"I do like to write nasty songs. It's a useful weapon to have, and it's cathartic as well, because I create art out of anger, something positive out of something negative"
About this Quote
The subtext is power. “Nasty” implies taboo - the kind of candor that risks being labeled petty, unstable, or “difficult,” especially for a woman whose name already arrives loaded with expectation. Presley grew up under the double spotlight of inherited myth and celebrity scrutiny; anger, in that environment, doesn’t get to be private. It either leaks out as spectacle or gets metabolized into something you can own. Her line “cathartic as well” positions the song as a pressure valve, but the real flex is the second clause: “I create art out of anger.” That’s not just therapy-talk; it’s an aesthetic credo. She’s arguing for transmutation, taking a feeling that’s socially inconvenient and converting it into a product with form, craft, and permanence.
It also quietly defends the “revenge song” tradition against moralizing. Presley isn’t apologizing for making people squirm; she’s claiming that discomfort can be productive. The anger isn’t the problem - the question is whether you waste it, or shape it into something that hits.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Presley, Lisa Marie. (2026, January 15). I do like to write nasty songs. It's a useful weapon to have, and it's cathartic as well, because I create art out of anger, something positive out of something negative. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-do-like-to-write-nasty-songs-its-a-useful-142728/
Chicago Style
Presley, Lisa Marie. "I do like to write nasty songs. It's a useful weapon to have, and it's cathartic as well, because I create art out of anger, something positive out of something negative." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-do-like-to-write-nasty-songs-its-a-useful-142728/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I do like to write nasty songs. It's a useful weapon to have, and it's cathartic as well, because I create art out of anger, something positive out of something negative." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-do-like-to-write-nasty-songs-its-a-useful-142728/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
