I was a kid who was born and raised on Johnny Cash. My father played ‘At Folsom Prison’ constantly. Cash was the only thing I remember coming from our big, warm stereo console. Even then, I knew Cash was uncool. I knew he was an unhip Republican. David Means Read Quote
In ‘Kid A’ and ‘Amnesiac,’ Mr. Yorke’s lyrics were often unfathomable, moaned and mumbled and forced beneath the surface of the music. In ‘Hail to the Thief,’ most but not all of the words can be decoded after a few listens. David Means Read Quote
The more you know about Bob Dylan, the less you know. A truly enigmatic artist, Mr. Dylan’s work and life offer vaporous handholds, explanations, and instructions. Attempt to grasp them, and they will only dissipate and re-form into another contexture or idea. David Means Read Quote
In the days following 9/11, when we were reeling and disoriented, there was a kind of solace to be found in old recordings, and even pseudo-folk singers like James Taylor seemed to be safeguarding something, drawing back bygone days. David Means Read Quote
I’m not at all interested in simply reporting what’s here right now, or cranking out an entertainment device that’s going to touch the widest number of people. I’m interested in digging and excavating as deep as I can go into those small eternal moments and how they expand out, or close in, on the lives of my characters. David Means Read Quote
Vietnam and Iraq are part of the same national trauma and delusion; we folded the war up when Reagan became president and unpacked it with Bush. David Means Read Quote
Wars never simply end, not for those in combat and not for the culture, and one way or another, they shape-shift from generation to generation. David Means Read Quote
I like landscape, I guess. It’s kind of a game to see how you can describe it. David Means Read Quote
I studied English at the College of Wooster in Ohio, and I did an M.F.A. in Poetry at Columbia. David Means Read Quote
