Jon Landau Quotes

For me there are two types of country: There's the shoot-yourself-in-the-head country, and then there's really good country music.

Dance Theatre of Harlem has done a lot of good things well, a lot of good things badly, and a lot of bad things - it doesn't matter how.

I'm really good at writing 'almost hits'.

'None of Your Business.' It's the only Salt-N-Pepa song that I regret.

I can remember - barely - when Elton John was still a good songwriter, or at least capable of writing good songs.

I think every good song tells a story, as ambiguous and vague as it may be. And if you know what a song is talking about, it can only help your performance.

I've written probably over 200 songs that have a verse and a chorus and that's it.

What people really should be able to be confident in is that the standards of music- making that classically trained musicians present is elite, it is the best and all of us as artists should be committed to that.

I just think, certainly for live music it should look as good as it sounds.

I really like Ariana Grande, Jessie J, and Nicki Minaj's song, the 'Bang Bang' song. It's the new 'Lady Marmalade.' So good.

I think Bridge Over Troubled Water was a very good song. Artie sang it beautifully. The Boxer was a really nice record. But I don't think I've written any great songs.

A great song can make a terrible singer sound good, but a good singer - you put a great song on top of that, you're really in great shape!

Egotism is not a good quality. It's not something to be admired or even tolerated. It wouldn't be tolerated in a field commander and it shouldn't be tolerated in a movie director.

I think there's a good pop song in pretty much anything.

When you are a real artist who is serious about your craft, you love good music. Period.

My best album is called In Search Of A Song. That was my best shot right there. My finest hour, as they say. I could listen to the whole thing all the way through. There's nothing really crammed into it.

The Smiths hasn't been equaled. That goes for the composition of the songs, the lyrics, and the performance.

Let me say I was trained at Juilliard. I have a very high standard. I expect everybody around me to work equally as hard because people pay a lot of money for tickets. They demand the best that we have.

Some people might go to the gym and swim laps, but I write songs. Every single day, I write something new and record it.

'Queen of Hearts' is one I'm really proud of because I worked so hard on it, and then I was told it wasn't good enough to be included on an Allman Brothers album. That directly led me to go into the studio and cut 'Laid Back,' my first solo release. So 'Queen of Hearts' is special to me.

When I think of the future, I think a lot of Quincy Jones and how he is an inspiration. Look at the quality of his work over so many years. He didn't even make his best record, 'Thriller,' until he was 50. That gives me something to look forward to. Nothing pulls you back into the studio more than the belief that your best record is still ahead.

A lot of times songs are very much of a moment, that you just encapsulate. They come to you, you write them, you feel good that day, or bad that day.

My love was Bob Dylan, but as I got older I realized a good ballad was a good ballad.

I don't do concept records anymore - I just prefer doing good songs.

I really love hip hop. My cousin Nas came out with an album 'Life Is Good,' and I love that album, but I also love Maroon 5.