My music is all about an idealistic human personality. I have 19th-century ideals.

It's true that I tend to daydream. I'm the same person in business as I am in music: I can be distracted and absentminded. It's my style.

I just have to take my chances like any other composer.

I feel that I belong to the 19th century. Some composers' music is very topical. It almost says, 'This is about what I read in newspapers yesterday.' Not mine.

I see only adaptations - not revolutions.

Ive managed to dodge the curse. Not all my family have. Of course, music helped me - music is all about civilization, about something worthwhile. Its all about ideas.

If you have more money than you need, you have to give it away. It's a duty. I get to choose whom to sponsor, and I like to give to the areas that I know something about.

My father was so much more than an accomplished businessman.

I've had every advantage in the world, despite the 18 years of silence which were nobody's fault but mine.

Nicolette, Kendalle, and Alexandra are my children. Their mother, Cynthia Beck, and I, love them very much.

The Getty family has been fully supportive throughout 'double life' situation, and for that, I am very grateful.

I just got tired of waiting for things to happen through other people when so many other people are taking chances on following their dreams.

Somehow we just don't make the same boisterous fun of Holy Week that we do of Christmas. No one plans to have a holly, jolly Easter.

My message is that happiness is the first principle of life. But you must choose it. We all have pain, but suffering is a choice. You can be happier if you make some changes in your life.

Ce que je sais de la morale, c'est au football que je le dois. (I know of morality, it is football that I owe.)

The great majority of the things we now make ourselves panicked about are self-created 'dangers' that exist almost entirely in our own imaginations.

Some people can do things and get away with it. Comics are famously like that. Why is it that some guys can say the most horrible things and it's not offensive, it's funny?

Why would anyone want to be called a size zero or even aspire to being a zero? I don't even understand the thinking behind it, let alone the practicalities. What is all that about?

Just because you wear a bow tie doesn't mean you're a nerd.

I'm a Crank. I'm slowly going crazy. I keep wanting to chew off my own fingers and randomly kill people.

I don't think Mike Tyson's a bad guy. I think the people, the media, makes him out to be a bad guy.