I don't think it's necessary to worry too much about being authentic. I think a picture taken on an iPhone and then filtered through something to make it look like it was taken on a Super 8 camera can be just as authentic as something taken on a Super 8 camera, if it's capturing something real or beautiful.
Andrew VanWyngardenWe thought of ourselves as musical terrorists at shows - were weren't biting heads off bats, but we wanted to annoy and confront people.
Andrew VanWyngardenWe like being ridiculous and I think that's lost on a lot of people, or they think we're coming from this super serious angle, and that's too bad, really.
Andrew VanWyngardenUsually when I write lyrics I try to read a lot and listen to a lot of other stuff. Some of my favourite lyricists are like Lou Reed, kind of the classics - Bob Dylan and stuff like that.
Andrew VanWyngardenMaybe we're just stupid and don't realize you can't make music that sounds like a chase scene from a 'Scooby Doo' cartoon and have people take you seriously.
Andrew VanWyngardenLive we're a lot louder and noisier on the album. I think for the album we took a lot of time for the songwriting and we wanted to make good pop music, and I think there's plus and minuses to doing pop music and noise.
Andrew VanWyngardenIn general, the musicians we met that made the most sense just said to do what feels right and try not worry about what other people think. I know that sounds stupid and simple. I feel like Neil Young has done that and he's still making albums. He's one of the people I really look up to as someone who has kind of stuck to their guns their whole career. Just making music for music.
Andrew VanWyngarden