Dearly beloved, we are gather here today to get through this thing called death. Electric word -- death, it means forever and that's a mighty long time. But I'm here to tell you that the words of those who pass, live on. They will stay with us forever.
On being yourself.
“Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people.”
"The most important thing is to be true to yourself, but I also like danger. That's what's missing from pop music today. There's no excitement or mystery."
“Cool means being able to hang with yourself. All you have to ask yourself is, 'Is there anybody I’m afraid of? Is there anybody who if I walked into a room and saw, I’d get nervous?' If not, then you're cool.”
"I'm not a woman/I'm not a man/I am something that you'll never understand."
On the past and the present.
"I used to tease a lot of journalists early on, because I wanted them to concentrate on the music and not so much on me coming from a broken home... I don't live in the past. I don't play my old records for that reason. I make a statement, then move on to the next.”
"The new pushes the old out of the way and retains what it wants to.”
"No child is bad from the beginning; they just imitate their atmosphere."
"All these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."
"I don't look at time that way, and I don't believe in age. When you wake up, each day looks the same, so each day should be a new beginning. I don't have an expiration date."
On how to act.
"Act your age and not your shoe size."
On music.
"Music is music, ultimately. If it makes you feel good, cool."
"Music is real! It affects people, it's real... The other night I went to a club and I watched a DJ control an entire room. Even politicians can't do that.”
On giving the people what they want.
"All people care about nowadays is getting paid, so they try to do just what the audience wants them to do. I'd rather give people what they need rather than just what they want.”
On success.
"Sometimes, it takes years to become an overnight success."
On being strong.
"A strong spirit transcends rules.”
"Compassion is an action word with no boundaries.”
"There are no accidents. And if there are, it's up to us to look at them as something else. And that bravery is what creates new flowers.”
On losing someone.
"Yeah, everybody's got a bomb, we could all die any day. But before I'll let that happen, I'll dance my life away.”
“If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words 'they’re gone.' They’ll come back."
