Artist Quotes

50 Greatest Joni Mitchell Quotes of All Time

Published

1 year ago

Apr 7, 2023

Which are your favorite Joni Mitchell quotes?

Joni Mitchell is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She is famously recognized as one of the best musicians and songwriters of all time.

Over the course of her 40-years career, Mitchell has released an astonishing number of 17 albums, amassed nine Grammy Awards, and has successfully been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the ‘Canadian Music Hall of Fame’.

Mitchell’s songs ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ and ‘Woodstock’ are widely celebrated as a big contribution in defining the 70s era and generation. In addition to being a legend of a musician, Mitchell also has a passion for painting and is known to have designed all her album covers.

Here’s a collection of the greatest Joni Mitchell quotes:

Table of Contents

50 Greatest Joni Mitchell Quotes of All Time

1. “My family could only afford to get me the box of eight Crayola crayons, but I craved the one with all 24 colours. I wanted magenta and turquoise and silver and gold.” – Joni Mitchell

2. “The thing that gave me the most pain in life, psychologically, and it gave me tremendous pain psychologically, is man’s disrespect for nature.” – Joni Mitchell

3. “I came through folk music simply because it was easy to get into it.” – Joni Mitchell

4. “Fame is a series of misunderstandings surrounding a name.” – Joni Mitchell

5. “I always thought the women of song don’t get along, and I don’t know why that is.” – Joni Mitchell

6. “My childhood was very difficult. I had every childhood disease and then some, but my parents didn’t mollycoddle me. They left me to fight those battles on my own. I guess that was very Canadian, very stoic. But it’s good. I had to become a warrior. I had to give up hope and find a substitute for the hope that would be far more stable.” – Joni Mitchell

7. “Back then, I didn’t have a big organization around me. I was just a kid with a guitar, traveling around. My responsibility basically was to the art, and I had extra time on my hands. There is no extra time now. There isn’t enough time.” – Joni Mitchell

8. “I heard someone from the music business saying they are no longer looking for talent, they want people with a certain look and a willingness to cooperate.” – Joni Mitchell

9. “Eventually, with success, I started to feel more and more isolated – like I didn’t have a community of artists.” – Joni Mitchell

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10. “My life came down to being a granny and watching a lot of television.” – Joni Mitchell

11. “In some ways, my gift for music and writing was born out of tragedy, really, and loss.” – Joni Mitchell

12. “I come from pioneer stock, developers of the West, people who went out into the wilderness and set up home with nothing but a pair of oxen.” – Joni Mitchell

13. “I have an aversion to being mislabeled. Here’s a label I’d accept: I’m an ‘individual.’ I’m someone who can’t follow, and doesn’t want to lead.” – Joni Mitchell

14. “When the world becomes a massive mess with nobody at the helm, it’s time for artists to make their mark.” – Joni Mitchell

15. “I’m a very analytical person, a somewhat introspective person; that’s the nature of the work I do.” – Joni Mitchell

16. “You could write a song about some kind of emotional problem you are having, but it would not be a good song, in my eyes, until it went through a period of sensitivity to a moment of clarity. Without that moment of clarity to contribute to the song, it’s just complaining.” – Joni Mitchell

17. “Sorrow is so easy to express and yet so hard to tell.” – Joni Mitchell

18. “It’s in my stars to invent; I was born on Madame Curie’s birthday. I have this need for originals, for innovation. That’s why I like Charlie Parker.” – Joni Mitchell

19. “Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980.” – Joni Mitchell

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20. “This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms.” – Joni Mitchell

21. “My goal as a writer is more to comfort than to disturb.” – Joni Mitchell

22. “I thrive on change. That’s probably why my chord changes are weird because chords depict emotions. They’ll be going along on one key and I’ll drop off a cliff, and suddenly they will go into a whole other key signature. That will drive some people crazy, but that’s how my life is.” – Joni Mitchell

23. “My heart is broken in the face of the stupidity of my species.” – Joni Mitchell

24. “The God of the Old Testament is the depiction of evil.” – Joni Mitchell

25. “Rachmaninoff made a musician out of me. His ‘Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini’ was the piece that sent me into raptures. It spoke to me. To me, it was a tender entreaty for the misunderstood.” – Joni Mitchell

26. “My parents told me I’d point to a bed of flowers and say ‘Pink. Pretty,’ before I knew any other words.” – Joni Mitchell

27. “My style of songwriting is influenced by cinema. I’m a frustrated filmmaker. A fan once said to me, ‘Girl, you make me see pictures in my head!’ and I took that as a great compliment. That’s exactly my intention.” – Joni Mitchell

28. “Nobody understood The Reoccurring Dream, but after September 11, when we were coerced to do a national duty and go out and shop, surely people could begin to see what I was getting at.” – Joni Mitchell

29. “Edith Piaf knocked my socks off when I was 8, but I didn’t know what she was singing about.” – Joni Mitchell

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30. “I wanted to paint in a folk-artist-y way. My heroes were Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, and Rembrandt. I think Picasso is about as a modern as I got. But I incorporated things that they rejected as well as movements that happened later.” – Joni Mitchell

31. “What I do is unusual: chordal movements that have never been used before, changing keys and modalities mid-song.” – Joni Mitchell

32. “To enjoy my music, you need depth and emotionality.” – Joni Mitchell

33. “I see music as fluid architecture.” – Joni Mitchell

34. “There are things to confess that enrich the world, and things that need not be said.” – Joni Mitchell

35. “I see the entire world as Eden, and every time you take an inch of it away, you must do so with respect.” – Joni Mitchell

36. “When I came to California, it was the mecca of the world. Every young person on the planet wanted to be here.” – Joni Mitchell

37. “Everyone I know has attention deficit, and they say it with great pride. It’s a bad time to be right.” – Joni Mitchell

38. “I certainly don’t want to be an angry old artist.” – Joni Mitchell

39. “Ira Gershwin, shame on him. I mean, some of the writing.” – Joni Mitchell

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40. “We have a war dictator who was not elected, he snuck in. so he punishes people that threaten him in any way, or even say something he doesn’t like. It has no resemblance to democracy.” – Joni Mitchell

41. “There was this mountain village in Russia where my music was getting in on some German radio station. I remember this because music used to get up to Saskatchewan from Texas. Late at night after the local station closed down.” – Joni Mitchell

42. “I do have this reputation for being a serious person.” – Joni Mitchell

43. “The considerations of a corporation, especially now, have nothing to do with art or music.” – Joni Mitchell

44. “I loved Debussy, Stravinsky, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, anything with romantic melodies, especially the nocturnes. Nietzsche was a hero, especially with ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra.’ He gets a bad rap; he’s very misunderstood. He’s a maker of individuals, and he was a teacher of teachers.” – Joni Mitchell

45. “I know my generation – a lot of them, they’re getting old now, and they want to think back fondly, they want to kid themselves. A lot of them think, ‘Yeah, we were the best.’ That’s the kiss of death. That’s non-growth. And also that’s very bad for the world.” – Joni Mitchell

46. “America is in a runaway-train position and dragging all the world with it. It’s grotesquely mentally ill.” – Joni Mitchell

47. “We managed to put together a compilation that had some creativity to it. In the meantime, I was listening to the free radio stations and I noticed that during their war coverage they were playing these songs born out of the Vietnam War that were all critical of the soldiers.” – Joni Mitchell

48. “Augustine, Anne Sexton, and Sylvia Plath are confessional writers and all three make me sick. I have nothing in common with them.” – Joni Mitchell

49. “When you’re trying to pass on the best of the stuff you’re culling to what should be a hungry culture but you have it diminished… that’s kind of disappointing.” – Joni Mitchell

50. “But I have a tremendous will to live and a tremendous ‘joie de vivre,’ alternating with irritability.” – Joni Mitchell

Summary

Thanks for checking out this collection of quotes from Joni Mitchell! Don’t forget to share them on social media with your friends and family.

Which are your favorite Joni Mitchell quotes? Leave a comment below.

Artist Quotes

52 Inspirational J Cole Quotes & Lyrics

Published

10 months ago

Jun 19, 2023

Dan Western

Jermaine Cole is an American hip hop artist, who started receiving recognition and fame for his work back in 2007.

Some of his lyrics have been highly regarded as creative yet truthful rhymes, which in a lot of cases means they’re very inspiring to many individuals.

We’ve created this collection of the greatest J Cole quotes & lyrics of all time:

Table of Contents

52 Inspirational J Cole Quotes

1. “To appreciate the sun, you gotta know what rain is.” – J Cole

2. “Anything’s possible, you gotta dream like you never seen obstacles.” – J Cole

3. “Take a chance, because you never know how perfect something can turn out.” – J Cole

4. “I’d rather be happy being myself than sad trying to please everyone else.” – J Cole

5. “People congratulate me. I just tell them God is good.” – J Cole

6. “Keep grinding boy, your life can change in one year, and even when it’s dark out, the sun is shining somewhere.” – J Cole

7. “Damn, cold world. I never thought I’d see the day that you’re my old girl.” – J Cole

8. “You have to hurt in order to know. Fall in order to grow. Lose in order to gain. Because most of life’s lessons are learned in pain.” – J Cole

9. “I swear I walk with God, but the devil keeps following.” – J Cole

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10. “If they don’t know your dreams, they can’t shoot them down.” – J Cole

11. “My life accelerated, but had to wait my turn. But then I redecorated, that means my tables turn.” – J Cole

12. “Am I about dollars or about change? Am I about knowledge or brains? Freedom or big chains? They don’t feel my pain.” – J Cole

13. “Get to know somebody and you really learn a lot about ‘em. Won’t be long before you start to doubt ‘em. Tell yourself you better off without ‘em. Then in time you will find can’t walk without ‘em.” – J Cole

14. “No such thing as a life that’s better than yours, no such thing–no such thing…” – J Cole

15. “In a game full of liars it turns out that I’m the truth. Some say that rap’s alive. It turns out that I’m the proof.” – J Cole

16. “Nothing lasts forever, but at least we’ve got these memories.” – J Cole

17. “Never give up until you’ve given out all your very best. It’s better to fail trying, than wondering what could have happened if you tried.” – J Cole

18. “It’s beauty in the struggle, ugliness in the success.” – J Cole

19. “If you place your importance on appreciation and love, that’s enough.” – J Cole

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20. “Sometimes our dreams come true, sometimes our fears do too.” – J Cole

21. “For a few minutes you made me feel as if I actually meant something to someone.” – J Cole

22. “There’s a story behind every person, a reason why they are the way they are. So, think about that before you judge someone.” – J Cole

23. “Anything I do, I do it well.” – J Cole

24. “You can lose all the money, but you’ll never lose people knowing you.” – J Cole

25. “Follow your heart. Don’t follow what you’ve been told you’re supposed to do.” – J Cole

26. “So here we are… it’s funny how so close can seem so far.” – J Cole

27. “We got dreams and we got the right to chase ‘em.” – J Cole

28. “Promise to my momma I’mma make it to the top, so I’mma keep climbing ‘til my heartbeat drop.” – J Cole

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29. “Either you play the game or you let the game play you.” – J Cole

30. “I’mma be here for a while. None of these clowns can hurt me.” – J Cole

31. “I put a lot of God in my music, but not because I’m super religious. There are a lot of demons in my music too. I acknowledge both.” – J Cole

32. “They say time is money but really, it’s not. If we ever go broke, time is all we got.” – J Cole

33. “I walk along this long harbor of life and sit on the piers, reflect on my pain and sh*t on my fears.” – J Cole

34. “I keep my head high, I got my wings to carry me. I don’t know freedom, I want my dreams to rescue me.” – J Cole

35. “A little jealousy in a relationship is healthy. It’s always nice to know someone is afraid to lose you.” – J Cole

36. “Tupac was just so passionate about what he believes in and not afraid to say anything.” – J Cole

37. “The music becomes more pure and soulful when it’s true, and it has to be true these days with the way the internet works, and the way the game works, everyone wants authentic raps.” – J Cole

38. “I met Will Smith twice. I didn’t talk to him for too long but I was trying to let him know that my age group grew up watching him – he was the coolest guy on television and the coolest guy in movies.” – J Cole

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39. “I still wanna rap better than everybody else, and I wanna say important things.” – J Cole

40. “When I was in college my girl got me a job at the doctor’s office she was working at. I was a file clerk. No disrespect but I don’t think a man can do that job. It takes so much meticulous and precise file-keeping.” – J Cole

41. “I want people to follow their dreams, yes… but I’m not interested in telling young black kids how to be rappers… I want to show them that there’s so many other paths you can take, besides a rapper or basketball player.” – J Cole

42. “In this life ain’t no happy endings. Only pure beginnings followed by years of sinning and fake repentance.” – J Cole

43. “People think because I’ve got some success, I’ve made it, but in my eyes it’s like, ‘How long has Jay Z been in the business? How many albums has he got?’ Not that I’m trying to be Jay Z, but I am trying to be around for a long time.” – J Cole

44. “I had a lot of resistance, and not just to fame. I was always conscious of not changing.” – J Cole

45. “You can’t reverse fame. You can lose all the money, but you’ll never lose people knowing you.” – J Cole

46. “College isn’t in everyone’s hearts. I am living proof, though, that school doesn’t mess up your plans. It gives you more experiences to write about.” – J Cole

47. “It’s no coincidence that all the greatest rappers – whoever you put in your top five – I guarantee you they are great storytellers.” – J Cole

48. “When you’re a rapper, just a rapper, you have to kind of settle for whatever comes your way – if a beat is hot, you wanna rap on it, period.” – J Cole

49. “Keep grindin’ boy, your life can change in one year, And even when it’s dark out, the sun is shining somewhere.” – J Cole

50. “Hard to move on when you always regret one.” – J Cole

51. “I’m a super-duper over-analyzer. You mix that with self-doubt and pressure, and that’s never healthy.” – J Cole

52. “Life is a movie, pick your own role, Climb your own ladder or you dig your own hole.” – J Cole

Summary

Thanks for checking out this collection of quotes from J Cole! Don’t forget to share them on social media.

Which are your favorite J Cole quotes? Leave a comment below.

Artist Quotes

30 Awesome Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) Quotes

Published

10 months ago

Jun 19, 2023

Dan Western

MGK, another insane source of inspiration for hip hop fans;

It wasn’t until last year that I started listing to Machine Gun Kelly’s music, but I’ve become a big fan. Some of his lyrics are incredibly motivational for underdogs in live, the ones who are struggling, and need that little bit of strength to go on.

So I’ve had a look and a listen, and compiled some of the best MGK quotes from his own lyrics. These are some of the most inspirational things he’s said, so take a look and enjoy.

Feel free to share the list using the social buttons above if you know anyone else who is a big MGK fan.

Table of Contents

25 Awesome MGK Quotes

1. “Don’t ever look down, be comfortable with who you are, our flaws are what make us perfect.” – MGK

2. “You can’t see my tears in the rain, underneath it all we’re just the same.” – MGK

3. “I owe my life to my own advice, follow your motherf****n’ dreams until those visions come to life.” – MGK

4th of 30 MGK Quotes

4. “Whatever you love could be taken away, so live like it’s your dying day.” – MGK

5. “Toast to the underdog, toast to the team, toast to the fact we this close to the dream.” – MGK

6. “Life is too short to live the same day twice. So each new day make sure you live your life.” – MGK

7. “I’m walking through the fire because there is no way around.” – MGK

8. “I don’t think that a lot of people understand, that the person who’s crazy enough to think he can change the world, actually can.” – MGK

9. “What is love, love is pain. Love is butterflies and stomach aches, love is looking out a windowpane. Tears dripping looking like you’re in the rain, for somebody you don’t even know, but somebody you may never see again.” – MGK

10. “I used to take orders, now I make bets. I used to scrub floors, now I sign checks. And I used to push carts, now I push songs. I used to be there, now I am so gone.” – MGK

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11. “When my times up on this earth and they bury me in that dirt, don’t say that I ain’t milk this life for everything that it’s worth.” – MGK

12. “I came out of a dying city, brought back life. Everything they said I couldn’t do I did about twice.” – MGK

13. “Yeah, and they told me all that glitters ain’t gold. But I really wanna shine right now. And they told me the sky’s the limit so I wonder if I can fly right now. Yeah, so I spread my wings, jumped up, and lived my dreams.” – MGK

14. “And if you ever have a dream, don’t be scared to chase that shit, man. You can have whatever you want in this life. Don’t let anyone tell you different.” – MGK

15. “Heroes are remembered. Legends never die. I ain’t dyin’ any time soon.” – MGK

16. “I used to have someone at 3AM that I could call. Now it just rings and I don’t get nothing at all.” – MGK

17. “Trust is like an eraser. It gets smaller with every mistake.” – MGK

18. “As my world turns, the heart beats, not only in my chest, but the heart of the streets.” – MGK

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19. “I had a dream that the world changed, and for a minute there was no pain.” – MGK

20. “Never make permanent decisions on temporary feelings.” – MGK

21. “I dedicate this to my teachers that never believed in me, and the mother that conceived but ended up leaving me.” – MGK

22. I love you, and you may not see right now. But I’m beggin’ for forgiveness, I’m on my knees right now.” – MGK

23. Question, what if tomorrow never comes and everything you said couldn’t be undone?” – MGK

24. “If you ain’t living your life then you’re dead, and sleep is its cousin so I shot my bed.” – MGK

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25. “Follow in my steps, then you walkin’ a green mile. Trees in my pockets, like my denim’s a greenhouse.” – MGK

26. “I made a dollar out of cents, got a whole nation’s respect before I was 18. And I did that without a check. See, I used to be a lame. Now, I’m posted in the game, in a top spot, tough drop. Money ain’t a thing.” – MGK

27. “People want to be my friend. But where the f*** were y’all when I was ten, eleven or twelve getting bullied and beat up in the gym? I couldn’t never get a girl. Now, all the sudden I’m the man. Students try to get back cool with me again. F*** ’em all!” – MGK

28. “I wanna get that dream and live my life, with no Rihanna, no T.I. I’m just living for today, no tomorrow, no pause, no comma, real shit, no persona. I’m enjoying every pussy like a virgin or Madonna.” – MGK

29. “Hold up, let me put my cool back on. Wouldn’t be here without my team. I put my crew back on. And I’m a rapper but I will not put the jewels back on. My fans love Kells, let me put the fool back on.” – MGK

30. “If you ever thought that you won’t make it, soon as it get hard you just can’t take it- no matter what you going through, keep waiting ’cause you gon’ make it. You gon’ make it.” – MGK

Bonus: MGK Picture Quote

Summary

If these quotes weren’t quite the sort of hip-hop quotes you were looking for, then how about checking out quotes from Eminem?

Are there any MGK quotes in this article that stand out to you? Leave a comment below.

Artist Quotes

22 Golden Lupe Fiasco Quotes From His Lyrics

Published

10 months ago

Jun 19, 2023

Dan Western

Lupe Fiasco is an American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur;

We put together this collection of Lupe Fiasco quotes solely contained within his lyrics. Some of these quotes are absolutely golden!

Here are 22 of the best Lupe Fiasco quotes:

Table of Contents

22 Golden Lupe Fiasco Quotes

1. “If talk is cheap, then my silence is diamonds.” – Lupe Fiasco

2. “Love always shines, that’s how I’ll find you. In case you forgot, I hope this reminds you.” – Lupe Fiasco

3. “We can’t do nothing about the past, but we can do something about the future that we have.” – Lupe Fiasco

4. “I wish I couldn’t feel. I wish I couldn’t love. I wish I could stop loving you so much.” – Lupe Fiasco

5. “You would never know if you could ever be, if you never try, you would never see.” – Lupe Fiasco

6. “I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence. Fear is such a weak emotion, that’s why I despise it.” – Lupe Fiasco

7. “Self-respect first. Sexy second.” – Lupe Fiasco

8. “The truth is limitless in its range. If you drop a ‘T’ and look at it in reverse it could hurt.” – Lupe Fiasco

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“Life ain’t made to come around twice, that’s why I gotta get it right.” – Lupe Fiasco

10. “Fear is such a weak emotion, that’s why I despise it.” – Lupe Fiasco

11. “I’m just trying to do the opposite of left, as long as there’s the opposite of death, ya know. Yes, ya test and I just might bring the opposite of life, ’till there’s no one the opposite of right.” – Lupe Fiasco

12. “Things are getting out of control, feel like I’m running out of soul. You are getting too heavy to hold, think I’ll be letting you go.” – Lupe Fiasco

13. “My greatest enemy at one point was myself, and so now once I gt over the fear of myself I don’t fear any man. I never have.” – Lupe Fiasco

14. “That should be the measure of success for everyone. It’s not money, it’s not fame, it’s not celebrity; my index of success is happiness.” – Lupe Fiasco

15. “What starts in clouded minds finished in the rain.” – Lupe Fiasco

16. “But it was good while it lasted, but when it’s dead, put it in a casket.” – Lupe Fiasco

17. “I find it somewhat liberating to jump, to dive into things that are the opposite of me.” – Lupe Fiasco

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“Never stop doing your best just because someone doesn’t give you credit.” – Lupe Fiasco

19. “People don’t understand that where I come from, everyone is either a convict, been in jail, been in a gang, is a hooligan of some sorts. But those are my brothers, my family and the people I travel with. Those are the people that I roll with.” – Lupe Fiasco

20. “Why kill you when I can just not teach you and get the same results.” – Lupe Fiasco

21. “Holy apartments in the gardens in which the rivers flow. Thank you for all your blessings and all of your miracles.” – Lupe Fiasco

22. “How can land be owned by another man? Warns one can not steal what was given as a gift. Is the sky owned by birds and the river owned by fish?” – Lupe Fiasco

23. “When you start creating opinion, and you start creating difference of opinion, you’re doing something. People are actually sitting down and critiquing. A lot of the stuff people hate, they really don’t. They only look at the outer shell. They don’t really get into it.” – Lupe Fiasco

24. “I do this for the sake of myself. It’s a selfish process. I don’t really have any expectations from anyone for your comments or your reviews or your previews.” – Lupe Fiasco

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25. “I trust people to be human. Sometimes you do things that make amazing amounts of sense; sometimes you do things that don’t make any sense whatsoever.” – Lupe Fiasco

26. “Everybody has their opinion on what’s ‘real,’ and what’s they choose to listen to and their personal preference. Whether they’re 2 years old or 200 years old. And people can listen to whatever they want.” – Lupe Fiasco

27. “You expect certain things. You build up in your mind how it’s supposed to go down. When you get a record deal, you think you’re supposed to get X, Y, and Z. It doesn’t happen like that. You’re like ‘Oh, this isn’t as exciting as I thought it was going to be.'” – Lupe Fiasco

28. “The only person who really impressed me with making new music is Cudi. Everyone else seems to be jumping on the same music, the producer-made stuff, but the one person that’s made new music to me is Cudi.” – Lupe Fiasco

29. “Never apologize for being real… reality is the enemy of fakes, frauds, liars and protectors of ignorance. It scares them.” – Lupe Fiasco

30. “I find it somewhat liberating to jump, to dive into things that are the opposite of me.” – Lupe Fiasco