165 Quotes by Viv Albertine

The good thing about shocking is that it clears the brain of preconceptions for a moment, and in that moment the work has a chance to cut through all the habits and learnt behavior of the viewer and make a fresh impact, before all the conditioning crowds in again.

We're invincible together. We have no doubt that the Slits are great and are going to change the world. We're on a mission and pity anyone who doesn’t get it.

In the past I listened to tracks as a whole, paying most attention to the lyrics. Words were what I knew, what I was familiar with; they worked or didn’t work for me. That’s how girls listened to songs.

I secretly do a pregnancy test every day. It’s always negative. I just want to be sure, seeing as this is the last try. I’m going to do a pregnancy test every single day until my period comes. If I’m still doing tests, I’ve still got something to live for. Still got hope. But it’s the hope that kills you. Every day I torture myself looking at the little window on the white tester stick, waiting and waiting. No blue line.

This song [You Can't Do That by The Beatles] pierced my heart, and I don’t think it will ever heal. ... I have a funny feeling between my legs, it feels good. I play the song over and over again for an hour until Kristina can’t stand it any more and takes me home.

I grew up with John Lennon at my side, like a big brother.

Musicians are our real teachers. They are opening us up politically with their lyrics and creatively with experimental, psychedelic music. They share their discoveries and journeys with us. We can’t travel far, no one I know has ever been on an aeroplane. ... whatever they experience, we experience through their songs. It’s true folk music — not played on acoustic guitar by a bearded bloke — but about true-life experiences.

Punk’ was the only time I fitted in. Just one tiny sliver of time where it was acceptable to say what you thought.

I put on a tight black lace dress Sid got me from a jumble sale. It didn’t quite fit so he slashed a slit in the side – which is now held together with safety pins – then he hacked the bottom off whilst I was wearing it, leaving the hem really short and frayed. I pull on my holey black tights and Dr Marten boots; I still never wear heels if I’m seeing Sid.