Rhett Miller Quotes

"The songs on The Believer are about sex, war, love and death . . . but mostly sex,”

“Before going into the studio, I thought I’d be making a punk rock Ziggy Stardust, but I wound up with George Gershwin does T. Rex's The Slider.”

“I made The Instigator while I was homeless as a result of 9/11, and there was some stuff on there that was really raw and directly out of that experience,”

“I love to rock, but it's liberating not to always have to keep up with the freight train that is the Old 97's,”

“I always secretly fantasized about making the perfect record and then faking my own death, but none of my previous albums seemed quite good enough. Now, if I disappear, you should check the beach in Bora Bora, because I feel pretty @#$%& strongly about this one.”

“I wrote it in New York City the day he died,”
(about Elliot Smith)

“It really hit home for me. I met him and spent some time with him during his last years. My first date with my wife was seeing Elliott play at the Royal Albert Hall, and his drummer Scott McPherson ended up playing with me on the tour for The Instigator. I had a pretty serious suicide attempt when I was 14 years old, and I've always wrestled with that impulse, as do a lot of people in my line of work. I don't know if the song is all about Elliott maybe it's about me at 14, I'm not exactly sure. But the song's kind of saying thanks for doing the good work you did, and I understand that you were doing your best.”