Moon Unit Zappa Quotes

It does not matter how badly you paint so long as you don't paint badly like other people.

I don't want ever to be guilty of what my critics claim: doing formula without original elements.

I didn't follow the standard rules of bass playing, and many musicians on many different instruments who became noteworthy for their unique or particular style did a very similar thing.

The biggest lesson I learned from my dad is to support children even if they're doing something that is unorthodox.

I didn't want to be like everybody else. Art was my religion.

I always thought I'd look corny in the type of rap video in the club with girls and all that type of stuff. I just didn't think I could really pull that off. We always think it's more fun and better just to go outside the box and to use our videos to show cool concepts.

My route is a little bit nontraditional. A lot of the people working in Nashville, they have a model. I don't really fit into that.

Prince Paul's one of my teachers. He's always been one of my main inspirations as far as interludes go and getting a little quirky at times.

For a guy who didn't expect a fan base whatsoever, I'm pretty stoked. People say they don't understand it, and I say that's okay. I don't think anyone can argue that I'm not trying to do my own thing at least.

I have the instincts of a minstrel rather than those of a scrivener. There you have it. We are not of the same trade at all and so how can your rules fit me?

I'm glad [Ornette Coleman] is such an individualist. I like the firmness of thought and purpose that goes into what he's doing, even though I don't always like to listen to it. It's like living in a house where everything's painted red.

It's time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. Stop settling for what's good enough and start creating art that matters.

The thing about hip-hop is they always want to classify you as one particular artist, but hip-hop is about going outside the box and expressing yourself however you want to.

If you think a man draws the type of hands that you want to draw, steal ‘em. Take those hands.

All art is based on non-conformity.

Trust your creativity.

When you really do feel like an alien, and you really do feel like a space creature, and you really do feel you want to experiment and dress up and be different every day, to find what looks best but never stick to one thing... Just the fact that that was offered to those kids during that time is pretty remarkable.

Try to keep the rebel artist alive in you, no matter how attractive or exhausting the temptation.

I feel an obligation to myself to entertain myself and if other people get something out of it, I'm like, right on.

Sam Phillips always encouraged me to do it my way, to use whatever other influences I wanted, but never to copy...if there hadn't been a Sam Phillips, I might still be working in a cotton field.

I had a really small role (playing goddess Aphrodite), and I was only working for just over a week with Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson. I'd done a few short films before and thought acting was really creative, but when I worked with those guys, I was just like: "Wow!" They had such fun and freedom. They were trying things and stretching themselves. It was so inspiring that I was like: "I definitely want to do this!"

I am an artist who's just tryin' to do something different, and basically not caring about everybody's opinions and wanting to follow what everybody else is doing. At the same time, I know when to be serious, but I know when to joke.

It's basically against the whole idea of what always made rock&roll music interesting to me. I thought it was an unassailable outlet for some pure and natural expressions of rebellion. It was one channel you could take without havin' to kiss ass, you know? And right now it just seems like they're on a big daisy chain, each kissin' each other's asses.

A writer or painter cannot change the world. But they can keep an essential margin of nonconformity alive.

Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want. The idea of the rigid style seemed to me then something you needn't concern yourself with, it would trap you.