I don't necessarily love all the collaborations that I've done; the more I work with other people, the more I realize that I want to work with myself.
Lykke LiI'm really depressing. Some people watch comedy to relax. I watch 21 Grams. I can recognize sadness and tragedy really easily because it's been with me forever.
Lykke LiDo you have to have emotional turmoil to create music? I'm not sure because I've never been without it
Lykke LiI remember watching Romeo + Juliet when I was 14 and listening to the soundtrack. When I hear that soundtrack now, all those emotions come back. It's really beautiful when you're at a certain point in your life where most of the adventure lies ahead of you. And it's a sad thing when you feel like you've lost that. But you can get it back.
Lykke LiPeople comment on how you look, it's so unnecessary. I just wanted people to listen to what I have to say instead of focusing on anything else.
Lykke LiI was totally romanticizing the idea of Los Angeles when the Doors, Joni Mitchell, and Neil Young were hanging out there.
Lykke LiI always want to keep things unwritten. I'm inspired by Bob Dylan, who's kept evolving and changing his sound. I think that's what you should do as an artist. Why be comfortable?
Lykke LiI don't love all hip-hop, but I do relate to stuff like early Nas, 2Pac, Biggie, and MF Doom because they're also trying to escape a scenario.
Lykke LiA lot of times females are in charge because they kind of have the pussy power. If they say, "I'm you're prostitute," then they mean, "I'm the power."
Lykke LiI want people to have a good time. Its boring only to hear singer/songwriters spilling their guts.
Lykke LiI don't think Neil Young has a beautiful voice but it's something that grabs you and the songs are so good.
Lykke LiI probably thought that about most of the things I did. But you wind up in situations where you have to make decisions very quickly, and you just go for it a lot of the time.
Lykke LiIt would be amazing if people listened to it when they needed shelter; it would be lovely if they didn't spit on it.
Lykke LiMy whole art is based on escaping life and reality, which might not the best tendency to have when you're trying to be a good person in general. But people can escape into my world easily - artists are supposed to create a keyhole that people can look into.
Lykke LiI'm a girl from Sweden. I took a lot of risks and went to New York by myself when I was 19 just because I read about it in a few books. I came here knowing nobody, having no money, and now I'm doing all these things like making records and videos every day.
Lykke LiIt's not about being a sex prostitute. It's about this power play in the war of the sexes. It's a rat race, like, "I'm in charge," "No, I'm in charge."
Lykke LiI was 19 when I recorded my first album, and I've been exposed to many things during these last few years; all the baby fat is gone.
Lykke LiI had to do this album. I tried thinking, "I'm not going to do it." But then I'm sitting there getting all suicidal and depressed, and I just start writing. It's like this inner drive. If I could choose, I would probably be living in the countryside and be fine with that, but I'm not.
Lykke LiI had a period after touring the first record where I didn't agree with the way things worked in the music industry as far as how you release music, demand, the pace of everything. You don't know who's talking to you. Who's Spotify? Who's iTunes? Who are all those bloggers? Who says I have to do this? Why do you have to do all this press? Why do I have to do so many shows? Why do I have to do a regular album right now? I don't understand it.
Lykke LiI can cry myself to sleep because I'm not as great as Leonard Cohen, but who cares? Maybe you can't be as great as some people, but it's a tragedy when you don't follow your dreams.
Lykke LiI'm looking forward to some peace and quiet. I fantasize about having a home, which I've kind of never had.
Lykke LiI want to get my music out there. I enjoy playing shows; I just don't enjoy airports. I want to be more creative, but it's hard to get into that zone on tour.
Lykke LiI would want to create an amphitheater outside of California where I would play everyday, and then people would have to come to me. I would create all this crazy stage decor and film it. Or I would just stay inside my home and do films. I would be like the modern Maya Deren.
Lykke LiIt's not a very sane thing to try to be great all the time. You want to make something magical; you want to make something wonderful; you want to give to everybody; you want to heal people; you want to still be inspired. That's not easy.
Lykke LiI want to do a stripped-down album. That style is actually where my heart is - storytelling and just letting the voice and the lyrics talk for themselves. I still want to write the perfect song and sing it in the most honest, undressed way. But I feel like I have to gather more experiences and more layers in my voice. I have to live more to be able to tell this tale. So I'm saving my folk record. I have a feeling nobody will understand it.
Lykke LiI think I've been a bit misunderstood; the first record was more timid than I wanted it to be. I don't like getting pinned down by sex or how I sound like because it's not who I am or what I want to be.
Lykke LiIf you're being ignored, that's a good time to concentrate on finding yourself and creating your own mystery.
Lykke LiDriving, for me, means power and freedom. The feeling that I can go anywhere I want at any time is exhilarating.
Lykke LiI hate the fact you always feel like you have to be going somewhere, like the end destination is to be finished, or to be happy. But the truth is a lot of us are completely lost, and we donโt know, and that is also a state of mind, to not know who you are and where youโre going.
Lykke LiI was going on this desert adventure with some friends and we were like, "How amazing would it be to just drag all these mirrors out there?" A lot of times I do things as an impulse and find out my inspirations afterward. Even with songs and lyrics, it can take me years to find out what I was actually trying to do.
Lykke Li