Juliana Hatfield

“In this world, where everything happens so fast, it's hard to sit back, take the time and contemplate.”

“When I first started making music, I didn't really know what I was doing. I just wanted to write songs. I didn't have a concept. I didn't think it through. I was just flailing around doing what comes naturally. It took me a really long time to step back and deal with what I was doing with any kind of perspective or self-awareness.”

“I wanted to be a writer since I was a little girl - long before I was a musician and a songwriter.”

“Music is so hard. It's a struggle to get people to care. It's hard to make an impact in today's world because people aren't buying records anymore.”

“Although I'm a huge fan of Ben Kweller, I don't think I'd cover one of his songs, simply because there's just so much of my own stuff I wanna do.”

“If I have to work in McDonalds, fine - I had a really great run and made a living at music for 20 years, and how many other people can say that?”

“I'm a neo-Luddite.”

“Playing a show is a monumental hassle. You've got to schlep all your heavy equipment into the van, then you've got to drive for five hours, then you have to schlep all the heavy equipment out of the van, onto the stage, set it up, do the sound check, hang around for three hours, then play the show, which is incredibly draining.”

“People don't analyze Britney Spears' lyrics 'cause they're so obvious, you know? And her image is so kind of blah and mainstream that who really wants to read between the lines, because it's all so out there in front of you and boring and white bread.”

“I feel some kind of duty to be really, really honest as a writer. The same is true of my songwriting.”

“My guitar playing has not developed as much as I think it could because I never practice. I only play when I'm writing or recording or when I'm playing on tour. When I'm sitting around at home, I never play.”

“It costs a lot of money to make an album in a studio in New York with a producer and musicians. I have to pay a publicist every month. I have to pay for mastering, production, the manufacturing of the discs. Then, to promote an album properly, you have to spend a lot of money.”

“My dad claims that he was able to trace us back to the West Virginia Hatfields. When I look at the old pictures, the patriarchs have kind of a physical likeness to some of the men on the father's side of my family. I want it to be true.”

“Some of the songs are so crazy, the words are so crazy... it's hard to believe I was so crazy.”

“I used to be an over-packer! It took me a while to be smart about what I brought with me. I used to tour with a huge bag full of clothes and another one full of shoes because I wanted to have choices. And I ended up wearing the same pair of shoes all the time!”

“A lot of my past is gone from my mind.”

“I don't think I'm romantic at all. I have a lot of faith in the right thing happening. I don't really hope for a lot of particulars, I just have faith that the right thing will happen most of the time.”

“I am not dead inside. I still care about right and wrong.”

“I like people wanting to know about me.”

“I'm a damaged person, but I have hope and a will to not give up.”