Most of my collaborations, certainly post - Howard Ashman but even with Howard, are music first. Alan Menken More Quotes by Alan Menken More Quotes From Alan Menken Music can be witty, but it's not funny unless it's conceptually funny. Alan Menken unlessmusicwittyfunny I have lots of personal feelings of my own, but at this stage in my life and career, I'm very much driven by assignment. Alan Menken my-lifemy-ownfeelingslife The job, when you write film underscore, is to be ignored. That comes with the gig, no question about it. Alan Menken questionwritejobyou When I write the music for any of my songs, I write as a composer-lyricist in my head. Alan Menken headsongswritemusic Whatever I gain from writing lyrics, I feel I lose a little bit for the musical aspect by having that lyrical burden on me. But when I'm liberated from worrying about the words, frankly, I feel I'm a better composer. Alan Menken wordsfeelbetterme My first success was 'Little Shop of Horrors,' and I had been working for years on jingles. Alan Menken littlefirstsuccessyears There was a jingle house called Lucas/McFaul in New York, and they called me 'the demo king.' I almost never had the big final - in jingles, you have the big final, and then you sing on it, and you make a good deal of money. Alan Menken goodmeyoumoney Truth be told, of course, what I enjoy most is reinventing myself and doing new projects where I work in new genres, or I get to find what the voice of a particular musical is. Alan Menken myselfenjoytruthwork 'Snow White' was really hip for its time. Walt Disney was basically using Sigmund Romberg and operetta in the telling of the story, and through animation - that was revolutionary. Alan Menken storywhitetimesnow I always wanted to have a villain song for Hades in 'Hercules,' but I couldn't figure out how we would have Hades sing. Alan Menken howalwaysvillainsong I always felt great about what I wrote for 'Newsies,' but 'Newsies' was a total flop. Alan Menken aboutgreatalwaysfelt A villain number is a very valuable thing to have, but if you look at most musicals, one way or another there's an antagonist number. Alan Menken lookyouvillainway Composing easy? I find it easy if - big if - the idea is right, if I have the right collaborator, and if my collaborator is in the room. I like my collaborator to be in the room. Alan Menken findbiglikeeasy
