I'm always trying to push myself into unfamiliar places with the music, sometimes without success, I have to admit. But I'd rather be there than rely….

I'm the band leader. That's not to say that the other people are my minions - they all put in a tremendous amount of personality, and push the music ….

I wanted to challenge myself and move into something new. I felt that using the name Swans and the sonic attitude that that engenders was what I need….

It's good that people come to the shows because there's nothing fashionable about Swans. Never has been, really. We've never been part of a scene. So….

Nina Simone was an entertainer. Bob Dylan was an entertainer. Anyone that can occupy a piece of music and make the air catch on fire at that moment i….

I don't want to sound like everybody else..

I really wanted to get to the animal core of rock music and eliminate anything that wasn't necessary..

You make your work and you can't ask for approval when you're doing it. Otherwise, it's going to be untruthful in some way..

At a certain age, children are total Id - they're anything but beautiful little flowers. That always interests me. The place where the ego and the su….

I like loud electric guitars because I like how you can just lose your entire being in the sound..

When I first started doing the quieter, more acoustic material in Swans, there was a lot of derision and outright hatred from the audience and press,….

The sexuality of children - there's a lot friction there. That tension interests me a lot..

I am definitely less and less interested in music made by people that exist today, people that are living. I just see them as part of the whole stupi….

Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments..

You find ways to push yourself into the sound through repetition. It doesn't stay the same. It morphs constantly..

The goal is ecstasy, but I don't want to make some sort of saccharine pop music. I want to make something that's completely uncompromising: the best ….

The music takes you. It has to be alive. It's like you hammer something, and the way it happens to bleed leads you into new directions..

I'm pretty confident that people are going to come along for the ride. If they don't, tough..

I never could read Foucault. I find philosophy tedious. All of my knowledge comes from reading novels and some history. I read Being and Nothingness ….

When I walk around New York now, there are so many ghosts. I find it very uncomfortable. There were many hard years, and I never really achieved any ….

I like loud electric guitars because I like how you can just lose your entire being in the sound. But I can't find myself in a situation where our ba….