Quotes by David Byrne

“To shake your rump is to be environmentally aware.”

“As I define it, rock and roll is dead. The attitude isnt dead, but the music is no longer vital. It doesnt have the same meaning. The attitude, though, is still very much alive -- and it still informs other kinds of music.”

“Personally, being somewhat envious of Richards songwriting and guitar playing, its somewhat satisfying hes not yet achieved household-name status. It serves him right for being so good.”

“Consumers now clearly want copper-fastened guarantees that these controls are being implemented,”

“It is the price which must be paid to restore public confidence in our commitment to protect public health.”

“This is a major breakthrough that will provide consumers with much needed protection and rights,”

“I expect that we will achieve consensus on Monday,”

“There may be some amendments here or there, but as long as the proposal that has been announced remains substantially intact, I will be happy.”

“very foolish to underestimate the potential for the disease to spread.”

“The consumers trust has been eroded and the EU must restore public confidence in its food science and controls,”

Sometimes its a form of love just to talk to somebody that you have nothing in common with and still be fascinated by their presence.

I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe--but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldnt be surprised if poetry--poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs--is how the world works. The world isnt logical, its a song.

I wouldnt be surprised if poetry - poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs - is how the world works. The world isnt logical; its a song.

Its a bit like sympathetic magic in a way: the usual Western presumption that primitive rituals mimic what they desire to achieve--that phallic objects might be believed to increase male potency and playacting rainfall might somehow bring it about. I am suspicious of such obvious connections and I suspect that the connections among things, people, and processes can be equally irrational. I sense the world might be more dreamlike, metaphorical, and poetic than we currently believe--but just as irrational as sympathetic magic when looked at in a typically scientific way. I wouldnt be surprised if poetry--poetry in the broadest sense, in the sense of a world filled with metaphor, rhyme, and recurring patterns, shapes, and designs--is how the world works. The world isnt logical, its a song.

Complete freedom is as much curse as boon; freedom within strict and well-defined confines is, to me, ideal.

In musical performances one can sense that the person on stage is having a good time even if theyre singing a song about breaking up or being in a bad way. For an actor this would be anathema, it would destroy the illusion, but with singing one can have it both ways. As a singer, you can be transparent and reveal yourself on stage, in that moment, and at the same time be the person whose story is being told in the song. Not too many kinds of performance allow that.

I like a good story and I also like staring at the sea-- do I have to choose between the two?

You might say that the universe plays the blues.

Presuming that there is such a thing as progress when it comes to music, and that music is better now than it used to be, is typical of the high self-regard of those who live in the present. It is a myth. Creativity doesnt improve.

In the early days, I might have gotten on stage and begun to sing as a desperate attempt to communicate, but now I found that singing was both a physical and emotional joy. It was sensuous, a pure pleasure, which didnt take away from the emotions being expressed—even if they were melancholic. Music can do that; you can enjoy singing about something sad.