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Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) -

"Punk is musical freedom. It's saying, doing, and playing what you want. In [Merriam-] Webster's terms, 'nirvana' means freedom from pain, suffering, and the external world, and that's pretty close to my definition of Punk Rock."

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Chris Martin -

"I just want to make the best music of all time with my best friends."

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Shakira -

"The worst frustration for a singer is choosing a career in making music and then not being able to make music because you're always giving interviews."

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Snoop Dog -

"I love making music and I'm falling in love with making records, so it's like having two girlfriends. But I can handle it."

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Lady Gaga -

"When you make music or write or create, it's really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you're writing about at the time."

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Elvis Presley (1935–1977) -

"I don't know anything about music. In my line [of work] you don't have to."

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Taylor Swift -

"I would love to continue in music, with writing... but I am not the kind of person who will hang around if I start to become irrelevant. If that happens, I will bow down gracefully, raise my kids, and have a garden. And I am going to let my hair go gray when I'm older. I don't need to be blonde when I'm 60!"

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Johnny Rotten -

"Music can describe emotions far more accurately than words ever can. As soon as I realized that, I knew music was where I wanted to be."

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Elton John -

"At heart I've always been a music fan. That part of me has never changed since I was a little kid, sitting in a room watching a record go round, looking at the color of the labels."

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Billy Joel -

"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music."

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Ray Charles (1930–2004) -

"My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil."

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Billie Eilish -

"I don't know how to function without music. When I'm not making it, I'm listening to it. It gives me courage and takes care of my mind."

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Herbie Hancock -

"Music happens to be an art form that transcends language."

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Paul Simon -

"Music is forever, music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die."

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Bob Dylan -

"This land is your land and this land is my land, sure, but the world is run by those that never listen to music anyway."

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Missy Elliott -

"Music should be your escape."

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Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) -

"If you want to be a rock star or just be famous, then run down the street naked, you'll make the news or something. But if you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play, and play! And eventually you'll get to where you want to."

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Pharrell Williams -

"I'm a fan of music, first and foremost. So I do things from the perspective of a fan."

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Bryan Ferry -

"You can never get silence anywhere nowadays, have you noticed? But when you get music and words together, that can be a very powerful thing."

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David Bowie (1947–2016) -

"I had to resign myself, many years ago, that I'm not too articulate when it comes to explaining how I feel about things. But my music does it for me, it really does."

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Stevie Wonder -

"Music, at its essence, is what gives us memories. And the longer a song has existed in our lives, the more memories we have of it."

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Dolly Parton -

"If you talk bad about country music, it's like saying bad things about my momma. Them's fightin' words."

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Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) -

"Music makes me high on stage, and that's the truth. It's like being almost addicted to music."

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Cardi B -

"Music never felt like a job."

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Bruce Springsteen -

"All I try to do is to write music that feels meaningful to me, that has commitment and passion behind it."

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Frank Zappa (1940–1993) -

"There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something we'd all love one another."

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John Lennon (1940–1980) -

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry.'"

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Prince (1958–2016) -

"What's missing from pop music is danger."

See also: Surprising facts about popular song lyrics

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