A lot of bands wanna do something new all the time and never repeat themselves, but I’m not so interested in that. If I feel like I can do it better the second time, I’ll give it another shot.
You think about people like Elvis, Kurt Cobain, or the Beatles, who grew up without privilege and needed a certain validation through peoples’ acceptance, or admiration from their peers. And money is part of that, but it always comes too late.
If you’re not Jay-Z, a record leaking isn’t going to affect you.
I’ve been going through some personal things that have stirred up a lot of old wounds.
I read a lot – surveys of vernacular music. A lot of it is the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music, which I’ve loved since I was in high school. They had it at the library and I always thought that was interesting, even when I was into punk and stuff. Just the history of storytelling and the amount of melancholy a lot of old music has.
As a homosexual, my job is simply to sodomize mediocrity.
I’ve always said I write albums; I don’t write random songs and then sort them out.
Unlike the rest of everyone I hang around with, I don’t drink, so I remember what happened after shows. And I have never hit on anyone after a show, I’m not that kind of person. Even if I was attracted to someone, I’d be too shy.
I don’t have anything to prove.
The first thing I think I ever played in public, aside from singing in church, would have been – and this is a true story – when I was about nine or 10 years old, I was obsessed with Twin Peaks. I played the theme from Twin Peaks on a little tiny Casio keyboard. People politely applauded. I just fell in love with that song and thought it was very heartbreaking.
That’s what culture is based on, the passing down of a certain narrative by imitation.
I’ve been used for writing rhythm guitar chords for a long time because it’s so easy to play and chords just sound good on it.
