Cross-Cultural Resonance Quotes

Michael Jackson did something that no one else in history has managed - he connected with people on every level imaginable, all over the world. He seemed to speak to people at their very core and achieved the impossible. He reached people on a deep emotional level. And that is what any great artist or showman dreams of doing. That is why Michael Jackson was so special to me.

I think that the best literature has a core that you can't lock to a time or place but that can generate lots of meanings and translations.

The world wants to like America. The guiding values that Thomas Jefferson articulated so eloquently - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - resonate strongly around the world, transcending countless superficial and cultural differences, not because these are American values, but because they are universal values, embedded in the human heart.

In theory I know that if you have a universal theme and a good story told well, it will work everywhere.

I love great music - it has no color, it has no boundaries.

I am from the Bantu people, and Skip James's music sounded like Bantu music and really talked to me.

That's a defining moment, there, when someone plays an instrument that everyone relates to around the planet.

A universal sound is about having everybody be able to relate to it whether you're in New York, LA, London or Australia. You have to be able to universally be brought back to a place where they can relate to you as an artist.

When you write a great song, it just blows you away. When you write a song that connects with people around the world - I mean like it actually transcends language barriers - you see how it can affect people, and it's quite a tall order to follow up on.