 it's probably evolved and changed a good bit, and hopefully for the better.

When Kenny first came to me, I think he was thinking of making a nice little folk record, but in my opinion, folk music had come to an end and I felt he needed to go to the next step, the next generation.

I think there have to be Bachs and Beethovens. We may have - there are so many more people. Musical training is available to so many more, but it may be that we've hit a right wall in terms of accessible styles and since we demand innovation as a criterion of genius, there may not be more innovative styles to be found.

I think music changes and it evolves.

Music is always changing and the changes are unpredictable.