Bernard Sumner Quotes

One of the biggest misconceptions was, after I left Dream Theater, I went off and did, like, five different bands and side projects. Everyone was like, 'We thought you wanted a break.' And it was like, well, I didn't want a break from making music; I just needed a break from the Dream Theater camp.

All the sounds that I make, I want to make sure there are new stuff. I don't want to follow anyone's path or anything, I want to create my own sound.

Some artists say 'Don't categorize me.' I'm saying 'You can't categorize me.'

I make the kind of music I like.

Cable had a latitude to move which created less censorship and bestowed upon the artists, the writers and the creators, more liberty to create their shows.

Each instrument has something to say to you. It's got its own character. Each horn has its own character and will say to you certain things. If you violate that, it's almost a sacrilege!

I don't see myself as a moviemaker only, you know? When I can do a picture, I do. But I don't work like a business, in pictures. I am not obliged to make one picture after the other in order to live.

I couldn't imagine doing a show where I'd once again have to answer to corporate interests.

It's not my style to be thinking about what a record is while I'm making it: I just write songs.

The cool thing about music is no one can take music away from you, writing wise.

I don't make records that way, where I'm trying to please the marketplace or anything. Not because I have anything against that, it's just never been a part of my aesthetic, even when I was with the Pixies.

There's never any pressure on the music having to be something.

In the past, I tried to be more of a typical session guitarist. I wasn't so concerned with impressing anybody.

You have to open your mind. I like the ability to express myself in a deep way. It's the closest music to our humanity - it's like a folk music that rises up out of a culture.

I felt I never needed to fight for a more prominent songwriting and increased vocal role with the Cars.

We don't need to illustrate music; music illustrates itself.

When I started writing, I just wanted to do something different and creative. I first thought neo-soul was a good pathway for me, so I tried that out but realized I didn't want to be placed in that box.

I think that was the whole idea behind doing the solo record was to be able to do musically whatever I wanted to do.

I believe that, in an ideal world, writers would feel free to write what matters to them without having to consider success, failure, the market, etc.

Yeah; I'm a much better blues player than anybody knows, but being in the kind of group I'm in, we were always trying to make popular records.

They tried to get me to use a pick when I first joined the band. They had certain things they thought were appropriate. I tried to adapt as much as I could.

If you are any competent musician, if you have creative ideas, ideas of songs, of arrangements, in a band like the Stones, where these 2 people do all the things, there is no freedom.

I don't want to have the bounds put on me in terms of mediums.

I never thought of myself as being the singer that wanted to create an identity and then stick to that.

When I first started out in this music industry, I was most concerned with freedom. Freedom to produce, freedom to play all the instruments on my records, freedom to say anything I wanted to.