The way [Barack Obama] danced, it looked like he could dance in a circle with anyone from Chris Brown to. . . well, I don't want to say Michael Jackson, because he's like the king.
Friends are an intersection. A route back to the world.
Shifts within friendships happen in imperceptible increments. There is distance, then assurance. Misconjecture, caution, gradual convergence. So much depends on the respect accorded to vulnerability.
Unmediated joy was nowadays unfashionable.
Beethoven's last quartets were written by a deaf man and should only be listened to by a deaf man.
When you pursue significance, success can find you.
It [my vocal] didn't sound like what I wanted to hear; the vibrato isn't what I liked anymore. So I got myself to an ear, nose and throat guy who does a lot of work with singers, and I was hoping there was a big wart on my vocal cords or something and they could scrape it off and I could have the voice I wanted. But he said, "No, for 71, that's your voice. "
I never rejected any responsibility, but that depends on the decision.