John Cale quotes:

I like what the future holds. I don't like thinking about the past.

I learn from thinking about the future, what hasn't been done yet. That's kind of my constant obsession.

In cities like New York and Austin, there's much more of a social context for music than in other places.

I'm writing a movie about Mozart going to New York in the '60s. I've been reading so many novels.

Growing up in Wales was a pretty Draconian experience with religion.

People sort of know me for that solo piano music I did.

That's what my life is, writing songs.

I'm writing a movie about Mozart going to New York in the '60s. I've been reading so many novels."

Time plays a role in almost every decision. And some decisions define your attitude about time.

I missed out on my teenage years. I led a sheltered life. I was practicing scales instead of playing football.

Even if you're improvising, the fact that beforehand you know certain things will work helps you make those improvisations successful. It really helps to have a certain amount of knowledge about musical structure.

The avant-garde makes more sense to me.

The only reason we wore sunglasses onstage was because we couldn't stand the sight of the audience.

I like it here in New York. I like the idea of having to keep eyes in the back of your head all the time.

I never use the word, it's loaded. What love means to me is need.

We gave up on the idea of trying to make the record a good representation of the live performance.

I want to get lean and mean, keep it minimalist.

The value of having a computer, to me, is that it'll remember everything you do. It's a databank.

When somebody grabs a movement, you're kind of locked into it. It's all par for the course.

Everyone should be encouraged...in spiration and artistic freedom is the cornerstone of rock and roll.

In the studio you have pretty much carte blanche with whatever you're doing. You can turn natural instruments into electronic instruments.

I am a ham. I've no business being rock 'n' roll. I've said it over and over again that I'm a classical composer, dishevelling my personality by dabbling in rock 'n' roll.

I'm impatient. I get twitchy. When I get that feeling I just go out and make something happen.

We'd hold a chord for three hours if we could.

What I enjoy most about being on stage is that the natural instruments give you a greater freedom with texture. When you use natural instruments they have their own resonance.

All of the sudden the audiences started getting younger and the spread of the attendance was really wide. I think it's as a result of the records selling more that they started following our careers.

If you're all loaded up on love, you haven't got anywhere else to go.

If I'm interested in what I'm doing, other people will be interested in it.

I'm content with making records, but I don't want to be doing the same thing all the time.

It would be a stronger world, a stronger, loving world, to die in.