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As soon as I got into music, I tried to be a working, real artist who gets paid for what he does, who doesn't have a day job.

Black Francis

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Black Francis
Age: 59
Born: 1965
Born: April 6
Guitarist
Musician
Record Producer
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Boston
Massachusetts
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV
Frank Black
Jobs
Artist
Doesn
Tried
Doe
Soon
Music
Paid
Real
Gets
Working

More quotes by Black Francis

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You think you've made something really great, but there's a reason why it's not resonating the way some previous work did. But it's not that easy to just replicate. Some people think, Oh, just go do that thing you used to do before. But it just doesn't work like that. It's a lot more mysterious or slippery.
Black Francis
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I'm not saying that people have to listen to rock music. It's a great, cool thing and it can really be liberating for a lot of people but, hey, so can Charles Dickens so I'm not going to judge.
Black Francis
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I'm really inspired by the interplay of visual art and music, a total artistic environment where there's sound and visuals. When I think about that I get stimulated and excited. It's a feeling that you can't label with words.
Black Francis
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I like visual images and there are certainly other bands that have strong visual images going all the way back to Elvis Presley, but it's kind of like that's never really been my bag. Probably because I'm too shy.
Black Francis
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I think that painting is a very ancient form of expression.
Black Francis
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The first thing that inspires any song is a chord progression. When I have one I really like, I get into the lyrics even more.
Black Francis
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I have two step-kids and one of my own on the way. That's three college funds.
Black Francis
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I initially felt shy about doing painting because I wasn't a professional painter. I almost felt like I didn't deserve to paint. But I have gradually adopted a different kind of attitude about this.
Black Francis
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That's the most important thing, to get along with people. When you feel like you click with them. That's more important even then what their background is or what they've done before, how good they are, how new they are or whatever. All that stuff is really secondary to just getting along with the person.
Black Francis
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But the truth is that critics are by definition critical. That's their job.
Black Francis
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I have had UFO experiences, and yet, at the same time, I can easily be convinced that none of it is true. It's hard to say whether or not you're a believer. I've been interested in that subject matter, like lots of people. Perhaps foolishly, I've allowed some of that stuff to creep into my music.
Black Francis
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They're pretty good actually, Hall & Oates. I gotta give them credit. They got a lot of toe-tappers.
Black Francis
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Wise is the tongue, wet of perfect thought.
Black Francis
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Everyone thinks I'm a wimp and even my own band hates me. Oh, well. I guess I'll just flip 'em the bird!
Black Francis
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I drive a lot. Just for pleasure. Sometimes I'll get in the Cadillac and drive around the city or the country, kind of trying to get lost basically. Y'know, just see where roads lead.
Black Francis
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I'm always looking to rock out. But it isn't really about rocking out versus being mellow, in terms of your personal satisfaction. In the end, you just want to be good. When you look at something that's really good, it might be Iggy Pop or it might be Leonard Cohen. Whatever it is, you want it to be really good.
Black Francis
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It's sour grapes, I admit, I want to be more famous so people are examining my work couplet by couplet, you know what I mean? That's the level where I want to go.
Black Francis
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As I paint, I realise, while it's something I do very much by myself, it's very solitary, the creative process feels similar to making music to me now, at least as far as my brain is concerned.
Black Francis
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For some artists the live performance is the chicken before the egg of writing or recording of repertoire. For other artists the writing or recording of repertoire is the chicken before the egg of live performance.
Black Francis
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This is a particular thing, you know, catholic stories of martyrs who had their head removed and then continued to be miraculous in the last moments of their life.
Black Francis