Mark Lanegan, who was born on November 25, 1964, in Ellensburg, Washington, was a significant figure in the American music scene, particularly known for his contributions to the grunge genre.

He first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the early grunge band Screaming Trees, which was formed in late 1984 and became a part of Seattle’s grunge scene alongside bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Nirvana.

Here are some of the best quotes from Mark Lanegan:

1. “I can’t say what people use the experience of listening to songs for, but I would never tell somebody what it is supposed to mean. That defeats the purpose of making it. Hopefully, whoever connects with it connects with it in their own way, and it can mean whatever it is supposed to mean to them.”
2. “Doing something that’s physical but not necessarily mentally taxing — for me, it frees me up creatively.”
3. “No one would hang out with me if I didn’t have music to make.”
4. “I had a lot of jobs when I was younger. Where I grew up, there was a lot of agricultural jobs, so I worked on a lot of farms. I worked in the pea fields, harvesting peas.”
5. “Me and Kurt Cobain were both listening to a bunch of Lead Belly and diggin’ it. We thought, ‘Let’s do an EP of all Lead Belly songs.’ We did a couple, and both of us were like, ‘Nah, this is a bad concept.’ We set it aside.”
6. “All the guys I know that play guitar are also secretly drummers and vice versa.”
7. “When I think of a hit, I think of Madonna.”
8. “It’s satisfying and gratifying to make your own music, but I personally don’t get the same enjoyment out of the music that I make as I do from somebody else’s music that I like.”
9. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to the point where I sent out Christmas cards! But if I did, they would have to feature my pets, that’s for sure.”