Jim Steinman

“Pop music is the last great populist art form.”

“I'm basically a 13-year-old boy who's been given a great deal of power.”

“If you don't go over the top, you can't see what's on the other side.”

“I think 'teen-age' is a state of mind. It's a state of rebellion against the mundane and the predictable.”

“My songs are not just metaphors. They're stories. They're not just about one thing.”

“I want to write about the things that matter, the things that are larger than life.”

“I don't believe in happy endings. I believe in happy beginnings and then a long, agonizing middle part.”

“I've been called over-the-top. How silly. It's my job to be over-the-top.”

“I never thought of it as rock 'n' roll. I thought of it as a show. It's a pageant.”

“To me, rock and roll is a matter of life and death. It's that important.”

“I consider my music to be theatrical and operatic. It's not just rock and roll.”

“I've always loved the idea of the vampire, the eternal teenager.”