Rodney Crowell Quotes on Thought & Thinking (2 Quotes)

and I innocently hit an electric commercial streak, writing some songs and making some music that was just an exploration of a particular moment in my creative path but struck a chord in the country part of the culture at the time. Unfortunately for me, it sent me into a bit of self-consciousness where I sort of abandoned the patience and started thinking, 'Oh, I've made money for these people, now I've got to make more money for them.' The funny thing about me is I was twisted enough that I didn't think about the money I was making for myself. I come from a lack of privilege, post-Depression era people, and we would never presume that we possessed the worthiness to strike it rich on our own. So it sent me into trying to write hits, and it's not my favorite time of my -- would you call it a legacy -- my career. That's the point where I got self-conscious, and self-consciousness is the enemy of good art. You've got to come from the innocent, subconsciously clear place.

He's the guy that developed the philosophy of, 'What people think of me is none of my business,' ... It evoked Picasso and Miles Davis for me two great artists who totally indulged themselves in their work and who they were, but they certainly didn't give a damn what other people thought.