Donald Fagen Quotes

What do you do with what you’re given, and how do you transform it into something worthwhile?

As jazz fans, it was amusing for us to play jazz harmonies on these big, ugly electric guitars.

My style is a little quirky. I can’t play as fast as most professional jazz players.

Now why the hell would I want to increase the volume of my ejaculation ? They can already hear me in the apartment next door.

I like it when songs develop in some way. Four minutes usually isn’t enough time for something to develop musically.

When you get a groove going, time flies.

Popularity has everything to do with business
and nothing to do with music.

I’ve never been comfortable as a lead performer, and I never wanted to be a singer, particularly.

I had trouble distinguishing art from life. I don’t now, and I feel much better!

I don’t think you can escape the environment we live in now.

I have a critical nature, in the sense that when I look at something I often look for the flaws.

We don’t think of ourselves as being perfectionists, really. To us it’s more about desperately trying to have it sound more or less OK.

We’re not getting any younger.

I’m starting to get older, and began to think about mortality a little more. My mother died in 2003 and that was a big shock. When your parents start to die off, that’s going to be a revelation. So for me, this album – although it might sound quite cheery – is really talking about death.

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

I think of Steely Dan as being of its time, and it may be inseparable from its time.

Randy Newman seemed like an even worse singer than me. I liked Ray Charles, Levi Stubbs, Jack Jones, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett.

Popularity has everything to do with business and nothing to do with music.