I want the ethic of being independent and open-minded, having a lot of integrity, intellectually, to be part of anything I do.

I've always felt that singing is half technical, half taxing. You've got words, a melody, and an instrument, and you have to do justice to the words. You're just a medium for people to feel the song.

In a certain respect, in a movie, you inevitably have a lot of people doing a lot of different jobs because that's the only practical way to get it done. When you make a record, you can still be an auteur, because you can make a whole record without anyone's help if you want.

I'm not a super prolific creator, I don't make stuff everyday, and I don't have a soundtrack constantly playing in my head. I think I had years and years of pent-up aesthetic ideas that I wanted to express.

If you want to be taken seriously, you almost have to act really serious.

You can't use irony as a way of disengaging with the difficult or emotional aspects of life.

The more I make stuff, the more I become aware of when I feel like I'm making bullshit or feel like I'm making something I can stand behind.