The Mekons were kind of like the background music of my life. — Jonathan Franzen

Death is the king of this world: 'Tis his park where he breeds life to feed him. Cries of pain are music for his banquet. — George Eliot
Life is like music; it must be composed by ear, feeling, and instinct, not by rule. — Samuel Butler
Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. — Plato
's one of the perversities of the age: I'm embarrassed by its success, but I'm happy it's selling. — Jonathan Franzen
It seems to me self-evident that if you have a life, things happen in it, and certain things do change; certain things end. People you know die. — Jonathan Franzen
The real pleasure in writing this, for me, was discovering how little you need. — Jonathan Franzen