Andrew Sega

"Once you have a basic grasp of the theories underlying music, you can pretty much pick up any instrument you want."

"Well, when music "moves" someone, it doesnt necessarily have to be in a positive direction. Some people certainly get moved by darker music, and there are all sorts of emotions which music can create that are interesting -- aggression, foreboding, anger, fear. Not everyone wants to feel happy all the time :)"

"I think [Britney Spears] is a perfect example of an artificial construct -- someone with a decent voice and a very marketable image, that producers and business people turned into a pop star. Unfortunately, I think it took a toll on her, mentally, and I feel bad for the trouble that success has brought onto her. However, her music is pretty disposable, and she doesnt have the intelligence and cultural impact of someone like, say, Madonna."

"If someone only ever listens to, say, Nickelback, their opinion [about music taste] is valid but largely meaningless since they dont bring any depth to the discussion :)"

"The problem these days is again just the sheer amount of music available, and that music isnt as important an experience in peoples lives in the 21st century as it was previously."

"Imagine presenting a Nirvana or BT track to someone from the 1850s, they would probably see it as noise and not much else. Society as a whole has a much more nuanced and wide view of what music can be now. It still usually contains various rhythmic, melodic, and vocal components, but they can be combined in so many interesting ways now."

"There may not be a high-level purpose for humanity, but that doesnt mean we cant find inspiration in the world. I think there is a combination of psychological and environmental factors that combine to create various urges in humanity -- most importantly the urge to create, to contribute something to the world, to express your personal worldview and see how the world responds. Art doesnt happen in a vacuum, and if it were only for personal gain then nobody would ever release music to the public. The process changes you, and also changes the world itself, creating ripples of inspiration which flow between the artist and the listener."

"Religion is a simplistic answer that society has created in order to make people feel better, but there is little evidence as to its validity. There are thousands of religions in the world, each with their own "correct" answers, and each contradicting each other. For now the most sensible explanation to me is that we are the result of a lucky combination of cosmic factors, were the "mold" that has grown on this particular planet and in a universe as vast as ours, its expected that somewhere this would happen."

"A human is a complicated organic/electrical system, which is immersed in a culture. Try raising a monkey like a human, it wont work, you need the humans certain brain characteristics (including self-reflection) in order to create a truly intelligent creature. The brain processes inputs and perception in very particular ways, and I think until we understand the underlying processes better, there is no way to really simulate it in software. Computers will continue to be good at simplistic analysis, and raw processing power, but the subtlety of emotions is something intrinsic to the human organism and culture."

"I feel that music is the art which can best express the emotions which flow within us. It conveys something bigger than it is."

"Im starting to realize that touring really involves a lot of waiting around doing nothing."

"I try to avoid categorizing music as much as I can, though. Everyone steals so much from everyone else these days, the lines between genres are very washed-out."