John Lennon

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known.

Possession isn’t nine-tenths of the law. It’s nine-tenths of the problem.

Nothing is real.

You have to be a bastard to make it, and that’s a fact. And the Beatles are the biggest bastards on earth.

The basic thing nobody asks is why do people take drugs of any sort? Why do we have these accessories to normal living to live? I mean, is there something wrong with society that’s making us so pressurized, that we cannot live without guarding ourselves against it?

Songwriting is about getting the demon out of me. It’s like being possessed. You try to go to sleep, but the song won’t let you. So you have to get up and make it into something, and then you’re allowed to sleep. It’s always in the middle of the night, or you’re half-awake or tired, when your critical faculties are switched off. So letting go is what the whole game is. Every time you try to put your finger on it, it slips away. You turn on the lights and the cockroaches run away. You can never grasp them…

So, my unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism, or ageism, or lookism, or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the people who were jerky to you.

I went to do my first big movie when I was 17. I was in South Africa for three and half months, and I was by myself.

Do I love the road? Honestly? No – but it’s how I earn my living. I also don’t have the blues, like it’s some kind of fever. The blues is my job. It’s what I do.

You can’t give up something you really believe in for financial reasons. If you die by the roadside – so be it. But at least you know you’ve tried. Ten minutes in the music scene was the equal of one hundred years outside of it.

City Action. Al is a true Damon Runyon character

I think my level of fame will drop back down. I think it’ll recede. In fact, I know it will. That’s life on Planet Earth. And I’m okay with that. Besides getting tables at restaurants and special treatment at the airport, what else is there?

First of all, you have to understand that I’m like anybody else. When I hear my voice on a record I absolutely loathe my voice. I cannot stand my voice.

I wanna sing about something that’s sexy and edgy.

My family, you know, are all still, you know, very close. We’re all still very close. Mom and Daddy are still alive. So, what more can you ask for? Your kids are healthy.

I don’t like a tremendous amount of conflict. I don’t think that fighting and passion are the same thing.

I always thought that was so strange that people would try to corral you and pigeonhole you in one category and not play you anywhere else.

I have three closets in my bedroom.

So many people try to grow up too fast, and it’s not fun! You should stay a kid as long as possible!

We slept together and, believe me, I know the best and worst of David Geffen.

I’m speaking for all of us. I’m the spokesman for a generation.