"I like the idea that something happens to everybody who comes to L.A. - whether they are Mexican, Ir..." — Ry Cooder

It's tremendously expensive to make a record on the basis of writing checks.

I'm not interested in making folkloric records, but I like to push the traditional format around so that familiar patterns get knocked on the head.

The blues is so expressive - nostalgic but not sentimental, mournful but not pathetic, so humble and close to the earth. It's a nuance-filled thing.

What kills music in films is when it's done as performance, drawing attention to the fact that someone's in the background playing it.