Music Industry's Notable Quotables

"I didn't know I liked the way you play guitar that much."
-- A prominent record executive

"Try to look at the big picture ... we're all in it and you're not!"
-- Industry executive to a stubborn engineer

"Rasinettes make me carsick"
-- Lisa Loeb

"It sounds a lot more like it does now than it did ten minutes ago."
-- unknown A&R guy

"Could you put that up an octave just a little?"
-- unknown producer

"I just want the vibe of the strings to be on the tape."
-- unknown producer after telling the engineer to erase the string tracks he just spent the entire day recording

"So let's run an instrumental version, and then one without any vocals."
-- Steve Lindsey

"Bruce just listened to all the songs on the greatest hits LP. He wants to speed them all up, except for 'Thunder Road', which speeds up all by
itself."
-- John Landau

"He's not stupid. He just has emerging skills."
-- Diplomatic engineer referring to producer who spilled coffee on the mixing board.

"Does the noise in my head bother you?"
-- Highly caffeinated engineer up for 36 hours.

"I've never liked backwards ideas. It always sounds like you've run out of forwards ideas."
-- Gilson Lavis, former drummer with Squeeze

"Well, that's the dilemma. It's supposed to be a solo and the backing vocals aren't very good, so I'd turn up the hand claps and make it a party sort of vibe."
-- Paul Westerberg in response to Bob's question "Is that a solo?"

"I make records so I can buy art."
-- Jimmy Iovine to Jim Kerr after hearing lyrics to a new Simple Minds song.

"And now he's flanging the VU meters"
-- A&R guy trying to impress an attractive woman in the studio by showing her how much recording experience he has.

Joe Pine (60's talk show host who sported a wooden leg) to Frank Zappa --
"So, with your long hair, I guess that makes you a woman."
Frank Zappa's response -- "So, with your wooden leg, I guess that makes you a table."

"That's not a bug, that's a feature."
-- Phil Cork, SSL software engineer

"Well, it's not really 'hi-fi,' and not really 'lo-fi.' It's just kind of 'fi.'"
-- Aimee Mann

"You don't actually have to be able to understand the lyrics, you've just got to feel like you could if you wanted to"
-- Chuck Plotkin (Producer for Bruce Springsteen)

"I'm the perpetual optimist, unfortunately."
-- Ed Doyle

"What do I care about lyrics... I'm a bass player!"
-- John Pierce

"Why the hell would I make up a name like 'Froom'?"
-- Mitchell Froom, upon being asked if 'Froom' was his real name

Industry Executive -- "So why didn't the trade show literature get edited?"
Marketing Assistant - "I guess nobody thought of it."
Exec - "OK then, who's the 'nobody' who didn't think of it?"

Richard Moakes (assistant eng. at Air Studios in 1987) -- "I heard an Olivia Newton-John album that was mixed using an 'Aural Exciter.'"
Engineer - "Oh yeah? Did it sound good?"
Richard - "Nah, but she looked great!"

"He's not the same player he used to be -- but even more so."
-- Unknown producer referring to recording artist who'd seen better days.

"The only thing worse than kicking a dead horse is saddling one."
-- Unknown engineer referring to a bad mix getting worse

"No brain, no headache."
-- Unknown engineer referring to guitarist who accidentally swallowed his guitar pick.