You do have a modicum of peace of mind here, but it's as unsettled as any other place. Todd Rundgren More Quotes by Todd Rundgren More Quotes From Todd Rundgren There are any number of conditions as to why your life didn't turn out the way you intended it to. My whole philosophy has always been that there is no way to change anything else in the world if you don't have the capacity to change yourself. Todd Rundgren change-yourself philosophy world I've always said, rather glibly, that the message of my career has been about individualism, about getting to know yourself and taking responsibility, not just for what you do, but what you think. Todd Rundgren individualism responsibility thinking Michael Jackson is a cake-and-eat-it kind of guy. He has never recognized or accepted the fact that when you shove yourself in people's face, they're not going to look just at the part you're showing them. People want to see everything that's connected to the face. Todd Rundgren guy kind people There are people who are known for some contribution to pop culture, but that doesn't mean that you've survived solely on your relevance to whatever is currently popular. That's what a pop star is, in that sense. You might start out as a pop star, but that's just an opportunity to become more relevant, if you possibly can. Todd Rundgren opportunity mean people Many of us would probably not be in the music business - or never would have been in the music business - had The Beatles not demonstrated that this kind of music, or this kind of performance, was actually viable as a career alternative. Todd Rundgren music-business kind Make music a service that's easy to consume, and there'll be plenty of money for everyone. Todd Rundgren plenty easy Recorded music has always been in a sense promotion for live performance, and some artists have discovered that giving it away is as effective as trying to sell it. Todd Rundgren artist trying giving I'd like to continue to play until I drop dead on stage or something. Todd Rundgren stage play It's never the same relationship. I see my job as filling in the blanks. Whatever it is that the artist lacks in the process of making a record, I'm supposed to fill that in. And sometimes it's a lot of stuff and I have to hector them about working on the material and that sort of thing. Sometimes you have an artist that's really fairly self-sufficient; they just need another ear to offer some objective criticism, but otherwise pretty much know what they're doing. It varies a lot. Todd Rundgren artist self jobs It may not necessarily reflect my current frame of mind. Sometimes I have to put myself at the point in time of the voice that I'm trying to sing with. Todd Rundgren voice mind trying Music gets recorded usually in one format, and when you have to take it out and perform it there are other applications and things like that that are better for the live performance. Todd Rundgren format application performances I've got billions of sparrows to worry about as well as everything else'. So there's the whole idea that whatever it is that you believe, it can never be valid unless you have some consensus reality demonstration. Todd Rundgren believe reality ideas As much as I'd like to be listening to other things, I can't do that until I get all of this sort of put to bed. Todd Rundgren listening-to-others bed listening I've had production offers with artists I really admire, and oftentimes that doesn't work out. Sometimes it does, but... For instance I was asked if I wanted to do a Talking Heads album back in the late '70s, early '80s, and I was already working on a different project and didn't have time, so I never got the opportunity to work with them. Todd Rundgren artist opportunity talking I don't want to work, I want to bang on the drum all day. Todd Rundgren bangs rock-and-roll want If you're familiar enough with my body of work, my voice is a familiar totem, in a sense. I guess I have something characteristic in the way that I sing, although I'm not very personally self-conscious about it, so I don't think about it that much. But when I hear the record I can tell it's me. Todd Rundgren voice self thinking You would have thought that as you got older the voice would tend to deteriorate in some ways, but I always look at somebody like Tony Bennett, who is my senior, and still can hit those high notes and still can belt it out as good as he ever did. So it must be something about the voice that's unlike the rest of the muscles in your body. Todd Rundgren senior voice looks They may be stupid, but they sure are fun. Todd Rundgren stupid may fun Kept his locker full of weed just to satisfy his smoking needs and his love of fire. Todd Rundgren weed alcohol fire I get my sticks and go out to the shed, and I pound on that drum like it was my boss's head. Todd Rundgren boss pounds work
