To play music, you have to understand it. I didn't understand 'Topographic Oceans.' That's why I hardly played on it. It frustrated me no end - and playing the whole thing on tour, I got farther and farther away from it.
I just can't read music.
Few people will appreciate the music if I just show them the notes. Most of us need to [hear it].
I was born understanding the language of music.
A lot of people don't listen to the lyrics, really.
I don't like most world music because you need to know what the words are to really understand it.
I'm not very good at picking stuff up off the radio. It takes me way too long to learn other people's music.
For me, jazz is an understanding of music, rather than an end in itself.
I have tried to make the music a bit easier for them to understand.
I hate not understanding the words, because it kind of squashes the song. It shrinks the visual landscape that you've made for the sounds. And, all of a sudden, the content eclipses things.
