Quote, Unquote: The Best Of What Was Said In PAPER and PAPERMAG All Year

Simon Doonan: "What are you wearing?"
Nicki Minaj: "Right now? Just a pink T-shirt and a pink thong."
Simon Doonan asking Nicki Minaj what she was wearing during their interview. From "Hey Nicki, You're So Fine," February/March 2012.

"I saw a big Hells Angels funeral ride by me and I thought, I want to be that."
Chrome Hearts co-founder Richard Stark on realizing he wanted to be a biker at age nine. From "Scissor Sisters Lead Singer Jake Shears Interviews His Idols: Chrome Heart Designers Richard and Laurie Lynn Stark," February/March 2012.

"I'm not sure that Ai Weiwei has it figured out yet. But the way he sees it, you always have to find a new way to play the game."
Filmmaker Alison Klayman on her documentary about dissident Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei and what's next for the artist. From "Playing the Game with Ai WeiWei." February/March 2012.

"Gay people are the bloodhounds of fabulosity."
Simon Doonan on his new book, Gay Men Don't Get Fat. From "Simon Doonan Has a Moment With Us," February/March 2012.

"We love all kinds of movies. I'm interested in a Spider-Man movie where he gets his feelings hurt."
Filmmaker Mark Duplass (of Your Sister's Sister, Safety Not Guaranteed and the League) on whether he sees himself and his filmmaker brother Jay branching out from their 'adult relationship-type stuff' forte. From "Mark Duplass: The King of Unhollywood,"February/March 2012.

"It's really hard, emotionally, to sell your friends' art. Everyday I battle with these demons -- what would Mother Teresa do, and what would Larry Gagosian do?"
Davida Nemeroff (owner of L.A.'s Night Gallery) on navigating being both an artist and a gallerist. From "Davida Nemeroff: Art Star,"

"That was a completely ridiculous review, the dumbest thing I ever read. There might have been a few clunkers on the menu, but it was an insult to my restaurant, to my chef, to my industry. He was mad because he got sat in what he thought was Siberia. Go fuck yourself, buddy."
Michael's owner Michael McCarty on the devastating review Frank Bruni gave the restaurant in 2008. From "Michael McCarty to Frank Bruni: 'Go F*ck Yourself, Buddy,'" January 2012
 
"Listen, layering is a yes. Anything with a drop-crotch, yes please. But I'm really not particular. I'll sleep with anyone. Is that what you're asking me? It doesn't really matter what you're wearing. If you have okay teeth, I'm fine with it."
Fat Jew on what he thinks of women's fashion trends. From "Chatting With Mia Wasikowska, Willem Dafoe and Harry Brant at Miu Miu," February 2012.
 
 

"I was kind of aching to talk to anyone because I wasn't plugged into technology. So I'd come back from the studio and I turned into that lurky person, who's like, 'Hey, what're ya doin'? Wanna chitchat?'"
Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) on holing up in Seattle's Ace Hotel to write her 2012 album, Strange Mercy. From "Being St. Vincent," April 2012.

"I went down to Brazil. I stayed down there for 10 days and did this thing called the diéta, where you just don't eat anything for 10 days except rice and you drink different herbs from the Amazon, one of them being ayahuasca. Total spiritual cleanse. You see things about yourself, and you see how you relate to everyone around you and the universe."
Cobra Starship's Gabe Saporta on his "spiritual cleanse." From "Being Gabe Saporta," April 2012.

"I've seen episodes where Vinny and Pauly D crawl into the bed with each other and joke about being boyfriends -- that's great! They're dropping a not-homophobic bomb in the middle of what can be a very homophobic culture."
Dan Savage on Vinny and Pauly D's "homosocially intimate" relationship. From "Dan Savage Talks New Show, Homosocial Antics on Jersey Shore and His Own 17-Year Relationship," April 2012.
 
"It's really the calm before the storm, even though we're not exactly sure what the storm is going to be."
Zosia Mamet on what she was feeling before Girls premiered. From "Beautiful People 2012: Zosia Mamet," April 2012.

"One guy came in recently and goes, 'Oh, I saw Bridesmaids last night!' And then he just stood there, silent. I said, 'So, did you like it?' And he goes, 'Well, I saw it.' Does he really think he's going to get cast in the show now? And also, who didn't like Bridesmaids?"
Rebel Wilson on casting her new TV show. From "Beautiful People: Rebel Wilson," April, 2012.

"I flew straight from London. I didn't even have time to wash," she remembers. "When I shook Jay's hand I was like, 'Oh. My. God.' We went to the studio, and that was it."
Singer Rita Ora on her career-launching whirlwind meeting with Jay-Z. From "Beautiful People: Rita Ora," April, 2012.

"Aliens are attacking Earth. I'm an obituary writer. The first celebrity killed by the aliens is Albert Pujols, then Stephen Hawking. I'm trying to do justice to their careers but as the deaths increase I resort to copying their Wikipedia pages."
Mr. Dream's Adam Moerder on a recent dream. From "In Mr. Dream's Dreams," April 2012.

"I think that the number one thing that I didn't understand when I was younger was that everything would change constantly. I think there was this misconception that the moment is forever and therefore when things weren't going well, I was just in a state of active despair and I feel like I suffered more than I needed to during years when, in fact, I was unfettered and should have been having the time of my life! What was the big deal? Looking back, I'm just like, 'Why didn't I read 50 more books instead of spinning my wheels the way I did?''"
Author Jennifer Egan on advice for twentysomethings...including her twentysomething self. From "Jennifer Egan Talks Awful Temp Jobs, Writing from the Subconscious and Her Pulitzer Prize," April 2012.
 
"I have an almost unquenchable thirst to be the center of attention."
Adam Levine on being the frontman of Maroon 5. From "Voice Male," May 2012.

"Oh my god, I'd run for the hills."
Twitter personality Jenny Johnson on what would happen if she met Chris Brown. From "Chatting With the Funniest Person On Twitter: @JennyJohnsonHi5," May 2012.

"I need to write beautifully, and I just can't on a Mac. I can sit down with a pen and write a beautiful letter. But if I get on a Mac, it's just all one long sentence. It reads like Spy magazine from 1987 with commas. I've read like three pages from The Elements of Style and it said, "Omit unnecessary words." I ignored that. So then I got a book called The Elements of Fucking Style, a parody. That book, I finished."
Courtney Love on her writing style. From "Finding Love On the Internet," May 2012.

"I don't delete things. You look like such a little punk when you delete things.. Our brother Rob deletes almost every tweet, and follows people and then un-follows them. If he's in the mood to just date random people, he follows them, then un-follows. He un-follows me like once a month. He's bipolar on Twitter."
Khloe Kardashian on why she doesn't delete the tweets her followers bristle at. From "Kardashians Dot Kom," May 2012.

"As soon as you believe you have figured something out, you stop being open to things."
Buzzfeed founder Jonah Peretti on learning new lessons about how the Internet thinks. From "Viral Visionary: Jonah Peretti," May 2012.

"Right now, the biggest challenge is just believing in myself... and not shitting my pants."
Mission Chinese's Danny Bowein on bringing his popular San Franciso restaurant to New York City. From "The Food Networks: Mission Chinese," May 2012.

"My generation, that's just what we're into...When we got home from school, that's how we kept up with each other: AOL, Zynga, Angelfire, Napster, shit like that...You'd be on there and you'd go to, like, sex.com! You're mad obvious with it when you're a kid. You know how many times they probably sold sex.com? It's like the go-to URL."
Azealia Banks on the Internet. From "Aural Fixation," Summer 2012.

"Channing's dancing in this movie is, I mean, it defies the laws of physics. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen."
Matt Bomer on Channing Tatum's Magic Mike moves. From "From the PAPER Archives: Magic Mike Edition, With Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello," June 2012.
 
"The ceiling was always on the verge of caving in. There was a large Puerto Rican family on the first floor who'd stay up late partying, which created the perfect symbiotic relationship with us, because we could do whatever we wanted. None of this could have happened if it wasn't for that Puerto Rican family who'd party around the clock. We'd put a tape recorder on top of the television, and Malkmus and Berman would physically jockey for position to get closer to the recorder."
Bob Nastanovich on the SIlver Jews' early days in an apartment in Hoboken, New Jersey. From "Bob Nastanovich Of Silver Jews + Pavement on the New Early Times LP," June 2012.

"One time she told me to 'smoke 'em if you've got 'em.' I say that to myself every morning when I wake up."
Aubrey Plaza on getting advice from Amy Poehler. From "Aubrey Plaza On New Film Safety Not Guaranteed and What's In Store For April on Parks and Recreation," June 2012.

"I mean, I was sucky, but that doesn't stop someone from getting in the cipher circle. Everyone starts out as crap no matter what."
Iggy Azalea on the early days of her career. From "Iggy Azalea: The Australian Rapper Is O.K. Getting a Little Dirty," Summer 2012.
 
"Everyone asks, 'How do you sleep with your hair like that?' And I say, 'How do you wake up with your hair like that?'"
Performer and Nightlife Personality Kayvon Zand on his coif. From "Just a Few 'Wild and Crazy Guys' (Plus One Girl)," Summer 2012.

"I worry about Ray's Candy, of course, and all the bookstores. I worry about Hector's diner in the Meatpacking District and Manatus diner on Bleecker Street. They are an endangered species in hostile territory."
Jeremiah of Jeremiah's Vanishing New York on NYC businesses in danger of closing. From "Jeremiah Moss of Jeremiah's Vanishing New York On Peep World Turning Into a Hooters + Other Businesses In Peril," August 2012.

"Donovan has a lyric in one of his songs -- 'wear your love like heaven' -- and that's how Tom, in every way, carried himself, from clothing to posture, light and easy, an aura of love and acceptance -- of heaven -- about him."
Jonahthan Ames on legendary NYC performance artist and our beloved theater critic Tom Murrin, who passed away in March. From "Goodnight Moon," Summer 2012.
 "My immediate spark reaction was, oh my God, what are they doing that?...Nooo -- no, don't do it. Why you gonna do it? Oh no, begone!"
Ezra Miller on his initial skepticism about The Perks of Being a Wallflower movie. From "This Is Not a Story About a Wallflower," September 2012.

"I met Flo [Rida] once. He's so nice and he's a really good hugger. And [David Guetta is] very sweet. He's like Big Bird from Sesame Street. He's the sweetest little geeky geek. He's very tall. He's a geek burger."
Sia, on hanging out with Flo Rida and David Guetta. From "Sia Tells Us How She Went From 'Retirement' to Making Songs With Flo Rida and David Guetta," September 2012.
 
"We're 50 bitches deep and growing like mildew."
House of Ladosha's Antonio Blair on the brand's growth. From "Life Styles," September 2012.

"I'm like, 'Trust. I Will.'"
Parks and Recreation's Retta on fans repeating her catchphrase from the show, "Treat yo' self" to her. From "A Real Treat," September 2012.

"Ponies are amazing and special creatures. They're strong and stocky beasts with hearts of gold. They have flowing manes, lush tails and thick dusty coats of the fluffiest fur."
Andrew W.K. on My Little Pony. From "Pony Up: The Cult of Bronies," September 2012.

"You could hear the chanting. It was like the Beatles waiting to go on The Ed Sullivan Show, but not really, because Ringo never humped a fridge."
Comedian Jake Fogelnest on attending a late-night screening of Wet Hot American Summer. From "Camp Classic," September 2012.

"I was working at Burberry, Carol was working at Bally of Switzerland. One day we met on our lunch break, on 57th street, and I said, "Hey,I have $10,000 in my bank account." Carol said, "I have about that too." And we said, "Let's quit our jobs and open up a store and travel the world." It was very naïve."
Humberto Leon on starting his influential New York City store Opening Cermony with partner Carol Lim. From "Guru: Opening Ceremony," September 2012. 

"I don't think we thought we were doing anything important or different. I think we just thought we were making really bad clothes."
Kim Gordon on her mid-90s streetwear brand, X-Girl. From "An Oral History of X-Girl," September 2012.

"Feminists hate me for sure! I'm always like, 'I'll do anything for you!'"
Ellie Goulding on her relationships. From "Ellie Goulding's Mixed Signals," October 2012.

"Nightlife is cool because it cross-breeds these insane, weird niche communities and it lets us network in a way we couldn't during the daytime."
Colin Self on the importance of nightlife for making connections. From "Colin Self: New York's Underground Drag Impresario," October 2012.

"There are these guys dancing naked behind a screen. You stick your hand in a hole and one will come over and let you hold his penis."
Designer Peggy Noland on her friend Johnny Makeup's gay party at Rasputin in L.A. From  "Peggy Noland: L.A.'s Most Outlandish Designer," October 2012.

"We were very strict. We'd tell people to fix their tie if it's too loose. I told Mick Jagger once to fix his tie. I told Ted Turner. To this day, he comes to the door and says, 'My tie is okay?'"
'21' Club doorman Shaker Naini on the restaurant's strict dress code. From "Chatting With Shaker Naini, '21' Club's Fashion Policeman," October 2012.

"It would be history, what even predated hip-hop; soul, country-western, rock, and all that. We need our own thing in the Bronx where it all started, that the world can come to. "
Afrika Bambaataa on his plans to open a hip-hop museum in the Bronx. From Afrika Bambaataa: A Supreme Force, October 2012.

"It's just amazing what dancing can bring people together to do."
Voguer Chi Chi Mizrahi Unbothered-Cartier on New York's thriving ballroom scene. From Giving It, October 2012. 

"I think that when you're younger, you expect there to be this moment of 'Oh, I got it! I know what I'm doing. I finally know how to handle myself.' I think that the big secret is that that never happens."
Filmmaker Ry Russo Young on seeing her recent movie, Nobody Walks, as a coming of age film. From "Director Ry Russo Young On Her New Movie, Nobody Walks," October 2012.

"I simply fill myself with beetles and become THEIR costume. It is important to let your limbs go slack, give the beetles full power. When you are finished, lay with all your orifices gaping and let the beetles pour out of you. EXCEPT FOR ONE. Keep him inside you forever."
@NotTildaSwinton on her Halloween costume this year. From "Azealia Banks, Andrew WK + More Share Their Halloween Costumes," October 2012.


"Even though kids embraced [my art], and people started making crappy fashion GIFs on the computer and disgusting websites and wearing weird leggings, there never was a place where people could go to be like, 'This is where it came from.'"
M.I.A., on the inspiration for her book. From "Bad Girl: M.I.A. Won't Play By the Rules," November 2012.

"I have to say I do prefer Brooklyn to Manhattan. It's more like a European city. It reminds me of when I lived in London. It feels like a village, and you can walk around and you can actually see the sky."
Bjork on preferring Brooklyn to Manhattan. From "Bjork's Vision Quest," November 2012.

"Street art is a term I hear often... It scares the living daylights out of me. Street artists need to get back to actually doing things on the streets, instead of in the galleries where they all seem to be ending up. I hope this term street artist falls from the face of the earth, in my honest opinion. They are taking up precious space outdoors, which is normally reserved for tagging and thoughtless vandalism."
Artist Barry McGee in conversation with Chris Johansson. From "Guru(s): Arists Barry McGee and Chris Johanson," November 2012.

"Fashion needs to be violent."
Designer J.W. Anderson on his deeply experimental collections. From "Next Big Thing: Designer J.W. Anderson," November 2012.

"They were not physically expressive at all. Kurt basically stared at his shoes. They didn't play any of their better new material. They were lacking in material and stage presence."
SubPop founder Bruce Pavitt on Nirvana's lackluster performances early in their career.  From "Nirvana vs. Mudhoney! Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt Dishes About Grunge's Heyday."

"There are a lot of sexual things Santa can be to people -- he could be a silver fox or a polar bear. There's always something new you can think up about sex and Christmas."
John Waters on Santa's sex appeal. From "John Waters Chats With Us About His Christmas Show...And Dildos," November 2012.

"To this day we don't know why that happened. I was skeptical. Everyone was skeptical...I signed up to go down in flames. It's like if you don't do this, you wasn't made for this shit if you can't take on something like that. So it was kind of a challenge. It was like, 'Fuck it, let's go.'"
Bruno Mars on his stint as host and musical guest on SNL. From "The Dark Side of Mars," December/January 2012 - 2013. Comedian Tig Notaro on running away as a teenager. From "Tig Notaro: The Great Escape," December 2012.

"In an attempt to discredit what they view as gentrification competition, the fear-mongering Park Slope baby boomer cyber collective known as brownstoner.com and other post-yuppie media outlets have willfully distorted the Trip House situation."
Nightlife promoter John Barclay on the "Trip House Controversy." From "Promoter John Barclay on Trip House-Gate and His New Bar," December 2012.
 
"Tumblr is really obsessed with butts right now."
Internet Artist Adam J. Kurtz on Tumblr. From "Internet Artist Adam J. Kurz: "Tumblr Is Really Obsessed With Butts Right Now," December 2012.
 
"Being on the campaign trail for a year, you get to see the real America. And when I say "real America," I don't mean it in the way Sarah Palin means it -- with political valiance. The issues in Colorado are completely different from the ones in Ohio and the people in Florida are not the same as the people in New Hampshire. Going from one place to the other in one day gave me a sense of this country that I've never had before."
NPR White House correspondent Ari Shapiro on spending a year traveling with the Romney campaign. From "My Year With Mitt," December 2012.

"I realized that I had bought horse meat. We were eating my favorite animal."
Jane Fonda on accidentally buying horse meat instead of steak while living in Paris. From "Jane Fonda: An American in Paris," December 2012.


MORE YEAR-END LISTS:
The Best + Worst Films of 2012
Listen to PAPER's 2012
The Top 15 Celebrity Bulges of 2012
Our Top 10 Year-End Music Lists
Kim Hastreiter: 10 Things That Inspired Me in 2012 
Rebecca Smeyne's Favorite Photos of the Year
Chris Black's Favorite Blogs of 2012
Julie Besonen: The Top 10 Dishes I Can't Get Out of My Head
Alia Akkam: The Top 10 Cocktails I Drank this Year
The Top 10 GIFs of the Year
The Best Spreads in PAPER This Year