Quotes By Lou Reed

I always believed that I have something important to say and I said it.

Raymond Chandler managed to write about L.A. his whole career. Should I keep going writing about New York? Is that what I should be doing? Songwriting doesn't work that way.

I don't mind a repetitive chorus; I mind repetitive verse. I mean, it's the same amount of space. Why would you have only three diamonds if you can have six?

You're a musician: You play. That's what you do.

I'm too old to do things by half.

I don't like nostalgia unless it's mine.

I don't know what goes on in the crowd. I've had them show up and throw beer cans at me. I caused riots in most of the major cities.

The music business doesn't interest me anymore.

I'm in this business for too long to be halfhearted about anything.

One of my rules is: Never listen to your old stuff.

You can't ask me to explain the lyrics because I won't do it.

I cleaned up my act because otherwise I would have kicked the bucket.

When I record an album I'm trying to get as close as possible to that perfect moment.

I think that everything happens for a reason, everything happens when it's going to happen.

Me, I've concentrated on music pretty much to the exclusion of other things.

I don't know anyone actually who does care what a critic says.

I can concentrate on my art.

That's why I survived because I still believe I've got something to say.

I love Ornette Coleman. I love Don Cherry. I love the way those guys play.

I'm a humanist.

I don't believe in dressing up reality. I don't believe in using makeup to make things look smoother.

I think life is far too short to concentrate on your past. I rather look into the future.

The most important part of my religion is to play guitar.

I don't think anybody is anybody else's moral compass. Maybe listening to my music is not the best idea if you live a very constricted life. Or maybe it is.

I don't really think about what the subject of my next album will be. I just know that I'm going to make another album.

People think that I work out but it's all t'ai chi.

I don't like overdubs, never liked them.

I'm not joking around when I've said occasionally, trying to learn how to play a D chord properly has been a very big thing for me.

If it has more than three chords, it's jazz.

I always thought martial arts was the most modern choreography we could have right now, and I always wanted to put it to music.