For too long, musicians have been the greatest enemy of music. Their lack of desire to proselytize is a kind of betrayal.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It has always seemed slightly uncomfortable, the idea of politicised musicians. Very few of them are clever enough to do it; if they're good at the political side, the music side suffers, and vice versa.
I have always abhorred the business end of music.
I think one of the reasons musicians keep doing what they do and writers keep doing what they do, is that we're totally unsuited for anything else. And I for one am much too lazy.
The problem was the journalists who also did not understand much of my music, but they wrote about it. I think you fell into the usual trap laid out by parts of the press and other writers: that the poor musician has always to fight the evil companies and managers.
Ideally, musicians belong outside the Establishment. When they cross that line, it's like something in them has died.
A lot of people these days are not music lovers - they just want to be famous which is a very different thing to what I grew up believing in.
Great musicians accept everything that they hear and find something good. They take what they like and they throw away what they don't like.
I've never known a musician who regretted being one. Whatever deceptions life may have in store for you, music itself is not going to let you down.
Most of my arguments with musicians through the years have had more to do with their attitude about music, or their attitude about their own lives, or their personal responsibility. Music has never really been the big centerpiece of the fight.
This is a cause that musicians can take to heart because one of our main reasons for being is to share our music with other people, and this takes us to people who probably wouldn't otherwise get to hear music on quite this level.