M. Ward quotes

I'm somebody who doesn't feel the need to be in the driver's seat all the time. I appreciate the perspective of being in the passenger's seat sometimes, and I feel fortunate for that because I've learned a lot from that perspective. (M. Ward)
I have a very strong belief in God. View quote
M. Ward
I had the naive, simplistic idea that producers and writers and artists of the time helped in a minuscule way to change the mind-set of America. View quote
M. Ward
I find that the time that goes by is actually your best friend when you are making a record. The passing of time gives you perspective on what you recorded and what you wrote. If something sounds good to you 12 months after you recorded it then chances are pretty good that there's something valuable about the part or the song. View quote
M. Ward
When I first started making music, it was learning other peoples songs and putting them onto four-track. Like Beatles songs and stuff. When I started writing, I used the singing side of the production as a vehicle for melody and lyrical ideas. View quote
M. Ward
One of the great things about music is that it has the capability of time travel - you smell a certain smell in the room and it takes you back to your childhood. I feel like music is able to do that, and it happens to me all the time. View quote
M. Ward
I'm somebody who gets a lot of inspiration from dreams. View quote
M. Ward
I get most of my inspiration from older records and older production styles, and that ends up rearing its head in the records that I make. View quote
M. Ward
The songwriting style, to me, is superior. There was a certain amount of joy in it, no matter how sad the song is. You get joy in listening to these Buddy Holly or Roy Orbison sad lyrics. I'm attracted to songs that have balance between the darks and the lights and giving them all equal opportunity. View quote
M. Ward
The South of France is one of my favorite places in the world. View quote
M. Ward
When you work on a record for three years, it's a great sense of relief when it is finally out in the world. It just feels good. (M. Ward)
I definitely don't see myself as much of a singer, because my upbringing is really based around the guitar, learning chord progressions and that sort of thing. So the singing aspect of what I do has been a secondary adventure. View quote
M. Ward
I don't like the way recording to digital sounds. Most of the time when I'm recording to 2-inch tape, I still have a romantic vision of how songs sounded coming out of the radio when I was younger, and how they sounded coming out of my little four-track cassette player. View quote
M. Ward
I get most of my inspiration from older records. Most of the records that I listen to were probably made before I was born, and I was born in the mid-'70s. I don't know why, exactly, I'm drawn to those sounds. View quote
M. Ward
I love the idea that I planned my career. I did not. It started out by getting invitations from artists that I really love and respect, to share a stage... I've been very lucky in that I haven't had to create a five-year plan. It's evolved. View quote
M. Ward
My grandparents are from Mexico, so I grew up with great Mexican food. View quote
M. Ward
It's a luxury to not have to just be performing with other people to have my music heard. View quote
M. Ward
The best live recordings capture elements of surprise onstage. View quote
M. Ward
There's a relationship between music and spirituality and inspiration and to a certain extent improvisation that draws me in, because I don't totally understand it. I know that those relationships have been telling me, since I started making records, where to go. What to write down. View quote
M. Ward
I do watch 'American Idol' sometimes. It's not really that pleasurable... I take that back. It is the epitome of a guilty pleasure. Sometimes there's some good singers on that show. View quote
M. Ward
I don't really watch TV series because I don't want to get hooked on them and have them suck up all my time. (M. Ward)
I believe in working with songs that have personal value for me. View quote
M. Ward
Certain things you have to stumble on to. They can't be preprogrammed. View quote
M. Ward
I learned a long time ago that fame and money is not a ticket to happiness. View quote
M. Ward
I love the sound of Elmore James, the sound early guitarists like him got just by using minimal means. View quote
M. Ward