Jarvis Cocker

“I do write songs with a political dimension to them sometimes, but I'm always slightly appalled by it when I do.”

“Unless you're living on the street and surviving on a diet of discarded turkey drumsticks, there's no point in being gloomy. We've spent too long trying to cheer ourselves up by spending mon...”

“I speak onstage to try to establish some method of communication. The songs are supposed to be a way of communicating. But speech and drinks and sometimes chocolates are also a way of commun...”

“Being chronically shy I needed to create a persona for myself and be involved with a band where I could be ruler of my own kingdom. Then Pulp became hugely popular and I lost control of it,...”

“A Conservative government is necessary. There is no credible alternative.”

“In no way am I supporting or suggesting that a Conservative government is a good thing, far from it.”

“It's weird: The leader of the Conservative Party in England is two years younger than me, and I still don't really feel like a responsible adult.”

“I think the credit crunch is a brilliant thing. We should all stop moaning and start celebrating. When times are tough, it's an opportunity to start looking at life in a different way.”

“I am proud, and more than a little excited, to be asked to work with Faber in an editorial capacity. It is my dearest hope that we will produce some fantastic books together.”

“I've always had an eye for nature, but it's the sort of thing to keep quiet about, because I don't want to come across as a mad hippy. But it makes sense to appreciate those things.”

“I guess I'm fairly insistent and maybe consistent. If I decide I'll do something, I generally will.”

“I appreciate people who try and use language in an interesting way.”

“Every woman I've had a relationship with has found this maddening; the fact that I will talk about anything on the stage, and reveal all this stuff, and yet when I'm at home, I clam up and w...”

“The thing with Disney songs is they're very manipulative, very sentimental, but they do get you, you know - there's a kind of sadness to them and that kind of music doesn't really exist any...”

“I think basically becoming famous has taken the place of going to Heaven in modern society, hasn't it? That's the place where your dreams will come true. It's an act of faith now; they think...”

“Also, because people like to multitask, in a way if you've got a bit of music on in the background and the lyrical content is making you want to listen to it, then that would probably put yo...”

“I know that some filmmakers strive for a kind of naturalistic approach, but you're never going to capture something that's really natural - just the simple fact that you choose to put a fram...”

“The main thing I don't like about myself is an absurd level of self-consciousness that makes any sort of social encounter an ordeal for me.”

“I got a pair of red, synthetic satin women's pants through the post the other day with a phone number on. That was quite strange. I haven't tried the phone number. In times of stress I may.”

“To look for some kind of insight or meaning in pop songs is not really - well there's plenty of other places where you should probably look first before you start looking for it in a pop son...”