I’ve learned a thing or two in this business. A lot of businesses, actually. And if I can prevent just one of you from making the same mistakes I’ve made, it will all be worth it. Okay, that’s horseshit. But I needed an introductory paragraph, and the illusion of altruism was too alluring (as was alliteration, apparently). On with the list.
• A camera may add 10 pounds, but it removes 30 IQ points.
• The artfulness of a lyric is inversely proportional to its intelligibility.
• You can only sleep your way to the middle.
• The best words to tell a story are the fewest.
• Charisma and intelligence are not mutually-exclusive. But throw talent into the mix, and you can pick only two.
• If you save your best song for the encore, you won’t get one.
• Keep the money people separate from the decision makers.
• Lighting a set will take twice as much time as allocated, yet half as much as it should.
• Eventually, effort trumps talent.
• Presenting a client with a lame option for the sole purpose of rejection is risky, because they may well select it.
• Actors who need your direction most, won’t take it.
• Major-seventh chords have no place in rock ‘n’ roll.
• The writer is both the most important person in the room and the worst at expressing herself.
• A TelePrompTer is only as useful as the skill of its copywriter.
• If you can’t repeat a sentence from memory directly after reading it, it’s too long.
• Don’t let an engineer produce your recording session, or vice-versa.
• The importance of the data is inversely proportional to the hard drive’s reliability.
• Never trust anyone who is incapable of being on time.
• I will say anything you want to hear if it will improve your performance.
• If something sounds good, then it is good.
• There are two kinds of people in the world: those who like to place people into little categories, and those who don’t.
• No one ever gets what they want without trying something new.
I heard those last few somewhere else.
