Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American musician Mark Lanegan.
Last updated on December 21, 2024.
Mark William Lanegan was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age and The Gutter Twins. He released 12 solo studio albums, as well as three collaboration albums with Isobel Campbell and two with Duke Garwood. Lanegan was known for his baritone voice, which was described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather and has been compared to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave."
It's satisfying and gratifying to make your own music, but I personally don't get the same enjoyment out of the music that I make as I do from somebody else's music that I like.
I can't say what people use the experience of listening to songs for, but I would never tell somebody what it is supposed to mean. That defeats the purpose of making it. Hopefully, whoever connects with it connects with it in their own way, and it can mean whatever it is supposed to mean to them.
I just see what's in front of me. That's what I'm happy with.
The guys who spend their time brooding in their younger years either lighten up or go away.
I'm not really interested in video games.
In 2005, I worked as a scenic painter for a while when I was taking a break from music.
As far as I remember, I don't have any warrants out for my arrest anymore. I can travel without fear.
I hope I'm learning until I'm dead.
When they're listening to your music all the time, you become part of their life, and some people get obsessed.
I enjoy watching basketball, yeah.
I think there's something therapeutic in singing about anything, whether it's what you've written or whether it's someone else's song. I find both satisfying in different ways.
You just realize that you don't know everything there is to know. The older I get, the less I know, and that's a good thing. When I was young, I knew everything, and everything wasn't necessarily good.
Me and Kurt Cobain were both listening to a bunch of Lead Belly and diggin' it. We thought, 'Let's do an EP of all Lead Belly songs.' We did a couple, and both of us were like, 'Nah, this is a bad concept.' We set it aside.
I enjoy the songs that I write, but I can never enjoy them the same way as other peoples' songs.
Usually, I write the music and am involved in the production.
I'm not much of a partyer.
Yeah, well, I guess Andy Williams would be considered by some to be schmaltzy, but to me, he's one of the greatest singers of all time. Just absolutely amazing. And if anyone doesn't believe me, just YouTube him. He's just one of a kind.
Whether I live there again or not, Seattle will always be my home.
We've made records for years on a shoestring.
I've always said everything happens the way it's supposed to.
I enjoy working on whatever I'm working on.
I've never been in charge. I'm just a lazy bastard.
I have to have animals. They really make life worth living, and my world actually revolves around them. They know exactly when it's time to get up, exactly when they're supposed to get their food, and they let you know. Mine are right there in my face, first thing every morning.
One of my very favourite poets was a Massachusetts poet named Robert Lowell.
I think when people hear your music, sometimes they get deeply attached to it and think they know something about you, that you're kindred spirits or something.
I'd wear nice clothes and brush my teeth more often if I cared about what people thought.
I've always been haunted by the devastating voice and beautiful songs of Tim Hardin. I can't imagine anyone hearing him and not feeling the same.
I grew up in a small, rural community, where my extended family were mountain-folk type people, and some were very religious.
I like to fool myself into thinking that whatever happens is OK.
In real life, I'm far more lighthearted than I come across on the records.
Usually I get asked to do stuff that's cool, and if I ever can't do something, it's usually, because of logistics, I don't have the time for it. Rarely do I get ask to do something that I'd rather not do. I usually do it if I feel that it's something I can do.
I'm not a human interest story, man. I'm just a musician trying to make some small records and be happy, be peaceful.
'Gargoyle' was inching towards a more accessible record.
It took me quite a while to find my natural voice. I'm glad I stuck around long enough to see that happen.
I have a high tolerance for pain.
What do I look for in a collaborator? Pretty much anyone who asks me to do something.
I'm about creating a body of work and moving on to the next thing.
Collaboration is part of what keeps me interested in music.
I've learned that sticking around counts for something.
I was listening to punk rock in the '70s as a young kid, but all by myself; I never met anyone that listened to that kind of music. Just by chance, I was in detention, and one of the guys in the class was Van Conner... I started talking to him and found out that we listened to some of the same music.
It's always fun to play songs by somebody else.
Hanging out with the Trees is like hanging out with your family, and I hardly ever see my family.
It was really difficult to sing; nobody showed me how to do it. I remember early Screaming Trees shows in the '80s when I'd walk away with a pounding headache from trying to sing way out of my range.
Talking about myself is difficult for me. It's anti my true nature.
If Brian Eno wanted to make a record, I'd definitely clear some time in my calendar. John Cale, too. Those guys consistently make great records, always doing their own thing.
I'm open to life.
I guess if you live long enough, anything can happen.
I prefer to stay in the here and now and move forward.
I would only tell a story if I was being mercilessly heckled. That's the only time I would talk to the audience.
Everybody has unhappiness.
I didn't always enjoy playing music with the Trees.
I think I've just matured over the years.
Nobody likes to believe that they need anybody's help in anything, and the smarter you are - and I'm not smart - or the tougher you are - and at times I thought I was pretty tough - the more trouble you have.
It's a lot easier to let someone else be Caesar.
I was never super comfortable playing music in front of people anyway. Now I enjoy it, but it wasn't the easiest thing to get past.
Nothing seems too weird to me anymore.
I was in Screaming Trees - I wasn't really interested in playing quiet music in a live setting. But I would get asked quite often to do a show or open for somebody, and I always said no. Finally, I was asked if I would open for Johnny Cash, and Johnny Cash was one of my dad's favorite heroes. So that's why I started doing solo shows.
I wanted 'Imitations' to be a fully realized record from start to finish, with a cohesive sound and a sequence that took you from one song to the other, just like I would with a record of original stuff.
Naturally, if I'm singing over really loud music, my approach is gonna be different than if I'm singing over some quiet acoustic music.
It isn't important to me how people respond to my work.