Patrick Stump Quotes

I work really hard on the shows and I think the shows speak for themselves. I don't want to construct the show to prove something.

I've never believed in cheapening music by going according to what some people think is public taste.

I've never written one note or word of music simply because I think it will make money.

Any band that is out there chasing it is doing more destruction to music then someone who is out there playing what they truly feel.

I think the key to making records generally is to make 'em for yourself, regardless of the climate in the business.

I don't pay much attention to the press. My films always get good reviews and bad reviews. I just try to make the best film I can.

Writing a song to be a single is hard, and I don't like to focus on that because you can get caught up in making something just terrible, which is really easy to do if you're focused on making it a single. It's more fun when you focus on what excites you musically.

My role is to just tell the highest degree of truth with every character and every story. From there, I have no clue whatsoever how things are going to turn out.

Despite whatever commercial kind of success you might have or radio success, I don't want to do something just to get as many people as possible to listen.

When I write a book... it's the same essential approach to music as with books. It has to be something I want to hear or read. Hopefully the audience comes along, since that's the only way you can write righteously. I have to ask, 'What do I want to hear?' not 'What do people want to hear?'

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.

If you want to be a legitimate artist, it's more important what you say no to.

As an artist, the most important thing and the most special thing is when your intention shines through on the work.

All through the kind of late '80s and '90s, every A&R record company man was saying, 'Now what we want is another record like 'Back in the High Life.' And, of course, that's not the way to make music at all. That's the tail wagging the dog.

When you sit down to write something, there should be no guidelines. The main idea is not supposed to be, 'How many different ways can we sell it?' That's so far away from the true spirit of what music is.

I suppose we'll make money off our album and our singles and stuff, but, like, they were made as we wanted them, exactly with what we had to say, and done exactly how we wanted them, right? And, like, we didn't put them out to make money. We put them out because we wanted to do them, do you know what I mean?

I'm worried a lot of our work day as artists is a producer's creation - not an artist's creation.

I wanted to create a body of work that I was proud of. It's come from honesty and integrity, without forcing anything from myself, the ideas had to come instinctively and organically. Whether that translates to people in that way, it's kind of out of my hands now.

I can never think about, 'Is this going to sell? Is this going to work on radio?' I just have to get in the zone where I'm like, 'Do I love this, or do I not love this?' Essentially it all comes down to that.

I'd love more production houses to encourage artists to create what they want and not just churn things out.

When we were writing for Panic whether we knew it or not, having that name over the songs we were trying to do made me second guess things and change things. I started to go against my instincts.

I'm not gonna ever announce that I'm going to do an album again. Waking up with that on your head almost doesn't allow you to make the best album you can.

I just follow what inspires me as an artist and a storyteller, and stay true to myself in my work.

As a creative individual, I really go out of my way to avoid the corporate scene in terms of songwriting. If the first question is how much money is it going to make, I'm going to be in trouble anyway.

There's a difference between making the music for a check vs. what you think you should be doing artistically and creatively.