It was inspiring to me. Petty didn’t kowtow to corporations. He didn’t compromise his vision or his rights as an artist. He made me take a long look at my own career. When I saw it, I’d just left a job at a huge company. While I told myself I was trying to be like The Clash and break the system from the inside , I suspected I was more like that A&R man who worked the system to their advantage (and got worked by the system without knowing it). It can be hard to stand up for yourself against the interests of a multi-national corporation. It can be even harder to see yourself as more than a cog in the wheel and hold steadfast to your own moral compass. The compromises I've made — sometimes they still haunt me. But every day, with every challenge, I now think about what is right and when I am worth standing up for. I got that from Tom Petty.