In both the art and the business worlds, the difference between the amateurs and the professionals is simple: The professionals know they're winging it. The amateurs pretend they're not. Amanda Palmer More Quotes by Amanda Palmer More Quotes From Amanda Palmer I nurture my close relationships like priceless lamps. That's part of why the job itself is inherently difficult and kind of a paradox, because you're out there touring and traveling and going a million miles a minute, but the things that are keeping you steady and stable can be really hard to nurture when you're going fast, and your relationships, which are the number one thing that help me through. Amanda Palmer lamps numbers jobs One thing about being a performer is you're not just doing an intellectual job behind a desk; you're out there performing and being looked at, being assessed for really superficial stuff. Amanda Palmer intellectual stuff jobs I make the music that I want to make and make the show that I want to make. If you like it, you come. If you don't like it, you don't have to. Amanda Palmer you-like-it shows want The minute I spend any energy defending myself, explaining myself, or in the worst case scenario, trying to please those who are criticizing me, I will, you know, just fall off a cliff. Amanda Palmer worst-case-scenario trying fall I feel like if I were to play the game completely and just get myself in a giant bottle of nail polish and put myself on display, I would feel like I had somehow cosmically lost. I feel like I'm taking a bunch of the ingredients and using some of them but not all of them and shuffling around and making people think I'm doing my job. Amanda Palmer games jobs thinking You know, there are so many snarky angry critics out there who are just sort of looking to tear down whoever is getting talked about. Amanda Palmer critics tears knows I don't try to make anybody outside happy. Amanda Palmer trying The cool thing too, as you get older, you get way better at identifying who's an ally and who isn't. And who has good, positive, "let's make all this sh*t better and let's try to have fun and fix sh*t" people as opposed to "let's sit around and b*tch and berate" people. Amanda Palmer fun trying people Comparing yourself to the people like you, comparing yourself to the people who aren't like you, looking at how many records you've sold, looking at the venue size you're selling out. None of that can even remotely measure how happy you are. Amanda Palmer size records people I've always felt like an outsider across the board, since day one. The challenge has been to simply not pay attention to my outsider or insider status and just do the work and play the shows and connect with the people. And not even bother to play this game of keeping score, which is what destroys you. Amanda Palmer games play people I think I've always felt as a band and as a musician and a music business person, I've always felt like an outsider, period. Amanda Palmer musician band thinking If you come across an American artist right now who has no political opinions or is afraid of talking politics, be very concerned. Amanda Palmer political-opinions artist talking I feel like I've gotten to the point in my career and in my life where I can allow myself to write whatever comes into my head and not judge it too harshly. Amanda Palmer careers judging writing I kind of rely on my artist friends to make my physical music worth buying by having them all come together and create beautiful artwork that everyone is gonna want to own to support my record. Amanda Palmer support artist beautiful If I were a guy, it would be, you know, just a different set of problems I have to carry along. Amanda Palmer guy different would-be I feel an extraordinary amount of sympathy for anybody working at a major label right now because their lives are over. Amanda Palmer extraordinary It feels like it is a daily work and an ongoing task to undo all of the f - - g programming that I have had all my life about who I am supposed to be and how I'm supposed to look and that I'm supposed to win. It's a daily deconstruction of all that bullshit. Amanda Palmer bullshit who-i-am winning I never wanted to grow a thicker skin; I felt a real sense of pride in my thin skin, and in a weird way, I still do, because it's my thin skin that allows me to empathize with other people. It's the thing that allows me to create vulnerable art. It's the thing that allows me to create other feelings and make songs that actually grab people and touch people. I feel like I've spent my life fighting that thicker skin because I don't want to become an embittered asshole. Amanda Palmer real song art If you're going to make work and you're going to write and you're going to put yourself out there and perform, you will be belittled, you will be insulted, you will be called a standard collection of names, you will be accused, and you just have to stand there and continue to work and find a way to not let those things poison you. Amanda Palmer poison names writing On many days, harder than the act of making the art itself is the act of sharing it and living in a culture that you know is built to tear you down. Amanda Palmer tears culture art
