"Burial's one of the most wonderful people I've ever met. We stay in touch, and this sounds super weird, but he kind of looks over me in a weird way... He's just one of those remarkable people that you come across that are so rare—he's so shy and quiet, but he's really hard to explain. I'm constantly fascinated by him. I've only had a few encounters with him, but they were really intense. I may never see him again, but we stay in touch constantly... I think it's [his decision not to perform live] so admirable. Obviously I make money for what I do and promote myself, but I always remember him, in everything. The nobleness of it, where you're just making music and making people happy… I use a bit of that for myself."

— British pop singer Ellie Goulding describes her friendship with the (typically) enigmatic Will Bevan, saying he's a longtime fan of her music who she considers an "all-time hero." (Via Billboard)

“What I see in the commercial side of it [dance music] I find repellent. It makes me want to vomit. I just don’t like it, it’s not for me but it’s also not designed for me. I’m old and it’s very maximalist and I’m not a maximalist guy. I’m sure there’s great stuff happening but it’s just not reaching me and it probably shouldn’t. I’m not excited about new stuff that much. This past month I've been really hoping that there’s two people DJing to a room full of 150 people that think what I did was stupid and are making something awesome and having a great time. I won’t hear it until they do a shitty sell out track and I never hear what’s great about them, but that’s what I’m hoping.”

-James Murphy finds dropping the bass to be, well, rather basic (via Music Week)

"Most days I wake up and wish I was Mac Miller. And sometimes I wonder does Mac Miller wake up and wish he was me? Probably not."

- Sufjan Stevens, peering deeply into the life of rapper Mac Miller (via Sufjan's Tumblr)

"Ten years ago today we finally released what had been my life’s work up to that point: The College Dropout. I say 'finally' because it was a long road, a constant struggle, and a true labor of love to not only convince my peers and the public that I could be an artist, but to actually get that art out for the world to hear. I am extremely grateful to each and every person along that road who helped, lent an ear, lent their voice, gave of their heart to that project, and to all the projects that followed, and are to come. I am honored and humbled by my fans, for the unwavering support and love over the past ten years. I wake up every day trying to give something back to you that you can rock to and be proud of. Ten years later I am still the same kid from Chicago, still dreaming out loud, still banging on the door. The doors may be heavier, but I promise you WE WILL BREAK THEM."

- Kanye West addressing fans, haters, and the ten years that have passed since the release of his iconic debut album, The College Dropout. (Via Kanye's Twitter)

"PRINCE & THE RESOLUTION"

– Prince has a very witty comment about filing lawsuits against 22 people for $1 million each over allegedly sharing illegal recording of his concerts... then abruptly dropping the lawsuits. (Via Prince's Twitter.)

Photo by Eliot Lee Hazel

"This is the single biggest shift since the inception of recorded music, so it is naturally going to draw criticism and speculation. [Yorke] looks at this and says over a million streams gives me a few thousand dollars, and he says if I had a million downloads [which pay higher royalty rates], that would mean $1 million—so Spotify is not good. But the difference is, he would not have had a million downloads because they are not comparable. In fact, with 24 million users—and Apple has 500 million users—we already have billions of streams today."

—Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and Thom Yorke continue to correct one another's math in the streaming music debate. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Photo by Leah Nash

"I think it sucks. That doesn't mean my music isn't on there, though. I'm against a lot of things that I do in life, and I still do them, so there's a lot of self-deception in all our lives. At least in the life of an unprincipled musician."

—Stephen Malkmus on Spotify (via Rolling Stone)

Photo by Erez Avissar

"I am a 45 yr old Luddite and proud of it.. yawn."

—Thom Yorke is unfazed by Moby calling him 'an old guy yelling at fast trains' in the debate over streaming music. (via Twitter)