Will Oldham Quotes

Writing songs is a profession; so it's not an attempt to take things from my interactions with other people and for some reason give them to a total stranger to listen to. I find it offensive to hear other people do that. - Will Oldham

Whenever I see something that looks like it could be good - whether it's on vinyl, CD or cassette - if it's not too expensive, I'll take a chance. - Will Oldham

When I was a kid, I always thought that acting was going to be the way to go. - Will Oldham

Too much emphasis is put on American roots music when people try and place me. You know, I grew up listening to punk. - Will Oldham

There's very little admirable about being a pirate. There's very little functional about a pirate. There's very little real about a pirate. - Will Oldham

The songs are not meant to be real life. They're meant to have a psychic - rather than a factual - bearing on the listener. It's rare that a song grounded in reality moves me because I don't feel like I'm getting the whole story. Songs are made to exist in and of themselves, like a great James Jones or Robert Louis Stevenson novel - they're not autobiographical, and yet there's a reality in every single page. It's real life of the imagination. - Will Oldham

The first music I bought when I was nine or 10 was pop music from the '50s and '60s, like The Everly Bros., Elvis, Del Shannon, The Flamingos, The Platters, whatever I could get my hands on. And then some musical things, like Camelot, Singing in the Rain and Hair. - Will Oldham

Sometimes we need to tell ourselves that we're not going to do certain things, just in order to stay sane. - Will Oldham

People are looking for fame or a focus, and I can't provide that. - Will Oldham

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