Dan Mangan Quotes & Sayings

That is a goal, to step out on stage and to actually be present. Honestly alive and present. Although, it doesn't always happen. We're fallible, we're imperfect. That's what a lot of books are written about; that's what a lot of religions have sought after is that kind of zen mentality of just being totally neutral and open and vulnerable to all of the forces in the universe without being attached to them. — Dan Mangan

It's not supposed to make you distracted from your life, it's supposed to make you challenge the ongoing distraction with focused intention. Simply discussing how asleep we can be gives credence to the possibility of finding moments of true honest alertness. — Dan Mangan

I miss that moment when you're about to go through the tube turn-style but you put your ticket in the wrong way and then as you're trying to figure out how exactly to get in the damn station you hear a collective sigh of 40 people behind you pissed that you're slowing down the herd. — Dan Mangan

I used to be so young, how did I get so old? — Dan Mangan

We're constantly dealing with old problems under the circumstance of new variables, so just things like greed and fear and anger and inequality are issues that humanity has constantly dealt with. The parameters and the variables change but these are old things. And discussing those things is slightly more timeless rather than focusing on one tiny thing. — Dan Mangan

What frustrated us about the song [Robots] was not that it existed - we owe a lot to that song and have had a ton of fun playing it. The problem was that it was a "given".It was like everyone was waiting for it to happen, and then it better be as crazy as the time they saw it before. Started to feel like dancing monkeys. — Dan Mangan

Sold my soul to the devil / for nice penmanship. / Now I write real pretty / but I'm starting to regret it. — Dan Mangan

Getting out on stage and playing music for people feels great when people are cheering for you, that's obviously really exciting. But what's most exciting is the idea that we're all experiencing something that's bigger than us. — Dan Mangan

Acknowledging the lucky breaks are paramount to enjoying life. Not being defensive about our successes/failures. So, in short. — Dan Mangan

I don't believe in the myth of the "self made man". Nobody gets through alone. — Dan Mangan

It doesn't matter if you're talking to a communist or a fascist if you say, do you want a good future for your kids? Well they're all going to say yes. Well do you think that money should be spent efficiently? Yes. Al of these things, everyone agrees on them but the way that we discuss them and the language that we use we hold different definitions for. — Dan Mangan

I think it's important to accept all the ways that we're absurdly lucky. I'm a white male from a safe city in a wealthy country. — Dan Mangan

I am trying to keep my voice in order. Basically not talking much in the van throughout the day to preserve it, which I'm sure is welcomed by the band. — Dan Mangan

I feel like songwriting changed from something that I liked doing to something that, I feel, is a very important outlet for me to digest all the things around me. Once I put thoughts into a song, I can let it go, it doesn't bug me anymore you know what I mean? It's kind of a catharsis. — Dan Mangan

And sometimes you just have to trust that there will be more, sometimes you go through dry spells and you have to assure yourself no no, it's gonna be fine. There's gonna be more songs, it's all good. — Dan Mangan

In the war between the humans and the robots, the humans had to win. Call me hopeful. — Dan Mangan

When you have a young kid you can't go out much at night, so I spent a lot of time at home, watching movies and cooking dinner with my wife. It felt like what most people experience. White picket fence stuff.So there was some enjoyment of that normalcy, but I have to admit that part of me missed the chaos of touring. I think it's about balance. — Dan Mangan

If you use language that divides people and makes people who agree with you really stoked and people who disagree with you disengaged then you're preaching to a choir, and you've lost any kind of relativity across the spectrum. So it's important to be subtle and understand that there's a lot more you can learn. — Dan Mangan