Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Music
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“Music and painting should never be literary, a very subtle distinction according to Renoir. As soon as I try to represent an individual, their physiognomy and attitudes, I become a literary artist.”
Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) said by 1895 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote in a notebook, after having visited Renoir; as cited in Berthe Morisot, ed. Delafond and Genet-Bondeville, 1997, p. 54
“Business is about to pick up here!" (usually said when someone music/pyro hits)”
“That is the spirit of the music: to not leave anyone out, to be inclusive.”
Brian Viglione (born 1979) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: March 26, 2006 - PunkTv Interview
“Music is one of those things that brings great joy to people, singing is a sort of unifier of people, no matter what political place or original place you come from.”
Brian Viglione (born 1979) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: June 1, 2006 - OndaRock Interview
“The music was like the memory of joys that are past, pleasant and mournful to the soul.”
James Macpherson (1736–1796) said by 1796 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One is tempted to call them works of genius; they are quite Homeric in their internal unity, purity of phrasing, clear, ringing music of language and dramatic coloring.”
James Macpherson (1736–1796) said by 1796 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lin Carter, Dragons, Elves, and Heroes (New York: Ballantine, 1971) p. 76.
“God bless pop music and God bless MTV.”
Lady Gaga (born 1986) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: MTV Video Music Awards 2010.
“You listeners, the ones who found me first are, I believe, the future of great art thinkers. Because anyone that's found me now I really think is grabbing on to the ideas that I have, more than anything. It's about the music but it's also about the story. So thank you guys for loving and reading the story and being as into it and as passionate as I am.”
“They bring my music to life.”
“The whole point of what I do-the Monster Ball, the music, the performance art aspect of it-I want to create a space for my fans where they can feel free and where they can celebrate because I didn't fit in in high school and I felt like a freak. So I like to create this atmosphere for my fans where they feel like they have a freak in me to hang with and they don't feel alone.”
“[..but he had] a record with the music of the dwarfes on it, and quite often play it.”
Piet Mondrian (1872–1944) first seen 1938 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: short quotes, from post-cards to his brother Carel, from London autumn, 1938; as quoted in 'Artist Piet Mondrian in London: the forgotten years', Thomasine, Sweden; The Guardian International
“The Cubists used the figure, but they broke it up.. .But there was escape, too, even in those days, for there was Whistler living in the grey mists with a faded orange moon. The nocturne transformed itself into dreamy rooms with Chopin's music creating a mood that softened the hard core of self.[quote from conversation with Seitz]”
Mark Tobey (1890–1976) first seen 1951 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In: 'Reminiscence and Reverie', Mark Tobey, Magazine of Art, 44, October 1951, pp. 228, 231
“(on way to relax) “I just like to lock my self in a small room and listen to music and watch films all day!”
Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I might like to be an actor, but there are loads of other things I'm interested in as well, like music and writing and sports. I want to keep my options open.”
Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The virtuosos look to the students of the world to do their share in the education of the great musical public. Do not waste your time with music that is trite or ignoble. Life is too short to spend it wandering in the barren Saharas of musical trash.”
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Extract from an interview by James Francis Cooke, as given in the 1999 edition of Great Pianists on Piano Playing (Mineola: Dover Publications, 1999) p. 217.
“A good conductor ought to be a good chauffeur; the qualities that make the one also make the other. They are concentration, an incessant control of attention, and presence of mind; the conductor only has to add a little sense of music.”
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) first seen 1934 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Oskar von Riesemann (trans. Dolly Rutherford) Rachmaninoff's Recollections (New York: Macmillan, 1934) p. 155.
“Among the arts of expression one is suited to this purpose, another to that. It is hard to express movement in stone or rest in music. It is harder still to express permanence in speech.”
L. P. Jacks (1860–1955) said by 1955 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You need to love this with your heart and soul. You need to breathe music. My best advice — perform as much as you can. With every mistake, progress.”
Keshia Chante (born 1988) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview with Shelia M. Goss, "Women In Music" at BellaOnline (2009)
“The music game is more than just my love for singing, its a sport for me.”
Keshia Chante (born 1988) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inside Entertainment (2008)
“Ordinary human motives will appeal in vain to the ears which have heard the tones of the heavenly music; and all the pomp of life will show poor and tawdry to the sight that has gazed on the vision of the great white throne and the crystal sea.”
Alexander Maclaren (1826–1910) said by 1910 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I only wear blue clothes because blue makes me feel calm. I listen to the same music, watch the same shows, and eat the same foods over and over again without any qualms. I find joy in my life where once I couldn’t because I was too busy trying to do the “right” thing instead of checking in with my own needs first.”
Hannah Gadsby (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the results of this evening's experiments – astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record forever! … I think it is the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced, and I congratulate you with all my heart on this wonderful discovery.”
Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) first seen 1888 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A message on a phonograph cylinder, recorded by Arthur Sullivan at a demonstration of Thomas Edison's phonograph in London on 5 October 1888; cited from Michael Chanan Repeated Takes: A Short History of Recording and it…
“For the same reasons a music composer writes its own symphony, whereas others already did the same things, but differently.”
Benoît Minisini (born 1973) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Answering why he wrote an independent scripting language for Gambas. Quoted from FOSDEM interview, "http://www.madeasy.de/7/benoit.htm" Mad Easy (2005-02-14)
“My area of research is something that in all fairness has no practical usability whatsoever and the thing is I'm often asked to apologize for that. It is interesting to me that people ask 'what's the point of doing that if it's not useful?' But they never ask that, or do they very rarely ask that about art or literature or music. Those things are not gonna produce a better toaster.”
Lawrence M. Krauss (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The two totalitarian systems [USSR Communism and German National-Socialism] traded in all the necessary commodities of war: not just oil and vital chemicals, but arms and ships. They exhibited each other’s cultural achievements, performed each other’s music and films, stressed their joint hostility to Western capitalism.”
Daniel Hannan (born 1971) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let the music keep our spirits highAnd let the buildings keep our children dry Let creation reveal its secrets by and by.”
Jackson Browne (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music is the great cheer-up in the language of all countries.”
Clifford Odets (1906–1963) first seen 1937 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mr. Bonaparte, in Golden Boy (1937), Act I, sc. ii
“I like to think that if music hadn't existed, I could have invented it.”
Harrison Birtwistle (1934–2022) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interviewed by Dan Warburton, July 8, 1995.
“Color is to the eye what music is to the ear.”
Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933) first seen 1916 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Art Work of Louis C. Tiffany (Doubleday, Page & Co New York, 1916)
“What does NOT work best for anyone, though, is being forced to keep a Windows partition around just to play video games. The best operating system for playing games is the one that lets you keep your word processor, instant messenger, email, and music player open in the background while you play. The worst is the one that will force you to shut all that down just to screw around for a few minutes.”
Ryan C. Gordon (born 1978) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Robin Heggelund Hansen, "Porting games to Linux" hardware.no (2009-03-10)
“Mathematics thought that there were numbers associated with tones—frequencies, wavelengths. Music, at its most fundamental level, was math.”
Brandon Sanderson (born 1975) first seen 1040 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chapter 97, “Freedom” (p. 1040)
“Mathematical physics represents the purest image that the view of nature may generate in the human mind; this image presents all the character of the product of art; it begets some unity, it is true and has the quality of sublimity; this image is to physical nature what music is to the thousand noises of which the air is full...”
Théophile de Donder (1872–1957) said by 1957 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: as quoted by Ilya Prigogine in his Autobiography given at the occasion of Prigogine's 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
“The aesthetic dimensions of science, like that of great classical music, are evident to the aficionado.”
Varadaraja V. Raman (born 1932) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm a good girl because I really believe in love, integrity, and respect. I'm a bad girl because I like to tease. I know that I have sex appeal in my deck of cards. But I like to get people thinking. That's what the stories in my music do.”
Katy Perry (born 1984) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Katy Perry: The Interview BAZAAR (November 3, 2010).
“Whatever comes next, I’m letting it unfold naturally. No forcing, no controlling - just trusting the angels, the fans, and the music to guide me where I’m meant to go. Please know this: my love for you is unconditional, and I couldn’t do any of this without you. Excited to continue the celebration in the UK, Europe, and Asia and hey, 143 & 341. LOVE, Katy.”
Katy Perry (born 1984) first seen 2025 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Katy Perry admits she's been 'beloved, tested and tried' amid Orlando Bloom split Hello Magazine (September 24, 2025).
“When asked what kind of music and bands he enjoys”
Axl Rose (born 1962) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in "Axl Rose: The Rolling Stone Interview" by Del James, Rolling Stone, (10 August 1989)
“Much music marreth men's manners.”
Galen (129–300) said by 300 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Garnett, Vallée, Brandl, The Universal Anthology, Vol 12 (1809), p. 192.
“Life is too short to make just one decision, music is too loud for just one station, love is too big for just one nation, and God is too big for just one religion!”
Michael Franti (born 1966) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: East to the West, Yell Fire! (2006)
“I call [my music] ho-wop. It's the flavor of hip-hop, the flavor of doo-wop, and hoes.”
Eamon (singer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hard to say whether personal immortality would be a good thing or not. Not for the masses, surely! Too many of them as it was. But a select few, like Terangi Maclaren—or was it worth the trouble? Even given boats, chess, music, the No Drama, beautiful women and beautiful spectroscopes, life could get heavy.”
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She was an artist. Her circle were the libertines, the patrons and the hangers-on, bohemians and parasites, poets and pamphleteers and fashionable junkies. They delighted in the scandalous and the outre. [...] Her love-life was an avant-garde transgression, an art-happening, like Concrete Music had been last season, or ‘Snot Art! the year before that.”
China Miéville (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think that you have to seriously have fun, or taking serious things in a light way and obviously, for me, before all, music is made of fun and pleasure and excitement.”
Jean-Michel Jarre (born 1948) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interviewed on the Danish Monitor radio programme 2005-11-30
“Careful listening to current country and western and rock music with the help of an interpreter for coded phrases shows that young people are hearing a constant stream of messages about getting high, feeling good, going on trips, and using drugs of all kinds with all methods.”
Virgil Miller Newton (1938–2025) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Miller Newton (1983). The Teenage Drug Epidemic, El Paso Physician, vol 6, pp. 5-6.
“I'm not mad at Limbaugh. He expresses no shame to the game he's been running for two decades. He's an opportunistic, race-baiting, anti-black entertainer. The popularity of the gangsta element of hip-hop music culture has allowed Limbaugh to proudly claim that his form of entertainment is mainstream.”
Jason Whitlock (born 1967) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Keep Rush Limbaugh Out of the NFL", Fox Sports (October 13, 2009).
“Music is like basil. Put it on. Don't think twice.”
“I much prefer making music to talking about it. There's something visceral about instruments and voices that transcends words.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why pray to a god who would rather speak through say, a stone? Too bad that God made so many people who are interested in music and so few stones who are.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But the music business is no more about truth on the outside of the Christian ghetto than it is on the inside.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Music is a solace for me now. As I age, contrary to common sense, I am more and more drawn into it and apt to spend more of my waking and some of my sleeping hours thinking about it, or just feeling about it. It is my escape.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most Christians would say that the music should in some way glorify God. Obviously, one assortment of notes on the scale can't glorify God more than another. Neither can certain assortments of words. -Appalachian Melody.”
Mark Heard (1951–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source