Quote

Every song I ever wrote, I wrote to be heard. So, if I was given a choice that 50 years from now I could either have a dollar or knowing that some kid was listening to my song, I'd go with the kid listening to my song.

Ian MacKaye

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Ian MacKaye
Age: 62
Born: 1962
Born: April 16
Composer
Guitarist
Singer
Washington
District of Columbia
Ever
Listening
Every
Either
Years
Heard
Choices
Knowing
Dollar
Song
Wrote
Given
Dollars
Kids
Choice

More quotes by Ian MacKaye

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We were not a band that typically would say, Hello, Whatever Town!
Ian MacKaye
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Straight Edge was a song about my life. There was no structure, no premise as if I was forming a club. There were no tenets. I mean I wrote a song called Straight Edge, I'll take that, but the song was about my life the way I wanted to live it.
Ian MacKaye
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Why do we celebrate the opening of a bar so much?
Ian MacKaye
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It's so interesting that humanity has to be defined by emotional strife or something. I don't buy into that.
Ian MacKaye
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I'm not a sports dude, but I'm interested in the sociological implications of it.
Ian MacKaye
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I had a bartender friend once tell me about a $14.00 shot of vodka, this was years ago it's probably more now. I thought that was crazy. From what I understand, vodka has no taste. I think people like the taste of their money.
Ian MacKaye
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You had bands like D.O.A., or Black Flag, and a whole network opened up to trailblazer a counter culture movement. I'm more interested in the less sensational type of stories.
Ian MacKaye
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I always appreciate when people save, and more importantly, share. As we speak, there are people in this world - mostly men - who have giant collections of recordings that no one will ever hear. And the value of that collection is almost defined by the fact that nobody else can hear it.
Ian MacKaye
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Let's say for instance people say, He's a really totalitarian, strict guy, he's hard to work with or whatever. I don't think it's true, but people's perception of me leads that direction, like I'm a fundamentalist person. I end up having to spend extra time saying, I'm not a fundamentalist. I have other stuff to do.
Ian MacKaye
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I was into Ted Nugent, I was a Nugent guy. I was a skateboarder listening to Ted Nugent.
Ian MacKaye
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I mean, why do people fight over sports? Because of the framework, the schematic of sports, those particular people seize upon these opportunities to be violent. And the number one problem using the same framework would be religion.
Ian MacKaye
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I think what we took away from first hearing about the punk stuff in England and then the early American punk stuff was a sense of self-definition and also sort of playing music for music's sake and being part of a family for family's sake.
Ian MacKaye
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I'm always happy when I hear about people selling records or selling books or selling movies. It makes me proud of them.
Ian MacKaye
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I'm a fifth generation Washingtonian and I was born and raised here. My kid's a sixth generation Washingtonian. Honestly I wish people didn't move because I love the people of the city.
Ian MacKaye
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If people want new music then they are going to have to figure out a way to be patrons of the arts. And they will.
Ian MacKaye
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We had punks literally protesting Fugazi. I respect a boycott. I respect a conscionable boycott, but of all bands to boycott? Fight crime. If you really want to get out there, go fight crime.
Ian MacKaye
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I actually looked up in my journal trying to figure out some dates and, in January 1991, America is about to go back into its first sort of actual war since Vietnam, with the Gulf War. It just seemed unbelievable at the time that this country would do that - which is funny to think about now.
Ian MacKaye
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I appreciate the past, but I want to make new things. That's the problem with the sack on the back - if you carry it around with you, it's like you get hobbled.
Ian MacKaye
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It doesn't hurt me on a personal level, but it hurts me on a larger level of like, why are people so stupid? Why do we have to go through these unnecessary exercises. Fight crime, don't fight me. If you really want to make a difference don't fight me or Fugazi.
Ian MacKaye
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Music is a language and different people who come along are each using that language to do something different, but all coming at it in a similar vein inasmuch as it's always community based and for the most part nonprofit. Most bands don't ever come within a mile of profit - clearly these people are not playing music to make money.
Ian MacKaye