Sympathy for the Muse | Keith Richards

A core component of Great Design remains connection. The power of music has the ability to access emotional authority, influence, control through connection. From that, the absolute power of historically prevalent music remains undeniable; Ancient. Biblical. Medieval. Renaissance. Baroque. Classical. Romantic. And then there’s rock and roll. A founding architect of rock, Keith Richards, always seems humored and unhurried by his talent, his success, his life. To access his level of talent often times requires a removal of the mundane. Perhaps that explains why he often turns his back to his audience when he plays. At its essence, it’s not about the art, it’s about the mojo.

Quotes from Keith Richards:

“This is the rock 'n' roll life, and you had to invent it as you went along. There was no textbook to say how you operate this machinery.”

“Good music comes out of people playing together, knowing what they want to do and going for it. You have to sweat over it and bug it to death. You can't do it by pushing buttons and watching a TV screen.”

“I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous.”

“About myself I have no great illusions. I know what I am. I know what I'm good at. I know what I ain't. I'm always hoping to surprise myself. But I do have a love of music and I do love to communicate it, and that's the best I can do, really. And I can raise a good family, too.”

Sympathy for the Muse | Keith Richards

“This is the rock 'n' roll life, and you had to invent it as you went along. There was no textbook to say how you operate this machinery.”

“Good music comes out of people playing together, knowing what they want to do and going for it. You have to sweat over it and bug it to death. You can't do it by pushing buttons and watching a TV screen.”

“I look for ambiguity when I'm writing because life is ambiguous.”

“About myself I have no great illusions. I know what I am. I know what I'm good at. I know what I ain't. I'm always hoping to surprise myself. But I do have a love of music and I do love to communicate it, and that's the best I can do, really. And I can raise a good family, too.”

“The only things Mick and I disagree about is the band, the music and what we do.”

“I've never had a problem with drugs. I've had problems with the police.”

“It's great to be here. It's great to be anywhere.”