You've got to really know your song, inside and out.
When somebody like Elvis Costello comes along, anybody can make a good record with him.
When punk rock came along, the one thing you were not supposed to be was musical.
They tell me I produced songs. I just stood in the back, wore a good suit and said, Yeah, that's happening.
The world is full of musicians who can play great, and you wouldn't cross the road to see them. It's people who have this indefinable attitude that are the good ones.
The number of contemporary artists who appeal to me is infinitesimal.
It's a much more forensic operation.
It was a real gimlet-eyed, 'ok, next' (operation).
In the '70s, you had to come up with an album every year whether you were ready or not.
If anyone comes along, I'm more than happy to welcome them, but I'm not interested in world domination.
I'm playing to the sort of people who like the same records.
I work very hard on getting the songs as direct and examined as I can before I go in the studio.
I like being a big fish in a small pond. I'm not interested in a huge audience because it brings headaches.
Elvis Costello had a brand new bag. He was a musician, but he knew all about the attitude part of it.
Be a military flier or be in a band; those were the two hippest things I could imagine.
