Latest M. Ward Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• There's at least one fist bump every interview.

  M. Ward

  Bumps, Fists, Interviews

  "She & Him". Interview with Ryan Dombal, pitchfork.com. March 15, 2010.

• I get annoyed with movies or books, songs or records that deliberately try to make you feel a certain way.

  M. Ward

  Song, Book, Annoyed

• Every record turns into whatever the listener gets out of it.

  M. Ward

  Records, Turns, Listeners

• As a producer, I like to bring in unexpected voices, unexpected musicians, like Watt and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ.

  M. Ward

  Voice, Musician, Unexpected

• In order to make a normal-sized record, a singer songwriter should have a couple dozen finished songs. Once they go through the process of production, the ones that scream out at you that they're finished are the ones that make the record.

  M. Ward

  Song, Couple, Order

• The production process has a great way of bringing songs to light and that's a big part of it.

  M. Ward

  Song, Light, Way

• It's a hard thing to explain, but the more I arrange for strings, the more I realize the possibilities.

  M. Ward

  Realizing, Possibility, Strings

• If you think of the way Howlin' Wolf made records, you get the feeling there wasn't a production manager onsite, or a publicist having his say on how he should sing the songs. When you listen to his records, you feel like you're tapping into his voice.

  M. Ward

  Song, Thinking, Voice

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• I just want the songs to have the staying power as my favorite songs. If you listen to any Hank Williams song, when you're in a good mood, it's going to put you in a better mood. If you happen to be bummed-out, you're going to feel maybe a little more bummed-out and better at the same time. At any time in my life, his music has had meaning and value to me. If a song can shape-shift in that way, that's a sign of success.

  M. Ward

  Song, Shapes, Want

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• Try to take your vision and ego as far away from the song as possible. Give as much respect as you can to the song and the initial inspiration.

  M. Ward

  Song, Inspiration, Giving

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• My favorite recordings are the ones that feel like there were no middlemen in the creation. That's the biggest problem with most films and records being made today - too many people involved. I think it dilutes the artist's intent and inspiration.

  M. Ward

  Inspiration, Artist, Thinking

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• My philosophy for producing a record is for everyone involved, including myself, to get out of the way of the song, and at the same time, listen to it as closely as you can, and listen to where the song wants to go.

  M. Ward

  Song, Philosophy, Records

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• I've never used the word jamming. It's a matter of finding a great song and learning the chords, then slightly altering the vocal melody, and matching a classic chord progression with another chord progression.

  M. Ward

  Song, Matter, Matching

  Source: www.avclub.com

• Even though someone has died, a piece of their spirit can still be alive. That's an exciting world for me to take music into, or to attempt to do that.

  M. Ward

  Pieces, Alive, World

  "M. Ward's Metallica phase". Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 3, 2007.

• I remember when I was 5 or 6 years old, gospel music felt familiar, like I had heard it in the womb or something. A lot of those old gospel songs still give me that feeling, that it's older than time and there's actually music that can tap into a universal subconscious, or whatever word you want to put on it.

  M. Ward

  Song, Years, Giving

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• The way that I'm working now is basically the way I've been working since I was a kid: Find the greatest artist in whatever you do, and rip them off with respect. I think there's a big difference between ripping off with respect and ripping off in disrespect.

  M. Ward

  Rip, Kids, Artist

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• I went every Sunday to church when I was growing up, and I think that music had an affect on me before my memory can recall.

  M. Ward

  Growing Up, Memories, Sunday

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• When I started to take literature and poetry classes, I just started to get inspired by these new incredible works of art that I had never seen or heard of before. I wrote a lot of bad high-school poetry, just like pretty much everyone did, I think, at some point. For me, the inspiration never really stopped.

  M. Ward

  Art, Inspiration, School

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• I got into one Metallica record. That was about it. I never got into AC/DC or Black Sabbath or any of that. I was interested in the side of heavy metal that had interesting guitar ideas, but that was a very short-lived thing.

  M. Ward

  Ideas, Guitar, Interesting

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• I don't like the way recording to digital sounds.

  M. Ward

  Sound, Way, Digital

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• It was endlessly amusing to me to try to imitate John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies using the guitar.

  M. Ward

  Guitar, Trying, Harmony

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• From a very early age, I started to get really interested in how songs were put to tape. Not just listening to the songs, but the way the songs were recorded.

  M. Ward

  Song, Listening, Age

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• When I was about 15, I picked up the guitar and learned how to play by going through Beatles chords books. I got this Christmas gift with the entire Beatles catalog.

  M. Ward

  Book, Guitar, Play

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.

• When I started writing, I used the singing side of the production as a vehicle for melody and lyrical ideas. Eventually, that process of using my voice to bring ideas across became more complicated, and I felt I could use it more as an expressive tool.

  M. Ward

  Writing, Ideas, Voice

  Interview with Steven Hyden, music.avclub.com. May 10, 2007.