Originally Posted by
NightMistBlue
That "probably can't find a Bernie or Randy quote" sounded a bit like a challenge so here we go.
I like this pithy Randy quote for its honesty - he was talking to an Associated Press reporter about the disappointing sales of his first solo album, which caused him to be unceremoniously dropped by his label:
"I probably had a lot of fans, but not as many as I probably needed."
Source: The Eagle Who Flew the Nest, 12/5/1980
Just kind of sums it up, doesn't he? No beating about the bush.
Here is Bernie in a letter to music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz, January 2016:
One thing I learned over the years about a songwriter expressing very personal feelings, is that it turns out that since all humans feel essentially the same feelings, but that most folks don't know how to express them, that when a songwriter talks about something very personal, it turns out to have universal appeal, because everyone can say "yeah! That's how I feel! He understands me like no one else!" So in a very counterintuitive way, it’s not the large general statement which has universal appeal, but rather the most intimate and personal which does.